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

Previous
Previous

Unsolicited Advice is Always Bad Advice

Next
Next

Finding Your Purpose: Is that what Really Matters?