There are a lot of ways we, lay people or scientists, talk about personality, and with good reason. Understanding the dimensions of personality as well as its origins helps us understand each other and make predictions about future behaviors. That is valuable!
Researchers have studied personality for decades, finding ways to measure it, and sharing those measures with the world for a variety of helpful uses. Many employers have been, for decades, using the results of those measurements to determine who to hire or not hire, who to assign to leadership roles, or to determine the best position for a candidate or employee. Holland, a researcher who looked at the relationship between personality and career choice, developed a measure that is often used in junior high and high school settings to help youth decide what types of careers for which they might be best suited. Holland's research found that we are much more likely to be satisfied in our career, as well as successful, if the career suits our personality. For instance, if you are an introvert, it is likely you won't find sales or public speaking to be your first choice for careers. A creative person isn't likely to find great joy in a career in a rule-governed check-the-box sort of position like government regulation.
Other researchers have looked at personality types and relationships. It is probably not a surprise that, while the old adage 'opposites attract' sometimes does seem to apply, more often than not, personality similarities, or at a minimum, value similarities are a greater predictor of relationship success. You get the picture. Understanding our personality is incredibly helpful!
There are, as I mentioned earlier, several theories or measures of personality, and one I will focus on today is the autotelic personality. A few posts ago, I wrote about the benefits of finding flow in your life, and the research by Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi that has helped us understand so much about flow experiences. Along with that, Dr. Csikszentmihalyi and others have investigated why some people are more likely than others to experience flow more often, and more easily. From that, came the research on the autotelic personality. In short, the person who has a autotelic personality is more likely to experience flow more often, and to get into a flow state more easily than people who do not have an autotelic personality. So, what is this personality all about, you ask? Well, let's dive in... Be ready to dust off some of the previous posts in this blog series, as a bunch of ideas are about to come together! I am so excited! Here we go...
First, one of the overarching signals of a person with an autotelic personality is their ability to value hobbies or activities that require challenging practice for mastery, while also appreciating the rewards that come from good work and flow experiences because of the hard work. They typically prefer challenge and action over passive or easy activities. The person with an autotelic personality often appears as calm yet energetic, fierce yet patient, adventurous yet cautious. This person enjoys working hard to improve their skills, doesn't shy away from a challenging opportunity (approach motivation), feels comfortable with failure along the way to mastery, and embarks on challenges mostly for the satisfaction of knowing they worked hard at something (intrinsic motivation). They are curious about new activities, new knowledge, new challenges, and they are willing to persist through challenges or obstacles in order to achieve new skills or growth.
The person with an autotelic personality is able to focus their attention on the task at hand, and while they are working hard to build mastery or meet a goal, they don't focus solely on the end result, but get engrossed in the experience in the 'now'. They enjoy the challenge in the moment. They also don't seem to be self-conscious while working through this challenge- they aren't worried about what others think about their endeavor. They just persist, and enjoy themselves in the process.
Sounds great, doesn't it? People with autotelic personalities tend to experience flow easier and more often, and all of the benefits that come from it. They also tend to experience greater well-being, sense of purpose, and a connection to other people who share their personality traits or hobbies. I, for instance, love trail running, and it is where I experience a lot of flow. Now, before I moved to Georgia and before COVID-19, I lived in Southern California where I knew a lot of people who were (are) also trail runners, so I felt like I was part of a community of autotelic trail runners. It was great! You, too, can find that sort of connection with others, and the benefits that come with it - challenge, friendly competition and support, resources for advice or encouragement, and mutual pleasure.
So, if you have read to this point and have concluded that you do not fit the description for the autotelic personality, don't fret. While personality is largely inherited, it is also malleable to some degree. So, you can teach yourself to be more autotelic, even during a pandemic. It begins by looking at some of the major tendencies of the person who already demonstrates an autotelic personality: persistence, intrinsic motivation, approach motivation, and curiosity.
Intrinsic motivation: doing something just for the sake of doing it, not for the accolades or external rewards that might come from it. The joy of doing, if you will. Embracing the present moment in the experience. Find something you enjoy doing, and do it!
Resilience and approach motivation: Recognize that doing things that are challenging can be fun, and are the necessary route to improvement. Failure is a natural part of attempting difficult tasks, and it is okay to fail, as long as you don't just give up afterward. Get up, think about what you need to do differently, and try again. Repeat. None of us could walk very well when we first started trying it, but most of us are pretty good at it now! Embrace challenge!
Curiosity: Be open to trying new things, or new strategies for old ones. It is part of embracing a willingness to fail while trying new, challenging things.
Persistence: Be ready and willing to persist when things are difficult. Having a bad day in your activity? Keep trying. Be willing to make adjustments in your life to support your desire to persist in this challenge. Need more sleep? Need to say no to that cocktail on Friday night, so you can be ready to tackle a challenge Saturday morning? Do it! Your persistence toward a goal will strengthen as you recognize progress, and that progress will fuel your desire and commitment!
Some research has suggested that spending time in nature fuels an autotelic personality. I cannot say I am unhappy about that, as I study the role of nature in well-being! I love being outside, and all the emotional and physical benefits it supports!
I hope that you have learned some valuable information in this post, but before I wrap it up, I want to point something out. Living in a pandemic, and civil unrest, is hard. Thinking about developing an autotelic personality may be the last thing on your mind as you are worried about your safety, your security, and your health. I get that. I don't want to be flippant about the incredibly difficult times we are living in at the moment. I am sharing the autotelic personality with you because I hope it will help you develop or strengthen the skills you need to be resilient during a pandemic. To provide you with some resources to get you through this shit show. I am ready to get beyond the 2020 shit show and get back to living in a way that somehow resembles pre-pandemic life, although I don't think that will be soon, and I think things will never be exactly as they were. I also think that is a damn good thing. So, I hope you see the importance in thinking about, and living, like an autotelic. It's about living through the pandemic and getting some joy in it somewhere, until we can make our world an even better place after this is over.
Until then- or at least until Monday-
Be well, stay safe, and take care.
A novel procedure for developing an autotelic personality
The ideal for any scientist with a great idea is to be able to explain it in a minute, and to confirm or falsify it as quickly. The world record for this arguably goes to the English philosopher Samuel Johnson, who rejected Archbishop Berkeley’s argument that material things only exist in one’s mind by striking his foot against a large stone while proclaiming, “I refute it thusly!”
Here is a similarly novel and useful idea that can be confirmed or refuted with a proverbial swift kick, and can also be easily explained through affective neuroscience (links below).
Basic Facts:
Endogenous opioids are induced when we eat, drink, have sex, and relax. Thei…