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

Hardcover, 2017

Status

Available

Publication

Harmony (2017), 272 pages

Description

Business. Psychology. Self-Improvement. Nonfiction. HTML:In this groundbreaking analysis of personality type, bestselling author of Better Than Before and The Happiness Project Gretchen Rubin reveals the one simple question that will transform what you do at home, at work, and in life.   During her multibook investigation into understanding human nature, Gretchen Rubin realized that by asking the seemingly dry question "How do I respond to expectations?" we gain explosive self-knowledge. She discovered that based on their answer, people fit into Four Tendencies: Upholders, Questioners, Obligers, and Rebels. Our Tendency shapes every aspect of our behavior, so using this framework allows us to make better decisions, meet deadlines, suffer less stress, and engage more effectively. More than 600,000 people have taken her online quiz, and managers, doctors, teachers, spouses, and parents already use the framework to help people make significant, lasting change.  The Four Tendencies hold practical answers if you've ever thought: â?¢ People can rely on me, but I can't rely on myself. â?¢ How can I help someone to follow good advice? â?¢ People say I ask too many questions. â?¢ How do I work with someone who refuses to do what I askâ??or who keeps telling me what to do? With sharp insight, compelling research, and hilarious examples, The Four Tendencies will help you get happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative. It's far easier to succeed when you know what… (more)

Rating

½ (79 ratings; 3.8)

User reviews

LibraryThing member EvaW
Interesting seeing it all put together, but as I follow Gretchen on blog, facebook etc., not much was new to me. I find her first 3 books even more useful. One thing I really want to do is exercise more regularly, and I no longer live near aerobics classes which used to be my exercise. As an
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Obliger I need 'accountability' ... but I can't figure out how to achieve that ...
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LibraryThing member FKarr
Useful. Don't necessarily agree that this is all innate, in-born, immutable. Useful in the same way that Chapman's Love Language's or Rich Dad, Poor Dad is. Helped me understand why I really like too very different jobs and what I find frustrating about my current job. Shed insight into why I was
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once given a shark tooth as a gift.
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LibraryThing member libraryhead
Interesting, but not much helpful advice for a Rebel like me. Hard to avoid the implication that Upholders are the "best" type and the rest of us are much more limited.
LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
Yes it's a bit simplistic and reductive but it also is quite logical. Some people are more motivated by outer accountability and some by inner and some are a mix and others reject your reality.

I found it somewhat fascinating and the biggest thing to come out of it is that people think differently
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and work differently and you have to accomodate that in work and home.

And for the record I'm an Oblige
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LibraryThing member Gingermama
If you enjoy learning about various types of personality profiling (MBTI, etc.), then you'll find this book to be a unique offering. Rubin does a good job in explaining the theory behind the four tendencies, and you'll have fun seeing how you and your family and friends' types interact.
LibraryThing member EricaSJ
Originally, I only gave the book three stars. But parts of it have stuck with me, and it turned out to be a life-changer. So I've revised my rating.

The life changing part was realizing how much I need external accountability. (In Rubin's system, I'm apparently an Obliger.)

It's always been hard to
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make myself exercise. However, I've learned that I will get myself to scheduled classes. I'm currently going to three classes a week. I'm also going to regularly scheduled weight loss support meetings. It's a big help knowing that needing this kind of external accountability is pretty common. I feel like I don't need to be embarrassed about it anymore.

Thanks, Gretchen!
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LibraryThing member teckelvik
This is not a book to sit and read, but after looking through it, it is one that I will keep on my shelf. It is packed with information.

Rubin has developed a personality profile based on how people respond to inner and outer expectations, and how to most effectively interact with all the different
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types. She goes into how people can misunderstand themselves and others, how different tendencies interact, and how we can harness our own and others' tendencies to best effect.

Recommended.
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LibraryThing member KimMeyer
I've read Gretchen's other books and I listen to her podcast, so I think I'm too familiar with the four tendencies to get a lot out of this book. Still worth the read though.
LibraryThing member obtusata
I'm usually quite annoyed by self help books because they're clearly written by people who are good at following to-do lists and for people who are clearly good at doing what their told. But, this book is very different and helped to explain so, so much about myself and my life. It turns out I'm a
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"rebel" - I do things my way, I never follow through on resolutions, and push back when people try to push me in whatever direction they want me to go in. I think I always knew this (I've known that I tend to push back since my late teens), but I didn't understand to nuances of my personality and often assumed that I was just too lazy to follow through on to-do lists or resolutions. But, Rubin's book put a lot of things in perspective, both about myself and other people in my life.

This is a relatively quick and easy read. It's also very interesting and insightful. I kind of want to tell everyone that they need to read it, but I'm not the boss of you ;)
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LibraryThing member amcheri
Interesting. I’ve done several personality type quizzes and, while much of the info I already knew, there were a few new insights.
LibraryThing member hystrybuf
I don't think this book is completely without value, however, I don't see it as a panacea for solving important behavioral challenges some people face.

Rubin does not include any scientific data or explain fully the sample sizes she used to determine what these four tendencies are. Further, she does
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not have degrees in the behavioral sciences or counseling, nor does she have extensive experience in dealing with the broad range of human behavioral issues - some of which may fall into one of these "four tendencies," but certainly not all.

Human behavior is complex, impacted by factors that go far beyond a certain "tendency." Why does a person consistently place the needs of others before themselves? Are there issues of religious coercion or religious abuse that cause it? Are their issues of self-esteem, an inability to set boundaries based on past abuse or trauma? Are they just fueled by a sense of philanthropy? And those that fall under the "rebel" tendency - is there some other far more complex mental health issue that has impacted their personality?

If there is any merit to Rubin's book is that she infers that we all approach people from their own point of view, not our view of them - seeking to understand how they think, feel, and view the world. However, I believe that the human experience is far too complex to try and pigeon-hole the globe into four amorphous and ill-conceived categories.

I'm not a fan easy answers to difficult questions - and that is what Rubin's book appears to be.
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Language

Original language

English

Physical description

8.51 inches

ISBN

1524760919 / 9781524760915
Page: 0.3779 seconds