Aspects of Personality

Each of us has different personalities and ways of handling both ourselves and the people around us. Indeed, you can think of this as having different toolkits that suit your ever-changing needs each day. And much like the tools around you, each aspect of personality has its own strengths and weaknesses, and we only wield one of these at a time.

You can’t, for example, be both an introvert and an extrovert at the same time. Some would argue that the middle ground is an ambivert, but that is its own different class. Regardless of what one thinks, there will always be an aspect of you that is greater than the other, and these in turn form what we call “tendencies.”

Divided between intrinsic and extrinsic tendencies, they help explain the motivation and manner in which we deal with other people respectively. Therefore, knowing about these things should be useful not just in knowing more about yourself, but also working on your weaknesses and improving upon your strengths.

Intrinsic Tendencies

What are Intrinsic Tendencies?

Intrinsic tendencies are those which form your inner resolve. They tend to answer the question “why,” and “how,” you think the way you do about certain things. These tendencies also define your inner goals and therefore much of the way you tend to do things.

Broadly speaking, four aspects govern these intrinsic tendencies and two points of friction. Intrinsically, you can be either an introvert– a person who tends to shy away from social interaction, or an extrovert– one who relishes and draws positive energy from it.

Aside from this, you can also be intuitive in your approach to life or rational. This means that you either adhere to your closest instincts when making a decision or the principles of logic and the structured order it provides to ensure that you get the best outcome possible.

There are many more nuances between these aspects, of course, and all of them are worth diving into to understand where you might be as a person.

Extrovert or Introvert

Introverts and extroverts tend to differ in multiple areas, but the primary difference lies in how they approach social interaction. On the one hand, introverts tend to gravitate towards having a small company with a small group of people. 

They see interaction not as something that gives them energy for the day, but as something they spend energy on. There are other positive outcomes, to be sure, but they need to recharge if they want to have a smoother time with their lives.

On the other hand, extroverts are more outgoing and vivacious than introverts. For them, a lively environment is their battery, and while they still get tired of social interaction every now and again, their personality traits often equip them with enough ammunition to actually keep up with protracted times with others. They are adaptable, quick on their feet, and usually very charismatic.

However, introverts have other advantages too. Since they prefer a more indirect approach, they often have the ability to detach themselves from situations without any sentiment, preferring instead to analyze and come up with a solution to complicated problems. This makes them great at problem solving and even managerial roles which require an analytical approach to any situation.

On the other hand, Extroverts are greater at working outside of their desks. Since they live and breathe interaction, they can understand the subtext behind other people’s actions way more, such that they can craft responses to any social context without much in the way of effort. 

If you are an extrovert, your social approach is likely going to make you a great networker, while being an introvert usually means you’re greater at analysis. Of course, this doesn’t always apply as you will find out later, but these should sufficiently describe their nuances for the time being. Falling into either side means that you will have an effect on the environment around you.

Intuitive or Rational

Rational thinking and intuition tend to differ in the way they approach certain situations. Broadly and simply speaking, if your mind functions on intuitive thinking, you may rely on a combination of precedence and emotional judgment. 

This isn’t to say that intuition is all about just emotion, but it does mean that you are likely to rely more on factors such as anecdotes and luck in order to inform your decision-making processes.

Another aspect of intuition is empathy. It tends to lean towards more humanistic goals, striving to make sure that no one gets trampled by any decision. Those who rely on intuition understand that there tends to be more at stake than just the immediate side of reality. They will make their decisions according to their gut instinct, which is usually governed by social mores and personal rules.

Now, this doesn’t necessarily imply that logical thinkers have no empathy. In fact, they carry empathy in their decisions as well. However, rational thinkers see logic and intellect as a really powerful thing that should have primacy. As such, they tend to divorce themselves from emotional attachments when thinking about solutions, purely seeing problems for what they are: problems that require solving.

Thus, if you have a more rational mind, this means that you process things from a logical standpoint. You tend to analyze and make deductions whenever you are confronted with a problem, and your analyses of the situation tend to be spot on as you make strong arguments to back up your position. 

You do not settle for illogical points, and on the contrary, you will be quick to point them out, which means that you can sometimes be at odds with intuitive thinkers. Now, this does not mean that you are eternally polarized, but because you differ in what you prioritize when confronted with the same problem, you might need to reach a compromise when at odds with one another in order to achieve a good result.

Extrinsic Tendencies

What are Extrinsic Tendencies?

Extrinsic tendencies consist of one’s reactions to the surrounding environment and how you are able to function within them. Another way of putting it is that these are the personality traits that show up when you have interactions with other people. Here, there are two subsets that we should keep in mind.

First, we have egocentrism. As the name suggests, people who are egocentric tend to prioritize themselves. They do not easily give in to the pressure of the crowd, and on the contrary tend to push back and assert themselves. This inevitably gives them high assertiveness, but at the cost of empathy and selflessness.

By sheer contrast, we have we-orientedness. Those who are oriented with the “we” tend to focus on the crowd and their wants. They are sensitive to their audience’s needs, and if you are one, then you will not hesitate to make sure that their needs are met first. Much like that of a restaurant, one of your many rules is that the people around you matter.

Egocentric or We-Oriented

In an extrinsic sense, there are two specific kinds of personality that tend to have serious friction. After all, both sides are essentially different responses to the external environment. 

If you are egocentric, this means that you tend to stick to your guns socially and often want to look out for yourself. You may have some shred of selflessness within you, but the reality is that at the end of the day, your ultimate priority will be your own self.

For an egocentric, there is a need to prioritize self-importance and self-confidence to the point where you might sometimes be viewed as having narcissistic behavior. However, much like all types of personality, egocentrism is not just about the bad side. 

Since you focus on the satisfaction of what you view as your sense of self, you also tend to really push yourself hard. Some may attribute this to low self esteem, but this really is just how most egocentric people work. They want to be successful, and they will do everything to reach that point in their lives.

The opposite of egocentrism, however, focuses on something entirely different. We-Centeredness means that you focus your energy not so much on yourself but on the people around you. You identify yourself with ordinary people and see yourself being one with them. Likewise, you also love to please the people around you as it usually means being showered with praises.

But while all of this is positive in a social environment, this does mean that your assertiveness can sometimes take a hit. As a result of your dependency on other people, you may find yourself lacking in terms of having your own personal identity, often relying on the perception of others and doing almost absolutely nothing to forget your own selfhood.

Again, we must note that both egocentric and we-oriented approaches can manifest in different ways. Generally, therefore, it is best to summarize the difference as follows: egocentric people tend to be more self-centered, while we-oriented people tend to prioritize other people above themselves.