Last week the spring semester started…
I do not have time to do anything other than…
This is the price of having ambitions…
This is the price of having ambitions?
I am finding my limits. I like to be pressured, but not having time to study is stressful…
Well, today I am going to finish up those tests and tie up anything that needs to be resolved from the last two weeks of posts.
First, this week I listened to Modern Wisdom #300. This episode is very relevant to the “introspection/ self-analysis” topic, so I will share a few quotes that I found interesting from that episode:
“Why are you here? Like, what’s the reason that you are here? I’ve done it for businesses… to the new entrepreneurs that are listening that have sat down and said ‘so alright, lets talk about the brand values that we’ve got,’ while the people sat around the table haven’t got their own values organized” (Williamson #300 – 15:00).
“Does this reflect who I am and what is important to me? Because so much of what we do in a given day is habitual […] we continue to do these behaviors because we have always done them, they’re so well ingrained. And, so much of the time those things are discordant with what we actually want to achieve or who we want to be, so if we do not address that, we kind of remain on that same course, just through inertia […] So when we get to these various inflection points or forks in the road where we have to actually make a conscious decision, we have to fall back on these things, fall back on our identity and our values to make those decisions to ensure that they are in harmony with what is actually meaningful to us. Because so many of us are just driven by tradition or convention or what we are expected to do or what we are told is important to us” (Williamson #300 – 20:00).
“Look at how many people take personality tests…” (Williamson #300 – 20:50).
“Think about how much life opens up to you when you have that attitude and that mindset and that confidence” (Williamson #300 – 26:15).
“When we do our self-evaluation … self-evaluation should be concerned with only two things: your own values and the goals that you have set for yourself, based on your own values. (Williamson #300 – 50:00).
I liked this definition because I think it helps to more clearly understand intrinsic value:
“What is an intrinsic value?
An intrinsic value is something you value for its own sake.
Put another way, an intrinsic value is something you would still value even if you got absolutely nothing else from it” (Take This Test to Find…).
I am going crazy with the limitations that I have on time this week, so let’s get into the meat!
I am going to list my results from the four tests I have taken up to this point:
Personality:
CEO
Openness – 4/5
Conscientious – 4/5
Extroversion – 3/5
Agreeableness – 1/5
Neuroticism – 2/5
Jungian Type – ENTJ
Enneagram – TYPE 5
Intrinsic Values:
1. That I protect my friends and family
2. That I have children
3. That I maintain self-control and don’t give in to harmful temptation
4. That I maintain hope even in difficult times
5. That I am not wasteful (e.g. with food, time or opportunities)
6. That beautiful things continue to come into existence (e.g. art or music)
7. That I maintain my dignity
Guiding Principles:
1. Family is the most important thing.
2. Hold true to myself even in the face of pressure.
3. Focus on the future not the present.
4. Stand up for what I believe in.
5. My children always come first.
6. Leave the universe in a better condition than I found it.
7. Life is precious.
8. When I can do something good at little cost to myself, do it.
9. Respond thoughtfully, don’t react automatically.
10. Apologize when I’ve done something wrong.
11. Seek to understand others rather than passing shallow judgement.
12. Invest in quality relationships.
13. Strive to be fully present and authentic.
Brainstormed situations where this principle might apply:
University applications
Friendships
With Parents
When talking to my coworkers
When asking myself about the person I am
You identified that these situations have a common feature: Relationships
14. Aim to be flexible, playful, curious and kind.
15. Don’t put off until tomorrow what I can do today.
16. Be open-minded and accepting of other viewpoints.
17. Always look at all available alternatives when making a life choice.
18. Admit when I don’t know something.
19. Keep my body and mind in shape.
20. Enjoy nature and appreciate beauty.
21. Don’t accumulate a lot of unnecessary material items.
22. Don’t worry about what other people think about me.
23. Stay positive.
24. Take responsibility for myself.
25. Avoid unnecessary stress.
Brainstormed situations where this principle might apply:
Being rushed at work
Having too many homework assignments
Not having time in the day to apply my routine
Not having anyone to talk to
Dividing my mind into too many tasks
Not getting enough sleep
You identified that these situations have a common feature: Time/Scheduling
26. Seek truth
27. Do not give yourself excuses
28. Never compromise on the routines that you value
Pleasure:
1.Competition or winning
2.The feeling of loving or being loved
3.Helping other people
4.Taste
5.Laughing or enjoying humor
First, I will start off by saying that this was mostly just a curious exploration, but it is also a marker in time that represents me… or my understanding of myself. I can retake these tests in the future, under different circumstances, and see if my results remain the same or have changed.
