Who Am I Really?

When I first started this blog, some questions that came into my head were "so what exactly is self discovery anyways?" and "what are the steps towards discovering oneself?" I was looking for a definite answer, however, I've realized that self discovery is mostly up for interpretation. The methods  that one person used to discover themselves won't necessarily be perfect for the rest of us. We are all very different individuals living very different lives. It's up to ourselves to reveal what our purpose in life is and how we want to live it, this will then pave the road for a successful future. It's important that we do this because we are only given one life, so why not live it to our best abilities?Understanding and knowing yourself is one of the greatest skills a person can possess. Once we fully understand our goals, fears, and ambitions, the more confident we will become in our abilities to navigate through life.

According to an online dictionary, the definition of self discovery is "the process of acquiring insight into one's own character." But exactly how do we do this? We are constantly changing with our environments, experiences and goals, so how do we truly understand what makes us who we are? I think that the first step of my self discovery journey should be to analyze my personality to fully understand myself and my relationships with others. I found this website called 16personalities.com and its an extremely useful tool to getting an outside perspective of your personality in relation to your mind, energy, nature, tactics and identity. The test consists of about 60 questions and the results consist of a 5 letter code, each letter revealing something about your personality.

After completing this quiz, I got the five letter code "ENFP-T." To break it down for you, the "E" means that I'm more extraverted than introverted, which was a surprise for me because I always considered myself to be introverted. This means that I thrive off of social situations and feel energized by interacting with others. The "N" means that I'm more intuitive than observant, meaning I'm imaginative, curious and open-minded. I can definitely identify with being intuitive, it feels like I'm constantly day dreaming about the possibilities of the future rather than being practical about the present. Next, the "F" stands for feeling, meaning that the way I make decisions is based off of my emotions. "Feelers" are sensitive and emotionally expressive, which is definitely true for me. I often make decisions based on a whim of how I'm feeling in the moment. The opposite of this is a "thinker" who focus on the rational side of things, using logic over their emotions. I think that it is important that I try to work on this side of my personality. Making decisions based solely on my emotions has always gotten me into trouble. For example, a couple days ago I got upset at work and gave my two weeks notice without finding another job first. If I sat back and rationalized my emotions, then maybe I would have gotten a new job before quitting. Well, I guess you live and you learn!

The next letter that helps me identify my personality is "P" meaning that I'm a prospecting individual. I'm good at improvising and spotting any opportunities that come my way. This is definitely true for me, I'm very flexible and I always like to keep my options open. Rather than a set schedule of plans, I'd much rather go with the flow. Last but not least, the next letter is "T" which means I'm more turbulent than assertive. This means that I'm more self conscious than others, and I'm extremely sensitive to stress. Rather than being self-assured and even tempered, I'm always feeling a wide range of different emotions. I'm extremely hard on myself and I'm never confident in my abilities to succeed. I definitely feel that this personality trait describes me perfectly, however this trait is something that I definitely need to work on.

After taking this personality quiz, I definitely feel like I know myself better. This was definitely an eye opening experience for me to analyze the way that I interact with myself and my environment. It was comforting reading about my personality because I relate so much to my results, and now I can understand why I act the way that I do. Now being able to analyze the traits that I enjoy and the traits I don't, I understand which parts of myself that I need to work on. I definitely recommend this personality quiz to anyone that wants to learn more about themselves. Being more knowledgeable about your personality lets you step back and see yourself from an outside perspective, allowing you to improve yourself wherever is needed.