We have all faced it at some point- that dreaded question during a job interview, college app or social media bio: How would you describe yourself?
How is a person with years worth of life experiences supposed to encompass who they are in under 140 characters or in just one answer? Seems like there will always be something you will overlook or have to intentionally leave out to meet the requirement. So, when you are in the moment you just list the basics: “adventurous,” “hardworking,” or “confident.” What if you went down a more unconventional route? What if your answer to that age-old question were as simple (and complex) as “I am an onion”?
Now I am not suggesting that you walk into your next interview proclaiming that you are a vegetable commonly used for seasoning, or that you say so and provide no justification for it. No, I would challenge you to unpack what being an onion actually means (metaphorically, of course).
An onion, like a person, has many layers- and sometimes you need to peel back a few layers to really appreciate what it’s made of. Oddly enough, this concept reinforces the idea that people are diverse in not only ethnicity and culture, but in personality. A person’s personality can affect their interests and views, and even motivations. That’s why sometimes being aware of different personality types can help people not only understand themselves, but it can also help them value those who act and think differently than they do.
I found this concept quite interesting, so naturally I did what any person in my position would- I did some deep-google research. I found that according to Carl G. Jung, the psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology (1971), and Isabel Briggs Myers, a researcher and practitioner of Jung’s theory (1980), in terms of personality types there are typically 4 categories, each of which have two options. Those 4 categories are as follows:
- Extroverted (E) vs. Introverted (I)
- Sensing (S) vs. Intuition (N)
- Thinking (T) vs. Feeling (F)
- Judging (J) vs. Perceiving (P)
All the possible combinations of preferences in the 4 categories above yield 16 different personality types, representing which of the two poles in each of the four fields dominates in a person. Each personality type can be assigned a 4-letter acronym of the corresponding combination of preferences:
After reading about it, I had to know more. I wanted to know what type of personality type I was, and what this meant. Thus, I took a free personality test on https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test, and if you have about 10 minutes to spare, I recommend that you do too! When taking the test, it’s all about you! So, no need to study or prep beforehand. You should also answer honestly, even if you don’t like the answer. It’s also recommended that you try not to leave any “neutral” answers, so your personality can be properly evaluated.
After taking the test, your personality type will be identified and you will have the opportunity to explore your type. You get to learn more about tendencies associated with this type, like most common strengths and weaknesses, a piece on romantic relationships, and you can even see a list of famous people throughout history with the same personality type!
On the day I took the test my results were consistent with an ENTJ-A personality type. The 16 Personalities page explained what this meant and provided some insight on how I could use my strengths to unlock my potential and avoid common pitfalls, while also staying true to who I am– after all, that’s the point: to see how you can grow to be the person you know you’re capable of being, in ways that feel right.
Admittedly, I am not 100% sure how accurate all the results are, and I am sure there are varying degrees to which a person falls into one of the 16 personality types, but hey! That’s part of the fun- learning more about yourself and learning more about the people around you. And learning that after all, anyway you slice (or dice it), everyone’s an onion.
-E.Lago
Sources:
https://www.16personalities.com/personality-types
http://www.humanmetrics.com/personality/type
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/10/the-best-jobs-for-your-personality-type