What are the Pros & Cons of having a Type A Personality? Let’s find out!

So, what are the pros & cons of having a type A personality?

Well, if you have type A personality traits, you probably heard a lot of cr@p that you’re insensitive, you need to change yourself, and yada yada…

But in reality, all personalities come with their own pros and cons. Nobody is perfect!

However, if you still feel low about your personality, dig in to get rid of the complex here…

Pros of having Type A Personality

You are an amazing person… and having type A personality traits even highlights some of them. Your personality can actually help you prosper in different areas of life.

Well, if you don;t believe this, you don’t have to!

Instead, check the proof here…

1. Your performance won’t decline in crises

Type A individuals are proven to think rationally even in the worst situations. They can deal with high levels of stress without losing sight of their aim.

So, you can achieve your goals with this trait much better than your peers. You can calmly deal with troubles whether in personal or professional life.

People will seek you for advice and praise you for your effective solutions. Your confidence can help you prosper professionally and reach the top sooner.

2. Your academic performance might prosper

Researchers conducted a study on type A and type B college students and found that people with type A personalities have outstanding academic performance.

So, if you have type A personality traits, you have higher chances of shining academically and becoming a scholar. Your perfectionism will make you strive hard.

You’ll stay much more focused than the rest. You’ll be extremely motivated and persistent towards your goals. These basic traits will contribute to your academic results.

3. You won’t like a stable life

While reaching stability in life is the dream of many, type As don’t want that. Being a type A, you’ll frequently feel bored if your life comes to a standstill position. You’ll hate repetitive and monotonous routines and long for excitement and new challenges.

This trait of yours will make you chase greater possibilities and opportunities in your academic and personal life. You’ll also take calculated risks… so even if others warn you about losing everything, you’ll know what you’re doing with full clarity.

4. You have great leadership qualities

Being an A-type, you’ll possess impeccable judgment skills. You also can’t overlook failure, so you make sure that you always choose the best route for everything.

Due to these traits, you can delegate tasks to your team members much better than others. You know everyone’s skills and talents and put them to work accordingly.

To make your team perform the best, you’ll also guide them appropriately. You’ll try your best to create a team of perfectionists and win along with your team.

5. You’re at your peak performance when alone

If you’re a type A, you’ll prefer working solo whether in academics or professional life. Since you have high aims and expectations and others can’t easily match your flow, you’ll perform better alone.

You’ll devote your entire focus to your tasks while working alone. You won’t get distracted by your team member/partner’s difference in flow. But, even if nobody can support your tasks, your individual drive can help you succeed.

6. You can take on an extra load at once

For having type A personality traits, you’ll also be fast-paced in your work. You won’t be able to stand wasting even a second. You’ll always prioritize punctuality even if you have lots of tasks.

Due to your craze for punctuality and intense motivation, you’ll learn to manage excess work together. Since you dislike losing, you’ll learn multitasking skills instead of giving up.

Even your superiors will be impressed by your skills. You might even get the opportunity to grow earlier in your work life.

7. You’ll be a dominant character in most areas of your life

Type A personality traits make you a dominant character in most areas of your life. In debate competitions, you’ll sound more confident because you know your facts. You’ll be chosen as a leader because you’re more mature and capable than others.

Intentionally or unintentionally, you’ll always become the dominant character because others will notice your positive traits. You’ll also get more exposure and experience due to this.

8. You’ll never get tired or bored of your profession

Most people work because they must earn a living to survive in the world. This makes their job monotonous, dull, and uninteresting. They become fed up with their life and lose their productivity with time.

However, if you’re an A-type, you won’t feel similarly about your work. Because you don’t work just for money. You’re passionate about what you do… to the point that you forget about everything in your life while working.

9. You are more likely to succeed in life

By possessing A-type traits, with your passion, motivation, persistence, and extraordinary skills, you have higher incidences of being the best everywhere. Studies proved that type As are more prone to success in their finance and being satisfied in their life.

Since you’ll be passionate about your work and devote lots of time and effort to it, you’ll eventually get lots of recognition and rewards which leads to financial success.

When you will use your hard-earned money to provide yourself and your family with the desired comfort, you’ll be satisfied with yourself.

10. You might live longer

People with type A behavioral patterns (TABP) are usually more aware and alert about their needs. They know exactly what they want. This is more pronounced in their professional and academic life.

However, some are more cautious about their health as they don’t want to lag in their life due to poor health. So, to strive for the best, you’ll also treat your body fairly.

Many medical reviews also proved that Type As are extremely careful about their health as they don’t want unnecessary troubles.

