I'm a Sagittarius and happy to be one. Along with being the zodiac's luckiest sign (thanks, Jupiter!), I tend to be happy and easygoing, and I have a huge sense of curiosity and adventure. But that doesn't mean I'm without my faults. Like all other Sagittarians, I have some challenging traits that I'm always working to overcome.
If you have a Sagittarius sun like me, you may see yourself in some of these traits. Because every sign of the zodiac, from Aries to Pisces, has parts of their personality that could stand a little smoothing. These are my Sagittarius-driven rough edges.
I Can Be Hot Tempered
Like many of my Sag counterparts, I'm super easygoing until I'm not. It takes a lot to get me riled up, but when it happens, people have been known to come up against what my husband jokingly refers to as the "wall of Karen." If all someone has ever met is my easygoing self, then when I do get mad, it can be a little surprising.
My temper flares, and the words and anger come quickly — which is a pretty common fire sign trait. Fortunately, that temper goes away as quickly as it rises, and I'm back to myself again. As I've matured, my temper may still flare, but I've found healthier ways to express and release it so I don't leave behind the smoldering ruins of all my relationships. I haven't yelled at anyone in years. When I do have one of my increasingly rare flares of anger, I remove myself from the situation and get it out at the gym or in my journal, instead.
Commitment Is a Challenge
I've always struggled with committing to things because something more interesting and exciting could be just around the corner. This has manifested in many aspects of my life, from jobs to relationships. I've managed to overcome it to some extent because I found a job that has a ton of variety, so I always feel like I'm doing new and surprising things. And I married a man who has as big of a sense of wanderlust and adventure as I do (shockingly, he's a Scorpio), so I have a partner who shares my need for fun and variety.
But it still appears in my life in other ways. For instance, the massage clinic I've gone to monthly for years offers a membership where you agree to a certain massage package and get a discount. I totally get that this would be a good thing, but I can't bring myself to buy the membership just in case (just in case what, I have no idea).
I'm an Agent of Chaos
I can be pretty chaotic because I crave change and novelty. When I was a kid, I used to ask my folks regularly if we could move to a new house. They always looked at me like I was nuts. My early 20s and into my 30s were full of moves — I lived in different places, worked different jobs, and had a new interest every couple of days.
It took until I was almost 40 to settle down in one place. I've lived in the same house for 20+ years (and I still want to move all the time), but I've redecorated it a lot. My long-suffering husband has learned that "let's put a new mirror in the bathroom" or "let's look at new couches" actually means "let's redecorate the whole house." I've also worked for the same company since 2009, but, as I mentioned, there's a ton of variety, and my role has changed a lot.
I Can Be Excessively Blunt
This is another thing I've somewhat tempered with age and maturity, but not nearly as much as I'd like. If it's in my head, it's out of my mouth before I even realize I've said it. My friends politely say I'm "direct." I suspect I hurt people's feelings without intending to, but I'm working on it. I am better now at thinking before I speak, but not always. It's a process, and every day I remind myself to carefully consider my words before they make their way out of my mouth.
I'm Socially Awkward
I'm a rare introverted Sagittarius. Professionally and with my friends, I come across as outgoing. But in social situations, I often feel awkward and shy. Part of it has to do with my bluntness. Because I don't always trust myself not to have a direct brain-to-mouth pipeline, it can make social conversation difficult for me. And because my brain flashes so quickly with ideas that I'll forget instantly, I often blurt things out, even when someone else is talking. It's hard to get out of my own head. To cope, I prioritize listening skills and try to quiet my mind in conversation. I truly do care what other people have to say, and I'm always listening, but my brain often moves so quickly that I struggle to know when it's my turn to talk.
I'm Clumsy
The network of bruises on my body can attest to this. I have slammed body parts I don't want to even name in cupboard doors. I'll trip over everything and nothing. I have no sense of proprioception — no idea where my body is in space. This, like many of my other Sagittarius challenging traits, probably comes from always living in my head. I manage it by cultivating presence and being mindful — paying attention to sensory things as I move through life. It helps.
I'm Absent-Minded
I'm always off in the clouds, thinking about cool stuff, planning adventures, and wondering about things I want to learn. Which means I'm not always in the here and now. And this can lead to me not always really being aware of what I'm doing. I frequently discover that I'm wearing clothes backward or inside out. I wander out of the bathroom, leaving the water running in the sink. I drive past my freeway exit because I'm caught up in thinking about something else. I forget what I'm talking about mid-sentence.
I lose things a lot. I'm not the most organized human. But I've developed some coping mechanisms that help, including using a ton of organizational tools to keep me on track and slightly less chaotic.
Mindfulness helps here, too, as does a regular meditation practice. I've found that I just need to focus on the one thing I'm doing, and I set aside time each day to spend thinking about all of the amazing things I want to think about. So if I catch my mind wandering mid-task, I can bring my attention back to what I'm doing, knowing that I'll have time to think about all that cool stuff later.
I also always have something with me to note an idea when it flashes in my head so I don't forget it and can return to it later. Sometimes, it's a voice memo app. Sometimes it's a notebook. Sometimes it's a Word doc on my computer. Knowing that I can return to all those things that interest me later helps me to return my focus to what I'm doing now.
It's a Process
Nobody's perfect — and certainly not me. I like to joke that I'm a beautiful mess. We all have traits that are part of the zodiac imprint we're born with, and they represent the benefits and challenges that will be present with us throughout our lives. I try not to beat myself up over these challenging traits. Instead, I've worked on being aware of when they arise and coming up with ways to temper them and have them work to my advantage instead of against me.
