Observe: Models & Theories
- personal995
- Jun 9, 2024
- 12 min read
Updated: Dec 16, 2025
Index
Purpose
Observe: Models & Theories is a section of Observe.
This page and section exists to provide useful tools for understanding, exploring, and curating Observing your Uniqueness.
The more useful Models & Theories you have in your mental toolkit, the more prepared you will be to make quality decisions amongst complexity.
Introduction
Models & Theories are essential tools for understanding, exploring, and interacting with the world around us. They help us unlock the mysteries of nature, solve practical problems, and drive progress and innovation in various fields of human endeavor.
With that in mind, first we want to align this with what we are trying to achieve. Ultimately we want to grow and achieve our Goals. The Models & Theories then, need to help us to formulate strategic plans that can do just so.
The thing with strategic plans is they are more often than not dealing with systems of chaos (human nature, environments, economies, complex adaptive systems etc), and as such can not be completely fixed. They need to be adaptable.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, the American military officer and statesman, once said, "In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable."
There are very few perfect models or theories that suit every situation. Every individual's unique goals have specific requirements to successfully execute them.
However, there are often general, timeless, adaptable or customisable Models & Theories that can be utilised to begin building momentum, or which are suitable to create from, a unique and flexible strategic plan.
These Models & Theories are selected and continually curated with this aim in mind.
Get creative. Use the Models & Theories verbatim, if they serve you in that form. If not, use them purely as idea generators, as partials to build upon or as starting points to adapt and customise.
If none specifically suit, move on to the Self Review, Lessons and Case Studies and create your own working model.
Process
With your Values and Goals front of mind, what is it you are aiming to do or achieve? Once you have that clear for yourself:
Review all the Models & Theories below. Do any appear to provide the beginnings of a structure you can use as a strategic plan?
If so, start working through the steps and build momentum, adapting as it suits for your specific situation.
If not, do some partial aspects or a sum of parts approach to help you customise a strategic plan?
If still not, move on to the Self Review, Lessons and Case Studies and create your own working model.
Models & Theories
1. On The Various Tools
Summary: Determining what your uniqueness is at a particular stage in life to perform your best work is a complex and individualized process. Several models and theories can provide insights into this exploration. Remember that these models are tools to help you gain insights, not strict prescriptions. Self-discovery is an ongoing process, and it's essential to remain flexible and open to change as you navigate your career path. Additionally, seeking guidance from mentors, career counselors, or coaches can provide valuable perspectives on your unique strengths and opportunities.
Note: In the next section below, 'A Potential Model of Use of the Various Tools,' we provide suggestions for three groups of three of the models that, when used together, could assist to provide a comprehensive view of your unique skillset, characteristics, and potential opportunities.
Here is a list of some of common systemised approaches to determining your uniqueness:
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): Widely used in various settings, including career counseling, personal development, and team-building exercises. It provides insights into personality preferences, though some critics argue about its scientific validity.
StrengthsFinder (CliftonStrengths): Often utilized in organizational settings, this model focuses on identifying and leveraging individual strengths. It has gained popularity for its positive and strengths-based approach.
Holland's Career Types (RIASEC Model): Commonly used in career counseling, this model helps individuals explore career options based on their personality types. It has a practical application in vocational guidance.
Gardner's Multiple Intelligences: Applied in education and personal development, Gardner's theory highlights diverse forms of intelligence. It can be useful in identifying areas of strength and interest.
VIA Character Strengths: Rooted in positive psychology, this model emphasizes character strengths. It is popular for personal development and can be integrated into career exploration.
Self-Determination Theory (SDT): More focused on motivation and well-being, SDT can provide a foundation for understanding what drives individuals. Its principles can be applied in career decisions to enhance job satisfaction.
Life Design Theory: Gaining popularity in career development, life design incorporates design thinking principles. It encourages individuals to proactively design their lives and careers.
Conclusion: Determining your uniqueness at different stages of life to perform your best work is a personalized and evolving process. Utilizing various models and theories can provide valuable insights, but they should be seen as tools rather than strict guidelines. By remaining open to self-discovery and seeking advice from mentors or career counselors, you can continuously refine your understanding of your unique strengths and opportunities.
