How to Be a Rebel

Every single day, all day long, each of us faces outer expectations and inner expectations — and we must decide, “Should I meet this expectation or resist it?” In a nutshell, my Four Tendencies framework distinguishes how people tend to respond to these expectations: outer expectations (a deadline, a “request” from a sweetheart) and inner expectations (write a novel in your free time, keep a New Year’s resolution). Your response to expectations may sound slightly obscure, but it turns out to be very, very important. Upholders respond readily to outer and inner expectations Questioners question all expectations; they’ll meet an expectation if they think it makes sense–essentially, they make all expectations into inner expectations Obligers meet outer expectations, but struggle to meet expectations they impose on themselves Rebels resist all expectations, outer and inner alike When researching the tendencies, I was most surprised by what I learned about Rebels, who are the opposite of me, an Upholder. For Rebels, the answer is always clear: Rebels resist all expectations, outer and inner alike. They want to do what they want to do, in their own way and in their own time, and if someone asks or tells them to do something, they resist. They don’t even want to tell themselves what to do — they resist expectations imposed from within as vigorously as those imposed from without. Rebels want to act from a sense of choice,...
Source: TIME.com: Top Science and Health Stories - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Books Life Source Type: news