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The Jordan Harbinger Show

18: Gretchen Rubin | Four Tendencies: The Framework for a Better Life

The Jordan Harbinger Show

Jordan Harbinger

Education, Science, Business

4.812.3K Ratings

🗓️ 19 March 2018

⏱️ 70 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Gretchen Rubin (@gretchenrubin) is a former lawyer turned podcaster and best-selling author. Her latest book is The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People's Lives Better, Too).

What We Discuss with Gretchen Rubin:
  • We tend toward one of four archetypes based on how we respond to expectations: Upholders, Questioners, Obligers, and Rebels.
  • Understanding these tendencies improves the ways we motivate and influence ourselves and others.
  • We explore each tendency and how we can optimize our mental models and self-talk to get ourselves on the right track.
  • We learn how to spot these tendencies in others and ensure we're using the right types of incentives and communication to get the best from those around us.
  • Take the quiz 600,000 others have taken to better understand how these frameworks can galvanize significant and lasting change.
  • And much more...

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

One way to understand human nature is to put a bunch of Stanford undergraduates in a laboratory and feed the marshmallows and see what happens.

0:06.0

Absolutely, I love that research. I read it all the time. I think it's fascinating and illuminating.

0:10.7

But you can also just begin by looking at what you see all around you.

0:15.7

Welcome to the show. I'm Jordan Harbinger and as always, I'm here with my producer, Jason to Philip.

0:21.0

On this episode, we're talking with my friend Gretchen Ruben.

0:24.2

She is the host of the Happier Podcast and the author of the Four Tendencies,

0:28.1

the indispensable personality profiles that reveal how to make your life better and other people's lives better too.

0:33.8

Today, we'll discover the Four Tendencies personality archetypes so we can improve our understanding of what motivates others,

0:39.8

as well as how to influence and motivate ourselves.

0:42.2

For each of these tendencies, we'll explore how we can optimize our mental models and self-talk

0:46.8

to get ourselves on the right track and we'll get some practical insight in how we can spot these tendencies and others

0:52.6

and ensure that we're using the right types of incentives and communication to get the best from those around us.

0:58.8

Don't forget, we've got worksheets for today's episodes. You can make sure you solidify your understanding

1:03.3

and application of all the key takeaways from Gretchen Ruben.

1:06.7

That link is in the show notes at jordanharbinger.com slash podcast.

1:11.2

Now, here's Gretchen Ruben. Gretchen, thanks for coming back on the show.

1:14.9

Much appreciated. Oh, I'm so happy to be talking to you again. Thanks for having me.

1:18.8

Of course, I saw the Four Tendencies and I read the book, of course, as I always do.

1:24.2

And I thought, yes, all right, these look to be some kind of any sort of, I don't know what you want to call it.

1:31.3

Is it heuristic? Is that the right word where we can use to measure people or label people and make them a little bit simpler?

1:37.9

Then humans normally, us complicated humans normally are, is always welcome.

1:41.7

And it seems like you've really figured something out here.

...

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