PERSONALITY TYPES
This section may or may not be beefed up, but be sure to see the recommended resources under each type of test.
Who cares about one's personality types?
It's not about "good" or "better". It's actually a quick guide to what is relevant to a person in terms of what types of problems or weaknesses he/she will encounter and the ways to shore those areas up to enhance the strengths of such a person - it provides a key to living a better life.
When one is experiencing some kind of "problem" in how one feels, one can look at, particularly, one's enneagram type and find out why and what to do about it.
That's time-saving and saves time from feeling down. That's pretty powerful.
Be aware that people often take on "personas", which are not really personality types but are confused with it. The unproductive or harmful personas must be identified and corrected - and seen as a bundle of poor strategies that has sucked one into behaviors and beliefs that don't work. Read Personas. Also, those personas can fit under Psychological Problems And Conditions. In the latter, we find people "playing" a depressive or a passive-aggressive, etc., simply because they do not yet know better.
Personal Personality Styles
The two tests you should take personally are for the enneagram and the Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory. They provide one with a clear picture of traits, weaknesses to shore up, strengths to emphasize and use, and useful suggestions and insights. Review these so you are clear and write out 2 things you'll work on in the next month and 3 other things to work on later. (Schedule them!)
THE ENNEAGRAM (Powerful!)
In order to cope as a child, we unwittingly mastered a limited repertoire of strategies, self-images, and behaviors.
To compensate for a particular type(s) of fear, a "basic desire" and a basic personality arose. A "personality" is our set of coping mechanisms, including patterns unique to our "personality type", which is what the enneagram identifies. Our personality is no more than a collection of conditioned reactions, fears, and beliefs.
It is important that we do not stay asleep in our personality, for it limits who we are to a small room in a mansion. The enneagram system identifies patterns for each personality type and how to let them go in order to fully experience living.
A highly useful classification system, named for its "diagrammatic" format. Not at all "mystical" or unclear, it is an excellent way of nailing down who you are such that it expands your knowledge of yourself and how to create a better life. One interesting aspect is the levels that one can rise to over time within a particular personality type. For instance, the achiever goes from competitive and driven to a teacher and mentor at levels 8 or 9.
1. Determine your type. Take the $10 test. (I've worked up a "test" where you read the key characteristics of the personality types on one page and on the second page you identify the patterns and "non-strong" areas for you. This can be a way of directly identifying your type and it also gives a great perspective on what is running your life and what needs to be addressed: Enneagram Personality Test.)
2. Look at the themes within that type.
3. Read what is helpful to "resolve" the weaknesses
4. Implement from the guide as to what to do to shore up your weaknesses and to increase your strengths.
Other internet resources:
The most useful book: The Wisdom Of The Enneagram, Don Richard Riso and Russ
Hudson. Very practical, to the point, lays out how each type (and combination)
thinks, what each type needs and wants, the strengths and the weaknesses, and
what to do about them.
Overview readings:
Enneagram Personality Types - One page summary of each type, with key characteristics and description of who the person is and what they tend to do naturally and well.
Enneagram - QuikSummary of The System - Summarizes the key points in a semi-outline format, so one can get a good view of what it intends and how it is helpful. Lists the specific patterns for each type to overcome.
MYERS-BRIGGS PERSONALITY INVENTORY
1. Read wikipedia.org's summary.
DISC WORK STYLE ASSESSMENT
See work style discussion below, and internet references.
Work Styles
references, of both the Enneagram types and the Work Style types in the "DISC"
system of "work styles" such as Dominant/Driver, Influencer, Service, and
Controller/Conscientious types. The work style classification system helps one
learn how to adjust to one's own personality and how to work with the others
without friction and with more productivity - very effective.
Enter "disc work style assessment" in the search engine. Primary ones to read
first are Wikipedia.org's and discprofile.com.
