The Art of Showing Up: How to Be There for Yourself and Your People

by Rachel Wilkerson Miller

I view personality tests as a tool that helps us understand ourselves and each other a little bit better. And if that’s their purpose, then yes, I’d say they do work. (Or, at least, they can.) Taking personality tests over the years has genuinely made me more self-aware, because reading the different results has helped me name my qualities (good and bad), my needs, and my preferences, and made me realize that some of ways I act or react in certain situations aren’t actually universal. It’s so easy to tell yourself everyone does something until it’s called out as something that’s unique to you (or to a somewhat limited group of people). Of course, no personality test is completely accurate, and many of them are frustratingly black-and-white. But in general, they provide a helpful jumping-off point for self-examination. You might read about “your” personality type and think, That’s not me at all, and have tons of examples to prove it. Or you may know, That used to be me, but I didn’t like that about myself, so I worked really hard to change it. Or you might think, I wish that were me. And that’s all really helpful information to have!