Understanding your personality type and how it can help you to thrive

Hi everyone, welcome to another blog post.

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Today I am sharing with you the topic of understanding your personality type and how it can really help you at work and in your personal life.

I used to sit in meetings wondering how and why some people had so much to say and I felt like I had nothing to say. I felt inadequate and often like an observer rather than a contributor.

I used to wonder why I wasn’t very creative and struggled to start with a blank piece of paper, I was much more comfortable when I had facts and figures to work with rather than having to create something from scratch.

I used to struggle to identify what motivated me and found myself going through a lot of trial and error, often being left still really lacking motivation.

I used to struggle to deal with disruptions to routine and any sort of surprises life threw at me.

Why am I sharing these struggles with you? When I took the time to understand my personality type these struggles disappeared, I became much more accepting of these things and the way I was able to work with other people who were different to me improved drastically. There are a number of personality type tests you can find online such as:

• The ‘Big Five’ Test

• The Disc Assessment

• Job Aptitude Tests

• The TypeFinder Temperament Test

I’m going to share with you the two tests I have found the most beneficial and how they have helped me at work and in my personal life.

The Myers Briggs Personality Type Indicator.

You can access a free version of the test at: https://www.truity.com/test/type-finder-personality-test-new

Isabel Myers created the Myers Briggs questionnaire to help people understand their personality type, to help them be empowered to make better decisions about their life and their relationships with other people. It helps you understand how you give out and receive energy, how you take in information, how you make decisions and how you approach the outside world.

“We cannot safely assume that other people’s minds work on the same principles as our own. All too often, others with whom we come in contact do not reason as we reason, or do not value the things we value, or are not interested in what interests us.” Isabel Briggs Myers

The Myers Briggs test builds on the works of Carl Jung, a Swiss Psychologist who spent many years studying the personality differences between people and wrote the book Psychological Types about this work. Therefore there is significant scientific backing to the test, hence why it has proven to be so accurate for most who take the test.

What are the benefits of undertaking this test?

The MBTI test helps you to understand the type of environment you thrive in, how you can increase your energy and realise that many of your feelings about being different to other people should not be negative feelings - you should appreciate these differences and learn how to use your personality type to your advantage.

The test taught me a lot about myself.

It taught me that I am no less capable just because I prefer to spend time in meetings listening rather than talking.

It taught me that I may not be particularly creative, but I thrive when presented with data, facts and figures.

It taught me that I am motivated by tasks which allow me to work in a systematic, methodical way.

It taught me that I value meaningful conversations and ‘small talk’ drains my energy.

It taught me that I value routine, planning ahead and dislike diversion or surprises.

All of these lessons can be used to your advantage by ensuring your environment allows you to create conditions which will help you thrive rather than struggle. For example, if you are like me and like facts and figures and working in a methodical, step by step way, working alone rather than in a large group…. A job like an actor or a social worker is unlikely to suit me, whereas a job like a data analyst would allow me to thrive!

Another test I have undertaken to better understand my personality type is the Enneagram.

The Enneagram is a personality system which helps you understand how our emotions drive our lives and how we engage with others in an effort to get what we want and need. The test reveals what motivates you on a very deep level and helps you find your path to achieve a higher level of self-actualisation.

I recently completed the test at https://www.truity.com/test/enneagram-personality-test and the result could not have been more accurate! Whilst the MBTI test explores a number of your preferences, the Enneagram focuses on your emotions and what drives them.

What did the test teach me?

The test matches you to one of nine possible personality types, my result was a ONE - also known as a perfectionist. The definition of ONE is “ones place a lot of emphasis on following the rules and doing things correctly”. Well, this couldn’t be more accurate! I must add that this isn’t me suggesting I am perfect, I think this personality type actually faces the greatest challenges as life is almost never perfect and as perfectionists, we often struggle to operate in an imperfect world!

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These tests really help you to understand how you can use your personality traits to thrive rather than trying to fit into jobs, situations and environments which you will naturally find difficult to work in. They help to identify what you’ve got going for you and make you realise that you simply cannot compare yourself to anybody else as we are all so unique. Understanding your personality type is a key step to increasing your self awareness which is a vital element of self development, by knowing what motivates you and the best environment for you to thrive in.

I urge you to take the tests using the links above and start accepting you for who you are. I hope you find it as interesting learning more about yourself as I have found it!

Thank you as always for reading.

Love Alice

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