But of course, all personalities are flawed. So, let’s figure out yours…

Cons of having Type A Personality

Before you know the negatives of having a Type A personality, remember that you’re amazing as you are. Of course, if you have some negative traits, you can always fix them with time.

So, with a positive mindset, let’s know about the cons here…

1. You might suffer from social isolation

Being an A-type, you’ll be often more immersed and interested in your work than anything else. Even at the office, you won’t pay much heed to small talk. You’ll avoid everyone and try to resume your work ASAP.

This way people in your personal, social, and professional life will get the wrong signal. They’ll think you dislike them and don’t want to spend time with them. They’ll stop seeking you completely and you might get socially isolated.

2. You can’t work in groups

Due to your a-type traits, you’ll easily lose patience over minute things. You expect others to be a perfectionist like yourself. You can’t stand it when people don’t have similar standards of working and motivation as yours.

In groups, you take the lead position by default because you want everyone to work like you and improve efficiency. However, people misunderstand your intentions.

They think you only want to make them feel worse about themselves or they simply can’t keep up. You face troubles in groups and can’t handle them.

3. You’re stubborn

Type As are famous for their stubbornness. Once they decide to do something, they’re the least likely to change their decisions. Especially during arguments, they fight to prove themselves right.

So, being an A-type, you’ll be easily triggered by challenging words. You always get defensive and want to prove yourself correct.

Even if the other person has valid reasons and facts to back their words, you still won’t let them win. Both in personal and professional life, this leads to major clashes.

4. You might be prone to coronary heart disease

In the 1950s, cardiologists Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman observed patients with Type A personality traits and studied them.

They found that due to A-type traits, they’re more likely to get heart diseases when they grow old. However, this isn’t yet successfully proved the connection between A-type traits and heart disease through research.

But, patients with heart issues and high blood pressure are impatient, stressed, irritable, and short-tempered which are common in A-types which leads to Friedman and Rosenman’s statement.

5. You might also suffer from mental health issues

Since A-types are strict perfectionists, you – as an A-type – might always burden yourself to perform your best in every situation. You might pull all-nighters and push yourself beyond your comfort zone.

Unlike type B personality, you feel a great sense of urgency. If you can’t complete your tasks in a given time, you criticize yourself intensely. This constant pressure and criticism might lead to anxiety and depression symptoms. Furthermore, this can hurt both your physical and mental health.

6. You’re prone to stress

People with type A behavior patterns (TABP) are also prone to excess stress in their professional life. So, being a type A, you might also suffer from stress and its impacts. You might increase the chances of suffering from strokes by two folds.

Due to the lack of stress management, your body releases cortisol hormone in your bloodstream which also has multiple negative effects. You might suffer from anxiety, blood pressure problems, and gastrointestinal issues.

7. Your poor communication skills might make your life tough

A-types don’t understand emotions well, so they usually can’t understand their loved one’s feelings. They also can’t convey their feelings to their loved ones which causes misunderstandings and resentment.

On the flip side, A-types are quite strict and inflexible in their professional life. They’re not ready to compromise with deadlines or the work quality.

Instead, they’re hostile if the productivity and work speed is affected by anyone… even if it’s a personal issue. Moreover, they can’t even stand small talk at the workplace.

Similarly, due to poor communication skills, you might have troubles in all areas of your life.

8. Even you can’t please yourself

Type A folks can’t stand any sort of failure. In a competition, if they become the first runners-up, they still won’t be satisfied. They have high and unrealistic expectations from themselves and others.

So, whether you, a loved one or someone in your team fails in anything, you can’t handle it. You reach the peak of criticism and feel that you or they can’t ever improve from the situation. 

You or the other person might burn out and lose all motivation and passion.

9. You lose close ones due to your temper

As an A-type, you might lose your calm every few minutes. This also comes in the package of being a perfectionist. The smallest mistakes tick you off. You might be an extremely strict boss or your team members might hate to coordinate with you.

You feel perfectionism, time management, and winning are basic skills. If people can’t maintain that much, they are as good as done. Your thinking style makes you lose your cool all the time. You get in conflicts due to this.

A word from ThePleasantPersonality

As per a thorough analysis of your personality, you have many things to be proud of… and many to be aware and careful of. Knowing the cons can be actually great because you can try to prevent or deal with them better.

It’ll also help you know exactly what you need in your personal and professional life. So, don’t overthink the pros and cons and start finding ways to improve the pros and dampen the cons.

Having a personality type doesn’t make it impossible to change yourself for the better. So, believe in yourself and do what’s needed.

Article Sources

1. https://www.insider.com/guides/health/mental-health/type-a-personality
2. https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-a-type-a-personality
3. https://www.betterup.com/blog/type-a-personality