Flex_ Do Something Different - Ben [14]
flex in action – the habit-rater
Understanding your habits
With the habit-rater tool we measure your tendency to be habitual in your thinking and behaviours. We consider some common habitual tendencies, although it may well be that you have a set of habits that is particular to you too. Your score on our habit-rater may well be predictive of all manner of habits.
The habit-rater
Scoring your habit-rater
Now go to the Appendix on p170 and add up the numbers in each box that correspond to your answers. Your score should be between 0 and 72.
Interpreting your habit-rater score
Low scores (0-16)
Your score reveals you can be open-minded and flexible in the way you think and live your life. You are telling us that you are not habitual, and that you are open to new experiences and different ways of looking at things. You’re also telling us you’re the sort of person who’s not afraid to buck the trend and go against the flow, so you have a lot to offer. You can see the value in many different types of people, not just those who are like you. Your score suggests you are flexible in what you do, the people you mix with and your interests. In your personal life your open-mindedness means you have the potential for an active and varied social life.
Flexible people are the ones who aren’t frightened of challenge; they welcome and invite fresh approaches. At work this might mean, for example, they have a varied and diverse group they mix with, and even that they stir things up a bit, rather than doing what they have always done in the same way. Being less habitual makes you more responsive to the needs of your partner, your friends, your colleagues and your clients at work. You’ll also be ready to embrace alternative and better ways of tackling situations and recognise that even people who don’t think like you have a lot to offer. You recognise the value of doing something different.
A positive impact of the flexible and open-minded approach should be the ability to take an objective view of a situation, e.g. when issues come up, when you have decisions to take, and when you need to talk issues over. In your evaluations you are more likely to assess issues fairly against objective criteria without bias creeping in. You probably resist becoming too routinised; although habits and routines help us to manage the basics of life they can also mask opportunities that lie just beyond the range of our immediate view. Being behaviourally flexible can get around this tendency. A person who is less habitual is more likely to be open-minded and able to let go of something that’s no longer working or appropriate, even if time and energy have been invested. Less habitual people are more likely to find their personal life and work more interesting and life full of opportunities for development and growth.
Medium scores (17-34)
Your score reveals that you can be less bound by habit and be open-minded and people probably see you as being pretty flexible and with a lot to offer. However, you do seem to have a slight tendency to do things the way you’re used to doing them when alternative ways could be better. You might also be the type of person who could get swept along with the crowd because you don’t like to rock the boat. Others might perceive you as a predictable type. The upside of this is that you’re probably dependable and can be relied upon. On the other hand perhaps you’re not the one they go to when looking for some ‘outside the box’ thinking?
Since your score suggests you have a tendency to stick to what you know and the people you know, at work or in your home life you may overrely on approaches that have worked well for you