Do you have fun on family vacations? Or do you find yourself wishing you'd stayed home and let everyone do their own thing?

Here are some insights into temperament that might help you and yours have a great time this summer.

Guardians like to have all their ducks in a row. They love creating itineraries, budgeting costs, allocating responsibilities, and determining the best routes for speed or sight-seeing. They will be happy if everyone knows their responsibilities and sticks to the plan. They will be unhappy if someone keeps challenging or changing agreed upon plans.

Artisans like to fly by the seat of their pants and go with the flow. They willl be happy if they have lots of options for action, adventure or relaxation. They live in the moment and will be unhappy with rigid schedules or demands on their time and attention.

Idealists like to be with people and make sure that there’s something for everyone to enjoy. They will take everyone’s tastes into account and try to find food, entertainment and relaxation options to accommodate everyone. They will be happy surrounded by people they care about. They strive for harmony and will be unhappy if their companions are unhappy.

Rationals (like me) like to accomplish things on their vacations. We work at everything. On this vacation, I plan to write articles, learn some new origami techniques, and paint pets on rocks with my niece and nephews. I'll be happy if I get to do my own thing inside someone else’s plan.

Generally, Rationals will be happy if there’s time to focus on their own projects – usually reading, writing, and learning. They will be unhappy if people keep trying to draw them into other activities when they want to be focused on their own thing.

Let me know if these tips were useful. Send me an email with your story.

Temperament images courtesy of personalityzone.com

I was going to give you a recipe for home-made falafels, but since I’m on vacation I recommend you pick up a box of Casbah or Fantastic Foods falafel mix at your local grocery store and follow the directions on the box.

They’re easy to make and fun to eat.

As you can see by this picture they are a favourite fast food in Israel. I'll be eating a lot of them when I'm there!