Alpha and Betas in Personal Relationships

So one of the things that I have been thinking about lately is this whole issue of Alpha and Beta people, in particular, relationships between such people. Basically some have said that any Alpha person should avoid marrying another Alpha person because doing so will mean the personalities will clash and the relationship just won't work. Alphas are usually defined as those who are very ambitious, goal-oriented, driven, etc...while Betas are the more laid-back types.

According to the naysayers, an Alpha woman needs a Beta man, and an Alpha man should only seek a Beta woman.

But I am not so sure. I think it depends on a few things. For example, how does one define an Alpha person versus a Beta? For example, on paper, I am an Alpha. I work hard, am very ambitious, am very goal-oriented and driven, etc...however in other ways, I am a Beta. I am not prone to say complain about bad customer service in the way many others are, or be assertive in the way many others are.

On the other hand, there are those who are Alphas in that they will complain over say bad customer service and who are assertive, but are not goal-oriented or very driven or ambitious.

I think the definitions of Alpha and Beta are a bit over-simplified and that people can have qualities of both, although they may lean more to one way than the other. In terms of what kind of partner is appropriate, I think it just depends on the people.

One could have two Alphas, say two people very goal-oriented and driven, but one may be very Alpha and the other have some Beta characteristics. Or one could have two total Alphas together, but one is more Alpha than the other.

For example:

1) Hard-charging male corporate executive-type, with wife who is also an executive, but wife is more Beta and not as assertive as the man

2) Hard-charging male corporate executive-type along with hard-charging female type, but in this instance, the woman, while dominant in her work, wants a man who is dominant as well, and the man, while dominant, doesn't want a submissive wife, he wants a wife who is his equal.

According to the naysayers, Example #2 should not work, but I think it could. One other thing to keep in mind is Beta does not mean inferior. The hard-charging ultra-dominant male executive type can have a Beta wife, that doesn't mean she is lacking in intelligence or bravery or anything (i.e. a Beta wife is not a Stepford wife).

This can also be reversed too, with wifey the Alpha and husband the Beta, but this is rarer. In the end, I think it just depends on each person. For some couples, both people being a total Alpha could result in disaster, whereas for others, it could work fine.