Personality tests range from the obscenely absurd “what Disney princess you are based on your favorite bread” to the widely recognized and reputable Myers-Briggs and Enneagram.

The former type, the Buzzfeed variety, has made the attitude towards the whole area of study skeptical. And while it might be tempting to discard the whole personality test lot because of their inconvenient coexistence, doing so would be at great expense. There are two easily discernible types of personality tests: those that are bogus and those that are not. 

The Myers-Briggs test, for instance, is backed up by painstaking study, and so it is rightfully a part of the latter type. The test characterizes by four facets, and one of two letters is ascribed to each. There is Extraversion/Introversion, Sensing/Intuition, Thinking/Feeling, and Judging/Perceiving. I am an INFJ, meaning I am inclined to introversion, intuition, feeling, and judging. This dichotomy leads to 16 personalities, or 16 combinations of “preferences.”

I have found much help and understanding in my personality profile. It surely doesn’t capture every essence of my being, but it encapsulates a good portion of me that otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to articulate and thus analyze. 

You might think my conviction is simply because I’ve been dictated, because I’ve been assigned by a hardy system. But this is not so. On taking the 16Personalities test a while back (a free off brand version of the test) I was assigned INFP, and immediately was disbelieving. It wasn’t completely off (¾ of the characters are consistent), but it was untenable that I was indeed “the Mediator.” The Advocate, INFJ, which I found on taking the official test, was much more defensible.   

I encourage you to take the test and get an idea of where you might fall roughly. Keep in mind that the test (especially an unofficial one) is merely a gauge, and that it is stated outright by the Myers-Briggs Company as such. Apparently, a certified administrator is recommended, though not suggested to be necessary. 

Really, all you need is a rudimentary understanding of the nature of typing to begin going about it yourself. It’s not rocket science, and there is a wealth of information sourced by very digestible authors to guide you.

I’ve gone over the Myers-Briggs in such depth that it may seem I think it’s the comprehensive answer to the question of personality. Not so at all, as four facets can only cover so much. The Enneagram test covers more ground, and so does the Big Five. From the Enneagram I’ve learned I’m type 4 (the Individualist) and from the Big Five I’ve taken away I am very high in neuroticism and openness…an interesting combination.

You cannot expect to find the complete nuances and subtleties of your completely unique personality through these tests, for that contradicts the nature of typing to begin with. What these tests enable is identification (of traits, of strengths, of types, ect.). With identification, we may hope to add self-awareness to that perplexing list of characteristics we behold.