How the Big 5 Trait of Openness Affects Your Focus and Flexibility

Get to know yourself by discovering the “Big 5” trait of openness, and see how your level of openness can help and hurt you.

Imagine the following scenario:

You’re at work, and your boss suddenly approaches.

“Good news: I’ve registered the whole team for a training course next week. It’s all about productivity and time management. You’re going to love it!”

What are your feelings as the boss walks away?

Are you thinking something like:

Oh, something new; this sounds great. I can’t wait!

Or:

This sounds horrible! Why can’t he just leave me alone and let me do my job?

The way you answer has some bearing on which way you lean on the personality trait of openness.

What is Openness?

At a basic level, Openness, also known as “Openness to Experience,” is a personality trait that reflects how receptive you are to trying new things.

(It’s one of the “Big Five” traits taken from the 5-Factor Model of Personality, the most scientifically accepted personality model in the world.)

Persons who score high in Openness typically have a broad range of interests. They’re curious about the world and other people, and are eager to learn new things and enjoy new experiences.

In contrast, those who score low in Openness are most comfortable with familiar people, places, and ideas. They dislike change, and by nature they’re more routine-oriented.

Why is openness important?

No matter where you land on the spectrum of the Openness trait, you’ll have inherent strengths and weaknesses.

But knowing how open you are can help you identify and leverage those strengths, and mitigate the weaknesses.

For example, if you score high in Openness, you’re naturally curious and adventurous. You probably love to travel, and you enjoy learning new things and tackling new challenges.

But your Openness may cause you to become easily bored or distracted. You might suffer from “shiny object syndrome.” Or, your constant need for something “different” may make it harder to save up financially—because you’re always spending money on new things and experiences.

In contrast, let’s say you score low on Openness. You’re grounded and practical, and you have no problem sticking to your routine at work—even if others find it boring. This enables you to complete the repetitive tasks at work that are necessary for success.

At the same time, though, your resistance to change and new experiences proves limiting: You suffer when major life changes are thrust upon you, as you struggle to adapt to new circumstances.

And you get passed over for opportunities at work because your colleagues feel you’re unable or unwilling to make the best of a changed situation.

How knowing about openness builds emotional intelligence

So, how do you use this knowledge to your advantage?

Here are just a few tips:

If you’re high level Openness, schedule breaks in your day. You might split different projects into smaller bits that you can chop and change when you feel a need to do something different.

If you need to get things done, you could schedule a “power hour”: an hour where you knock out all the routine, monotonous things you keep putting off.

If you’re low level Openness and changes are strung upon you, focus on what you can control: You may be able to negotiate when and how those changes are implemented. This way you’ll feel “in charge” and reduce negative emotions.

Also, put buffers or protections to limit interruptions. For example, silence notifications and then check your email or messages at set times rather than have them pop up and disturb your concentration.

This is just the tip of the iceberg…If you’re interested in:

• Learning more about how open you are
• How that can cause stress under different circumstances, and
• How to better manage that stress

Check out details about the full version of this course down below.

For now, though, it’s time to tackle the next Big 5 trait:

Conscientiousness.

Can you think of someone else who might want to get to know themselves? Consider taking this “mini personality master class” together: Just share the link to this article.

You’ve just read a small portion of my course:

Get to Know Yourself: Understand Your Personality and Build Self-Awareness

If you like what you’re learning, consider purchasing lifetime access to the full version of this course, which includes:

• Three different personality assessments, to help you further identify where you sit on the Big 5 traits
• Expanded insights and application
• Short, easy-to-digest videos illustrating key points
• An editable, printable workbook with exercises and journal prompts to help you discover and understand your personality