Universally Personal
Personal Experiences Highlighting Universal Truths! Interesting Stories with Endless Teaching Moments--Set to Original Music.
Universally Personal
Claire Ballard, Part 2: The Art of Changing Your Mind
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Claire opens up about decoding her personality type to help her build deeper, healthier relationships. She challenges the conventional wisdom of sticking to a rigid routine, diving into Oscar Wilde’s famous philosophy that consistency is just a lack of imagination. She shares how sometimes pursuing your dreams involves pumping the brakes and hitting reset. Tune in to hear how constantly rewriting your own rules can lead to a more vibrant, evolving life.
Till next time, "Be Fit, Stay Sharp, and Listen Closely!"
Universally Personal.
SPEAKER_01Welcome back to Universally Personal. I'm your host, Greg Allen. Today's episode is part two of our interview with Claire, and it might just make you rethink how you live your day-to-day life. First, Claire gets incredibly candid about her personality type. She shares the exact moment she realized her default traits were impacting her relationships and the steps she took to seek help, understand herself, and ultimately connect better with the people around her. Then we shift gears into one of her favorite quotes: Consistency is the last resort of the unimaginative. Claire explains why she refuses to stay in one lane, how she actively resists the trap of routine, and why constantly tweaking her life and trying new things keeps her inspired. It is a fantastic look at self-growth and reinvention. Let's get started.
SPEAKER_04But if I do disagree, I won't not say anything for the benefit of the group, and only ruffle feathers that way.
SPEAKER_02Universally personal.
SPEAKER_04Probably just authority in general. But I was really struggling at work with relationships with um as a boss. I managed a team as a you know a 30-year-old woman in a male-dominated industry, and I struggled with men and women, and then my bosses that were above me, and I didn't feel like took me seriously. I was really struggling with relationships. And so I went to see a therapist and because I was like, what's wrong with me? What's wrong with me? I've been in, I've dated lots, and I haven't, and I want to find a serious relationship, and I haven't. You know, I have these interactions at work and I feel like I'm always the one that's upset, or like, what where am I going right? Someone point out to me because I would like to fix it. Because I would like to fix it. Interestingly enough, I don't know if my therapist would say this, but my biggest takeaway was actually I really wasn't doing so many things wrong. Um, now I learned a lot of important things about myself and how to engage differently. But it was very helpful to learn different things about myself and have an outsider point things out to me. I can be very direct in communication. So learning a little bit more about that and how to still stay authentic to myself, like be myself, but not.
SPEAKER_01It is so easy to get swept up in a spirited conversation with Claire. She is fiercely honest, and if she disagrees, she'll let you know. But she balances that with the real eagerness to understand your perspective. It is incredibly inspiring. It is incredibly inspiring to hear how it is incredibly inspiring to hear about the deliberate steps she took to look inward, personality and actively improve her relationships.
SPEAKER_04That was one that really helped me understand myself. And we talked about openness and curiosity. I score high in openness. Um, I score high-ish in conscientiousness, and I score high, or at least I did. I don't know if I do as much anymore, high in extroversion. So all those things kind of made sense. I do score lower than average in agreeableness. It was very helpful to learn different things about myself and have an outsider point things out to me. I do score lower than average in agreeableness. So I'm not always the easiest one to work with on a team. I don't think I try to be disagreeable, but if I do disagree, I won't not say anything for the benefit of the group. And, you know, you ruffle feathers that way. I don't think I try to be disagreeable. I also really care that people like me to a degree. You know what I mean? Like, not that I wouldn't be myself, but I do want people to like me. And so when you're less agreeable, by the way, women statistically score higher in agreeableness. Most women are agreeable. Most men are not. Most men prefer women that are. So I'm on the outside of all of that. It was very helpful to learn different things about myself and have an outsider point things out to me. I do want people to like me. Yeah, so still being true to who I am, but knowing that about myself, finding ways to interact with people that I don't feel like I'm constantly at odds. Because that's not a good feeling for anyone. Yeah, yeah, we talked about this before too. Low in agreeableness, but high in conscientiousness. So I'm gonna notice every one of your flaws and I'm gonna point them out. And they're gonna bother me. And so dating is tough.
SPEAKER_01Let's hear how Claire keeps her own life interesting and sometimes just has to take the next step.
SPEAKER_04I've made some good decisions, I've made some bad ones, or or ones that I maybe wish I wouldn't have made. I've tried things and they fail. And yeah, I've definitely had times where it's like just you just have to make a choice. So I try my best.
SPEAKER_02Universal personal.
