Big Five Personality Test - Conscientiousness

In this talk, I go over conscientiousness, which is one of five personality type traits in the Big Five personality test model. specifically, I go over how people who are high in conscientiousness vs. low in conscientiousness differ in lifestyle, career, and social preferences (as well as people somewhere in the middle of this spectrum). I also go over the pros and cons of being high or low in this trait.

Transcript

Hey,

This is Ish,

And in today's talk,

I want to go over conscientiousness,

Which is one facet of the Big Five personality type test.

And one helpful acronym of memorizing the Big Five traits is OCEAN.

And OCEAN stands for openness,

Which is what I talked about in my previous talk.

Conscientiousness,

Which is what I'm going to talk about right now.

Then extraversion,

Agreeableness,

And neuroticism.

And conscientiousness is defined by the focus that you have towards accomplishing your goals as well as the self-discipline you have,

Which will help you accomplish your goals.

So I'll be talking to you a bit more about some of the advantages of having very high levels of this trait,

As well as low levels of this trait,

And then how varying levels of conscientiousness can affect your lifestyle choices,

Your career choices,

And basically how you live your lifestyle as well.

So let's start off with high conscientiousness and some of the traits associated with this.

So one of the defining traits of someone who is very high in conscientiousness is that they're very organized.

So some time ago,

I was dating a girl who was very high in conscientiousness and actually made her take the Big Five personality type test.

And she scored somewhere in the 90s for conscientiousness,

So clearly very high.

And she had a daily to-do list that she would look over every single day and she would love crossing her tasks off as soon as she completed it.

So she did not wait to complete her task.

She wanted to get to it right away and cross it off.

And she had a to-do list for both her personal life and also her work life as well,

As well as calendars that she would use on a daily basis,

Both for work and her personal life.

So she had a lot of different calendars and every single day she would update new events or remove things around and then she would also color code her calendar as well.

And every single color had a different meaning and different shades of a certain color had a different meaning and purpose and where it goes and she would often review different lists that she would make and different goals.

And she had everything in like a nice little box of compartmentalizing where things would go and what to review.

And she was very organized in that fashion.

In fact,

Her calendar was actually booked out like months in advance.

So she even knows what she was going to do like four or five months from now,

Like,

You know,

Specific days.

So I told her a certain day,

Like in December when it was like June,

She would be able to tell you look in her calendar and say,

Hey,

I'm actually going to be doing this at 4 p.

M.

On that day.

So very detail oriented,

Very precise.

And people who are very high in conscientiousness like they like to stick to schedules and lists and they like to plan things as well.

And it's no surprise that they're also very efficient at work and they are very ambitious as well.

So they have clear goals in mind and they really like to track their progress and see how they're doing and what needs to improve upon so they can reach their goals.

So very ambitious,

Very focused and very efficient as well.

People who are very high in conscientiousness place a very high value on success and achievement and also getting better every day.

And you could also say that they have a live to work mentality because they truly enjoy working and also the stress that comes along with it.

It's like the stress brings them energy in a sense.

So they thrive upon that.

They like to be active and they like to keep going and nothing can stop them.

They're just like a train going one direction and they want to go and accomplish their goals.

Lifestyle wise,

People who are very high in conscientiousness prefer to be in different environments that will help them grow.

And if there is something that does not challenge them,

Then they quickly get restless and they want to move on.

So anything that can help them support them.

So the stereotype of New York City being a very fast paced city in a sense is kind of true because it attracts a lot of people who are very high in conscientiousness.

So you can see people in New York with different briefcases,

They're just running from one meeting to the next.

Even people who are just on the train station or just walking around the park will walk at a much faster speed compared to other places here in America.

So they know what they want to go,

Where they want to go and they'll just go right away.

So they like to be active.

And in dealing with people who are very high in conscientiousness,

You do want to honor their calendar and their time because they like to plan things out.

So if you do cancel on plans,

They do get upset and they can tend to be rigid in that aspect,

Especially if they're very high in conscientiousness,

Unlike people who are very low in conscientiousness where they take the moment as it comes.

So you want to be respectful of their schedule because they do like to keep things very busy.

And they also tend to be a bit cautious in terms of going with the flow.

