Personality Tests. . . They're Not Everything, But They're A Start.

If you're ever having an identity crisis or doubting who you are, personality tests can provide some good guidance.

You may think you know who you are, and hey maybe you do. But if you're going through a rough patch, feeling irrational and think you kind of lost yourself, these tests can provide some guidance.

I used to think that I knew myself as well as anyone could possibly know themselves. Needless to say, I was wrong. I thought I knew myself, but in reality, I knew the story that I thought I was supposed to be, the box I was supposed to fit in. I knew how people perceived me and I tried to meld myself to fit that perception. Bad Idea.

I found myself constantly second guessing my actions, my thoughts, and my relationships because I didn't fit in the box society was trying to squeeze me into.

So I took a few personality tests, read a few books and came out with a waaay better understanding of why I felt the way I did and what I wanted to be. Thus, personality tests are a starting point.

The best ones in my experience are the Enneagram and the Color Code. People are constantly changing due to life circumstances, influential people, ect. but these personality tests provide a semi-constant baseline regardless of external factors.

QUICK RUNDOWN OF THE TESTS:

The Enneagram

The Enneagram consists of 127 questions in 14 sections. There are 9 personality types with wings (secondary personality types).

Take the test here. Read about your results here. This page is ridiculously useful, not only does it tell you about your motives, desires, strengths and weaknesses - it also tells you what you're like in relationships (not strictly romantic) with other Enneagram types.

The Color Code

The Color Code is 45 questions. There are four colors - Red, Yellow, Blue and White. Each color represents your core motive in life. Red - Power, Yellow- Fun, Blue - Intimacy, and White - Peace. Everyone has a primary and secondary color. When taking the test, answer the questions with your earliest memories - answer them for your 8-year-old self.

Take a free version of the test here. It will only give you your primary color unless you pay for the premium version. And if you really want to get the most out of this test (to learn about yourself AND others), you should read The People Code by Dr. Taylor Hartman. It's incredible. I'm a Red Blue and when reading the book, I felt like I was reading my journal - it's INSANELY ACCURATE!

NOTE/WORD OF CAUTION:

Personality tests are only so accurate Don't confine yourself to a box. I'm an Enneagram Type 2 - The Helper. When reading about this, I got kind of down because it basically says that I'm subject to be taken advantage of in all relationships and that it is difficult to find others who care as much about me as I do for them. AKA: "you will rarely have a mutual level of caring with others." When I read this I got kind of pissed off because I don't want to be in love with someone and not have them feel equally in love with me. That's not going to be a lasting and healthy relationship.

If you're not happy with who you are - GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD. Our personality types are a "starting point," we can grow and learn from our experiences to adapt and develop our strengths and weaknesses to make ourselves stronger, more resilient and overall happier. You're not defined by a number, you are who you are and you better love it because you are the only you on this planet - OWN IT.