As part of my series on temperament (mainly to help fellow authors with character development), today we are going to give a brief examination of the lovable and jolly sanguine.

Sanguines tend to respond very quickly to external stimuli, but their reactions fade quickly.

POSITIVES

Sanguines are extraverts–and the life of the party! They’re outgoing, cheerful, naturally optimistic, and joyful. They have a positive outlook on life, and tend to see the upside of any situation more easily than others might.

They’re not afraid to try new things. They are great leaders, because they don’t generally look down on others and enjoy working with others, so they lead from alongside their team. They’re natural servant-leaders.

Sanguines are a joy to be around. They get along with just about everyone, and just about everyone tends to like them, because they make socializing easy.

Sanguines don’t tend to hold grudges and forgive easily. They take things in stride–thought they just might talk your ear off!

STRUGGLES

Every temperament has its struggles.

Until they mature and learn to hold themselves accountable, sanguines can be shallow and struggle with follow through.

Being hopeful and optimistic, they tend to overestimate how much they can actually handle and take on too many things–or they’ll start something new only to lose interest, or find it difficult, and stop working on it.

Sanguines are very connected with their bodies. They need the stimulation of other people and things going on around them. They can also struggle with self-control regarding food, drugs, sex . . . physical things.

Sanguines are quick to talk and to reply before they think . . . leading to some “foot in mouth” syndrome. They don’t always think their plans through, either.

Of course, not all of these things hold true of every sanguine individual, real or fictional. But this is a very general breakdown of some rather stereotypical traits of the sanguine to get your character development rolling!

FAMOUS SANGUINES

St. Peter

St. Augustine

Pollyana

Fred and George Weasley

Peregrin Took (Pippin)