So because they like to keep everything in extreme good condition,

Including their health and all that as well,

It would be harder to convince someone to go party all night or go on a random spontaneous adventure because they've planned everything out so they can just drop everything and go.

So that's something to keep in mind as you know,

Lifestyle wise.

Now one big advantage of being very high in conscientiousness is that you are very successful.

So people who are high in this quality,

Just they'll find a way to make things work,

Even if they don't have the resources available,

They'll constantly go out there and hustle for it.

And hustle is a good word to describe people who are high in this quality because they just like to hustle and get things done.

And it's no surprise that people who are high in conscientiousness are the ones who make a lot of money.

So their income is proportionate to their conscientiousness levels.

People who are high in conscientiousness typically like to gravitate towards fields like being a lawyer or in advertising or becoming a CEO or business owner.

These are different professions that require high levels of organization,

Focus,

Discipline,

And also duty as well.

So these professions really emphasize and value these qualities.

So two famous examples of people who are really high in conscientiousness would be Gary Vaynerchuk,

Who's a social media influencer.

You can just tell by the way he talks,

He's all about hustle,

You need to work hard every day blah,

Blah,

Blah.

Jocko Willink is another person who's very high in this trait.

You'll notice when you listen to him,

He wakes up at like 4 a.

M.

Every day.

He likes to have a schedule,

Gets things done.

He has a lot on his plate and he's very high in conscientiousness.

And also the late Kobe Bryant as well,

Someone who's very high in conscientiousness.

Now what are the downsides of being very high in this trait?

So far it may seem like it's amazing to be very high in conscientiousness and we should all thrive to be.

But what happens if you're a bit too high in conscientiousness?

Well it's no surprise people who are living this very fast paced lifestyle where they're constantly planning things,

Organizing things,

Working hard,

Pushing themselves in every single level in their life will tend to panic,

Burn out really fast,

Freak out all the time,

And have meltdowns.

So this is something I've noticed personally in people in my life that have high levels.

And just as a personal story,

In my family the members who are on my dad's side are very high in conscientiousness and on my mom's side very low in conscientiousness.

So it's very interesting to see them at like family gatherings or when they come to visit how they live their lifestyles very differently from one another.

But from what I noticed on my dad's side of family,

I've seen different family members freak out or meltdown if they get like a 94 out of 100 on test scores or if they're not doing their absolute best in a certain day,

They'll beat themselves up about it in their work life or whatever it is.

So that happens quite a bit.

They'll have meltdowns,

They'll be extremely stressed out,

They can't talk to anyone because they're just not living up to their very high standards that they've created for themselves.

And there's a lot of perfectionism that occurs when you're very high in conscientiousness,

So that's something to keep in mind.

So the general advice is for people who are very high in this trait is to take some time to smell the roses,

So to speak,

And they do need to slow down,

Appreciate life,

And then they obviously go back to the very busy lifestyle that they're used to,

But they do need that break where they can just let go of everything.

Okay,

So now that we've gone over people who are very high in conscientiousness,

Let's look at the other side and let's look at people who are very low in conscientiousness and how does that impact their lives.

So I can personally say that I can relate to this more because I'm very low in conscientiousness.

And in fact,

I've taken different tests and I've scored like very low.

So in Jordan Peterson's test on Understand Myself,

I scored a zero percentile.

So basically what that means is if you take 100 people in the room,

I'll be dead last in conscientiousness,

So extremely low.

I did take another personality type test for Big Five,

I forget which one it was,

But I scored a five percentile.

So again,

Very,

Very low in conscientiousness.

So some qualities or traits to describe people who are very low in this trait would be they are disorganized.

So again,

The opposite of being very organized is disorganized.

They dislike structure,

They tend to procrastinate.

So rather than get things done right away,

Like someone with very high in conscientiousness,

They tend to take the time,

Push things off,

It's all good,

I'll get to it later,

No worries.

And one of the potential problems is that they tend to lack self motivation because rather than being very self-directed and going after my goals,

It's a little bit less,

There's less focus or emphasis on that.

So there are pros and cons to that as well.

And then they have a mentality of let's work to live.

So let's work and have a job just so it can afford me the opportunities to then live my life.

