I am. I love personality quizzes – Myers-Briggs, Enneagram, What Desperate Housewife/Buffy Character/Hogwarts House Are You? Because I do the free versions, I never really learn much. I know that I’m (in order) an Idealist-Healer (INFP – formerly ENFP), a Helper (Type 2), Susan, Tara, and Hufflepuff.
Recently, however, Al from 7P Productions ran a giveaway for access to StrengthsFinder and I won! As soon as I got the code, off I went to discover more about myself. The test was a series of paired phrases and for each pair I had to choose which I identified with more with a 20 second time limit on each decision. For many of the pairs I would read and think “both” or “neither” and in a panic would either click neutral or wildly stab at one side or the other.
Some twenty minutes later, I was done and had my top five strengths (my Signature Themes) before me:
Beyond being annoyed that the themes weren’t all the same parts of speech (a mix of nouns and adjectives), I was intrigued – sounded pretty good to me, but what did it mean? I read on and for every single one I thought “Oh that is so me.” But then I considered the list more carefully and identified actions and thought patterns that were the complete opposite of these. For example, while I’m normally a positive person, I can dive into a wallow like a child into a pile of presents on Christmas morning. And while I’m generally focused, I have no task memory for day-to-day things.
Then I realized the particular “strength” of this self-awareness program. Each strength reflects the opposite weakness. For example although I prefer the big picture, I can get lost in details. My empathy is helpful for understanding people, but causes me to withdraw or question my own beliefs when I’m faced with strong emotions. My ability to see all the possible future paths leads me down some scary roads sometimes and I’ve already mentioned the weaknesses associated with positivity and focus. By focusing on the strengths, I now have a tool to work on eliminating the weaknesses.
All pointed out another cool thing about this test: the strengths line up well with the theme of this blog:
I’ve also decided to use my Signature Themes as a basis for my workshop marketing plan. If an action doesn’t coincide with one of my strengths, I won’t do it, no matter how “good” it might be for my sales. And speaking of which, the first Curing Someday Syndrome workshop launches next week. This nine-week email-based course will debut for a while at a low introductory price, so take advantage of it right away– stop procrastinating and start clearing your life of Somedays.
Someday Lessons:
P.S. Go check out a bunch of awesome new-ish blogs over at Remarkablogger where Michael is hosting a web traffic boost party.
20 Responses to “Are You a Self-Awareness Quiz Junkie?”
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I’m heading to Bilbao for the weekend to see the musical Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar (Today, I Can’t Get Up), based on the songs of Mecano (one of Spain’s top 80s bands).
I’ll be back Sunday night - enjoy talking amongst yourselves…
Cheers,
Alex
Hi Alex,
You are dead on with how to use the Strengthsfinder results. The key is that these strengths also have a yin-yang like weakness associated with them, so the results not only give guidance on what strengths to focus on, but what weaknesses give us trouble as well.
Your strengths indeed line up well with this blog too. You couldn’t pick better attributes to fit it, even if you tried.
Hope you enjoy your weekend trip to Bilbao Alex!
re: Beyond being annoyed that the themes weren’t all the same parts of speech (a mix of nouns and adjectives)
ROFL, this was my immediate reaction as well.
Urban Panther’s last blog post..The chairdrobe defines my life
Yes, I have taken many different types of those tests and have learned some very interesting things about myself over the years and you are right, they have also helped to to work on my weaknesses to become more balanced. But I think the most important thing I have learned from them as a whole is that we all see the world through our own individual lenses and that I have to constantly keep at the forefront of my mind that what I am perceiving and processing, the person next to me IS NOT. It helps me to really stop and try to look and listen and see what they are experiencing.
Wendi Kelly’s last blog post..Giving Back to the Givers
Hi Alex - I am a quiz junky too - I will take anyone going, especially IQ tests, as I worry that my brain cells will deplete with age.
It’s great that your results measured up well with the theme of your blog though. That definitely bodes well for your new venture.
Cath Lawson’s last blog post..Reaching Over The Fence
When I first started seriously asking questions around ‘who am I?’ I took these tests all over the place, and repeated most of them too.
In the end I got the most out of them by disagreeing with the results. The more I did them the more I realised I had a set list of answers in my head to these kinds of questions that were totally made up by other people! Clearing that out has taken (and is taking) quite some time, but the answers are starting to come out closer and closer to something that really feels like it resonates with me.
James | Dancing Geek’s last blog post..The Lazy People series
You know I am, but I was actually a little disappointed with the Strengthsfinder - I didn’t find the information as helpful as I’d hoped. However, I’ve bookmarked http://pos-psych.com/news/margaret-greenberg/20080614798 and plan to go back to it when I have some time.
Janet Barclay’s last blog post..Are You in it for the Long Haul?
I’m totally a self-awareness quiz junkie, although sometimes I wonder if I’m just self-absorbed not self-aware. Maybe actually making use of what you learn about yourself, as you suggest, is what makes the difference?
And yes, I think the mix of nouns and adjectives is annoying too.
Good luck with your workshop series!
Glee Girl from Gleeful’s last blog post..Hatches, cool clouds and spaving
I’m not much of a self-quiz taker, but I do have a link on the post I published today where you can quiz you’re emotional intelligence. It’s 106 questions. It was fun, but I don’t plan on taking any more self-quizzes any time soon
Marelisa’s last blog post..20 Ways to Raise Your IQ
Hi! First time poster…
I agree that the self quizes are very seductive, but I have my reservations. I’ve completed the full formal Myers-Briggs test (INTP if you are interested) and gone into the mechanics of how it was created and how reliable it is.
