I was asked to take a personality test at work last week and thought I would post the results. For those of you who know me, you will most likely not be surprised by any of this, but may find it amusing. Matthew just kept shaking his head while he was reading it, saying, “Yep, that’s right on! Oh, yeah, for sure on that…” I’ve taken a lot of these, but they never get old to me. Even my boss was like, “This is you exactly!” I suppose it could be narcissism, or maybe it just proves that I’m not so weird, although Matthew says it confirms just the opposite. I did help me to understand why in the world I would get a degree in English and history with no intention to ever teach and also why athletics were such a huge part of my formative years. Whatever the case may be, perhaps you’ll enjoy what this says about me.
Context: You look back. You look back because that is where the answers lie. You look back to understand thepresent. From your vantage point the present is unstable, a confusing clamor of competing voices. It isonly by casting your mind back to an earlier time, a time when the plans were being drawn up, that thepresent regains its stability. The earlier time was a simpler time. It was a time of blueprints. As you lookback, you begin to see these blueprints emerge. You realize what the initial intentions were. Theseblueprints or intentions have since become so embellished that they are almost unrecognizable, but nowthis Context theme reveals them again. This understanding brings you confidence. No longer disoriented,you make better decisions because you sense the underlying structure. You become a better partnerbecause you understand how your colleagues came to be who they are. And counterintuitively youbecome wiser about the future because you saw its seeds being sown in the past. Faced with new peopleand new situations, it will take you a little time to orient yourself, but you must give yourself this time. Youmust discipline yourself to ask the questions and allow the blueprints to emerge because no matter whatthe situation, if you haven’t seen the blueprints, you will have less confidence in your decisions.
Input: You are inquisitive. You collect things. You might collect information−words, facts, books, andquotations−or you might collect tangible objects such as butterflies, baseball cards, porcelain dolls, orsepia photographs. Whatever you collect, you collect it because it interests you. And yours is the kindof mind that finds so many things interesting. The world is exciting precisely because of its infinitevariety and complexity. If you read a great deal, it is not necessarily to refine your theories but, rather,to add more information to your archives. If you like to travel, it is because each new location offersnovel artifacts and facts. These can be acquired and then stored away. Why are they worth storing? Atthe time of storing it is often hard to say exactly when or why you might need them, but who knowswhen they might become useful? With all those possible uses in mind, you really don’t feel comfortablethrowing anything away. So you keep acquiring and compiling and filing stuff away. It’s interesting. Itkeeps your mind fresh. And perhaps one day some of it will prove valuable.
Intellection: You like to think. You like mental activity. You like exercising the “muscles” of your brain, stretching themin multiple directions. This need for mental activity may be focused; for example, you may be trying tosolve a problem or develop an idea or understand another person’s feelings. The exact focus willdepend on your other strengths. On the other hand, this mental activity may very well lack focus. Thetheme of Intellection does not dictate what you are thinking about; it simply describes that you like tothink. You are the kind of person who enjoys your time alone because it is your time for musing andreflection. You are introspective. In a sense you are your own best companion, as you pose yourselfquestions and try out answers on yourself to see how they sound. This introspection may lead you to aslight sense of discontent as you compare what you are actually doing with all the thoughts and ideasthat your mind conceives. Or this introspection may tend toward more pragmatic matters such as theevents of the day or a conversation that you plan to have later. Wherever it leads you, this mental humis one of the constants of your life.
Competition: Competition is rooted in comparison. When you look at the world, you are instinctively aware of otherpeople’s performance. Their performance is the ultimate yardstick. No matter how hard you tried, nomatter how worthy your intentions, if you reached your goal but did not outperform your peers, theachievement feels hollow. Like all competitors, you need other people. You need to compare. If you cancompare, you can compete, and if you can compete, you can win. And when you win, there is nofeeling quite like it. You like measurement because it facilitates comparisons. You like other competitorsbecause they invigorate you. You like contests because they must produce a winner. You particularlylike contests where you know you have the inside track to be the winner. Although you are gracious toyour fellow competitors and even stoic in defeat, you don’t compete for the fun of competing. Youcompete to win. Over time you will come to avoid contests where winning seems unlikely.
Deliberative: You are careful. You are vigilant. You are a private person. You know that the world is an unpredictableplace. Everything may seem in order, but beneath the surface you sense the many risks. Rather thandenying these risks, you draw each one out into the open. Then each risk can be identified, assessed,and ultimately reduced. Thus, you are a fairly serious person who approaches life with a certainreserve. For example, you like to plan ahead so as to anticipate what might go wrong. You select yourfriends cautiously and keep your own counsel when the conversation turns to personal matters. Youare careful not to give too much praise and recognition, lest it be misconstrued. If some people don’tlike you because you are not as effusive as others, then so be it. For you, life is not a popularitycontest. Life is something of a minefield. Others can run through it recklessly if they so choose, but youtake a different approach. You identify the dangers, weigh their relative impact, and then place yourfeet deliberately. You walk with care.
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