So it's just work is work,

It just pays me wherever it is,

If it is like a high paying job that is,

And then let me enjoy my life.

Or if they do have a job that they're passionate about,

It may not be enough to pay all the bills,

But they're happy.

They're like,

Okay,

I'm having a good time.

So that's their mentality going into it.

So the overall lifestyle of someone who is very low in conscientiousness is that they're very chill,

Easygoing,

Relaxed.

They aren't stressed out a lot.

They like to take the days as they come and they're very spontaneous.

So they let life just happen and they're along for the ride.

They tend to be very content with less things.

So they don't need that big penthouse or they don't need that job,

That very high paying job or the title attached to their name or anything like that.

They're happy just doing their thing and they're content with less and they can be happy with less things in life.

And when I was younger,

I would go on family vacations.

So I'd go with my dad who is very high in conscientiousness.

I'm sure if he took the test,

He'd be like in the 90s as well for that.

So I'm between zero to five percent,

Five percentile,

So very low.

But it's interesting because when you go to a nice place like Hawaii,

Which has a lot of beaches and it's tropical,

He will wake up at like 5 a.

M.

And say,

Okay,

We're going to go to this place and stay there for like 10 minutes and walk around and go to this place.

And then he'd have all these things to do in an itinerary and a to do list.

And from my perspective,

I'm like,

Hey,

Let's slow down.

Let's enjoy this nice beachy place.

But for him,

It's more about crossing off things in his to do list.

So he might go to a new place and be like,

Okay,

I want to go here and there and just bam,

Bam,

Bam,

Get it done.

And that's it.

But for me,

I'm like,

Okay,

Let me wake up at 11 a.

M.

And just have lunch,

Then walk around,

Maybe do a little shopping,

Sit down by the beach,

Watch the waves,

Really take everything in.

So it's a completely different type of approach.

I didn't have any to do lists.

Sure,

I'll have like a general idea of where I want to go or certain things I definitely want to check out.

But I'm not writing down an itinerary and like planning it out minute by minute.

So in terms of their social life and how to interact with someone with who's very low in conscientiousness is that realize that they tend to have an open mind and they are not really about planning their days out as much as someone who's very high in conscientiousness.

So they basically take their day as they come,

So their plans might shift often.

And that's one of the things you want to also keep in mind is that they may flake on you as well.

I personally don't like flaking on people,

But I've known a lot of people who are very low in conscientiousness who say,

Oh,

Something else came up or I'm running late.

And that's also another thing is that people are very low in conscientiousness are okay with being late because they're taking the time,

They're doing other things.

They don't have that impulse to just run out the door.

They take the time about things.

So approach things at a bit slower pace.

But also one of the advantages of this is that they're also open minded and adaptable.

So if you do suggest a place,

They might be along with the ride and they'll go along with you.

So that's one of the benefits of that.

So career wise,

People who are low in conscientiousness tend to gravitate towards fields that are less structured by nature that will allow you to set your own hours.

So freelance work is something they prefer or even jobs,

Which are even nine to five jobs they will like,

But they want to make sure that it's not very micromanaging or they have to be like doing meetings like every single day at a certain time.

They want to kind of approach things and do their work and have a good time.

And then once they've clocked out,

Okay,

They're going to go about their business.

So it's interesting because I work in the tech field,

So in recruiting,

And I've worked in previous companies that are like startups,

Which are very like go-go type A personalities tend to really like those fields because it's very regimented and very work oriented and achievement oriented,

Which is what we discussed about the people who are very high in conscientiousness and that's what they like.

But people who have also been in other positions within the same field where it's not like a startup,

Like a Bay Area startup.

And this is like a company like the Midwest where it's people that have families and they like to watch sports in the evenings and take their kids out for walks or whatever the case is.

So they approach things with like a just laid back mindset.

They're like,

Ah,

It's 4 p.

M.

You can leave early,

Whatever.

You can leave like two hours early,

An hour early.

And they basically just worked.

They like to get things done,

But it's not like a requirement that they need to constantly push themselves or like expand and get more business.

They're kind of just happy where they're at.

So that's one of the things that's associated with that.

And if you're a person who's very low in conscientiousness,

Be sure to find out about the company culture.

