Personality is often viewed through the lens of the Big Five traits of Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism (OCEAN). Understanding these traits can help us better know ourselves and others.
What is Conscientiousness
In the constellation of personality traits, conscientiousness is the factor which helps us understand how an individual might interact with the world around them through their pursuit of goals, and managing tasks. It includes additional factors like organizational ability, responsibility, dependability, and self-discipline.
High Conscientiousness
In general, a person who is high in conscientiousness is going to be oriented to high achievement and come across as reliable from a goal accomplishment and task completion perspective. They are likely to be successful in academic and work related efforts, be organized and pay attention to detail. They are also likely to set and follow routines for self-care and have developed strong emotion regulation skills.
There are also some challenges with high conscientiousness. For starters, there is a risk of perfectionism and being overly controlling that can lead to burnout or paralysis by analysis (over thinking). Rigid routines and patterns may be developed that make adaptation and flexibility a challenge. HIghly conscientious individuals may come across as uptight or wound up due to the rigidity with which they hold to their perspectives, values, and ideals.
Low Conscientiousness
People with low levels of conscientiousness will tend to approach life with a level of spontaneity and flexibility that enables them to be comfortable adapting to changing circumstances. They will come across as someone who will “just go with the flow.” They are likely to seek out and feel more comfortable in unstructured environments that provide novelty and encourage creativity. Because of the flexibility they will be at less risk of burnout from stress related to perfectionism or from rigidity in thinking, planning, or scheduling.
On the other hand, when someone has low conscientiousness they can have problems finishing tasks, meeting deadlines, or managing their day-to-day responsibilities which could lead others to view them as unreliable. Being successful in rigidly structured environments will take great effort which could make success in school and some work environments challenging. Their desire for novel experiences may lead to risky impulsive behaviors. Others may come to view someone with low trait conscientiousness as inconsistent, distracted, flaky, uncommitted, or flaky.
So what?
Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum of consciousness there are risks and rewards. Taking the time to understand yourself a little bit more might just give you the insight you need to adjust or change something in the way you navigate the world so you can live the life you want to live.
Thanks For Reading
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