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Discussion #32 - Arse Factor

We're all familiar with the X Factor, but this is a little term that I like to use, which has a slightly different meaning. Although the human personality is incredibly complex, this is one personality trait that I find incredibly fascinating. A close cousin to ego (the main driving force), "arse factor" can be defined as a general underlying attitude of aggression,arrogance, competitiveness, selfishness, nastiness or viciousness towards others. Especially those who have a lower factor. It may also present in milder forms, such as edginess or grumpiness.

Another common indicator of high AF would be if someone commonly judges harshly when different ideological beliefs arise. Our ego is generally what drives us to cling tightly to these beliefs, even though largely unproven. The opposite of this would be an attitude of open-mindedness. Not to necessarily change our mind in a wishy-washy fashion, but to at least consider the possibility that another's opinion is worth consideration, and may have at least some merit.

Respect is a complex thing, and no one can or should be forced to respect someone without a good reason, or it being earned. People with high "AF" generally behave well with people they respect (which usually means those with similarly high AF). This personality trait is present in everyone, to one degree or another. It rises and falls, depending on the circumstances and who is involved. People use it almost continuously for various reasons. Commonly viewed as a masculine trait, it's actually just as prevalent in females (although the slang terminology is different). These terms are commonly verbalized many times a day in relationships where AF is extremely high. Many men & women seek out this reputation, and are quite proud of it. It is attractive to some, and repulsive to others.

AF is not all bad however. If you are a manager, business owner, or parent, you will undoubtedly be aware of some of the benefits. It demonstrates an element of backbone and courage that people respond favorably to in certain situations. This is the secret to the effective use of AF; knowing when to use it, and when to back off and let peace prevail. AF will cause stress hormones to be produced by the endocrine system, not endorphins.

Just one of many personality traits, this one is a bigger deal than most. Subject to genetic predisposition, but controllable to a large degree, it's a really good idea to pay attention to this one from time to time. We generally have a lot of control over who we hang out with on a regular basis. Just being aware of it is normally extremely empowering, and will lead to better/more enjoyment of life, lower everyday stress and dramatically extend your healthy lifespan.

Yet another basic personality trait would be those who are categorized as "passive aggressive", (I personally fall under this category). Basically, my definition of "passive aggressive" can be defined as those who are really nice virtually all of the time, except for the rare occasions when they are pushed too far, by those who are generally far more aggressive in nature.

The main reason why it's really important for these individuals (including myself) to put the foot down when necessary, is that while we are highly interested in keeping the peace, and not living high stress lifestyles, it's extremely unwise to become a human door mat. When a person has an extremely nice personality, this is inevitably most often a huge problem. Choosing to NOT be angry or vicious most of the time will have incredible health benefits for you and everyone around you, but not if you also allow others to walk all over you in the process. This may seem obvious, but can be tricky to accomplish.

There are many in this life who are "adrenaline junkies", and almost constantly crave those intense bursts of adrenaline caused by anger and intensity. Being an extremely nice person is a brilliant way to go through life, but only if you can keep others with higher AF from taking advantage of your good nature. AF also provides much of the underlying fuel for many of the world's numerous stigmas.

Human AF also plays a major role in large corporate and government decisions/policies, which shape and mold global economies and societies. It is not confined to just personal relationships. A good example of this is the growing polarization of key areas of our world, which include economic, religious and many others. In some ways the world is starting to pull together and get along, in other ways it's every man, woman and child for themselves. The biggest human battle will always be between the attitudes of compassion and competition in this little global village of ours. This is a tricky subject, as competition is a very large and mainly positive force in our world.

Most people fiercely deny to themselves that they are competitive, yet deep down dramatically are. There is a very primal reason why we humans are this way, and it boils down to the fact that societies value both humility and accomplishments, abilities. This is because it's not just about survival of the fittest, but compassion for others as well. Most of the persistent problems that plague humanity would, and likely will be solved, once the nicer people of the world unite and become stronger.

No matter how intelligent & sophisticated we humans get, and even though we'll always be at the top of the food chain, we'll always have a good deal of animalistic behavior in our personality. A good example of this is how big of a deal the "alpha" personality trait is to most people. There is a bit of beast in all of us, and AF would be one of the more primal (and obvious) indicators of this. I wouldn't go as far as to say that we are all vicious animals at our core, but I do think that we all definitely have our moments (and some far more than others). When people do get fairly vicious in this department, it's generally to increase our sense of personal perceived significance.