The answer is that the results are consistent and broadly capture the type of person I am. However the nature of these tests is to categorise people into one of a few boxes (16 for Myers-Briggs). Once you have the top level descriptor the interactions between the various elements falls into a creative description which appears to have no scientific explanation, and the Jungian archetypes the test is based on are now pretty much discounted. This doesn’t mean that the Myers Briggs test is useless, merely that its descriptive power is pragmatic (allegedly around 80%) rather than scientific.
I suspect that I get most out of these tests (see http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Default.aspx for another bunch of tests) by reflecting on how accurate thay are compared with my own self knowledge. They don’t always score well. A bit like the I Ching, the value is not in the chance arrangement of the yarrow stalks but in the question asked and the reflective thought afterwards.
In any event I reject being pigeonholed into a limiting ‘type’; its a useful indicator for reflection but I don’t want to become trapped and restricted by accepting someone elses view of how (my) personality works.
I haven’t really taken many of these quizzes. Now I wonder, though, if it would be good - if I could learn more about myself in the process. It’s where I’m at right now, really trying to understand who I am…thanks for sharing this!
Lance’s last blog post..Lost In This Great Big World
Me too on the quiz junkie thing. In fact I took the ‘Now Put Your Strengths To Work’ test just this week. I’ve also done Myers Briggs, Mensa and a number of psychometric tests over the last 7 or 8 years. They all said I was mental.
When I was going for management development at one job I took a very in-depth test. I showed the 20 or so page report to my wife after and she said “**** me, if I’d read this before we got married, we wouldn’t have, it’s bang on!” Nice huh?
Tim Brownson’s last blog post..Are We Friends?
Alex — I like to call myself a ‘recovering quiz junkie’ because I used to take all of these tests online and off. LOL They’re so much fun, aren’t they?
Amy Derby’s last blog post..Confessions of a (Not-So-)Closet(ed) Freak
I used to that a lot in college.. “trying to find myself” .. have moved on from self awareness to a regular quiz junkie these days.. wondering if I should go back to being now..
Found your blog through michael’s blog jump start stuff..
Maneesh Madambath’s last blog post..Initiative, Follow Up and World Peace
I love quizzes and tests and all that stuff. They can be fun and sometimes even informative or helpful. Your results didn’t surprise me - they seem pretty spot on. Where’s the link for the quizz, eh?
Annie
Well, what an enlightening post. There are various reasons to the causes of procrastination. http://www.stop-procrastination.org is an informative website which explains to you some of the reasons of procrastination and help you to prevent them. Very useful indeed. You might wanna check it out.
Samantha’s last blog post..3 Great Tips for Overcoming Procrastination
@Al
Other than (not) sleeping on a bad mattress, I had a good time, thanks, and as soon as I finish responding to comments, I’m off to fill in my marketing plan.
@UP
We do come from a family that would discuss grammar at the dinner table, so it doesn’t surprise me that you had the same reaction.
@Wendi
I have such a hard time with this - not necessarily for me because I’m not very single-minded - in fact I’m so multi-minded, I could give Sybil a run for her money. I have a hard time realizing that others don’t see all the other view points and get VERY cranky when people stick with one view point.
@Cath
I’ve stopped taking IQ quizzes for that exact reason. A quadratic equation? What the f*ck is that?
@James
I totally get that - it’s so easy to answer how you think you should rather than what’s really going on inside. I tend to answer without considering the answer too much, which was one of the things I like about StrengthsFinder the 20 second time limit.
@Janet
Some tests don’t work for me either, like a Tony Robbins one I did a while back for someone. It helped them understand me but it meant nothing to me. Thanks for the link BTW.
@Glee Girl
Yes, we have to act on what we learn or it’s just a form of mental masturbation, which while totally gratifying and has its place, it doesn’t produce many babies.
@Marelisa
I’ve never done any EQ tests before. I’ll have to check out your post for that.
@DiscoveredJoys
Welcome! I hope to see you back soon! I agree that the value in these types of tests is in the self-analysis that is done during and after the test. I learn more about myself through my reactions to these things (like Susan? I’m Susan? I don’t want to be Susan!) than in the test themselves.
@Lance
As others have pointed out, the tests are good to help you understand yourself, but if you already have a good process for that, then you don’t necessarily need the tests.
My pleasure
@Tim
LOL - (un?)Fortunately my boyfriend doesn’t read much English, so he won’t learn all the dirty secrets these tests reveal (although he does agree that I’m totally Susan).
@Amy
Are you sure you won’t just try one more? I know of a good Winnie The Pooh one if you’re interested. C’mon, one more won’t hurt…
@Maneesh
Welcome to the community! Remarkablogger’s project was a great success wasn’t it? I think we tend to float in and out of looking for outside sources of self-knowledge. I go through periods where I don’t do any tests either.
@Annie
Thanks! It’s nice to know that what I’m aiming for is what comes across in the blog.
@Samantha
Thanks for the resource. I’ll take a look at it.
@Alex - I’m the other way around. If I do the tests quickly then the answers are the pre-programmed ones that I’ve learnt to repeat by rote. It takes me time to reflect and really make sure that my response comes from the heart.
James | Dancing Geek’s last blog post..Lazy people have it right!
@James
Good for you for know that difference! That must have taken a while for the realization, eh?
@Alex - gosh yes, about 24 years
3 years later and I’m still working on clearing some of the rubbish out that is gummed up in the works. It’s like I just found the dust filter on my brain and am having to spend a while getting it clean again without washing my whole head out!
James | Dancing Geek’s last blog post..The Lazy People series