SPEAKER_04I've got two quotes here that I'm pulling up from my notes app on my phone. The first one is Oscar Wilde, and it's consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative. And I just love that so much, and I feel like it kind of helps me on my journey of inconsistency, right? Where I'm trying all kinds of new things and sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. And but I value creativity a lot, and I want to live a life that is creative and explore everything there is to explore and to do all of those things. So I like that quote a lot. But I value creativity a lot. I don't know that I've done anything that out of the box, but just I've just whatever I've felt called to, whatever felt real to me, authentic to me, um, I have been able to embrace that. When I moved to Phoenix, I was just like, what's the big deal? I'm just gonna, I might as well go see what's out there. If I don't like it, I'll come back. And then that's just kind of been the thinking with everything, I think. If I don't like it, well, we'll figure it out from there. Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative tip. I just love that so much, and I feel like it kind of helps me on my journey of inconsistency, right? Where I'm trying all kinds of new things, and sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. I just have always been a big dreamer. So, you know, when I found that house located downtown, it was a bit outside of my price range, but it was it was doable. And it came, it was on a third of an acre, and I had we were coming out of COVID and I had all these garden dreams, and I've got a dog, and we had been in an apartment her whole life. So I was like, Oh, I just weep this is big enough to be a park for her, and I don't have to put her on a leash morning and night, you know, just let her out the back door. And um, so yeah, I I dream big and then then get into the weeds some. Yeah, I would like to not live through that again, you know, like the um renovating a major part of the house that you need it daily while you're living in it. Yeah, I would like to not live through that again. I just have always been a big dreamer. I think I am a bit of a risk taker by nature, although I will try to rationalize every choice. If I don't like it, well, we'll figure it out from there.
SPEAKER_03We'll figure it out from there.
SPEAKER_04I have big dreams, so I want to live everywhere. I was I want to see the world. I want to learn about other people and how they live, and I was going to move to Spain and I had everything set up. I've spent, you know, at least a couple thousand dollars on getting my visa submitted, working with a company to get that submitted. So, like, that's wild, right? A lot of people would be like, We're really gonna move to Spain and you've never been there. So that also gives you a clue the risks that I might take. But I went over there and I was only there for a week. The trip was really kind of set up for failure in that way. I got over there and I thought all the things that I knew that were going to be obstacles felt way bigger. And the place didn't feel quite like like paradise. Like if it was paradise, I would have gone. But it's a city that has pros and cons, and there'd be some great parts and some not so great parts. And oh, by the way, I don't speak Spanish fluently. There were a couple of other obstacles. Once I got back, my visa required more documents, which required more money, and I was already a little on the fence, and I thought I'm just going to pump the brakes. Consistency is the last refuge of the unimagined tip. I just love that so much, and I feel like it kind of helps me on my journey of inconsistency, right? Where I'm trying all kinds of new things, and sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. So much of that is I'm in just such a transition period right now. Even still five, four or five years after leaving radio, which was I did that, you know, out of college for 11, almost 12 years, um trying to figure out what I want to do with my life, what I want to do for a living, where I want to live. All of those things are really up in the air right now. I've sold my house and I've got to get out of here. And I've wanted to, I've really never wanted to move back to Evansville. No offense. There's nothing wrong with this city other than the fact that I wish it was bigger, I wish it was surrounded by mountains or lakes or beaches, right? Like that just doesn't have those things. Yeah. And I would like to live by those things. So uh, you know, when I moved back here after Las Vegas, I thought I'd be here for two years and then I'd get I'd move to another radio station in a bigger market. And things didn't pan out that way. So no Spain, but I'm getting out of here anyway, and so I'm going to do a little bit of a nomadic traveling throughout the US until I find my spot. Or things get too challenging to continue doing that because I do have a dog and two cats. I just bought a new car, a new SUV, so I'm be loading that thing up. I'm going to St. Pete, Florida, for a month. And mostly because I just I mean I like St. Pete. I don't think Florida is where I want to end up, but I like St. Pete. And I haven't been on a like a real vacation, and I can't tell you how long. So I'm considering this rent plus vacay. It's a really cheap vacay, actually, all things considered. So do that for a month. I've got to be back home for a short stint um following that, and then I'm headed out west. I haven't quite narrowed down. Well, I've got a list of a few cities I'd like to try first, mostly northwest in the summer. And then maybe back southwest, and we'll see. Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative tip.
SPEAKER_03If I don't like it, well, we'll figure it out from there.
SPEAKER_01It is so rare to hear someone talk about personality quirks with that level of honesty and to see how Claire took active steps to improve her relationships. I also love Claire's takeaway on treating life like a continuous experiment rather than a fixed routine. If today's conversation inspired you to shake up your own habits or look a little closer at how you show up in your relationships, please share this episode with a friend. Don't forget to subscribe, leave us a fan mail, and join us next week for more stories that challenge the status quo. Until next time, be fit, stay sharp, and listen closely.
SPEAKER_02Universally personal.
