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"Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength, mastering yourself is true power" - Lao-Tzu
Yesterday in English class, we talked about our own "shadows". My teacher explained that when we were young children, our parents most likely told us encouraging things like "You're so much calmer than other children. You're the best." or "You're so much more outgoing that the other children. You're the best". These adjectives are opposites. So while the calm child is rewarded for being calm, they are also being told not to be outgoing. While the outgoing child is rewarded for being outgoing, he or she is also being told not to be calm. These things that "we are not" become our shadows. Our feelings towards people that represent our shadows fall into one of two categories, both of which are intense. You either find yourself being incredible bothered and annoyed by these people, or you fall in love with them. Remember, opposites attract! In class we were asked to make a T-Chart of what we are and what we are not. Below is my chart.
I am I am not
__________________________________________
* strong *weak
* rule-follower *funny
*clumsy *focused
* smart *outgoing
*forgetful *productive
*stubborn *a quitter
*quiet *wild
*determined *troublemaker
After class, I decided to take a personality test to see how well it matches up with the list I made. The results from this test told me I had the personality type ISTJ. All personality types fit into four 'temperments'. I was classified as a Guardian, and more specifically, an Inspector. An Inspector in a nutshell is superdependable, responsible, patient, dedicated, quiet, are most likely involved in community service, and follow the rules. As I read the description of an Inspector, it mentioned that because these people follow the rules, they are often musjudged as "having ice in thier veins" or "being hard-hearted". I couldn't stop laughing as I read this because my dad is always saying I'm cold-hearted. Most of the description was amazingly similar to the list I developed in class. Keep in mind that I had about 5 minutes to compile this list. While I seem to know myself pretty well, I still find it's helpful to read a description about yourself. Some personality traits seemed annoying as I read about them, and now I realize that other people that have a different personality than me might think so too. I encourage everyone to take this test and find out more about themselves. Improving your understanding of yourself can help you maintain the relationships you have and your relationship with yourself.
Molly, I definitely found this discussion in class quite interesting. Cool to see that you went a bit further and found our your personality type - I'm an ESTJ (so pretty close)! I think a really interesting point with all of this is that sometimes we are put off by the things in the "I am not" category. Do you find that you are annoyed or put off by people who are troublemakers, focused, or funny? It is so interesting to see how accurate our own free associations of adjectives to describes ourselves can be. Also, I hope you told your dad about the cold hearted bit, too funny.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a very interesting exercise, but I am a bit wary of taking the test. While the test can tell me a lot about myself, I fear it will cause me to over analyze my behavior in a detrimental manner. I would personally be prone to draw conclusions from certain things they tell me. If it told me I was out going, I would infer that that means I am too loud. I may not say a word for another week. Typically, I would take this test as an opportunity to fix my "problems". I guess my point is that personality tests should be taken with a grain of salt. They are not supposed to change you, but are supposed to inform you. I, probably along with other people, would take the former objective.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post, Molly! I took the test and I am INFJ, or an idealist counselor. According to the study, counselors are scarce and make up little more than three percent of the population. It was interesting to read my personality description, but I fear its not quite accurate because I had trouble choosing an answer for some of the questions. Sometimes it's hard to tell whether you are choosing an answer that is true to yourself or whether you are choosing the answer that sounds like how you should be behaving in a particular situation. Some of the description, however, definitely fits the way I see myself, so I thought it was a very interesting test.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Harrison and Zoe that personality tests are not very reliable. When faced with a question on such a test it is easy to know the outcome your answer will give you and thus it messes up clear thinking of how you really would answer it. To determine personality I feel the only way is to have multiple people "evaluate" you. A program is too mechanical and specific question cannot determine who a person is. One person would obviously be unreliable since that persons opinion could be completely off, but having multiple people get to know you and determine who you are is the only way to truly figure out what your personality is. (Besides, of course, what you think it is) However, even when finding out what people think of your personality, you must be wary that their shadows don't come out and they call you something like anti-social and mute, when you are really just shy.
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