Homebuilders – Personality dimensions

Who are you on the inside? What makes you tick? Is the ‘you’ the outside world sees really accurate, or are you trying to fit into a box that’s the wrong shape? If we ignore our inner self and our own needs, we’re not likely to be content. People often spend time exploring their identity in young adulthood – ‘finding yourself’ it’s sometimes called. It is a time of new experiences, clarifying your beliefs, identifying your ‘tribe’ of compatible people, and figuring out your future direction. But we tend to get out of the habit of self-reflection.

One way of kickstarting a mental stocktake of who you are, what you value, how your mind works and what makes you happy is by doing a personality test. If we get more insight into ourselves, it can also help us understand the signals we may be sending out to others without even realising it. This might point the way to better communication, and help explain tensions and challenges in our dealings with the world.

One way of categorising personality was developed by Isabel Myers and Katherine Briggs during World War II, based on Carl Jung’s work on personality. It’s said to be the most widely used psychological instrument in the world: the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). (It costs money to do the test, but there are several similar free versions online). It’s a self-report questionnaire which focuses on four different dimensions of personality. These are:

• introversion/extraversion (does our energy derive from the external or internal world?)

• sensing/intuition (do we focus more on concrete facts and experiences, or possibilities and relationships between ideas?)

• thinking/feeling (prioritising logic or emotions and values), and

• judging/perceiving (planning and structure versus flexibility and spontaneity in decision making).
The combinations of these four dimensions lead to 16 possible four letter acronyms signifying the 16 ‘types’.

Of course people are complex, and any such assessment involves huge oversimplification. The MBTI has been criticised as being too positive, or too vague, and people may get a slightly different result if they repeat it a few months later. But even if it’s undertaken in the spirit of entertainment, it can be enlightening, and a common reaction is “yep, that sounds like me”. It could be fun to try doing it with your family and see how you all mesh together (or not). You might learn something about your nearest and dearest, or at least have some interesting discussions. And it’s always nice to read about your strong points.

If you feel you are at a crossroads and want to work towards some changes in your life or family relationships, Homebuilders can help. You can reach us on 0800 100 037 or 425 7048, or message us via our website: https://www.homebuildersfs.org/