Major: Earth, Minor: Fire - Debator

“Those who cannot understand how to put their thoughts on ice should not enter into the heat of debate.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

You’re out for dinner with friends. Someone brings up the latest political showdown in Washington, D.C. Two hours and three bottles of wine later, your glass is raised, declaring victory over the rest of the table. They couldn’t keep up with your line of argument. You have so many rational, sensible ideas! That one person who kept appealing to emotions, even in the face of incontrovertible facts, they annoyed you to no end. What do emotions have to do with the hard facts? Nothing! Walking out of the restaurant into the cool night air, the only smile to be seen was on your face.

“Sensitive subjects” don’t exist in your world. Even if they’re social hand grenades, you run toward them, when everyone else ducks behind a wall. Ideas are just objects to be deconstructed and examined, to you. Unscrewed, banged with a hammer, scrutinized under a microscope. Truth is everything, feelings don’t matter.

While this passion for ideas and knowledge pays off heavily for entrepreneurs, actors, and professors, it doesn’t work well on teams. Restrain that urge to argue every point. Take a moment to think about how you’ll come across, and weigh out whether it’s worth it. Your career and love life will reward the discipline.