just in time for New Year resolutions - The Four Tendencies book by Gretchen Rubin

[bzar]

The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People's Lives Better, Too) by Gretchen Rubin (2017)
https://www.amazon.com/Four-Tendenci...s=books&sr=1-1

i attended a virtual work-related seminar this past October and one of the instructors recommended the above book. i was able to listen to the audio version free from our library using their Overdrive app on my phone. it's available in pdf and regular hardback too.

i thought it was interesting because the author uses New Year resolutions to illustrate what the "4 tendencies" are with respect to a person's personality, work style, expectations, etc. she starts out with a caveat that this was based on her own observations and a survey she conducted on her blog. she graduated from Yale Law school and clerked for Sandra Day O'Conner. she's written a number of other non-fiction books that were also successful.

it was good food for thought. i took the quiz from the PBS.org website and found out i am a Questioner. all 4 tendencies are: Upholder, Questioner, Obliger and Rebel. by the way, i read the book first, then i took the quiz a few days afterward. i found that in doing the book first, i had some traits of each tendency, and when i took the 13-question quiz, i took my time in answering the questions. you can tell which choice belongs to each tendency, so that's why i took my time and answered honestly. i didn't always choose "the questioner" answer, by the way.

https://www.pbs.org/weta/gretchen-ru...ndencies-quiz/

i thought i'd mention this interesting book now that people are preparing for 2021. and she uses people's attitude toward exercising in many of the examples, including her own!

from her blog, here are the strategies and tips for each of the 4 tendencies on changing a habit:
https://gretchenrubin.com/2017/07/wa...portant-habit/

the book also explains strategies at work, relationships with your spouse, kids, etc. it's a fun read and a good insight to yourself. she reads the audiobook, by the way and is easy to listen to.

[BunnyHop]

I read this book a while ago. I'm apparently a Rebel, which I find kind of tiresome.

Editing to add this quote: "many of the 21 strategies that work well for other Tendencies typically don’t work for Rebels: for instance, Strategies of Scheduling, Accountability, Monitoring, or Rewards."

I find this to be true for me, and quite often very frustrating.

[FirmDancer]

I receive her email(s) & have tried to read her books. As much as I want to, I just don't seem to connect with her.
But thank you for posting this !!

[Vantreesta]

Hmm. Question one stumps me right off the bat. I don't manage to keep my resolutions but I still always make them.

[geojill]

I love Gretchen, this book, and her Happier podcast. The Four Tendencies is a deeper personality dive that stems from her book Better than Before, which I highly recommend. It’s all about habits, and how different tendencies can establish habits in a more effective way because of how they respond to inner and outer expectations. I am a Questioner, and my husband and 21yo daughter are both rebels. It actually helped me understand my daughter a lot as we were always butting heads.

[Sollamyn]

Thanks for the recommendation. I've never heard of this author and will check her out.

Donna

[ChelePA]

Originally Posted by Sollamyn

Thanks for the recommendation. I've never heard of this author and will check her out.

Donna

Awesome podcast too!

[bee]

I read it when it came out and used to listen to the podcast religiously. I should check it out again -- thanks for this reminder. I find that I am an upholder in a lot of areas of my life but in other areas I'm a rebel. Anyone else like that?

[Vantreesta]

Originally Posted by bee

I read it when it came out and used to listen to the podcast religiously. I should check it out again -- thanks for this reminder. I find that I am an upholder in a lot of areas of my life but in other areas I'm a rebel. Anyone else like that?

Most of the questions were too hard for me to answer accurately bc I am not the same in all areas or like the first question had an option of I'm not good at it so I don't do it. I'm not good at following through on resolutions but I always set them anyway. There's no option for that. The quiz came back with me as an Obliger and I really don't feel like I am.

[bzar]

Originally Posted by bee

I read it when it came out and used to listen to the podcast religiously. I should check it out again -- thanks for this reminder. I find that I am an upholder in a lot of areas of my life but in other areas I'm a rebel. Anyone else like that?

i think we have characteristics of all 4, but it's good to take the test to find the general tendency, and answer honestly. you can tell which tendency each choice comes from (since you read the book), but despite that, give it a good thought before answering. you can be a certain tendency and lean towards one of the others, but your main tendency should be the same.

i don't think it would make a huge difference since this is for planning purposes.