Personally, I’m over Personality Tests
Would you like to peer into my soul? I’ll lay it all out for you.
MBTI Type: INFJ
Harry Potter House: Slytherin
Enneagram Type: 5w4
Zodiac Sign: Capricorn moon, Leo rising
I’ve spent far too many hours taking all of these tests and quizzes and researching their results. Why? Because I desperately wanted to belong. I wanted to find a group of people with a common identity in the hopes that they would become my tribe. I wanted to be able to understand and crack the code so that I could have the perfect friendships and relationships.
I’m over it!
All of these articles and gurus telling me who I should be and how I should think. It became a game of self-fulfilling prophecies. A ridiculous attempt at controlling discomfort or disconnection I felt in certain situations. And worst of all, it made me assume I knew what other people were thinking and why.
Instead of feeling connected to others or like I had a better understanding of myself, I would instantly go to the weaknesses section of any test result and dissect every flaw I was being told I had. Too ambitious, lonely, sensitive. It was a recipe for internal strife – not to mention a massive waste of time.
I wasn’t going to suddenly stop talking to one of my closest friends because she’s a gemini and we’re supposed to have a horrible friendship. Steve’s abrasive and controlling personality isn’t because he’s an ENTP, it’s because he’s a jerk! Charlie crying because they left their partner isn’t because Charlie is an Enneagram 3, it’s because breakups are hard and crying is normal.
Personality tests can be a fun way to name certain tendencies and preferences but they become dangerous when given too much credibility and power. Some days I feel like an introvert and some days I feel like an extrovert. When I was in high school I was an INTJ and now I’m borderline ISFJ. From here on out I’m happy to take the tests and use them as a conversation starter, but they’ll be viewed as the bumper stickers of my life and not the North Star. Replaceable, interchangeable, and honestly, I’m probably better off without them.
Cheers,
EE