How do you respond to expectations? Do you fulfill them, or resist them? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Gretchen Rubin developed The Four Tendencies<\/em>, a simple yet powerful personality test based on expectations. The Four Tendencies are the Upholders, Questioners, Obligers, and Rebels. Discovering which tendency you are can help you decide which career is right for you, how to better understand and interact with others, and to discover your personal strengths and weaknesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Continue below to learn more about the four tendencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Gretchen Rubin is a writer interested in human nature and patterns in human behavior, what actions we take and why we take them. Over lunch one day, a friend of hers was complaining that she wanted to keep up her running habit, but she was finding it difficult to maintain. She used to be on the track team in high school, and had no problem running then. But now, as an adult, she couldn\u2019t make herself go running. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Why did this happen? This conversation stuck in Rubin\u2019s head, and the more Rubin thought about it, the more she begin to suspect that a bunch of habits people do or don\u2019t have — being able to run without a coach, or needing a trainer to get anything done at the gym; happily taking responsibility at work, or bucking under authority — came down to a simple \u201cbedrock distinction\u201d that set people apart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n From this conversation, Rubin eventually designed a simple personality test based on one question: how do you respond to expectations?<\/strong> From people\u2019s answers to questions around this subject, she devised the Four Tendencies. The Four Tendencies describe four different personality types based on response to expectations, both internal (the expectations you have for yourself) and external (the expectations other people have for you).<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Expectations are things we act on, or not. An example of an internal expectation would be, \u201cI want to be a famous writer!\u201d or \u201cI need to clean my room.\u201d External expectations would be more like, \u201cMy boss really needs this report by Friday,\u201d or \u201cMy mother wants me to dress more modestly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n So what are the Four Tendencies? There are 4 ways people meet expectations, and this determines their \u201ctendency\u201d:<\/strong> there are Upholders, Questioners, Obligers, and Rebels. The way each tendency generally responds to internal and external expectations is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, how each tendency responds to expectations affects what each tendency needs to take action:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rubin also compares each of the four tendencies to a traffic light color:<\/p>\n\n\n\n From Rubin\u2019s research, the US population roughly breaks down like so along the four tendencies:<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019ll be a quiz to determine your tendency at the end of this chapter, but you can start to think about what type you are with this example question: how do you feel about New Year\u2019s resolutions? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you figure out which of the four tendencies you are, it\u2019s tempting to compare to the other tendencies and try to figure out whether you\u2019d be better off as another one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rest assured — there are no happier or more successful tendencies<\/strong>. Every tendency has strengths and weaknesses. The happiest people are the ones who know their tendency, embrace it, and work with it to achieve the best results.<\/strong> The most miserable people are the ones who can\u2019t identify their own tendency, or think they can change their own or someone else\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Should which of the four tendencies you have determine your career? Not necessarily. Any tendency can thrive in most any career, if they recognize their strengths and weaknesses in that role and adapt accordingly. For instance, people might assume that Rebels would make the best artists — but an Upholder might actually perform better, fulfilling their own expectations with their art, but becoming successful because they can navigate other people\u2019s expectations for them. <\/p>\n Life is full of expectations, ones we have for ourselves and ones other people have for us. How do <\/strong>you<\/strong><\/em> respond to expectations?<\/strong> Do you fulfill them, or resist them? When, and why? <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gretchen Rubin has developed The Four Tendencies, a simple yet powerful personality test based on expectations. What are the Four Tendencies? What does it mean to be each tendency? We’ll explain it all here.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":423,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,12,43],"tags":[27],"class_list":["post-418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology","category-relationships","category-self-improvement","tag-the-four-tendencies","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Rubin Created the Four Tendencies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat Are the Four Tendencies?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What to Do With the Four Tendencies<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Tendencies and Careers<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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