2. A Potential Model of Use of the Various Tools
Summary: Here are the three groups of three of the models that, when used together, can potentially assist to provide a comprehensive view of your unique skill set, characteristics, and potential opportunities. These groups are designed to provide a multidimensional view of your unique qualities, helping you make more informed decisions about your career path. Keep in mind that individual preferences and the context of your life may influence the relevance and effectiveness of each model.
Group 1: Personality and Strengths Exploration
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI):
Why: MBTI provides insights into your personality preferences, such as whether you are introverted or extroverted, prefer sensing or intuition, thinking or feeling, and judging or perceiving. This can offer a foundational understanding of your natural inclinations.
StrengthsFinder (CliftonStrengths):
Why: StrengthsFinder helps identify your top strengths and talents. By combining MBTI with your strengths, you gain a deeper understanding of how your personality traits manifest in specific abilities. This combination can guide you towards activities that align with both your preferences and natural talents.
VIA Character Strengths:
Why: VIA Character Strengths focus on positive traits, providing insights into your character and virtues. Integrating these strengths with your personality and talents offers a holistic view of your unique qualities. This combination helps you leverage your strengths for personal and professional success.
Group 2: Skills and Intelligences Focus
Holland's Career Types (RIASEC Model):Why: Holland's model categorizes individuals into six career types based on their preferences. This provides a practical understanding of the types of work environments and activities that may suit you. It complements the other models by adding a vocational perspective to your personality, strengths, and motivations.
Gardner's Multiple Intelligences:Why: Gardner's theory expands the focus beyond personality and motivation to different types of intelligences. By identifying your dominant intelligences, you gain insights into specific cognitive strengths. This information can be valuable in selecting career paths that align with your unique intellectual abilities.
StrengthsFinder (CliftonStrengths):Why: Including StrengthsFinder in this group emphasizes the importance of recognizing and leveraging your strengths. By revisiting your top strengths in the context of skills and intelligences, you can identify specific areas where you excel and where you can contribute most effectively.
Group 3: Holistic Well-being and Values Alignment
VIA Character Strengths:Why: VIA Character Strengths focus on positive traits, offering insights into your character and virtues. This model provides a foundation for understanding your core values and how they contribute to your overall well-being. Identifying your character strengths can guide you toward activities and careers that align with your deeply held beliefs.
Self-Determination Theory (SDT):Why: SDT explores the fundamental human needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Understanding your motivational drivers is essential for overall well-being and fulfillment. Combining character strengths with motivation helps you align your choices with both your values and what truly motivates you.
Life Design Theory:Why: Life Design incorporates design thinking principles to actively shape your life and career. It emphasizes intentional decision-making based on your values and aspirations. By integrating life design with character strengths and motivation, you create a holistic approach that ensures your career path aligns with your values, motivators, and overall well-being.
Conclusion: Combining various models can provide a comprehensive view of your unique skill set, characteristics, and potential opportunities. By grouping models into personality and strengths exploration, skills and intelligences focus, and holistic well-being and values alignment, you gain multidimensional insights into your personal and professional self. These groups help tailor your career path to your preferences, strengths, and values, ensuring informed and fulfilling decisions.
3. On Two Other Tools
Summary: Two more models / theories that may be of interest. The Big Five personality traits model with a focus on broad dimensions and the Insights Discovery model with an emphasizes on a more specific and visually memorable approach through the use of color. Both models aim to enhance understanding and communication in different ways.
The Big Five personality traits / Five-Factor Model (FFM)
The Big Five personality traits, also known as the Five-Factor Model (FFM), is a widely accepted framework in psychology for understanding and categorizing personality. The theory suggests that human personality can be described using five broad dimensions, each representing a continuum of personality traits.
The Big Five traits are:
Openness to Experience: This dimension reflects a person's preference for novelty, variety, and intellectual stimulation. Individuals high in openness tend to be curious, creative, and open to new ideas, while those low in openness may be more conventional and prefer routine.
