188188 marieclaire.com.auPHOTOGRAPHY BY KKGAS/STOCKSY.COM. TEXT BY HANNA MARTON.Four personality types drive our health choices, says social
researcher Gretchen Rubin. Here’s why you do what you dopersonality
?Want more? The
book The Four
Tendencies by
Gretchen Rubin
(Hachette)
is out now.THE
UPHOLDER
Readily responds
to outer and inner
expectations equally.
Upholders meet
work deadlines, keep
resolutions and hate
letting people down –
including themselves.
They take action and
easily form habits,
without reminders or
penalties. Upholders
are basically any
Reese Witherspoon
character in any
of her films.
If this is you: ask
more questions.
You’re likely to follow
rules but, if a doctor’s
or PT’s orders don’t
sound right, make sure
you speak up.THE REBEL
Resists both outer and
inner expectations.
They do things in their
own way, in their own
time, and don’t usually
bind themselves to
habits. That said,
Rebels love to defy
others’ expectations.
One Rebel said to
Rubin, “Ever since
someone told me I
could get mugged
in this park, I’ve been
going for more walks
there. Not the best
example of a healthy
habit, but it works.”
If this is you: focus
on being “you”. Rebels
have a strong sense of
identity, so think of a
good habit (exercising,
flossing) not as a
shackle but as a way to
be your authentic self.THE
OBLIGER
Responds to outer
expectations, but
struggles to meet
inner expectations.
More than 40 per cent
of those surveyed
by Rubin were
Obligers. They keep
promises and meet
deadlines, making
great teammates.
But Obligers
almost always fail
to keep promises
to themselves (to
lose weight, start a
company, or meditate
daily, for example).
If this is you: make
yourself accountable
to others. Want to quit
sugar? Announce it
on Facebook. Need
to exercise? Join a
running group.THE
QUESTIONER
Questions and will
meet an expectation
only if they think
it’s justified. They
gather and weigh up
facts. They object
to anything that
they consider to be
arbitrary, ill reasoned
or inefficient. The
Questioner will follow
a dietitian’s plan, for
example, only after
conducting her own
research. Questioners
are, well, exhausting.
If this is you: nix
analysis paralysis
by setting yourself
deadlines for your
decisions. It’ll help you
focus your thoughts
and offer an end point
to your research.E
ver wondered why
you work out daily
yet your friend
calls sales shop-
ping “exercise”? Why your
partner refuses to see GPs
yet you never miss a Pap
smear? Why your colleague
takes on extra work yet
you clock off at 6pm?
It’s not because you’re
perfect; we are all motivated
in different ways. In her
quest to find the secrets to
a happier, healthier and
more productive life, social
researcher Gretchen Rubin
quizzed people on how they
met expectations of two
kinds: outer expectations
placed on us by others, such
as keeping an appointment
with your personal trainer;
and inner expectations,
which we place on ourselves,
such as sticking to our New
Year’s resolutions.
Rubin found that every
person was aligned with
one of Four Tendencies,
depending on how they
met expectations.
To find out where
you fit, take the quiz at
gretchenrubin.com.WHAT’S YOUR HIDDEN
WELLNESS