Discovering Who You Are – Part I

First a HUMONGOUS disclaimer: obviously who you are is multi-layered and complicated and influenced by a thousand different things, so you won’t be able to discover who you are in a couple of blog posts. So know that I’m not trying to put you into a box, okay?

A big thing that kids these days are trying to figure out is who am I? I’ll let you in on a little secret that adults don’t like to talk about: we’re still trying to figure it out too. Part of the reason it’s so complicated is because life is always moving and changing. There will never be a moment where you say, “Aha! Thisis me, now and forever.” But what we can do is try to understand the things that motivate us, and maybe even a few reasons why we respond to life the way we do.

There are so many great tools out there to help you understand yourself. The first one is the Enneagram Test. This test helps you identify which of nine categories you fall into. I’ll give you a brief rundown, because honestly, I could talk for days about this.

The Types:

Type 1 – The Idealist. This person desires to be good and correct. They focus on what’s wrong so they can fix it, by following rules and standards as closely as they can.

Type 2 – The Helper. This person desires to be appreciated. They focus on the needs of other people, because they hope to earn appreciation by helping others.

Type 3 – The Achiever. This person desires to be successful. They focus on results and achievement, so they can win the respect of others.

Type 4 – The Individual. This person desires to be special and unique. They often go against the norm so other people will notice and appreciate how different they are.

Type 5 – The Investigator. This person desires to be intelligent. They focus on gathering as much information as they can so they can understand the world around them.

Type 6 – The Loyalist. This person desires to be supported and secure. They focus on the dangers and risks of life, seeking the truth from those they trust the most.

Type 7 – The Enthusiast. This person desires to be happy and fulfilled. They focus on the positive so they can always be a part of the excitement around them.

Type 8 – The Challenger. This person desires to protect themselves and be in control. They focus on power and justice so they can prove their independence.

Type 9 – The Peacemaker. This person desires to be at peace. They focus on other people’s points of view so they can accommodate others and keep the peace around them.

You can read more about the different types on the Enneagram Institute website. And if you need to, there are plenty of online tests you can take to help you figure out where you might fall.

This particular test helps us identify why we do what we do and respond the way we respond. When we understand that, we’ll know how to find the paths that will lead us to success and how to avoid the paths that will bring us the most trouble.

In Part II, I’ll tell you about a few other personality tests that can help you understand yourself.

Remember, you’re always changing and growing as a person. These types of test simply help us understand not only how to find success ourselves, but also why we and others act the way that we all do. Stay tuned!

Did you think any of the types sounded like you? Hit the comments and tell me, your friendly Type One, what type you think you might be!