Conscientiousness: This trait relates to the degree of organization, responsibility, and reliability in an individual. Conscientious people are often diligent, punctual, and detail-oriented, while less conscientious individuals may be more laid-back or impulsive.
Extraversion: Extraversion measures the extent to which a person is outgoing, sociable, and assertive. Extraverts tend to seek social interactions, enjoy stimulation, and are generally more talkative, while introverts are more reserved and may prefer solitary activities.
Agreeableness: This dimension reflects the degree to which a person is cooperative, compassionate, and considerate versus competitive and skeptical. Agreeable individuals are generally warm, empathetic, and cooperative, while those low in agreeableness may be more critical and competitive.
Neuroticism (Emotional Stability): This trait pertains to the emotional stability of an individual. Neurotic individuals are more prone to experiencing negative emotions such as anxiety, fear, and sadness, while emotionally stable individuals tend to be more resilient and better able to cope with stress.
These five dimensions provide a comprehensive and widely accepted framework for understanding and measuring personality. The Big Five traits are considered relatively stable over time and have been found to have significant implications for various aspects of life, including relationships, work, and mental health.
Insights Discovery
Insights Discovery is a personality profiling system that draws inspiration from the work of Carl Jung and is designed to help individuals understand themselves and others better. The Insights Discovery model identifies and categorizes personality traits based on a combination of four color energies.
Here is a brief summary of the Insights Discovery model:
Fiery Red (Extraverted Thinking): Individuals with a preference for Fiery Red are typically assertive, competitive, and action-oriented. They are decisive, goal-focused, and often take charge of situations. They enjoy challenges and are results-driven.
Sunshine Yellow (Extraverted Feeling): People who favor Sunshine Yellow are often sociable, enthusiastic, and creative. They thrive on collaboration, enjoy brainstorming, and bring energy to group interactions. They are optimistic and value relationships.
Earth Green (Introverted Feeling): Individuals leaning towards Earth Green are typically empathetic, harmonious, and relationship-focused. They prioritize cooperation, seek consensus, and value interpersonal connections. They are often supportive and nurturing.
Cool Blue (Introverted Thinking): Those with a preference for Cool Blue are analytical, detail-oriented, and value precision. They are often systematic, objective, and prioritize accuracy in their work. They seek understanding through knowledge and logic.
The Insights Discovery model uses a color-coded language to represent these personality preferences, making it easy to understand and remember. The goal of this system is to enhance self-awareness, improve communication, and foster effective collaboration in various personal and professional settings.
4. On The Hero’s Journey
Summary: Joseph Campbell's teachings on the hero's journey and following one's bliss can be specifically interpreted as a process of observing oneself to identify and pursue one's life work. The journey involves deep self-exploration, embracing individuality, and heeding the inner call to adventure that leads to a purposeful and fulfilling life.
Here is an overview of key principles associated with Joseph Campbell's teachings:
The Hero's Journey as Self-Discovery:Campbell's concept of the hero's journey becomes a personal quest for understanding oneself. The call to adventure represents the internal prompting to explore one's passions and interests, leading to a journey of self-discovery.
Following Your Bliss: Campbell's famous phrase, "Follow your bliss," takes on the specific meaning of identifying and pursuing the activities and endeavors that bring intrinsic joy and fulfillment. This involves observing one's own inclinations, interests, and innermost desires.
The Call to Your Life's Work: The hero's call to adventure transforms into a call to one's life work. This inner calling urges individuals to step into a realm where their unique talents and passions align, signaling the beginning of a purposeful journey.
Navigating the Abyss of Self-Exploration: In the hero's journey, the abyss represents a transformative phase. Applied to self-discovery, this is a period of deep self-exploration, where individuals confront internal conflicts, fears, and limitations to better understand themselves and their true callings.
Returning with Your Life's Elixir: Just as the hero returns with a gift for the community, individuals, after self-discovery, bring back the elixir of their life's work. This is a contribution based on personal authenticity and a deep understanding of oneself.
