Learning my personality type was a game changer for improving my personal and professional relationships. Here’s an overview of the different types of personality tests and how knowing your results can benefit your life.
Can you guess my types?!
Some of you have been following for more than a decade. Can you guess my types???!
While I’ve openly shared my life on the internet for well over a decade, I actually tend to be more of an introvert. An extroverted introvert if we’re being precise.
While I do love a party and hanging out with friends, I definitely recharge with down time and alone time. A common misconception is that introverts don’t like people, but what defines your type is where you get your energy vs. what drains you.
I love people, but after a day of talking I can’t WAIT to unwind and read a book alone.
If you know me well, you know I can be a total homebody. If my home is where I recharge, I want it to feel calming and cozy (which is probably why I love neutral home decor).
While the terms introvert and extrovert get thrown around a lot, the older I get, the more interested I’ve gotten in understanding my personality types in more depth.
Not only has it given me a better understanding of why I do the things I do, but it’s been eye-opening for my personal and professional relationships.
Whether it’s my family, friendships, or collaborating with the KERF or Beautycounter team, understanding their motivations and stressors has been monumental in how I interact with individuals in my life.
How Personality Type Assessments Can Benefit Your Life
- Knowing other peoples’ type help you better understand how they think, including:
- How they respond to conflict and solve problems
- What motivates them or stresses them out
- How to work better as a team by avoiding conflict and improving communication.
- Knowing your type can help you more clearly identify your likes and dislikes, which helps with relationship growth and communication
- You have a better understanding of which situations and environments are ideal for you (e.g., working in a coffee shop, working in a busy office, or working from home)
- You can recognize your strengths and weaknesses, which helps you focus and achieve growth
Let’s dive into some of the various personality type assessments!
The Types Of Personality Tests
1. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
- My Result: ESTJ – The Director or Executive
I’ve been an ESTJ (extroversion/sensing/thinking/judging) since high school (and have repeated the test a few times!). I will say that my E/I has gotten “weaker” over time – I used to be a strong E and now it’s a coin toss between E and I. The strengths and weaknesses (!) match me very well. This is one of my favorite personality tests because I think there is enough variation that you can really pinpoint a personality.
2. Enneagram
- My Result: 3 – The Achiever
This type came as no surprise to me, as I feel like a lot of ESTJs are also 3s. I also feel like 3s are easy to spot in a crowd, especially among my blogging friends.
About the 3: The Success-Oriented, Pragmatic Type: Adaptive, Excelling, Driven, and Image-Conscious
I love this account for Enneagram info:
View this post on Instagram
3. Four Tendencies
- My Result: Rebel
This is a newer-to-me test that I took this year, and when I read about the Rebel SO MUCH made sense to me. I value flow and flexibility more than anything else when it comes to tasks and work, so the fact that I rebel against both outside and inside expectations makes so much sense! If I write a task for myself for Thursday I immediately start to not want to do that task on Thursday. I want to do something else.
This all makes so much sense now, and I’ve changed how I’m planning my week a bit, shifting from a daily to-do list to a weekly one to embrace the flow.
4. Five Love Languages
- My Result: Words of Affirmation
Followed closely by Physical Touch and Quality Time. It’s funny how I will cling to words for weeks but I will forget about a gift quickly. I don’t want to sound unappreciative, but gifts is last on my list. I don’t really like giving or receiving them!
Words of Affirmation is a bit of a tough one for us because it is not Thomas’s love language! He is Quality Time and Physical Touch though, and those are very close seconds for me (I sort of have a three-way tie with Words being at the top of the triangle) so we are good most of the time 😉
The Five Love Languages:
- Words of Affirmation
- Quality Time
- Physical Touch
- Acts of Service
- Gifts
5. Zodiac Sign
- My Sign: Scorpio
You’ll never meet a more classic Scorpio! This graphic says it all:
Source: @themantraco
Have you taken any personality type assessments? Did any of mine surprise you?
Nancy says
I worked in a hospital once where we all took one of these personality tests. The results were indicated by a different color which was the color bordering your badge photo. Theoretically it was supposed to help you relate to other employees better by knowing their “type”. All I can remember is that if someone had the red border it meant they wanted you to get to the point quickly. It was an interesting experience.
Kath Younger says
That is interesting! I wonder what a post use survey would say about that now.
Molly says
We did this one too – they gave us a little fidget with all the types on it that I have on my desk. It is the insights test.
Green – Show me you care
Yellow – Involve Me
Blue – Give me details
Red – Be brief, Be Bright and Be Gone
Kath Younger says
This doesn’t sound as bad how it’s worded here.
Anne says
I wouldn’t take the results of tests like these too seriously. It’s actually kind of shocking what the commenter above said about people having to display their personality types on their work badges. Also, the Myers-Briggs test has been documented as racist, so it shouldn’t be used as a reliable indicator of anything.
At best, personality tests are fun and frivolous.
Nancy says
this was about 25 years ago – I doubt they are still using that system
Rafal says
How is MBTI racist?
I have never noticed anything about any race in it.
Maybe your meaning of the word racist is different from mine, as these days it is overused so much and I could easily be called racist by just disagreeing with someone, not even of another race or skin colour.
Kori says
I love this! I am fascinated by these tests too. I am extroverted to a point and then I love to be at home to recharge. I love brunch and daytime commitments, but I want to be home with Matt and our furbabies in the evenings. Unless it’s an event with close family. So I thrived at FNCE in 2019 but recharged by myself in my hotel room. I just took the Four Tendencies quiz, and I’m a “Questioner”. Makes sense to me because I’m a six and often have SO much uncertainty and questions around certain aspects of life. But I’m challenging my knee-jerk type six reaction to think worst-case outcome. From what you know of me, does any of this surprise you? I love to reflect like you!
Kath Younger says
None of it surprises me for you 🙂 Hope we can meet at FNCE sometime!!
Kori says
That would be so awesome!! I hope we can too.
Allie says
My new favorite personality-ish framework is Attachment Styles! Basic types are: secure attachment, anxious attachment (not to be confused with having anxiety), avoidant attachment, and mixed anxious-avoidant (sometimes called “disorganized”). Are you familiar? It’s particularly helpful in romantic relationships!
Kath Younger says
Oh no I haven’t heard of these but I will Google!