Your personality reveals a lot about your motivation

You’re all familiar with the things you should be doing; eating well, getting enough exercise, cutting down on your vices, and getting a good night’s sleep for example, but for some it’s all just a bit too much effort.

Ever wonder why?

Apparently it has a lot to do with your personality.

Author Gretchen Rubin tackles how you can make good habits and break the bad ones in her book Better Than Before, and along the way she says that the reason you might not do the things you are supposed to do is because we’re often too busy focussing on meeting the needs of others that we either can’t be bothered or are too exhausted to live up to our own expectations.

Rubin calls this group of people ‘Obligers’.

You might also fall into one of the three other categories Rubin identifies in her book — the Questioners (you only agree to do something if you think it’s justified); the Rebels (you won’t do anything to help anyone, including yourself) and the Upholders (you have no trouble getting everything done).

If you say you’re going to walk every morning at 5am, you’ll do it. Going to send everyone in you address book a Christmas card. Done. Organise your linen cupboard by colour. Tick!

While an Upholder might be super organised, it is the least patient of all the categories, and if there’s one thing an Upholder needs to learn, it’s patience.

Curious about which category you fall into? You can take the test here.

Are you an Obliger, a Questioner, a Rebel or an Upholder?