Why should I learn my personality type?

If you’ve never looked into personality typing before, you may wonder what the point is. A lot of people think of it along the same lines as those little silly quizzes you take on someone’s Face Book page: “What color are you?”, “What’s your theme song?” That’s not the kind of personality tests we’re talking about. This site was designed to help people discover more about themselves: basically, what makes you tick? Why do we do the things we do? What are our basic fears, desires, and hang-ups? And more importantly, how can knowing more about our personality help us to improve our lives?

The funny thing about all of us is that we tend to think that everyone thinks and feels the same way that we do. Whenever I’m reading someone their type description for the first time, their response is often the same: “Well of course it says I think that way. Everyone thinks that way!” Well, actually no. Not unless they are the same type as you.

 The funny thing about all of us is that we tend to think that everyone thinks and feels the same way that we do.

 There are many typing systems out there, but my favorite in the Enneagram. I feel it’s the most comprehensive and intuitive, and it’s spot-on. Once you figure out your type, you’ll be amazed at how accurate it is. The Enneagram can even tell you things about yourself that you may have known in a sense, but had never articulated before. And besides understanding ourselves better, it can help us understand others. Being able to see where people are coming from is an invaluable life skill.

Many things we do are unconscious, as if we sleep walking through our lives. As long as we are unaware of them, we will never reach our full potential. If we can open our eyes to the way we think, feel, and react, we can grow in ways we never realized.

 What is the Enneagram? 

The Enneagram is based on the idea that there are Nine basic personality types. None is better or worse than the other. They all have equal potential for greatness. But they are each unique and different from the others. You are always the same type; you will not be a Two in your twenties and become a Six in your thirties.

 Many times, our personality causes us to overlook things, make mistakes, and create problems for ourselves.

The purpose of the Enneagram is not to help us change or get rid of our personality. Even if we could, it would not be very helpful. This is reassuring to those of us who worry that if we let go of our personality, we will lose our identity or become less effective. In fact, the exact opposite is true. When we become more self-aware, we do not lose our personality. It becomes more transparent and flexible, something that helps us live rather than something that takes over our lives. Many times, our personality causes us to overlook things, make mistakes, and create problems for ourselves. Learning how to stay relaxed and aware under everyday pressures can make our lives easier.

As we become more aware of our personality, it becomes a smaller part of who we are. It still exists, but we are more aware of it, we use the personality as a vehicle rather than being driven by it. As we identify more with who we really are, we see that we do not lose our identity — we actually find it.

If you haven’t all ready done so, you’ll first need to take the test to determine what type you are.  To see a list of the tests click here. Then come back here to read the full description of your type. If the results of the test don’t sound quite like you, try one of the other tests. Sometimes, depending on how self-aware you are, and how much time you take to think through the answers, it may take a few tests to correctly determine your type. If you’re still not sure, drop me a comment, telling me about yourself, and I can probably help you puzzle it out.

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