As 2023 gets underway, I came a across an article that interested me: 10 Healthy Traits That Are Key To Your Psychological Well-Being.
The 10 Traits are based on the Big 5 Personality Test. The Big 5 Traits are:
- Conscientiousness – a measure of a person’s aptitude to ‘doing the right thing’
- Agreeableness – how well people get along with others
- Openness to Experience – creativity, innovation, the ability to ride out turmoil
- Extraversion – how easily individuals mix and interact with others
- Neuroticism – emotional stability
I am a sucker for personality tests and am still a huge fan of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. My type is ENTP in case anyone is interested.
But, back to the 10 traits of a psychologically healthy person:
- Openness to Feelings – trust our emotions and are open to the feelings of others
- Straightforwardness – cultivate authentic and genuine relationships
- Warmth – generate intimacy and connections
- Positive Emotions – freedom to enjoy positive emotions
- Low Levels of Angry Hostility – anger and hostility are detrimental to relationships
- Low Anxiety – with too much anxiety we limit ourselves and avoid situations
- Low Depression – flexible thinking and can see shades of gray, not just black and white thinking
- Low Vulnerability to Stress – face life with resilience
- Low Impulsivity – grounded and in control of our actions and reactions
- Competence – feeling competent is feeling like I am OK
I’m going to spend a few minutes on ‘Competence’. For me (and my NT personality), feeling competent is highly desirable!
My competence was put to the test recently.
I must admit, I am not particularly detail oriented and neither is my husband. That lack of attention to detail has come back to bite me more than once. When I was working, I was fortunate because I was often surrounded by people who focused on the details. In retirement, not so much😊.
Note: ENTP women are not really good with details.
My husband and I both use several tricks to track details, but a slip can and does happen.
As is true for many of you, November was open enrollment for making health insurance changes. We decided to add dental coverage which required several (IMO, unnecessary) forms. I filled them out and sent them in WITHOUT MAKING A COPY ☹, a rookie mistake! When I recently checked our status, I had been enrolled in dental insurance, but my husband was not. I had no copy to confirm I had enrolled him or to file an appeal if necessary. Fortunately, a friend made a connection and it got sorted quickly.
I know I can’t always count on a friend to bail me out so I need to keep working on my ‘attention to detail toolkit’.
I have rare moments of competence
Peter V. Brent, The Desert Spear
Allene
Travels with Allene 