Who exactly are you? You know you best...or do you? I have taken no less that 20 different personality tests to discover who I am and what my strengths are. Personalities change over time. While still similar, I am not who I was at age 18. I hope none of us are. Life changes you, shapes you, and makes you who you are today.
My personality type is rare (that explains it!). I am like 1% of the population. I am also a borderline personality type in the fact that I have almost equal traits of an extrovert and an introvert. Read the type descriptions for ENFJ vs. INFJ, and you'll see I am similar to both, though the second is a better fit. Slightly. 52%!
Last night my sweet Barrett saved me from a meltdown. This journey is scary for me. I gave up a career I had worked hard for, and poured my heart and soul into because it just didn't fit quite right. "What if I always thought being a rock star was cool, but I don't play an instrument, and I'd be a crappy rock star!" I wailed to Barrett. He, being my most perfect match, and capable of speaking Sarah, looked at me and said, "Are you worried you won't be a good nurse?" Yes, yes I am. I am embarrassed to admit, but my summer anatomy sequence is HARD for me. It is a ton of studying to get grades that are not what I hoped for. It interests me, but it does not come naturally to me. My Psychology degree and my Education degree were EASY for me, every part. While time consuming, doing a master's thesis was never what I would call difficult, at all. Working toward a Ph. D would have been the next logical, educational step, and honestly, likely would be easier than this. Barrett correctly translated my rock star analogy to: what if even though I am interested, I am not good enough for this? What if none of it is natural? I hope everyone has the luxury of a Barrett in their life. You can't have mine, but I hope you have a person that is your biggest fan-no matter what. Barrett held me close and reassured me that it is okay to decide I don't like this-if I do decide that. He told me he will back up anything I feel will make me happy. He ran me a hot bath, and helped me take yet another aptitude test (it had been awhile!) later last night.
My results? Mostly all careers I had thought about. The list is extensive, but here are a few: pediatrician, teacher (!), school counselor, therapist, and much to my relief-nurse. Actually, six different nursing positions were on my matches, tied only with all the counseling careers on there (something I had also given a ton of thought to).
I thought I'd provide some links to tests that I think are valuable. Maybe see who you are, what you are good at, and reassure yourself (like I did) that you are on a good path. If you do take any of these, let me know what you got-it is hugely interesting to me. Even if you think you know who you are, sometimes options you had never thought about appear. Happy self-discovering!
- http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html This is a good jumping off point to learn about personality types. Be careful. Most of these tests you can get free versions of. The free versions are ok. They will get you some information, but if you really want an accurate description, it may be worth the anywhere from $5-20 to get an actual report. They include more questions and are usually much more accurate.
- http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp FREE PERSONALITY TEST
- http://www.self-directed-search.com/Default.aspx Great test! Matches your interests, personality and abilities to careers.
No comments:
Post a Comment