Finding jobs that are very low stress where you can perform the activities and it doesn't really like rile you up or make you stressed out or burnt out or don't have to juggle a bunch of things where you can just do your work and then get the paycheck and just enjoy your life.

It may not be as as higher paying as,

Say,

Like a job like being a lawyer or something like that would be.

But you will enjoy your life.

And people who are very low in conscientiousness can enjoy their life as it is.

So there's no constraints in that department.

So so far,

It may seem like being low in conscientiousness is like a really bad thing.

And people like that are super lazy,

Blah,

Blah,

Blah.

But in reality,

There's also a lot of pros associated with this.

So people who are very low in this quality typically just don't have much stress in their lives.

Like last time I was stressed.

I'll be honest.

Like I've led a pretty much a chill life over the last recent years and my day to day is pretty relaxing and pretty calm.

And I have a pretty chill lifestyle.

So that's something you'll notice with people who are very low in conscientiousness is they don't get stressed out or riled up about anything.

It's very easygoing in nature.

Also they don't have a desire to compete or strive or push against other people.

There's just no calling to do that.

So a lot of people it's surprising from at least from my perspective,

Where I'll see a lot of people stressed out that they aren't the top dog in their company or they're not like pushing themselves.

They'll,

You know,

Freak out or they always compare themselves to other people,

Which is very common for people who are high in conscientiousness.

But people who are low in conscientiousness don't really think about that.

So it also frees up a lot of mental bandwidth to focus on whatever you like,

Rather than competing or comparing yourselves to others,

Because there's just no urge or inclination to even care about that.

One of the great pros about being very low in conscientiousness is that you're also very easy to please.

So it doesn't take you much.

You can be happy wherever you go.

You can just drop yourself off in any place or any situation and you'd be happy to adapt.

So that's one of the great benefits of being very low in conscientiousness.

Now for the cons,

As you can probably imagine,

People who are low in conscientiousness can be lazy.

They can also procrastinate a lot.

And also they can also be seen as unreliable or flaky as well,

Just because,

You know,

They'll change their mind or whatever the case is.

They don't have,

They're not very planned out.

So as a result,

They'll be late to things.

They might flake on plans or they may not provide that consistency that you may ask of them.

And obviously these things can be coached,

But just something to keep in mind.

And also people who are low in conscientiousness can be complacent because if you're happy just the way you are,

And there's no need to strive or push yourself or reach your goals,

Well,

Why even try?

And this is one of the sad things you might see is that when people are younger who are low in conscientiousness just go about their lives without pushing themselves and they're stuck in their comfort zone.

Later on when they're older,

They might have some regrets and they may say,

Oh,

I wish I did this,

Or I wish I did this other thing,

But now I don't have the energy or I don't have the resources or time or whatever the case is.

And now they,

You know,

It's too late.

So that's one thing you do want to avoid.

If you're very low in conscientiousness,

Just realize that life is short and you only have a certain amount of time.

So if you just blow away your time by watching TV all day and just do nothing,

Well,

Later on you might regret it and you will have a lot of what ifs.

So far I've talked about people who are very high in conscientiousness as well as low in conscientiousness.

And I've also met people who are in the middle of the spectrum of conscientiousness where I'll talk to them and they'll say that they're happy in their position and they don't really need to push themselves,

But their position is also pretty senior as well.

So they're organized enough and accomplished enough where they have the drive to get things done,

But at the same time,

They don't feel the need to take on like higher things in life.

So it's a complete spectrum.

So you will find people who are very low and they're like hippie people or just like,

Whatever,

I don't care.

We just relax and enjoy life.

But on hand,

You'll have people like super high,

Like go getters,

Like ambitious people who can be stressed out at times,

And then you have like a mix of both.

So what is very cool about the big five personality type test is that they grade things on a spectrum.

So you can see where you fall within this spectrum and then how that affects your career,

Your lifestyle choices and how you live your life.

So you can closely align your life to that.

So it's a very good and interesting tool to learn about.

And the next talk,

I'll be going over extraversion,

Which is the next letter in the acronym OCEAN.

So you can learn a bit more about extraversion and what it means to be very high and low in extraversion and then how that affects your lifestyle choices and career and so on and so forth.

Hope you like this talk and stay tuned for the next one.