Sanguine Personality: 5 Strengths & 4 Weaknesses Overview

Have you ever been described as “the life of the party” or told that your smile lights up the whole room? If so, you might have a sanguine personality!

The sanguine personality is one of the four temperaments defined by humorism, an ancient medical theory most commonly attributed to Hippocrates.

This theory suggests that bodily fluids (also known as humors)—blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile—affect people’s health and determine their temperament.

Although humorism no longer has a place in medicine since it isn’t scientifically proven, it’s still sometimes used to describe different temperaments and personality traits associated with them.

On that note, let’s do a deep dive into the sanguine personality—by far the most dynamic temperament in humorism!

What Is Sanguinity?

Sanguinity is, essentially, a synonym for optimism, cheerfulness, and hopefulness, all of which are defining traits of the sanguine personality. It also describes the deep red color of blood—the fluid that humorism links to sanguinity.

As the name suggests, people with a sanguine personality have a sunny disposition and tend to be easy-going. They take each day as it comes, meet challenges with excitement, and enjoy sharing joy with others.

From the perspective of personality types, a purely sanguine personality most closely resembles ESFPs. Like sanguines, they are outgoing, confident, spontaneous, and high-spirited.

That said, every person has traits belonging to all four temperaments. While pure sanguine personalities do exist, most people with this temperament fall into one of the three subtypes:

• Sanguine-melancholic. This combination makes people highly creative, imaginative, and artistic.
• Sanguine-choleric. This sanguine personality subtype is very expressive, persuasive, enthusiastic, and stubborn.
• Sanguine-phlegmatic. These individuals tend to prioritize relationships above all else and tend to be accommodating, tolerant, and approachable.

5 Sanguine Personality Strengths

Now that you know what sanguine personalities are generally like, let’s dig deeper and explore their key strengths, including enthusiasm, positivity, and curiosity.

#1. Enthusiasm

One of the first things you’ll notice about people with a sanguine personality is their energetic demeanor and passionate attitude toward life. Enterprising, open-minded, and expressive, they often inspire others to go out of their comfort zones and experience life to its fullest extent.

That said, their enthusiasm is especially apparent in their approach to dealing with problems and unfamiliar situations. While such things may stress some people out, this isn’t exactly true for sanguine personalities.

Quite the contrary—they enthusiastically take on new challenges and endeavors, believing that there are no obstacles they couldn’t overcome.

Needless to say, most people with a sanguine personality are confident by nature. As such, it’s only natural that they enjoy entering and exploring uncharted territories, going on adventures, and participating in adrenaline-inducing activities!

#2. Creativity

People with a sanguine personality possess boundless creativity. Not only are they full of ideas, but they also have a knack for seeing things from multiple perspectives at once. This enables them to think outside of the box, which is especially useful in problem-solving.

Coupled with their outgoing nature, creativity allows people with a sanguine personality to shine in social settings. Charismatic and lively, these natural-born performers enjoy being the center of attention and sharing their creative ideas and talents.

Thanks to their vivid imaginations, they tend to be drawn to art—be it writing poetry, dancing, or doing stand-up comedy. That said, these people can also harness and utilize their creativity to excel in other fields, including business.

#3. Positivity

Laid-back and easy-going, people with a sanguine personality are the last ones to sweat the small stuff—it’s simply not in their nature.

These individuals tend to live in the moment and rarely, if ever, think about the past or dwell on their mistakes. Given that they usually find the positive side to any situation, it’s only natural that they also tend to be quite forgiving.

Although they can be emotional, they usually view bad experiences as an opportunity to improve themselves or the current situation. However, this doesn’t mean they don’t feel negative emotions—they simply don’t fixate on them and tend to maintain a glass-half-full mentality.

On top of that, people with a sanguine personality usually have a delightful sense of humor, which only adds to their charisma. Vibrant and fun-loving, they never pass up an opportunity to have a good laugh!

#4. Curiosity

Inquisitive and open-minded, people with a sanguine personality approach the world around them with childlike curiosity.

They are always open to challenging their beliefs and eagerly look for ways to expand their knowledge. More often than not, they enjoy diving into deep conversations and figuring out how things and people work.

Since people with a sanguine personality are more than happy to try new things, it’s not surprising that they tend to be quick learners.

As long as they’re passionate about what they do, they typically possess strong knowledge of their field. This, coupled with their positivity and enthusiasm, also makes them rather flexible and adaptable both in their personal and professional lives.