In socially entertaining situations, those with higher AF will be far more competitive, and those with lower will be far more interested in just having fun. There are many in this world who will attempt to & often succeed in "nipping at your cheese" in life (the cheese being the overall health of your soul, & therefore your body). Depending on how high the AF environment is around you (and how high yours is), this may or may not be an issue for you.

The common religious reference "blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth" is not referring to human weakness (the way we think of it), but actually inner strength/confidence, combined with humility, teachability, and respect for others. There is a lot of power that comes from this combination, both in this physical realm and as well in the next.

There is a lot of jockeying for social status that goes on in most social circles. We tend to subconsciously (or consciously) hang out with, socialize with, or just plain have conversations with, those individuals who we feel will increase our social status. The higher the AF in our personality, the more intensely this will occur on a regular basis. Climbing the social ladder in life is not just used for entertainment purposes, people also see it as a basic survival issue. It can & often does affect career and/or business activities in a fairly serious way. Generally, however, social aggression tends to do far more harm than good in this area, as most people (deep down inside) respect compassion over competition. My personal opinion, is that your life will improve dramatically if you do the exact opposite of what most are doing in this area.

For those (myself included), who believe in a spiritual realm, I have always felt that spirituality is the underlying driving force behind ego, compassion, love, hate, happiness, evil, creativity, will power, peace, healing, the sleep process, and culture such as music, theatre, sports, & all other forms of artistic & physical expression. Of course, last but not least on this list would be Arse Factor. It makes far more logical sense than if it were just the physical neurology driving all of this. We now have the technology to build robots with artificial intelligence, which can actually learn, with digital neurology similar to our own biological neurology. The only real difference, (and the reason why robots will never take over), is this connection we have to the spiritual realm. While the exact details of this physical-to-spiritual connection in the human mind may never be fully understood, it's becoming increasingly obvious to many it's existence & ultimate power.

Although the world currently believes there to be only 16 major different personality types, the human personality is obviously far more complex than this, and in reality there are an infinite number of different types. It's useful however, to analyze our own personality and see which main type we're closest to. It's also nice to know that no matter how rare our main type may be, there are many other people out there who are similar. My own type is INTJ, (as is my son and father). While this is the rarest type at under 2% (under 1% for females), it's still nice to know we are not alone!

To add further to this complexity, there is another personality factor that is present in everyone to one degree or another. I like to call it the "stimulation thirst" or "hoopla" factor. What it means, is that we all have a genetic thirst for a certain basic amount of stimulation on a fairly regular basis. This factor varies (a lot), from person to person, and is largely responsible for driving much of what motivates us every single day. Many are "stimulation junkies", and this is largely what causes many to possibly have higher "arse factor", dysfunctional behaviour, have a tumultuous lifestyle, or suffer from substance abuse.

On the opposite hand, it also often propels some people to achieve high levels of success in life, and/or enjoy life to a great degree. My opinion, is that the influences of both "arse factor" & "stim thirst factor" are far more determining to our overall personality than which of the 16 main types we are. It's not a simple science, this human personality stuff. In our lifetime, we are never going to completely solve this puzzle, but man is it ever fun (& advantages) to try!

Some may argue that human Arse Factor is mainly driven by dark or evil spiritual forces. This obviously may be true, depending on whether or not you believe in the spiritual realm. Although I personally do, I also believe that we have complete control over these powerful spiritual forces with our God-given will-power. Our human will is just as powerful, most would argue even more powerful. In fact, most judicial laws are based on this very principle or belief. "The devil made me do it" doesn't normally cut it as a defense in most courtrooms around the world. The reality is likely a complicated combination of underlying spiritual forces, combined with our genetic personality, mixed in with (& ultimately controlled by) our own human will.

Most people on Earth have virtually no idea why they do the things they do. They just do them. Why not take a bit of time, and untangle the mind a bit. It definitely can't hurt, to have a better handle on what's really going on under the hood. A lifestyle of generally being nicer to one another will only result in (dramatically) slowing down the aging process, improve your overall health & happiness, and as an added bonus, greatly contribute to solving some of the world's most horrific problems. A lifestyle like this could, for example, easily prevent a person from spiralling tragically downward, into a sea of aggravating dysfunctionality. Therefore preventing that person from getting to a place low enough, that they could potentially perform desperate, evil acts. Or, it could even prevent a nuclear war. Often, it's that simple in life.

Another interesting phenomenon, I've noticed, is that most people tend to treat those they barely know far better than the people closest to them. Some do this far more than others, but everyone does it to some degree. Familiarity breeds contempt, and we need to fight against this with everything we've got. In my humble opinion, it should be the other way around. We should be treating the people closest to us with the most respect. They should never be treated like "old shoes", since they are in fact the people we care about the most in this world.