I liked the correlations of my intrinsic value categories and conservatism/liberalism. I am learning to like politics, so I might reintroduce this in a later post.
At the end of the results is a “World Values Survey” comparison. I can see that I care more about survival Values and Secular-Rational Values. My intrinsic values were most related to people in Bulgaria. I am noticing other levels or correlations to my ancestry here.
I did not organize these lists to be based on priority. My list of guiding principles is long and very disorganized.
I could write a whole blog post on each specific result, but I will not continue this series of blog post any time soon. However, If I take too long to reflect on these results, they might not accurately reflect the person I am anymore.
Regardless, I am glad that I did this because although it is very basic conceptually, I think having values written out can lend itself as a very useful resource. I could have told you that I valued friends and family, but I could not have told you that it was at or near the top of my list. I can see where I am right now, even if these results are not entirely accurate, I can confirm that they are more truth than lies.
Also, the pleasure test is super simple, but it has given me some ideas for how I can better relax… relaxing has been difficult for me lately.
This was fun. I want to get to more, but I will save it for another day… I will just add my related ideas in the weeks that follow. While I do not feel like I accomplished what I set out to achieve in these posts, it is time to take a break from introspection. I have something to ruminate on, and when I am ready… and have more time to commit, I will return!
Thank you for being who you are. I expect to see you and what you value here again next week!
This has been Tristan, it always will be Tristan. Coming to you from HQ. Bye bye!
Citation
“Take This Test to Find out What Your Most Important Values Are!” Page Redirection, programs.clearerthinking.org/intrinsic_values_test.html?_gl=1%2Av5xndx%2A_ga%2AMTAzMzI2NTA3My4xNzA0MjkwMzk2%2A_ga_58RPQ2D860%2AMTcwNDY3NTU5MS41LjEuMTcwNDY3NTc2NC41Ny4wLjA. Accessed 21 Jan. 2024.
“Ultimate Personality Test: Unveil Your Type.” Page Redirection, programs.clearerthinking.org/personality.html?_gl=1%2A1syc46v%2A_ga%2AMTAzMzI2NTA3My4xNzA0MjkwMzk2%2A_ga_58RPQ2D860%2AMTcwNDY3NTU5MS41LjEuMTcwNDY3NTczNC4xNS4wLjA. Accessed 21 Jan. 2024.
“Uncover Your Guiding Principles.” Page Redirection, programs.clearerthinking.org/uncover_your_guiding_principles.html?_gl=1%2A8ukovp%2A_ga%2AMTAzMzI2NTA3My4xNzA0MjkwMzk2%2A_ga_58RPQ2D860%2AMTcwNDY3NTU5MS41LjEuMTcwNDY3NjQ2OC42MC4wLjA. Accessed 21 Jan. 2024.
Williamson, Chris, host. “#300 – Greg Everett – How To Truly Build Toughness” Modern Wisdom, Spotify, Mar. 2023, https://open.spotify.com/episode/3rgIOJdMo0E8rDaGAzRYiq?si=31ee83c548d0478d. Accessed 20 Jan. 2024.
“Your Greatest Sources of Pleasure.” Page Redirection, programs.clearerthinking.org/sources_of_pleasure.html?_gl=1%2A7fw50p%2A_ga%2AMTAzMzI2NTA3My4xNzA0MjkwMzk2%2A_ga_58RPQ2D860%2AMTcwNDY3NTU5MS41LjEuMTcwNDY3NTYxNC4zNy4wLjA. Accessed 7 Jan. 2024.