The other night, I had the sudden urge to take a personality test.
I don’t know where it came from, but it wasn’t that surprising. I can be pretty random sometimes.
I typed “personality tests” into Google, and picked the one that looked the most legitimate to me (or at least the most interesting).
You may be rolling your eyes right about now. Or, at the very least, wondering why I’d waste my time on something so trivial. I hear your argument. I’ve often seen these types of tests as useless myself.
How can we know if they’re accurate? How could they be accurate!? There are so many factors that go into them, and so many ways you could purposely botch the test. Lots of people only answer selectively, or they don’t answer truthfully.
Even the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (the MBTI), one of the most famous personality assessment instruments, has taken a lot of criticism and gotten mixed reviews, and it’s been around for decades!
But my skepticism was put on the back burner for the time being as I sat there completing the test.
The Mediator
My personality profile soon arrived before my eyes, informing me that I’m an INFP personality type – the “Mediator.” I’m one of the four personality types falling under the category of “Diplomats.”
I was intrigued. Now I wanted to know everything about my personality type, hoping that it would lead me to some kind of revelation about myself.
And you know what?
It actually did!
Time to Meet Myself
Now I was captivated.
I read through the pages and pages of results, covering everything from strengths and weaknesses to relationships to careers, nodding my head in amazement as I agreed more and more with each sentence. My jaw started to hang open, my heart enthusiastically resonating with each description of my personality that I soaked up off the page.
Someone finally understood me.
“This is amazing!” I shrieked to myself, delighted with what I was reading.
But it was deeper than that. It was like I had finally found the first piece of a big puzzle—the beginning of my journey towards finding an answer I had always been looking for. Growing up, I often found myself wondering what the point of life is (though I’ve never been very vocal about it). I’ve spent the past few years questioning everything, always searching for more, always wondering, always curious.
Finding my purpose in life, or how I fit into the puzzle and where I can best be of service has always been important to me, and even more so in recent years. My personality test results confirmed this:
Ultimately, INFPs want to change the world in whatever way they can. They want to make the world a better place for others.
There Must Be More
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always believed there must be more to life than growing up, following the rules, getting a job, and paying the bills.
Somewhere, deep down, I felt that the traditional, “normal” life path society sets out for us all just wasn’t for me. I’ve seen people follow the rules and do what they’re supposed to do, only to end up unhappy, unhealthy, and buried under a pile of mounting debt. This scenario simply did not interest me at all.
That’s how I knew I needed more. Of what, I didn’t know (and still don’t entirely). But I definitely needed more of something. I was absolutely certain of that.
And now I know why:
“NFPs are often described as free spirits … A live-and-let-live attitude comes naturally to INFPs, and they dislike being constrained by rules.
Not only was this test interesting, but it also helped me understand more about myself and my worldviews.
What does your personality type say about you? Do you know what type you are?
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
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