I’m a 3 out of 120 in neuroticism, basically the lowest you can be

I’m a 3 out of 120 in neuroticism, basically the lowest you can be. And I’m far out to the right on the IQ bell curve.

The result? All my life, people have told me I have a calming effect on them. I pick up on other people’s emotions quickly, I’m emotionally perceptive, but their emotional storms don’t disturb my inner frame. I can sit calmly with someone who’s having a breakdown, hold the space, and help them find stability. They have a hard time pulling me into their frame. I stay in mine.

Neuroticism is usually described as a tendency toward negative emotion. But what it really is, in my view, is a heightened sensitivity to threat. People high in neuroticism are tuned to see what’s dangerous in the world. And when you’re constantly spotting threats, you’re going to feel anxiety, sadness, anger, natural responses to danger.

My mind is tuned differently. Where others scan for threats, I scan for opportunities.

That gives me an unusual kind of resilience: no matter how bad things get, I can always see a way out. But there’s a downside, I’m prone to minimizing real dangers. I don’t ignore them, but I instinctively downplay them. If I weren’t also highly intelligent, I probably wouldn’t notice or calculate the risk correctly, and I’d walk into far more trouble than I already do.

Fortunately, I’m also high in conscientiousness. That gives me a kind of inner compass. I want to do the right thing because it is the right thing, not because I’m afraid of consequences. And I’m not easily deterred when the right thing is hard.

That combination, low neuroticism, high IQ, and high conscientiousness, has led me into some strange, challenging, and meaningful adventures. And it’s taught me that the way we’re wired shapes not just how we feel, but what we see, and what we believe is possible.

My parents min maxed my stats when they made me.