Discussion #32 - Arse Factor

We're all familiar with the X Factor, but this is a little term that I like to use, which has a slightly different meaning. Although the human personality is incredibly complex, this is one personality trait that I find incredibly fascinating. A close cousin to ego (the main driving force), "arse factor" can be defined as a general underlying attitude of aggression, arrogance, competitiveness, selfishness, nastiness or viciousness towards others. Especially those who have a lower factor. It may also present in milder forms, such as edginess or grumpiness.

Another common indicator of high AF would be if someone commonly judges harshly when different ideological beliefs arise. Our ego is generally what drives us to cling tightly to these beliefs, even though largely unproven. The opposite of this would be an attitude of open-mindedness. Not to necessarily change our mind in a wishy-washy fashion, but to at least consider the possibility that another's opinion is worth consideration, and may have at least some merit.

Respect is a complex thing, and no one can or should be forced to respect someone without a good reason, or it being earned. People with high "AF" generally behave well with people they respect (which usually means those with similarly high AF). This personality trait is present in everyone, to one degree or another. It rises and falls, depending on the circumstances and who is involved. People use it almost continuously for various reasons. Commonly viewed as a masculine trait, it's actually just as prevalent in females (although the slang terminology is different). These terms are commonly verbalized many times a day in relationships where AF is extremely high. Many men & women seek out this reputation, and are quite proud of it. It is attractive to some, and repulsive to others.

AF is not all bad however. If you are a manager, business owner, or parent, you will undoubtedly be aware of some of the benefits. It demonstrates an element of backbone and courage that people respond favorably to in certain situations. This is the secret to the effective use of AF; knowing when to use it, and when to back off and let peace prevail. AF will cause stress hormones to be produced by the endocrine system, not endorphins.

Just one of many personality traits, this one is a bigger deal than most. Subject to genetic predisposition, but controllable to a large degree, it's a really good idea to pay attention to this one from time to time. We generally have a lot of control over who we hang out with on a regular basis. Just being aware of it is normally extremely empowering, and will lead to better/more enjoyment of life, lower everyday stress and dramatically extend your healthy lifespan.

Yet another basic personality trait would be those who are categorized as "passive aggressive", (I personally fall under this category). Basically, my definition of "passive aggressive" can be defined as those who are really nice virtually all of the time, except for the rare occasions when they are pushed too far, by those who are generally far more aggressive in nature.

The main reason why it's really important for these individuals (including myself) to put the foot down when necessary, is that while we are highly interested in keeping the peace, and not living high stress lifestyles, it's extremely unwise to become a human door mat. When a person has an extremely nice personality, this is inevitably most often a huge problem. Choosing to NOT be angry or vicious most of the time will have incredible health benefits for you and everyone around you, but not if you also allow others to walk all over you in the process. This may seem obvious, but can be tricky to accomplish.

There are many in this life who are "adrenaline junkies", and almost constantly crave those intense bursts of adrenaline caused by anger and intensity. Being an extremely nice person is a brilliant way to go through life, but only if you can keep others with higher AF from taking advantage of your good nature. AF also provides much of the underlying fuel for many of the world's numerous stigmas.

Human AF also plays a major role in large corporate and government decisions/policies, which shape and mold global economies and societies. It is not confined to just personal relationships. A good example of this is the growing polarization of key areas of our world, which include economic, religious and many others. In some ways the world is starting to pull together and get along, in other ways it's every man, woman and child for themselves. The biggest human battle will always be between the attitudes of compassion and competition in this little global village of ours. This is a tricky subject, as competition is a very large and mainly positive force in our world.

Most people fiercely deny to themselves that they are competitive, yet deep down dramatically are. There is a very primal reason why we humans are this way, and it boils down to the fact that societies value both humility and accomplishments, abilities. This is because it's not just about survival of the fittest, but compassion for others as well. Most of the persistent problems that plague humanity would, and likely will be solved, once the nicer people of the world unite and become stronger.

No matter how intelligent & sophisticated we humans get, and even though we'll always be at the top of the food chain, we'll always have a good deal of animalistic behavior in our personality. A good example of this is how big of a deal the "alpha" personality trait is to most people. There is a bit of beast in all of us, and AF would be one of the more primal (and obvious) indicators of this. I wouldn't go as far as to say that we are all vicious animals at our core, but I do think that we all definitely have our moments (and some far more than others). When people do get fairly vicious in this department, it's generally to increase our sense of personal perceived significance.

