The Metal Type Personality

You may have done one of those online quizzes that supposedly define your personality type. Maybe your employer wanted you to take one of these tests. When I was a teenager, my friends and I would complete them in magazines – back before social media was ever a thing!!

Well, this is nothing new. Eastern medicine has, for thousands of years, considered our personality to be an aspect of our overall health. TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) embraces a fivefold concept known as “The Five Element Theory” which is used to explain a lot about our basic “constitution” and our predisposition to certain behaviours and ailments.

The 5 elements are:

• Fire
• Earth
• Metal
• Water
• Wood

What type are you?

We all tend to be one predominant type but are usually a mixture of two main elements.

You could take this interactive quiz to find out your type. I’ve been told that I am “Metal with Water within.”

The Metal Type

Each element is associated with certain colours, seasons, organs, tastes, flavours and personality traits. The associations of the Metal element are:

Bearing in mind that no-one is one hundred per cent one element alone, a metal personality is often thought of as a perfectionist.

Metal Types are detailed orientated, disciplined, organised and discerning. They value beauty, functionality and appearance. This reflects their choices for clothing, furnishing and overall aesthetic of interior design in their homes as well as the way that they choose to execute their work. They are natural analysts and love a good list.

Often quiet, introverted and reserved at first, Metal Types are considered a bit difficult to get to know in comparison to the other Element Types. However, when you’re invited into their close circle, they will relax and even melt into situations where they feel safe to be themselves and share their gifts and ideas.

Metal Types Are Self Critical

Metal Types have a tendency for being self critical and perfectionists. They’re constantly seeking refinement and efficiencies to excel and reach their greatest potential. With an eye for detail, a Metal Type strives to be and do their best at all times. This drives their work ethic, organisation and ability to bring things to completion.

If you are a Metal type, your challenge in life can be “perfectionism.” You can be too self-critical, and anxious about doing everything right. Learning the concept of “good enough” can be very helpful here.

They have a gift for making something out of nothing. With an affinity for words they can be incredibly prolific, often creating beautiful prose and observations that inspire the soul.

Metal In Balance

When a Metal personality is in balance, they can be flexible and malleable, like metal itself. When out of balance, they can seem stand-offish and a bit indifferent.

At the end of the day it is good practice for Metal types to practice a gratitude exercise. Find three things to be thankful from that day; this helps develop a capacity to accept good feelings and compliments to counteract self -critical tendencies.