Six months ago I began a journey of practicing mindfulness every day and we've reached day 198. Yesterday, I talked about not sweating the things we can't control. Today's a new day.
My initial reaction was that a lot of what was described was easily relatable and applicable in my life. I often talk about finding balance and purpose in life, I value creativity (though I don't consider myself the most creative person), I have a lot of dreams, and I like being able to do things my way without other people dictating my actions. However, these kinds of descriptions can apply to everyone in one way or another.
We all seek to understand ourselves, which is why buzzfeed tests and the like are so popular. We find them interesting and even when we disagree with the results, it's a fun way of "understanding" ourselves. The danger in such tests or similar things such as horoscopes, star signs, etc. is that depending on them for answers keeps us from really discovering who we are and what we're capable of.
When we come to depend on tests and evaluations to "discover" who we are we're training ourselves to not trust in our instincts. We're conditioning ourselves to look to others for the answers. We're saying that we need others in order to make sense out of the world. Doing this is like watching a single news channel and taking everything at face-value without checking the facts. It's like the child completely dependent on their parents for everything. To me, it creates an imbalance that prevents us from being capable of independence.
I see these tests more as study guides instead of definitive answers to who we are. They're generalizations, but we can take what we can from such tests to reflect on our own lives. I'll use the results to see how my thoughts affect my worldview and how my decisions have affected my journey. Applying these ideas and experimenting with them is really where we can find the right balance and that's where real understanding comes from.
Testing to see how applicable the descriptions are to our life and how we differ allows us to see where in our psyche we still have to explore. It's like looking at a map in a game and seeing the greyed-out areas we still haven't been to. Once we've identified what we don't understand with ourselves we have a starting point in what we should reflect on and what connections we need to make in order to further our self-understanding.
For example, I can apply most of what is said to my life and from there I can ask why I'm like this, how I came to be the way I am, what events really made an impact on my views, and where I still need to improve. In asking these questions I dive deep and piece together the puzzle of who I am. INFP or not, I am me. I am the only me in this world. No test can fully define who I am, I just am.
People change with time and so there will never be a fully definitive answer, but trusting in my instincts, discovering who I am through my own means, and not letting myself be limited by any generalizations, I own myself. I won't always be right and I'll make mistakes, but like anything it's a learning process. In that process I grow and create my own greatness. We live and learn.
Peace
"We can spend our lives letting the world tell us who we are. Sane or insane. Saints or sex addicts. Heroes or victims. Letting history tell us how good or bad we are. Letting our past decide our future. Or we can decide for ourselves. And maybe it's our job to invent something better.” - Chuck Palahniuk, ChokeA while back I was asked by a friend if I had taken the Myers-Briggs personality test and I responded saying that no test can completely define us as I believe we create our own meaning and purpose. I was feeling curious and so I took the test last night and I ended up getting INFP, which defines me as a "mediator" type personality that tends to be very caring, values purpose and balance, is creative, idealistic, tends to do well with learning languages, positive, independent, and adaptable.
My initial reaction was that a lot of what was described was easily relatable and applicable in my life. I often talk about finding balance and purpose in life, I value creativity (though I don't consider myself the most creative person), I have a lot of dreams, and I like being able to do things my way without other people dictating my actions. However, these kinds of descriptions can apply to everyone in one way or another.
We all seek to understand ourselves, which is why buzzfeed tests and the like are so popular. We find them interesting and even when we disagree with the results, it's a fun way of "understanding" ourselves. The danger in such tests or similar things such as horoscopes, star signs, etc. is that depending on them for answers keeps us from really discovering who we are and what we're capable of.
When we come to depend on tests and evaluations to "discover" who we are we're training ourselves to not trust in our instincts. We're conditioning ourselves to look to others for the answers. We're saying that we need others in order to make sense out of the world. Doing this is like watching a single news channel and taking everything at face-value without checking the facts. It's like the child completely dependent on their parents for everything. To me, it creates an imbalance that prevents us from being capable of independence.
I see these tests more as study guides instead of definitive answers to who we are. They're generalizations, but we can take what we can from such tests to reflect on our own lives. I'll use the results to see how my thoughts affect my worldview and how my decisions have affected my journey. Applying these ideas and experimenting with them is really where we can find the right balance and that's where real understanding comes from.
Testing to see how applicable the descriptions are to our life and how we differ allows us to see where in our psyche we still have to explore. It's like looking at a map in a game and seeing the greyed-out areas we still haven't been to. Once we've identified what we don't understand with ourselves we have a starting point in what we should reflect on and what connections we need to make in order to further our self-understanding.
For example, I can apply most of what is said to my life and from there I can ask why I'm like this, how I came to be the way I am, what events really made an impact on my views, and where I still need to improve. In asking these questions I dive deep and piece together the puzzle of who I am. INFP or not, I am me. I am the only me in this world. No test can fully define who I am, I just am.
People change with time and so there will never be a fully definitive answer, but trusting in my instincts, discovering who I am through my own means, and not letting myself be limited by any generalizations, I own myself. I won't always be right and I'll make mistakes, but like anything it's a learning process. In that process I grow and create my own greatness. We live and learn.
Peace
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| We're so much more than meets the eye. We cannot be defined so easily. |
What are some insights you've gained through self-reflection and how have they changed the way you've lived your life?
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