In socially entertaining situations, those with higher AF will be far more competitive, and those with lower will be far more interested in just having fun. There are many in this world who will attempt to & often succeed in "nipping at your cheese" in life (the cheese being the overall health of your soul, & therefore your body). Depending on how high the AF environment is around you (and how high yours is), this may or may not be an issue for you.

The common religious reference "blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth" is not referring to human weakness (the way we think of it), but actually inner strength/confidence, combined with humility, teachability, and respect for others. There is a lot of power that comes from this combination, both in this physical realm and as well in the next.

There is a lot of jockeying for social status that goes on in most social circles. We tend to subconsciously (or consciously) hang out with, socialize with, or just plain have conversations with, those individuals who we feel will increase our social status. The higher the AF in our personality, the more intensely this will occur on a regular basis. Climbing the social ladder in life is not just used for entertainment purposes, people also see it as a basic survival issue. It can & often does affect career and/or business activities in a fairly serious way. Generally, however, social aggression tends to do far more harm than good in this area, as most people (deep down inside) respect compassion over competition. My personal opinion, is that your life will improve dramatically if you do the exact opposite of what most are doing in this area.

For those (myself included), who believe in a spiritual realm, I have always felt that spirituality is the underlying driving force behind ego, compassion, love, hate, happiness, evil, creativity, will power, peace, healing, the sleep process, and culture such as music, theatre, sports, & all other forms of artistic & physical expression. Of course, last but not least on this list would be Arse Factor. It makes far more logical sense than if it were just the physical neurology driving all of this. We now have the technology to build robots with artificial intelligence, which can actually learn, with digital neurology similar to our own biological neurology. The only real difference, (and the reason why robots will never take over), is this connection we have to the spiritual realm. While the exact details of this physical-to-spiritual connection in the human mind may never be fully understood, it's becoming increasingly obvious to many it's existence & ultimate power.

Although the world currently believes there to be only 16 major different personality types, the human personality is obviously far more complex than this, and in reality there are an infinite number of different types. It's useful however, to analyze our own personality and see which main type we're closest to. It's also nice to know that no matter how rare our main type may be, there are many other people out there who are similar. My own type is INTJ, (as is my son and father). While this is the rarest type at under 2% (under 1% for females), it's still nice to know we are not alone!

To add further to this complexity, there is another personality factor that is present in everyone to one degree or another. I like to call it the "stimulation thirst" or "hoopla" factor. What it means, is that we all have a genetic thirst for a certain basic amount of stimulation on a fairly regular basis. This factor varies (a lot), from person to person, and is largely responsible for driving much of what motivates us every single day. Many are "stimulation junkies", and this is largely what causes many to possibly have higher "arse factor", dysfunctional behaviour, have a tumultuous lifestyle, or suffer from substance abuse.

On the opposite hand, it also often propels some people to achieve high levels of success in life, and/or enjoy life to a great degree. My opinion, is that the influences of both "arse factor" & "stim thirst factor" are far more determining to our overall personality than which of the 16 main types we are. It's not a simple science, this human personality stuff. In our lifetime, we are never going to completely solve this puzzle, but man is it ever fun (& advantages) to try!

Some may argue that human Arse Factor is mainly driven by dark or evil spiritual forces. This obviously may be true, depending on whether or not you believe in the spiritual realm. Although I personally do, I also believe that we have complete control over these powerful spiritual forces with our God-given will-power. Our human will is just as powerful, most would argue even more powerful. In fact, most judicial laws are based on this very principle or belief. "The devil made me do it" doesn't normally cut it as a defense in most courtrooms around the world. The reality is likely a complicated combination of underlying spiritual forces, combined with our genetic personality, mixed in with (& ultimately controlled by) our own human will.

Most people on Earth have virtually no idea why they do the things they do. They just do them. Why not take a bit of time, and untangle the mind a bit. It definitely can't hurt, to have a better handle on what's really going on under the hood. A lifestyle of generally being nicer to one another will only result in (dramatically) slowing down the aging process, improve your overall health & happiness, and as an added bonus, greatly contribute to solving some of the world's most horrific problems. A lifestyle like this could, for example, easily prevent a person from spiralling tragically downward, into a sea of aggravating dysfunctionality. Therefore preventing that person from getting to a place low enough, that they could potentially perform desperate, evil acts. Or, it could even prevent a nuclear war. Often, it's that simple in life.

Another interesting phenomenon, I've noticed, is that most people tend to treat those they barely know far better than the people closest to them. Some do this far more than others, but everyone does it to some degree. Familiarity breeds contempt, and we need to fight against this with everything we've got. In my humble opinion, it should be the other way around. We should be treating the people closest to us with the most respect. They should never be treated like "old shoes", since they are in fact the people we care about the most in this world.

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