{"id":4423,"date":"2020-10-21T17:17:53","date_gmt":"2020-10-21T17:17:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/?p=4423"},"modified":"2021-09-19T15:28:29","modified_gmt":"2021-09-19T15:28:29","slug":"autotelic-personality-traits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/autotelic-personality-traits\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Autotelic Personality Traits for Effortless Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
I forgot to eat, but it wasn’t a concern. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Going to go the toilet was a last-minute, rush job. I just couldn’t spare the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
My mission needed completing and simply wouldn’t wait. The game was Command and Conquer<\/a> and it demanded my full, unremitting attention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Like most computer games, it manipulated my psychological buttons to an alarming extent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though I was cognisant of my compete immersion, I had little power to control it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Have you ever been so consumed by an activity that you don’t even notice the passage of time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wikipedia<\/a> defines an autotelic as,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Someone or something that has a purpose in, and not apart, from itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The word autotelic is derived from the Greek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a Hungarian-American psychologist, popularised the concept of autotelic personality traits as it pertains to Flow, the title of his classic book<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “An autotelic person needs few material possessions and little entertainment, comfort, power, or fame because so much of what he or she does is already rewarding. Because such persons experience flow<\/a> in work, in family life, when interacting with people, when eating, even when alone with nothing to do, they depend less on external rewards that keep others motivated to go on with a life of routines. They are more autonomous and independent because they cannot be as easily manipulated with threats or rewards from the outside. At the same time, they are more involved with everything around them because they are fully immersed in the current of life.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n At its essence, to be autotelic means to be more interested in the process than the result. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Surface-level it might not sound like much, but it’s really a superpower. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Computer games aside, using this approach on creative tasks ensures that instead of abandoning projects preemptively from frustration, we persist because the activity becomes its own reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So you might wonder how to put this concept to good use, or whether you possess the requisite personality traits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let’s take a look…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interestingly, while some of following points are general personality traits, others are project-specific. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s to say that, it’s possible to be laissez-faire in aspects of life, and then become a raving perfectionist in others when you finally find your poison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To get in of zone, you need to be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The autotelic ability is somewhat contingent on curiosity for your project or pursuit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You see, it’s difficult to get sucked into a flow-state without at least a cursory interest in your subject matter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s a mental state that’s immune to fakery and requires genuine interest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Otherwise, the conscious brain intervenes with repeated alerts that it’s bored and needs another form of stimulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When instructed to complete certain work tasks we often we grit our teeth and constantly complain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Going through the motions simply won’t cut it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s far easier to foster a curious mindset when you’re alive to what you’re doing, inasmuch that if our actions are discretionary, they likely originate from internal motivation over external reward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When we choose to trade our free time to exert effort, it’s probably because we’re passionate about our chosen pursuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By this, I mostly refer to the desire to learn and master a craft, through an ongoing process of skill acquisition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This largely involves an experimental attitude and being undeterred by short term failure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Those that are “in it” for short term gain or external rewards will frequently find their progress frustrating and surrender in the face of such obstacles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For an autotelic, however, these roadblocks, if not welcomed, are generally accepted as part of the journey and used for feedback to grow and improve<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We generally talk about obsessiveness in a negative context, an imbalance to be addressed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Notwithstanding the fact that the most iconic change-makers in history all exhibited this behaviour, it remains a poorly understood or accepted social behaviour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, for an autotelic, the cognitive dissonance of a project unfinished is almost too much to bear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n My girlfriend will often enter states of complete immersion when painting, and trying to rouse her is akin to waking a sleepwalker; dangerous! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Obsessiveness, however intense, often originates from a place of joy and what might seem like hard work to one actually feels like play to another.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAutotelic definition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Autotelic personality traits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Curious<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Passionate <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Growth-minded <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Obsessive <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
5. Process, not outcome orientated <\/h3>\n\n\n\n