Low in Conscientiousness? Don’t Worry, You’re Not Doomed.
It’s difficult not to feel envious of those who have won the genetic lottery, especially when it comes to personality and scores of intelligence. Although the phrase “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard” rings true in some scenarios, it’s difficult to bootstrap your way through your entire life, especially if you’re not genetically inclined to be able to “bootstrap.”
If you’re a personality test junkie like me, you might be familiar with the “Big Five” or the OCEAN test, one of the most accurate and scientifically validated models to measure personality. Conscientiousness, one out of the five traits, is reportedly the most important factor in determining success.
But what if you’re low in conscientiousness? Does that mean you’re doomed to a life of failure?
I’d like to propose that, no you’re not doomed. In fact, as someone low in this trait myself, I’ve found that low conscientiousness is not a prison sentence but something that can be reframed, improved, and even used as a competitive advantage.
Conscientiousness and Its Role in Your Life
According to Psychology Today, conscientiousness is the tendency to be responsible, organized, hardworking, goal-oriented, and willing to adhere to norms and rules. It’s broken down into two aspects: industriousness (AKA diligence and self-discipline) and orderliness (proclivity for routine and attention to detail).
There are multiple tests you can take online to figure out exactly where you score in each category of the Big Five A.K.A the OCEAN test (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism). If you’re curious, I recommend Jordan Peterson’s Understand Myself or this free online Big Five Personality Test by Truity.
For me, it was instantly clear where I stood. I am not a big fan of routine, I frequently resist social norms and traditional paths, and I am much more of a “big-picture” person than someone who gets wrapped up in the details. I remember listening to a Tom Bilyeu podcast where his guest, author and behavioral investigator Vanessa Van Edwards, gave a real-life scenario that resonated immediately.
Her scenario went like this: picture your house or bedroom with piles of clothes on the floor. If you try to ignore them, do the piles scream at you? Or do you walk by not even noticing they’re there?
If your answer was the latter, you can probably work out where you score in this trait. I thought back to all of the times I had climbed over the piles in my room growing up, completely unbothered by them, until my parents begged me to clean them up. This illustration was further confirmation for me that I had been “suffering” from low conscientiousness for most of my life.
Misconceptions About Conscientiousness
One google search of conscientiousness and you’ll find it’s referred to as the “ultimate success trait,” a statement backed by plenty of merit. It’s pretty helpful to be organized and disciplined if you’re climbing the ladder of a high-earning career.
However, misconceptions begin when people on the low end of this spectrum are reduced to being “disorganized and lazy.”
This is simply one side of a two-sided coin. Hear me out.
If you’re low in conscientiousness, you’re probably a little less up-tight than someone who scores higher in this trait. Or to put a positive spin on it, you might even be more spontaneous, flexible, and have a lower aversion to risk.
Furthermore (and I may be getting ambitious here), being low in conscientiousness, if harnessed correctly, can actually give you a competitive advantage.
What do entrepreneurs need to start a business? Low risk-aversion. What do you need as a working person to navigate the ebbs and flows of a marketplace? Flexibility. When faced with a stressful situation outside of your control, what kind of person would you prefer to be around? Probably someone who can “go with the flow.”
All of this is to say personality is a spectrum with pros and cons to each side. Not only that, but feeling like you’ll never be successful because you’re a victim of biological determinism is pointless, counter-productive, and can prevent you from creating a lot of meaningful work in your life.
Working With Your Personality, Not Against It
The difficult part about being human is our responsibility to play the cards we’re dealt. We don’t all start on a level-playing field, and we won’t get very far trying to match up to someone with a completely different temperament than us.
If you are not a conscientious person, it’s okay. You don’t need to compensate for it by trying to become the most organized, efficient person you know. You might be able to develop micro routines that help you in the areas you struggle with but the truth is you’re probably never going to excel in these areas.
It is more optimal to capitalize on the strengths you already have. Going from good to great is much more effective than going from bad to average (or even from average to good). Take inventory of your strengths and capitalize on those things, it will set you apart.
Tools to Help You Improve Conscientiousness
Now that us less conscientious folks know we aren’t doomed to our personalities and destined for failure, I wanted to offer some ideas, tools, and resources that have helped me organize my life and make it easier to be (or at least appear) more responsible and focused.
I like to set myself up for success by developing micro routines. Some of my personal favorites include:
Automating bills
Setting reminders on your phone to leave on time
The 5-minute rule (if a task takes you less than 5 minutes to do, do it immediately)
Streamlining your communication through apps like slack or asana
Developing a “done not perfect” philosophy
Completing the most difficult task of the day, first
We can also improve our conscientiousness by becoming more aware of it. I love learning about personality through videos and podcasts. Some of my personal favorites include Jordan Peterson’s YouTube channel and Chris Williamson’s podcast Modern Wisdom.
And of course, if you are really struggling to manage your day-to-day life, working with a therapist can be a tremendous help in transforming the relationship you have with yourself.
I hope this article helped set your mind at ease a bit. I have stupidly stressed about my own personality on multiple occasions but always come back to the fact that I am on my own journey at my own pace. Where do YOU score in conscientiousness and the other Big Five traits? Let me know in the comments below!
