How not to get boxed in by your "personality type"

You are a complex person. 

So how on Earth have you just been "typed"?

I have gained great insights (about myself and others) from various profiling tools and personality assessments - and I know many others who have done the same. Sudden realisations, explanations (and often comforts) are available to those of us who are prepared to investigate our behaviour and habits.

Over the years, however, I have become concerned that either the way these measures have been used and  explained, or the way they have been interpreted, has left them less useful to us than they might be. Some people speak as if they are delighted to be "boxed in", saying "Because I'm an X type I have to....I always...I can't....".

Personally, I don't think these tools and their results are there to limit us, but to expand us.

They can make us more aware of ourselves and others, give us some options beyond our habitual, comfortable ones, encourage us to try new ways of thinking, being, and doing that might work better for us. We might all have preferences, but preferences are not rules.

Here are my 5 top tips for getting the most out of any "typing" experience:

1. Be honest when answering questions - there is no point hiding your unique, true self.

2. Be curious when you get the results. Ask questions. Probe. Consider. Reflect.

3. Get some sense of proportion. Ask yourself "Is this always true for me?", "Can I think of situations where I do the opposite of this?", "Have I always been like this or have I learned to be like this?" This helps you remember that there is more fluidity to you than might be implied.

4. Think about how to make this new piece of information useful to you. How can it help you to understand some of your habits, blocks, challenges, patterns, frustrations, motivations, achievements, and joys?

5. Consider how you might experiment with behaviours that fall outside your "type". Can you try some on for size? What might this new way of seeing things and behaving bring you? 

You are a complex person. Embrace this information about your "type" and make it work for you!