Vos Criticizes GOP For Budget Deal, Airline Turbulence Increasing, The Four Tendencies

Featured in this Show

• Wisconsin finally passed a state budget last month, but the process was long and heated. Even with a new 2017-19 budget in place, some lawmakers remain critical of how the debate over it played out. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos apologized today for calling a group of senators “terrorists” for holding up the budget until a last minute deal was struck with Governor Walker, but stood by his disappointment in the process. WPR’s Capitol Bureau Chief gives us the details.

• Why Air Travel May Get A Lot Less Comfortable

  Download

  New research shows a connection between climate change and turbulence that air travelers experience. And that means that we’re in for even bumpier rides in the future.

• Want To Be More Productive? Look At How You Handle Expectations

  If you had no problem making it to track practice as a kid but now you can’t drag yourself to the gym, don’t worry. You’re not lazy; you’re just an obliger.

  “This is the biggest tendency, this is the one that the largest number of people fit into,” says Gretchen Rubin. “Obligers regularly meet outer expectations, but they struggle to meet inner expectations.”

  Rubin is a writer, podcaster, and author of “The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People’s Lives Better, Too).”

  In her book, she posits all people fit into four different personality profiles: upholder, questioner, obliger and rebel. She defines the groups like this:

  Upholders are people who regularly meet both outer expectations, the expectations of others, and inner expectations, their self-expectations.

  Questioners question all expectations, only doing things if it makes sense to them.

  Obligers are focused on expectations of people around them, not self expectations.

  Rebels resist all expectations.

  Many people know which category they fit into just by reading the description, Rubin said. But those curious can take a quiz to see where they are placed.

  Rubin acknowledges that social scientists often try to categorize people into profiles like this. However, her personality profiles, what she calls “tendencies,” are based solely on the way people respond to expectations, and nothing else.

  “It’s not a matter that one is better than another,” she said. “When you look at the people who are the happiest, the healthiest, the most productive and the most creative, they’re the people who have figured out how to harness the strengths of their tendency, but also how to offset the weaknesses and limitations of their tendency so they can get the life they want.”

  Rubin said knowing your tendencies and the tendencies of others can help you communicate more effectively. It’s all about honing in on the right message.

  For example, say you want to convince your rebellious friend to quit smoking.

  “For a rebel saying, ‘You have to do this, this is doctor’s orders, we all desperately want you to quit smoking,’ that’s not going to work for them,” Rubin said. “For a rebel, you’d say something more like, ‘You don’t want to be addicted to nicotine, you want to be free from cravings, you don’t want to be controlled by big tobacco factories.’”

  At the same time, Rubin is quick to acknowledge that people don’t actually fit rigidly into their tendencies. She thinks of it as a “core tendency,” but all of the categories overlap.

  “Questioners are like upholders in that they both readily meet inner expectations. Questioners are like rebels in that they both resist outer expectations. So if you’re a questioner, you could be more on the upholder side, or more on the rebel side,” she said. “My husband is a questioner who tips to upholder. And I’m an upholder, so that’s good for me, because he’s kind of closer to me and I think that means that we see the world more similarly, because we share that.”

  Once you know your tendency, Rubin said you can tailor your habits based on that knowledge.

  If you’re the obliger, the one who can’t get themselves to go for a solo run, it’s because you have trouble holding yourself accountable, she said.

  But Rubin says it’s important not to think of your tendency as a bad thing. Instead, shift those inner expectations into outer expectations.

  Sign up for a fitness class. Work out with your dog. Run a 5K for charity.

  Make other people hold you accountable.

• Understanding Four Personality Traits May Help People Be Happier And More Productive, According To Author

  Download

  In her latest book, “The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People’s Lives Better, Too)”, author and podcaster Gretchen Rubin says that people typically fall into four categories: Obliger, Questioner, Rebel, and Upholder. She joins us to explain what each of these types mean and explains that understanding them can be the key to being happier and more productive.

  What type do you think you are? How do you think understanding these types can help you? What more do you want to learn about the four tendencies?

  Let us know by emailing ideas@wpr.org

  You can also contact us here:
  Tweet: @centraltimewpr
  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theideasnetwork/

  Call during showtime: 1-800-642-1234