Embracing Individualism in Pursuit of Purpose: Campbell's celebration of individualism translates into the encouragement to embrace one's unique path. Observing oneself becomes a crucial aspect of this, as individuals discern their genuine inclinations and avoid conformity to societal expectations.
Listening to the Inner Call: The hero's journey is initiated by a call, and in the context of finding life's work, this call becomes an internal signal. Observing oneself involves attentive listening to this inner call, recognizing the subtle hints and inclinations that guide individuals toward their true vocations.
Conclusion: Joseph Campbell's teachings on the hero's journey and following one's bliss highlight the importance of self-observation in discovering and pursuing one's life work. This journey involves deep self-exploration, embracing individuality, and heeding the inner call to adventure, leading to a purposeful and fulfilling life. By understanding and applying these principles, individuals can navigate their personal quests, ultimately contributing their unique gifts to the world.
5. On Following Your Intuition
Summary: Alan Watts, a British writer and speaker known for interpreting and popularizing Eastern philosophy for a Western audience, shared insights on various aspects of life, consciousness, and self-discovery. In essence, Alan Watts' teachings encourage individuals to observe themselves by being present, embracing the interconnected nature of existence, and exploring the play of opposites within. By letting go of control, living playfully, and following personal passions, individuals can discover their authentic selves and find their life's work.
Here is an overview of some key principles from his teachings:
Living in the Present Moment for Self-Discovery: Watts encourages individuals to observe themselves by fully engaging in the present moment. By letting go of past concerns and future anxieties, individuals can better connect with their authentic selves and gain insights into their true inclinations.
The Illusion of Separate Identity: Watts challenges the conventional notion of a separate and isolated self. Observing oneself, in this context, involves recognizing the interconnectedness of one's existence with the larger universe, breaking down the illusion of a distinct and isolated identity.
Exploring Opposites Within: Watts suggests observing the interplay of opposites within oneself. By acknowledging and embracing both sides of various dichotomies, such as order and disorder, individuals can gain a deeper understanding of their own nature and inclinations.
Letting Go and Surrendering to Self-Discovery: Watts advocates for letting go of the need to control every aspect of life. Observing oneself requires surrendering to the natural flow of existence, allowing for a more authentic and spontaneous exploration of personal desires and interests.
Living a Playful Life: Watts often uses the metaphor of life as a cosmic dance or play. Observing oneself involves approaching life with a sense of playfulness, curiosity, and wonder. This attitude can uncover one's true passions and guide the exploration of potential life work.
Discovering the Tao of Your Life's Path: Watts draws from Taoist philosophy to encourage individuals to observe the natural course of their lives. By flowing with the Tao, or the way, individuals can gain insights into the organic unfolding of their own path, leading them toward their life's work.
Embracing the Present Ephemeral Nature of Life: Watts emphasizes the transient nature of life. Observing oneself involves recognizing the impermanence of experiences and situations, allowing individuals to focus on what truly matters to them in the present moment.
Identifying and Following Personal Passions: Watts advocates for observing one's internal passions and interests. By identifying and following these authentic desires, individuals can uncover their life's work, engaging in activities for the sake of the activity itself rather than external rewards.
Conclusion: Alan Watts' teachings encourage self-discovery through living in the present moment, embracing the interconnectedness of existence, and exploring the interplay of opposites within oneself. By letting go of control, adopting a playful attitude towards life, and following personal passions, individuals can uncover their authentic selves and life's work. His insights emphasize the importance of observing oneself and aligning with the natural flow of existence to find true fulfillment and purpose.
"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance."
Alan Watts
By reviewing these models and theories above you can pick and choose what may work best for you and your own unique situation, try, test and refine your process to suit. To the point where you begin to see improvements and compound your results moving forward.
Output Checklist
Completed Strategic Review Worksheet from The Workbook for approaching any relationships with Observe related opportunities or challenges, guided by all key learnings from this section.
Next Steps
If you feel you have key learnings to takeaway, return to Observe: Main to integrate into your Output Checklist.
To continue to learn more, move on to Observe: Self Review.
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