27: The Myth About Your Personality
“I am someone who…” Ever catch yourself saying this? “I am someone who...loves animals...needs to have a coffee first thing...needs to have my desk completely clean before I work...loves to manage the details of an event...freaks out at the thought of public speaking…”
Do you do this consciously? Or do you use it as a way of explaining your behaviors?
I’ve been into personal growth since I was a kid. It wasn’t from a place of deficiency. It was more about testing my own limits.
Remember those Presidential Physical Fitness Tests? You know the ones where you had to do a shuttle run, a V-sit reach, and a bunch of other activities? Well, I had a pull-up regimen at home because the only thing standing between me and that top patch was the pull-ups. And BY GOD I WAS GOING TO GET THAT TOP PATCH. So I worked at my pull-ups for a couple of weeks. And guess what? Yer gal earned the Top Patch. Three times, thank you very much.
Did I work hard because I wanted those patches sewn to my cheap nylon jacket as a status symbol? Nah. That jacket was a total fashion bummer...but what did I know about fashion at age 11? I DID, however, like the challenge of working toward a goal.
And it’s an orientation that’s always stuck with me. “I’m someone who enjoys personal development” is a sentence you’d likely hear me say.
The thing about this statement is that it’s deceptively powerful. Because each time I say it, I anchor into that identity. And I reinforce my self-concept that’s rooted in preference, not some sort of singular life directive. Which is how we tend to think about personality tests. We think they’re a fixed representation of our innermost self.
In episode 27 of Bullshift, we explore why this way of thinking about personalities is a myth...and I share a more helpful way to think about personality.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE
The truth about personality tests
How to change your “personality” (if you want to!)
Ways to stop limiting yourself to a specific personality type
Facts about Enneagrams and Meyer Briggs
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Click here to see the transcript!
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In this episode, Meghan discusses the questions we tend to ask ourselves as we approach the new calendar year. She explains that these are the questions for which purpose is the answer. Who we are today is not the same as who we were yesterday and who we’ll be tomorrow. Yet, paradoxically, we are exactly the same person we were yesterday and will be tomorrow. This is one of a few key paradoxes of purpose that Meghan explores in this episode. Sit back, enjoy the holiday feels, and join Meghan as she gives us a preview of where we’re going with Bullshift in 2022!