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Hello lovelies and welcome back to the blog.
I thought I’d take a break from talking about drafting this week and talk instead about something that fascinates me, which is personality tests. I will make this writing related, since that’s what you’re here for. So we’ll talk about two personality tests I’ve taken and how they both hurt and help me in my writing career.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
What it is:
The Myers–Briggs Type Indicator is an introspective self-report questionnaire indicating differing psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. The test attempts to assign four categories: introversion or extraversion, sensing or intuition, thinking or feeling, judging or perceiving.
My Personality Type: INTJ, the Architect
Have original minds and great drive for implementing their ideas and achieving their goals. Quickly see patterns in external events and develop long-range explanatory perspectives. When committed, organize a job and carry it through. Skeptical and independent, have high standards of competence and performance – for themselves and others.
How this hurts my writing:
Architects hate blindly following anything without understanding why. This includes restrictions and the authority figures who impose them. Architects can become scathingly critical.
In other words, I’m unlikely to do anything anyone tells me to do unless I can see utility in it. I resist authority figures for the sake of their own authority. And I am extremely critical of my own work and the work of my peers.
How this helps my writing:
Architects love diving into all sorts of challenges. Architect personalities are ambitious and goal-oriented. Whenever an idea or pursuit captures their imagination, Architects dedicate themselves to mastering the subject and gaining relevant skills. They tend to have clear visions of what it means for them to be successful, and few things can deter them from turning these visions into reality. Creative and self-motivated, Architects strive to do things their own way.
I’m self motivated and know exactly what I think success will look like. When I don’t know how to do something, I set myself to gaining that skill. And I will pursue whatever sets my heart on fire.
Enneagram
What it is:
The Enneagram of Personality, or simply the Enneagram, is a model of the human psyche which is principally understood and taught as a typology of nine interconnected personality types.
My Personality Type: 3, the Achiever:
Threes are self-assured, attractive, and charming. Ambitious, competent, and energetic, they can also be status-conscious and highly driven for advancement. They are diplomatic and poised, but can also be overly concerned with their image and what others think of them.
How this hurts my writing:
In the headlong rush to achieve whatever they believe will make them more valuable, Threes can become so alienated from themselves that they no longer know what they truly want, or what their real feelings or interests are. They are easy prey to self–deception, deceit, and falseness of all kinds. Threes can become dependent on receiving attention from others and in pursuing the values that others reward, while gradually losing touch with themselves. Step by step, their own inner core, their “heart’s desire,” is left behind until they no longer recognize it.
Threes typically have problems with workaholism and competitiveness. Because achieving is what makes me feel most successful in my life, I can burn myself out checking things off lists, and will often be extremely hard on myself in moments when I do not have the ability to achieve anything. Often I feel it’s necessary to have to earn my rest by working extremely hard every single day, when humans don’t generally function well in a state where they are truly working 18 hour days. I can sometimes convince myself that there will be time to slow down later, that I should work as hard as I can for my passion and to make my publishing dreams come true while I am still young and have the ability to burn the candle at both ends without much regard. That’s an ugly lie, because it does lead me to burn out when I can’t find balance.
How this helps my writing:
Threes are often successful and well liked because, of all the types, they most believe in themselves and in developing their talents and capacities. Threes act as living “role models” and paragons because of their extraordinary embodiment of socially valued qualities. Healthy Threes know that they are worth the effort it takes to be “the best that they can be.” Their success at doing so inspires others to invest in their own self-development. Threes want to make sure their lives are a success, however that is defined by their family, their culture, and their social sphere.
Very much like the Myers-Briggs type, my Three personality shows that I am ambitious, competent, and energetic, and these are qualities that are generally to be admired. I do not let “I don’t know how to do this thing” hold me back for long. I adopt the mindset that “I don’t know how to do this thing… yet,” and tell myself that I can and will figure it out. Then, once I’ve figured it out, I teach it to others by making blog posts and podcasts about it.
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Do you take personality tests and quizzes, and do they help you to understand anything about your writing? Which personality tests do you like the best, and why? What’s your Hogwarts house (to no one’s surprise, I’m a Slytherin)? Let us know in the comments!
