List of Articles by Jack Falt

Resourceful Orange

Of the four temperaments, the Orange temperament is probably the one that stands out the most. These include actors, sports players, singers, crafts people, as well as the trades people, builders, repair workers, and sales people. Their world is tools. The tool they use might even be their body in the case of a boxer or a singer. They have an instinctive knowledge of how to use a tool to its best advantage. They use tools in very practical ways. If a tool will get the job done, they’ll use it even if that wasn’t its original purpose.

Another characteristic of this temperament is how Oranges use words. Their words are very concrete and factual. They tend to talk about cars, clothing, how fast something will go, or how two colours match. If you've been to a party where one group talks about skidoos and hockey, and another group talks about babies, cooking and fashion, you are likely in Orange conversations. It's not that Oranges aren’t interested in world peace. It is just that it is not the first topic that comes to mind when they gather together.

The symbol for Orange is the exclamation point reflecting their high energy, spontaneity and excitement. The colour orange has a vitality and life to it, and it is used to denote dangerous situations reflecting that Oranges like living in the moment. Their special skill is tactics. They are able to look at a situation, know what to do right now and take action.

The fox is the animal metaphor representing the Orange temperament. A fox does not plan its day. It just goes out each morning knowing that it has to survive. It is constantly scanning the countryside to see if any opportunities present themselves. Oranges function in a similar way. They don't like to plan. They want to see what turns up, and they have the confidence to know they can deal with any situation.

When we are discussing temperament, we are looking at overall behaviours and what motivates them. A core need for Oranges is the ability to act on impulse. That doesn’t mean being immature and irresponsible, but rather there is that impulse of energy to do something right now. They just know what has to be done and the now is the time to do it! This can be a playful and fun-loving kind of behaviour, but it also means being able to solve very practical problems, such as how to fix a car, put a dress together, or solve a complex engineering problem.

It is thought that over 90% of school dropouts are Oranges, and only 2% of the teachers are Orange. Oranges have the same range of intelligence as any other temperament. They often find formal learning rather tedious and may not like to be bothered reading the books to master an academic subject. When they do go on to higher education, they tend to go into areas such as engineering or the fine arts. When they want to, they can have the discipline to do the amount of studying needed to achieve their goal.

When Oranges are in a restrictive environment, they get bored, restless and stressed. This is very evident in school. When Orange children have to sit for long periods of time listening to the teacher or having to do repetitive work, they turn to mischief to liven things up. Many get mis-diagnosed as being hyperactive. Lots of variety and hands-on activities can often calm these students down and are much more effective ways for them to learn. At home parents are advised to get them into lots of activities such as sports or just getting them out and playing in a rough and tumble manner.

Adult Oranges need lots of variety as well. They tend to avoid committee work but will take on a short term project such as fund raising. When the job is over they move on to something else. When they do get on a committee that is running very smoothly, they have even been known to create a few problems just to liven things up.

Another core need of Oranges is to have impact on people. They want recognition for how well they perform which can be very graceful and impressive. This could be how well they hit a ball, repair a toilet, act in a play, or write a song. They do things because it is fun to do. Oranges will practise hitting baseball flies for hours. They do not think of it as drill. It's just fun to do. Other temperament might also want to be great ball players, but will do the practice because they knows it has to be done.

When Oranges are too confined and controlled, they follows the motto: “Don't get mad. Get even.” This is particularly noticeable in the teen years. Most teens rebel to a certain extent, but Orange teenagers can become quite vindictive when thwarted from their freedom. They still need firm guidelines, but confrontation is not always the best way to handle them.

As lovers and spouses Oranges prefer a freewheeling lifestyle. There is often a mutual attraction between the Orange and the Gold temperaments. Oranges want the traditional, organizational part that Golds bring to the relationship. However, as frequently happens with all of the temperaments, they try to change their spouses to be like them. If they do succeed, they may find that their spouses no longer interest them. The answer is for them to love what they have and appreciate their differences. Oranges have so many gifts everyone can enjoy.

Graphics and logo used by permission of Career/LifeSkills Resources Inc. You have permission to copy this handout as long as you acknowledge the author. You can pull it into a word processing program and reformat it if you prefer.

To help you determine your temperament go to the Temperament Colour Rating Quiz.

Jack Falt is a trained facilitator in the use of Personality Dimensions®, True Colors®, MBTI® and Self-Discovery Process®. He leads an ongoing Appreciating Differences group that studies personality types including the Enneagram and Emotional Intelligence in the Ottawa area. You may reach him at (613) 256-3276 or by e-mail at jfalt#trytel.com. (To use the e-mail address, replace the # with an @ symbol. This will help reduce the amount of spam mail received.) He has further information on his web site at http://www.appreciatingdifferences.ca/.

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List of Articles by Jack Falt