Why is it that when you’re asked, “Who are you?” it’s hard to find the words that summarize you ?
Because we are all different. I was taught that difference was something that should be celebrated – it meant you were unique. But, for a long time, it was that same difference that made me feel misunderstood – alone.
I didn’t know who I was. I could list my likes and dislikes, what made me relaxed and what made me uncomfortable, all these disjointed facts that didn’t have any connection – Who am I?
One fateful day, I found out. I was an INFP. To many, those letters will be unfamiliar. So, I want to take this time to help you find out more about yourself.
How did I find out who I was? Through a personality test.
I know what you’re thinking: How can you trust those things? In fact, I had that same thought as I discovered this personality test, but I said: Hey, why not give it a shot?
I am referring to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (short-formed as MBTI). What separates this from newspaper horoscopes is that this has solid science supporting it. Essentially, a mother with the last name of Briggs and her daughter with the last name of Myers build upon the work of past psychologists to develop what we know today as the MBTI.
Above is a general overview of the 16 different personalities. The idea is that in all people, there are 4 Traits, represented by letters, that makes up their personality. They are as follows:
From each of the two choices, there is one that is your preference. This is how you form the four-letter combination that represents your personality type.
Why is this useful to know? How can you apply it in your life from now on?
Speaking from personal experience, I would say there are three main uses:
- 1. Understanding who you are and being proud of your strengths and weaknesses
- 2. Finding a profession that is well-suited towards you
- 3. Appreciating both the diversity and similarities in people
I didn’t know who I was. After reading the INFP profile, I had an epiphany: all of these scattered facts about me started coming together like connect the dots. I felt not only relieved, but also more powerful. I could feel proud of where my strengths were, but also recognizing what my weaknesses are. As you nurture your strengths and learn from weaknesses, then you will become a more well-rounded person.
For each personality, they also give a list of preferred jobs. This is extremely important because a main concern for young adults is: What do I want to be when I grow up? If you’re facing this moral dilemma, you’d be happy to know that there are particular professions that each personality excels in. For example, INFPs excel in jobs such as being a writer, psychologist, and social worker. What a coincidence: being a writer.
Everyone is different, but there are also similarities. I knew that everyone was different, but it was that difference that made me feel solitary, like a black sheep in a herd of white. However, I felt more connected with the world after I found out that there are literally like-minded individuals out there who face similar conflicts. Now that I also realize that there’s 15 other personality types out there, I appreciate how they each contribute to making the world better in their own unique way.
Enough talking, it’s time for you to discover more about Yourself.
Life is a continuous journey of finding one’s self, the more you know about who you are, the more confident you are to proclaim: This is who I am and I’m proud of it. Only then will the insults and doubts fade away; from that shell emerges an individual of boundless potential. -Richard Lee-Thai
Below I will provide links to useful websites that I personally used to figure out my MBTI personality:
http://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test, I recommend taking the test here.
http://www.16personalities.com/type-descriptions, Descriptions of the 16 personalities can be found here, along with information on Strengths and Weaknesses, Careers, Relationships, etc.
http://personalityjunkie.com/more-type-profiles/ A more detailed and scientific explanation of each personality type, along with information about Dominant, Auxiliary, Tertiary and Inferior Functions (recommended if you’re interested in psychology or just a deeper understanding)
̣̣̣http://www.personalitycafe.com/ An awesome online forum where you can connect with your personality group and also interact with other personality types.
http://www.celebritytypes.com/, A website where you find the personality types of famous people and compare it to your own. (J.R.R Tolkien, author of Lord of the Rings was an INFP! So was Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe and J.K. Rowling just to name a few.)
Of course, there is a lot of depth to the conversation of MBTI personalities. If you’re interested, there’s a lot to explore beyond these links. I hope this has been helpful to you in some way, it has been for me. I would love to know what personality type you got and if you resonate with it and why.
Wow, this personality test is actually very accurate! Thanks for sharing!
I’ve done these tests before and I did it again after reading your blog. I was an ESFJ before but it seems now I’m an ESFP. But then again I don’t know myself whether I would fit with J more or P more. Personality is great, hey? It’s the most intriguing form of diversity in my opinion.
Thanks for sharing Richard!
These tests are unreliable for any professional and serious use; real personality tests would require a whole slew of questions to begin with, which these online tests obviously won’t have. Your personality according to this test changes incredibly often, even to the point where taking two tests sequentially would likely yield different results. Personality is based on so much more than what you feel at the moment, more than what you think of yourself. It’s similar to horoscopes in that it’s general enough to apply to anyone (and everyone) and make themselves feel good about it.
http://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2013/mar/19/myers-briggs-test-unscientific
I got ENFP! It is actually so very true! I loved my results and it makes you feel appreciative to the things you have to offer! :’) 🙂
Thanks Richard! 😉
Daniel, I do agree with what you say. The MBTI test does have the downfall of being oversimplified and that there is only one choice or the other for each dichotomy. I appreciate that you bring this up, because the 4-letters obviously don’t define who you are as a person. My goal was to provide a useful tool in learning more about yourself. In truth, your personality can change over time, but that’s still valuable to know that you’ve grown and changed as a person. My personal philosophy with MBTI is to take of it what you will: you’re the judge on whether it’s useful or not.
I got ESFJ (we’re twins, Wentao) and it’s accurate for the most part. I’ve taken this test so many times before and I’ve always gotten Extroverted (E), but every other letter has always changed whenever I do the test.
Although, my E is over 50% each time and all the other letters only hover between 3-10% which I guess means that I’m just a super flexible personality, ahaha. Wanting to become a psychologist myself, I do believe that these sorts of online tests do have some sort of value and insight into traits you may express 90% of the time, but they aren’t here to tell you who you are. “Personality” is such a vague thing that we as humans have come up with to classify and organize patterns of behavior, so they can’t tell you “who you are” per say.
But they are a lot of fun and humourous!