T H E   S P   A R T I S A N

Action! That's the key to the SP. When the Artisan steps into the room, stand back, because something is about to happen.

ESSENTIALS

The combination of Sensing and Perceiving leads to a temperament that insists on experiencing everything the world has to offer. Limits are for other people; the Artisan chafes when prevented for any reason from action.

And the action does not have to be for anything--simply acting is its own rationale. For the SP, being able to do a thing is reason enough to do that thing. Later in life, SPs may curb their impulsive tendencies somewhat, but the young SP simply will not be restrained from doing whatever looks like fun at the moment.

CHILDHOOD

This begins early, too. Infants who will later prove to be SPs often begin walking before others do. They are not likely to enjoy being in a crib, either, which they regard as the cage it resembles. But where the NT child gets into things in order to satisfy a burning curiosity, the SP toddler runs around like a wild thing for no other reason than because he or she can, and thus bears at least as much close watching as the NT.

SCHOOL

When old enough for school, an SP's parents are usually more than happy to wave bye-bye for a few hours every weekday. Not that the SP is likely to notice, as long as there are lots of new things to see and do in the new environment. This can actually be a source of concern to some parents, who misinterpret the SP child's independence as a lack of love or caring for them. But the SP is simply doing what is natural; namely, pushing the limits.

In adolescence and teenagers, this can become a serious problem, especially if the parents are SJs with their strong sense of proper behavior. SJ parents are likely to consider an SP's exuberance a deliberate challenge to their authority, and respond with rules and regulations and restrictions and curfews and limits... all of which the SP will eventually ignore. During the process, it is unfortunately all too likely that both parents and child will become estranged, each convinced that the other is willfully trying to inflict pain as the fighting spirals out of control.

Meanwhile, school is likely to be one of the prime sources of contention. Far too often, SP children are diagnosed as "hyperactive," or "learning-disabled," or "dyslexic," or suffering from "Attention Deficit Disorder" and pumped full of Ritalin and other drugs. In fact, they are not "suffering" from any ailment or deficiency at all; they are simply being themselves, and that means learning not from books or lectures but by doing. But because most educators have tended to be SJs, there is no escape for Artisans at school, either. They learn quickly that school is just another place full of rules and regulations, where you have to sit still for hours and hours and never get to do anything. It is no wonder that SPs tend to fail more classes than they pass, and are promoted up and out because most teachers simply don't know what else to do with them.

WORK

Only after reaching young adulthood are SPs finally able to begin to chart their own courses. Still tasting the bitterness of formal schooling, most SPs will avoid college and even technical training in favor of apprenticeship in a trade. ISTPs and ISFPs will take up tools as if born to them, while ESTPs and ESFPs will quickly manage to talk employers into taking them on. Even here, though, the SP will resist too much structure. Being able to choose their own job helps, and most SPs will manage to accept some business rules in order to keep doing something they enjoy. But few SPs will long be satisfied with an employer that doesn't give them the freedom to test their capabilities from time to time. Jobs which SPs tend to prefer include park ranger, professional athlete, artist, the military, builder, firefighter, machine operator, police officer, surgeon, and entertainer.

There are two other jobs in particular which give the flavor of what being an SP is all about. One of them is sales. SPs tend to do phenomenally well in sales, especially the ESTPs. Few things get an SP's juices running like going head-to-head with a reluctant potential client. This real-time, face-to-face negotiating, which calls for being able to read reactions precisely and instantaneously, is like water in the desert to an SP; at no other time does he or she feel so alive. A second field in which SPs can work what look to other temperaments like miracles is what might be called Troubleshooting. When a company or business group is "sick," when it is failing to perform some necessary task, that's when smart companies call in a business-savvy SP. These men and women are like the hired guns of the Old West--they saddle up and ride into town, take on the bad guys (whatever that may translate into in a business setting, even if no individuals are actually "bad"), then ride off into the sunset in a blaze of glory to the next town.

SP managers are usually not quite so dramatic, but even they have their moments. When action is called for, the SP manager will be there, ready to take on anyone and everyone until the problem is solved. In fact, one problem SP managers face is their tendency to overreact to minor problems, simply because they're bored and looking for something they can do to showcase their gift for averting crises. (It has been observed that some SPs, when it's been too long since the last crisis, will actually create their own crises to solve.) SP leaders can also get themselves into trouble by ignoring details in order to focus on "the big picture," or, paradoxically, by attempting to micromanage every single detail, thus missing the overall goal.

RELATIONSHIPS

Some of these same traits are visible in the SP's personal life. As SJs are perpetual pessimists, SPs are the eternal optimists. No matter how terrible things may seem at any given moment, an SP will confidently predict that great times are just around the corner. And with their silver tongues, Extraverted SPs often seem to be correct in these predictions more times than not. Then, just as quickly, the SP's generous nature and propensity for risk-taking will cause him or her to gamble everything on a single throw of the dice.

This "live-for-the-moment" approach to life can be hard on other temperaments, particularly the "save-for-a-rainy-day" SJs. An SP will certainly bring excitement into anyone's life, with glamour, jewelry, fast cars, fine dining, and exotic travel (for as long as the money holds out). And the SP's "life is an adventure" theme song will make even apparent disasters seem like no more than bumps in the road.

CONCERNS

But there is a flip side to this tune. When things really do go wrong, the SP is capable of cutting his or her losses and disappearing without a word. More than any other temperament, the SP's intense longing for the freedom to act enables him or her to treat any ties, emotional or otherwise, as purely matters of convenience. As long as it suits an SP, he or she may follow every rule laid down, do everything expected, cross every "t" and dot every "i." But when it ceases to suit, the SP can simply say "goodbye" and walk out the door into the next adventure. There may be a few moments of regret that things didn't work out, but these are soon lost in the glare of the next challenge.

SUMMARY

Many SPs do manage to find ways to compromise, though, trading a little freedom for a steady job and a stable family life. As long as the SP is left free to break away for some adventure now and then, and honestly appreciated for the boldness, bravery, cleverness, endurance, and sheer zest for life that he or she brings to the party, life with an SP can truly be the rich adventure promised.

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