In this PL INSIGHT, we’re going to look at the Type A personality and introduce you to the New Type A that is living a Performance Lifestyle.
For as long a many of us can remember there has been this term in our collective vernacular called the Type A — a personality type characterized by ambition, high energy, and competitiveness, and thought to be susceptible to stress and heart disease, according to the official Google Search.
According to Wikipedia, the Type A personality is more competitive, highly organized, ambitious, impatient, highly aware of time management and/or aggressive.
” Two cardiologists who developed this theory came to believe that Type A personalities had a greater chance of developing coronary heart disease.[1] Following the results of further studies and considerable controversy about the role of the tobacco industry funding of early research in this area, some reject, either partially or completely, the link between Type A personality and coronary disease. Nevertheless, this research had a significant effect on the development of the health psychology field, in which psychologists look at how an individual’s mental state affects physical health.[2]
Whether or not academia or even science agrees with the idea or not, Type A has long been part of our vernacular to describe the driven among us. And there probably is a connection to heart problems, if not indirectly, because those of us who are up to big things in the world really do put out a lot of energy over the course of many hours per day, and usually at a pace that is often unhealthy without the lifestyle to support the level of demand we put on our body/brain.
It’s not uncommon for a person to refer to their Type A ‘ness in the second or third person as if it were a part of themselves that takes them over. And that’s likely true. But for many, Type A has become more than a personality trait, it has become an identity (a repeated way of being) and this is where things really get messy and probably a good reason why some run from the thought that they are Type A, because they see what it can put people through.
Now, all of that is not to say, that Type A traits are not in many instances positive. They are. I mean being ambitious, time aware, aggressive, high energy, etc, are laudable traits in the right context, at the right time, level and frequency; it’s just when it becomes your status quo, your one, and only gear, that this can become tough to live with; not only for the person but for those around them. It takes skills to model all of those leading Type A traits among many others, and not be a wrecking machine or turn into a wreck personally.
You see, the Type A personalities are not known for balance, and health, and wellbeing, and largely because their drive is unfettered. According to Study.com, “there are many advantages to having a type A personality. … Perhaps the biggest disadvantage is the way stress affects someone with a type A personality. They often set such lofty goals for themselves, that they can be difficult to achieve. People with a type A personality often also suffer from deep self-doubt.”
Matter of fact, there are countless articles on both the pros and cons of a Type A Personality, but one thing is for sure, these are people who are driven to accomplish and achieve, which is natural, but due to upbringing issues, they can take it to the extreme. Which brings up the subject of this post; if we are driven to accomplish and achieve at high levels, (hence the type “A” stands for achiever) are we doomed to suffer from all the cons alongside the pros, most of which are the effects of excess stress?
The answer to that question is whether or not you are living a balanced lifestyle that supports your health and performance, as this is what most type A people are missing. Being Type A is a psychological way of being, but it’s not backed up by
It was that reality that I, JAM, the founder of Performance Lifestyle Inc arrived at years ago. After years of suffering the effects of excess stress for decades, I asked the question; how does one live a hard-charging life, seeking new levels of success, and still, stay balanced and healthy?
More specifically, how does one avoid the typical pattern of overexertion, fatigue, and poor lifestyle habits that result in both mental and physical symptoms that can distract and hold us back, ironically from the very success and life outcomes we seek?
I had already seen the effects of excess stress on others as a former trainer, and gym owner, and had heard the plight and the stories. At one time, I was essentially getting paid to help these people deal with their deconditioned state, their weight, and health issues. Most noticeably their exhaustion and fatigue, but at that time I had no solution.
It wouldn’t be until I myself, spent a good 20+ years on the success path, suffering from many of the same symptoms of excess stress, that I would finally understand what it takes to live a balanced and healthy high achieving life, and thrive amidst the seemingly relentless demand on my time and energy, as an entrepreneur, family man, and amateur athlete.
And what I discovered, where the achiever types and the New Type A; a term I coined and co-created to represent the balanced and healthy high achiever who thrives. These are not people with nothing more than a psychological drive on the competitive plain, who are aggressive and impatient… who are willing to burnout and trade their health for success. Can they exude these characteristics, at times yes, but the truth is anyone can model these characteristics, and that’s probably because so many of us in our modern performance culture fit the traditional type A personality? for many it seems like a matter of survival in our nonstop economy.
The New Type A knows knows that they are more like athletes, even if they are not into sports or even fitness enthusiasts and that there are reasons why they are so driven, and they resolve them so that they can achieve for the right reasons, at the pace that’s right for them, not because they’re trying to best their mom or dad or prove that they are beautiful, loveable, or successful, or live into the stereotypical identity of the Type A personality.
They are a new breed who knows they wake up to be successful, but they know the core essentials of human performance and live by fundamentals of successful living. They want it all, not to just be healthy and unable to rub two nickels together, or successful, such that they live a life of constantly contending with overwhelm, fatigue, weight, and health complications distracting and holding them back. They want health, happiness and success, no compromise.
Can it be done? It can, but only if you move away from chasing lifestyles built around one salient truth, or some magical answer to all your challenges. All healthy high achieving people who thrive have performance lifestyle’s, the next step in the evolution from fitness lifestyles, to healthy lifestyles, to performance lifestyles, that are inclusive but reflect a truly holistic approach to living. And you need to that to content with all the forces that bear down on us our modern age.
So here are 5 characteristics of the new type A, which is more than a personality, it’s a human performance-based, approach to life.
1. They understand their present situation and circumstances extremely well, so they can navigate from where they are to where they want to be without taking on too much too soon, too fast…
2. They drop the weight of the past, not merely the physical weight, but the psychological weight that is driving them to achieve for the wrong reasons.
3. They live from the very best part of themselves, awakened with a higher sense of purpose, and the knowledge of what they really are. From this place, they are free to develop who they are and intend to be, in the world.
4. They have Performance Lifestyle’s, that support them, and what they are up to in the world. They don’t overexert for long or trade their health for success. They have the lifestyle, all balanced and healthy achieving people who thrive, know and live by.
5. They have alignment in their life. The way their life is set up, the lifestyle it reinforces and their goals are structure in such a way that they are able to accomplish and achieve great things, with a grace that others just imagine but never realize.
If you want to learn more about developing a new approach to living, to become that balanced and healthy higher achieving person who thrives you can reach out to JAM at Performance Lifestyle Inc here.
