How to Avoid Being Indoctrinated | The Better Than Rich Show Ep. 6

How to Avoid Being Indoctrinated

Understanding the concept of personality is important when trying to understand yourself as well as other people. Different personality types have different strengths and weaknesses. There is the Big Five personality model, which helps explain the concept in a digestible way. The traits individually work together to explain a much bigger picture which can show a variety of trends between groups like men and women and people of different professions.

Agreeableness

Here at Better Than Rich, we define agreeableness as a person’s willingness to keep the peace. If you’re higher on the spectrum you are more likely to bite your tongue and avoid conflict. While people who are lower in agreeableness are more outspoken and confrontational. People low in agreeableness enjoy stirring the pot.

How much do you like to be agreeable? How much do you like to disagree?

It’s important to know this information because people are placed differently on the agreeableness spectrum. Where someone is placed can inform you on how well they work with others, if they take directions well, and a multitude of handy information. For example, where a person falls within the agreeableness spectrum can foreshadow what their values are. A person who is higher on the agreeableness scale is going to value compassion, graciousness, and understanding; their values are more so based on pathos or emotion. On the other hand, people who are placed lower on the spectrum value the exact opposite, and their values are based on logos or logic.

No matter where you are on the spectrum it’s important to be watchful of this because it can be an extreme strength or an extreme liability. You want to be agreeable so that you can work better with people and organizations, but you also want to make sure you aren’t getting taken advantage of. 

No one likes being walked over. 

The best way to avoid being taken advantage of while still staying agreeable is to create boundaries in your relationships and with yourself. Knowing beforehand how willing you are to help or when it’s okay to stir the pot is important to keep a healthy balance. 

Conscientiousness

Conscientiousness is your drive. How hard are you willing to work? How much time are you willing to put in? How dedicated are you to your goals?

If you’re high in conscientiousness and you’re not working or being disciplined you feel down, you feel as though you aren’t doing or are enough. On the other side of the spectrum, people with low conscientiousness have no problem taking a day off to lay and bed and eat pizza. If you’re on the high end of the spectrum that would bother you. 

Consciousness is broken up into two different dimensions: industriousness and orderliness.

Industriousness is how task-oriented and disciplined you are. This is the dimension that makes you better at routines and more reliable.

Orderliness explained simply is “How clean are you?” This is the dimension that makes you better at keeping your workplace and home orderly.

Extraversion

Extraversion is how much you enjoy being around people.

Extraversion is also the feeling of being drained or energized by exchanging energy with others.

For example, if you’re an extrovert which is a person high in extraversion then when you aren’t around people you feel drained, lonely, and less vibrant. While on the other side people low in extraversion or introverts gain energy from retreating and being alone. How much alone time do you need?

Neuroticism

Neuroticism is your tendency to be prone to negative emotions. Might sound bad at first but it can also be used as a very useful thing.

People who are higher in Neuroticism tend to be able to feel other people’s emotions better, they can show empathy easier as well. A common name for people who are high in Neuroticism is empaths. These are people who haven’t experienced the same things as others but understand what they are feeling nonetheless. 

Since people higher in Neuroticism do experience negative emotions more frequently they do require more self-care into their schedules because their emotions are much easier. 

If you’re low in neuroticism you’ll find it harder to relate to others and understand another person’s emotions or wants. 

Openness

Openness is your willingness to try new things.

People who are high in openness love the world of ideas, they want to learn new things about culture, art, and are up for learning new things and enjoying new experiences, but these people are better at starting things rather than finishing them. While someone low in openness is selective, focused, and less creative, they also aren’t as likely to try new things but are more likely to finish the things they do start.

If you are high in openness you have to train yourself to pull back a bit and focus because you are leading others. This trait is important to know because it helps explain if you are a creative person who can create things from scratch or a person who is low in openness who is better at improving things that have already been created?

It truly doesn’t matter where you fall on these individual spectrums because every strength is a liability and every liability can also be a strength. The main focus is understanding yourself, understanding why you do things, and then knowing the best way to do things for you. Because the better you understand your personality, the better you’ll be able to apply what you know.