How many ways are you unique?

When we recognise we’re unique, we stop wasting time looking for ready-made financial plans – from bloggers, influencers or the money pages of the Press.

Instead, we focus on designing what we need – a plan for our unique circumstances and financial life goals.

We are unique in many ways, as we’ll see, but we also have much in common with others – and can learn from their experiences of the challenges we face.

What’s more, when we understand these truths, it helps us build better financial life plans.

So, let’s get into this now.

What’s coming up?

This is the first of two Insights for people of all ages and wealth levels.

In the second Insight, we’ll see how our financial circumstances differ and how that drives the need for a unique financial plan.

And we’ll touch on a behavioural trap (of over-stating our uniqueness) which can make financial planning unnecessarily hard!

First, however, we’ll explore the human factors that make us unique – and note how these could affect our money plans.

Here’s what’s coming up

1. What type of person are you?
2. What are the problems with personality labels?
3. Why do we use labels to describe people?
4. What are the valuable tools for learning about ourselves?
5. Do you have any special projects?
6. Are you aware of your emotional styles?
7. What about your emotional agility?
8. What about your work-related skills?
9. What about your needs from your work?
10. What about your character strengths?
11. What about your values – and what you value?
12. What about your attitudes – to everything?

So, yes, there are lots of ideas in this 10 to 20-minute read.

Important note:

We’re touching on psychology topics here. So, you’ll be pleased to know these Insights have been checked for accuracy and balance by a Doctor of Psychology with 20 years of clinical experience.

That said, these Insights are not designed as health guides, so if you’re dealing with depression, anxiety, or any other mental health challenge, please talk to your doctor, who will direct you to an appropriate support service.

And, if you’re struggling with financial worries, you may find this general guidance from the NHS useful.

Otherwise, let’s start to explore the ways you’re unique and what that means for your money.

What type of person are YOU?

What type of person would you say you are?

If you ask that question to a clinical psychologist, you will not get the answer you might expect from some popular ideas about personality types shared online or in some workplaces.

And that’s because psychologists do not label people as particular types.

Instead, in clinical work, they follow a process known as formulation, where they explore those aspects of our circumstances and past experiences that might be challenging us.

They aim to help us understand and deal with those challenges.

Yes, they develop an initial working theory on what may have contributed to our (presenting) challenges, but they readily adjust that theory as more information emerges.

Their ideas about what’s affecting us are NOT carved in stone. 

Psychologists seek to understand us as a unique person. They want to hear our story and learn about our challenges to inform any interventions they might suggest.

OK, but what does this have to do with your money?

Well, it might surprise you, but good financial planners work in a somewhat similar way.

Like psychologists, they do not label their clients as particular types.

They acknowledge and respect that you are unique – and know that labels are unhelpful.

What are the problems with personality labels?

“There is no such thing as a pure extrovert or a pure introvert.

Such a person would be in the lunatic asylum”

[Carl Jung]

There are various risks of using ‘archetype’ or personality type tests, like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator – MBTI.

First, we might start to believe these labels describe our identity.

Why would we use such tools if we didn’t believe they did?

So, if we buy into a label, we may stop noticing when it’s wrong – or as Harvard psychologist and mindfulness expert Dr. Ellen Langer said:

“If something is presented as an accepted truth, alternative ways of thinking do not even come up for consideration… ”

Second is the risk that a label becomes self-fulfilling. We start acting and deciding in ways that confirm the label or limit ourselves by discounting ideas or actions that don’t fit with the label.

Third, these models ignore the fact that we may act differently in different contexts (e.g. work vs at home, as a leader vs an employee and when we’re exhausted compared to when we’re full of energy.

These are not trivial risks, and that’s why some social scientists are trying to stop these people-labelling tools from being used – especially by employers to assess people’s suitability for roles or promotions.

Read about the lack of science with the MBTI from Professor Adam Grant here.

The fact is – we’re unique in a great many ways

That image shows about 25 ways in which each of us is unique – and it’s not an exhaustive list!

Let’s prove just how unique we are!

Think about that first dimension of how we’re different to other people – our personality.

And, as we’ll see shortly, we could have 25 aspects (or facets) to our personality alone.

Some models suggest more!

Now, let’s assume that each of us sits on a scale of 1 to 5 on each of those 25 facets.

Here’s the question.

How many different *types* of personality (combinations of those scores) are there?

Hint: The answer is not four – and it’s not 16 either!

For financial advisers, planners and coaches

This educational Insight is one of many we’ve created for you to use under license in your business to help more people make better financial decisions – and see the value of professional advice.

You can brand these licensable insights to your business style and add your own firm’s calls to action.

If you have any questions at all, please email me at hello@paulclaireaux.com