#5. Communicativeness

It’s simply impossible to talk about the strengths of the sanguine personality without mentioning their exceptional communication skills.

People with a sanguine personality thrive in social situations and find it easy to strike up conversations with just about anyone, which is why they’re often described as social butterflies.

Thanks to their innate charisma, they also usually have no trouble capturing people’s interest when sharing their thoughts and ideas and often excel at public speaking. Not only are they comfortable being in the spotlight, but they also have a gift for entertaining others and persuasively conveying ideas.

4 Sanguine Personality Weaknesses

Although the sanguine personality is characterized by positivity, people with this temperament also have some negative traits. So, here are some of their weaknesses you should be aware of:

#1. Impulsivity

As enthusiastic as people with a sanguine personality are, it’s no secret that they can be quite reckless and prone to rash decision-making.

After all, they’d rather live in the here and now, taking advantage of every opportunity that comes to them, than carefully think things through. Because of this, they may abruptly cancel plans, drop projects as quickly as they’ve started them, and procrastinate—especially if they have to deal with monotonous tasks that don’t spark their interest.

Simply put, these individuals seek excitement and stimulation in every waking moment, as they are prone to boredom. In turn, they tend to act quite impulsively, often just to keep themselves entertained.

#2. Emotional Volatility

Passionate and emotional, people with a sanguine personality are often admired for their positivity. Nonetheless, this doesn’t make them immune to negative emotions. On the contrary, these individuals are no strangers to intense, rapid mood swings.

Simply put, people with this type of personality tend to react quickly to changes around them. While this means they typically have no trouble adapting to new circumstances, it’s also not unusual for them to be quite reactive. When pushed too far, they may explode into emotional outbursts.

Although it may not take much to set them off, the good news is that most people with a sanguine personality calm down as quickly as they blow up.

#3. Attention-Seeking

To say that people with a sanguine personality love attention would be an understatement. While being comfortable with the spotlight isn’t necessarily a bad thing, their attention-seeking behaviors can sometimes wreak havoc on their relationships.

Many people with a sanguine personality can’t stand feeling left out, so they’ll do everything within their power to draw attention to themselves. For instance, they may interrupt, monopolize, and hijack conversations.

Moreover, some people with a sanguine personality have trouble committing to their partners simply because they don’t believe one person could fulfill their need for attention. It’s not unheard of for these individuals to break up with their partners for this exact reason.

#4. Excessiveness

Generally speaking, people with a sanguine personality like to live their lives to the fullest. As great as this may sound, the truth is that people with this temperament are all about extremes. In fact, it’s not uncommon for them to start seeking pleasure without any regard for consequences or their well-being.

Whether it’s food, video games, or alcohol, these individuals are likely to do things in excess. Because of this, they might be more prone to addiction, overeating, and similar issues than others.

It’s also not unusual for them to experience financial problems, as they generally lack discipline and often desire to lead lavish lifestyles, which may lead to overspending.

How to Address Negative Sanguine Personality Traits

As you might be able to tell, people with a sanguine personality possess rather unique strengths, but their weaknesses can sometimes overshadow their natural gifts.

To become more balanced and overcome their weaknesses, people with a sanguine personality should:

• Learn to read the room. Although this can be challenging, sanguine personalities should stop and think before speaking. Learning to gauge the emotional atmosphere of the group can help them cope with their attention-seeking tendencies and avoid conflict with others.
• Find a healthy emotional outlet. Talking to a loved one, journaling, and the like can help people with a sanguine personality curb their mood swings and avoid becoming emotionally explosive. It can also prevent them from falling into the trap of addiction.
• Maintain a healthy lifestyle. Even though people with a sanguine personality dislike routines, they can benefit from adopting healthy habits, such as going to sleep at the same time, swapping fast food with nutritious meals, and so on. This can improve their physical and mental well-being, in addition to helping them become more disciplined.

Key Takeaways

There you go—now you know all about the strengths and weaknesses of the sanguine personality!

Due to the unique combination of their strengths and weaknesses, sanguine personalities tend to experience life very intensely. Their moods can swing from high to low in a matter of seconds. While being a sanguine is undoubtedly rewarding, it can also be challenging because of this.

That said, people with a sanguine personality stand out from others thanks to their optimistic attitude and novelty-seeking nature. Although their positivity is contagious, it’s important to know that these personalities often struggle with moderation and find it difficult to keep their impulses under control.

Needless to say, people with a sanguine personality should work on their weaknesses instead of letting them fester. This way, they can turn their weaknesses into strengths and let their inner light shine!