Tools I’ve found useful over time, particularly those that help understand people and interpret the world in which we live.

• Project Worldview – Useful, despite its archaic web design, for determining our core view of reality – the glasses through which we unconsciously interpret the world.
• The Ladder of Inference – Visual of the 6-step process by which we create the mental models through which we interpret the world
• 12 Ways to Get Smarter in One Infographic “The world’s most successful people, from Ray Dalio to Warren Buffett, are not necessarily leagues above the rest of us in raw intelligence—instead, they simply develop and learn to apply better mental models of how the world works, and they use these principles to filter their thoughts, decisions, strategies, and execution.”
• Every Single Cognitive Bias in One Infographic Recognizing natural biases in our thoughts helps us adjust our thinking and make better decisions.
• Passages: Predictable Crises of Adult Life Gail Sheehy’s classic overview of adult life transition points and how to understand, cope, and leverage them towards fulfilling your potential.
• Hermann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI) – Understand how and why we think and interpret the world as we do. From their website – “The 120-question Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument® (HBDI®) assessment defines and describes someone’s thinking preferences across the Whole Brain® Model. After completing the assessment, the person receives a comprehensive HBDI® Profile report that includes in-depth interpretation of the results, reference material about the Whole Brain® Model, comparison data, and activities for further exploration and development.”
• The 7 Advantages of Fascination – Interesting complement to the HBDI thinking style assessment and the various personality assessments. Per the website – “Plenty of personality assessments tell you how you see the world. Only one reveals how the world sees you. What’s the BEST of how the world sees you? What makes you most fascinating, and most valuable to the people around you? Over the past two decades of research on communication, Sally Hogshead has found that there are seven different ways to communicate and add value to your listener.”
• For those that want to try a couple of personality profiles –
  • The Big Five Personality Test – some background info here
  • IPIP NEO– The IPIP-NEO (International Personality Item Pool Representation of the NEO PI-R™)
  • The HEXACO Personality Inventory–Revised
• What Color is your Parachute? – The job hunt and career change classic, many variants, updated annually
• The Heart-Brain Connection: The Neuroscience of Social, Emotional, and Academic Learning – Nice academic YouTube presentation by neuroscientist Richard Davidson on how social and emotional learning affect the brain. You can read more about the topic on the Edutopia website.