This year, I retook a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test called 16personalities.
It’s an assessment test that categorises you into one of 16 personalities based on a unique combination of your character traits.
On the test, I scored 78% Intuitive on the Mind Scale.
That was pretty high.
Being high on Intuition means I was very imaginative and open-minded.
This can be a great personality trait when talking to people – read between the lines and adjust my approach before misunderstandings occur!
Thanks to this bias, I’ve been successfully able to easily shift my communication style based on subtle cues about what’s working or not working.
But there’s a risk…
As an Intuitive person, if you’re not careful, you can focus intently on adapting to others and prioritise their comfort over expressing your own needs or perspectives.
You over-accommodate and then burn out during extended interactions!
And this is just one of the many things that can happen.
The Hidden Cost of Not Knowing Yourself
Here’s the danger:
If you don’t take the time to know yourself, you end up repeating harmful patterns without recognising where they came from or how to address them.
This makes things harder than they need to be.
You risk spending years, or even decades, slaving away on something that you could’ve figured out if you took the time.
I see this happen all the time with a couple of people:
“I don’t know why I am like this … I’m making progress… but I can’t figure out the next step!”
Usually, they’re working in ignorance…
Struggling to understand themselves…
Spending years stuck – trying to undo harmful patterns.
Some people think their problem is different. Unique challenges that only they are facing. Needing a “one-of-a-kind” personalised solution to be able to grow.
But that’s nonsense.
They just haven’t opened their eyes and looked around enough!
What Self-Knowledge Unlocks
If they just slowed down and found ways of understanding themselves, they’d discover:
- What energises and depletes them
- How they take in information
- Their decision-making skills
- How to approach the world around them
Think about it this way:
You wouldn’t drive a car without knowing where the gas pedal and brakes are, would you?
Yet most people go through life without understanding their own operating system.
They wonder why they’re constantly exhausted after networking events (hello, introversion).
Or why they keep making impulsive decisions that backfire (perhaps you’re a Perceiver who needs more structure).
The truth is that self-knowledge is the foundation for everything else in personal development.
Without it, you’re building on sand.
With it, you can design a life that actually fits who you are – not who you think you should be.
Why Personality Tests Work
There’s no big secret here.
There are scientifically proven tests to identify your character traits and self-reflect on your strengths and weaknesses.
In fact, the more popular the test, the more accurate the results.
You can discover them yourself by searching online for personality tests.
Or reading about them in newsletters like this.
Here’s what makes personality tests different from casual self-reflection:
They provide structure. Instead of vague musings about “who you are,” these tests give you concrete frameworks and categories.
They reveal blind spots. We all have aspects of ourselves we don’t see clearly. A well-designed test can shine a light on these hidden areas.
They’re based on research. Popular personality tests draw on decades of psychological research and data from millions of test-takers.
They give you language. Suddenly, you have words to describe patterns you’ve felt but couldn’t articulate.
The True Essence of Personality Tests
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, for instance, has been refined over 70 years with extensive validation studies.
It’s not perfect (no test is), but it’s a powerful starting point.
Understanding the MBTI Framework
For instance, take the 16personalities as an example.
The 16 personalities identified by the MBTI are each represented by a combination of four letters that stand as an abbreviation for certain traits.
ENERGY: Extraversion (E) vs. Introversion (I)
The first letter in your MBTI personality type will be an E or an I for extraversion or introversion.
This distinction helps determine where you derive your energy from.
Spending time with others tends to give extroverts more energy, and they enjoy interacting with others.
They bounce ideas off others to process information.
On the other hand, introverted individuals tend to focus their energies inward.
If you’re an introvert, you’re more likely to prefer spending time by yourself and thinking things through on your own instead of talking to others.
This single dimension can explain so much about why certain situations drain you while others energise you.
MIND: Intuiting (N) vs. Sensing (S)
The second letter in your personality type will be either an N for intuiting or an S for sensing.
These characteristics help explain how you absorb and trust information.
You process information based on possibilities and patterns if you’re intuitive, especially if you’re introverted.
You think more abstractly and analyse situations with your imagination.
Sensing types, however, process information based on specific facts and details.
If you are sensing, you likely use your human senses to understand your surroundings and situations.
Understanding this can revolutionise how you approach learning and problem-solving.
NATURE: Thinking (T) vs. Feeling (F)
You’ll find either a T or an F as the third letter in your personality type, which stands for thinking or feeling.
These help you understand how you make decisions.
If you fall into the “thinking” category, you’re likely more practical and rely on logic to make decisions.
Then you’re more likely to follow your emotions and heart if you fall into the “feeling” category.
Neither approach is better – they’re just different.
But knowing your preference can help you understand why you clash with certain people or excel in specific situations.
TACTICS: Judging (J) vs. Perceiving (P)
The final letter in your MBTI personality test result will be a J or a P for judging or perceiving.
This area helps describe how you interact with the outside world.
Judgers often prefer structure and order – They’re well organised and like to focus on one thing at a time rather than multitasking.
Meanwhile, those in the perceiving category are more flexible and adaptable – They tend to keep their options open and absorb information for longer periods of time.
The different combinations of the letters above form the 16 personality types recognised by the MBTI.
My Personal Journey with MBTI
When I took the test this year, I got the INTJ personality type.
This means I am Introverted (I), Intuiting (N), Thinking (T), and Judging (J).
A personality study shows the strengths of INTJ are rationality, thoughtfulness and independence.
If you know me (and read my newsletters), you will agree these traits align with my personality.
Interestingly, when I first took the test in 2018, I got the INFJ Personality Type.
It seems people do change over time, both internally and externally.
This shift from Feeling to Thinking wasn’t random – it reflected real changes in how I approached decisions over those years.
I became more analytical, more focused on logic over emotion in my work.
Seeing this change documented gave me perspective on my own growth trajectory.
How to Get Started
You can take the Myers-Briggs test from 16personalities.com
It is free.
Takes about 10-15 minutes.
Answer honestly – not how you wish you were, but how you actually are.
If you don’t feel aligned with the methodology used by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, there are plenty of other personality tests you can try to help increase your self-awareness.
The Big Five measures openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.
StrengthsFinder identifies your top talent themes.
Enneagram explores nine personality types with deeper psychological motivations.
Take your time to find and validate these results.
Try multiple tests and see what resonates.
Look for patterns across different frameworks.
The most important thing to note is:
Knowing what you’re good at can open the door to more substantial opportunities and help uncover your highest self.
Self-knowledge isn’t vanity.
It’s practical wisdom.
Self-knowledge is the difference between forcing yourself into ill-fitting roles and stepping into work that energises you.
It’s the difference between relationships that drain you and connections that fulfil you.
It’s the difference between years of confusion and a clear path forward.
So take the test.
Reflect on the results.
And start building a life that actually fits who you are.
I hope this helps you, my friend.
Godspeed and Cheers.
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