How much do you know about yourself? I can tell you right now that there is a lot about yourself that you may not know. There are things, abilities, weaknesses, and tons of outstanding qualities you may not know about yourself. What are these things you speak of Jenice? Well, I can tell you that in order to grow and be successful in life, you must learn more about yourself. When you learn more about yourself, you give yourself permission to extend your ability to experience gratitude, understanding, wisdom, flexibility, and overall personal professional growth. There are several ways you can do this.
You can grow and learn more about yourself by spending time with yourself, writing in a journal, meditating or communicating with friends and love ones. The point is, you are able to grow and learn more about yourself in anyway that suits and fits your needs. I have used several different tools to grow and develop self- awareness of myself. The Myers-Briggs personality exam is one tool I have often referred back to when looking for opportunities for growth in my personal or professional life. When I was honorably discharged from the military and started my academic career, I had no idea what the SWOT analysis of my personality was. The SWOT analysis are your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of your own personality. This is important to understand in order to learn ways of handling difficult and challenging times. Using your SWOT, you may reflect back on your strengths to improve upon your weaknesses.
I vividly recall an interview for a position from my early years. I was sure that I was selected for the position. During the beginning, there were several interview panels that included my peers to be in the room, along side of me. We had to discuss why we were the best candidate(s) for the position(s). Then, there was a sit down exam. Normally, I am not good at exams – which most of us sometimes are not, when dealing with a stressful interview situation. I looked up, and heard the prompter instruct us all to “take the test quickly”, those were important instructions in that moment for me. Those of you that know me, know that I’m extremely competitive when it comes to ALL things. I have a tendency to be known as a bit of a “Rachel” from friends.
When I finished my exam the proctor informed me that I would be called up to discuss my results. When I was called up, I sat down nervously and took a deep breath. The first interviewer said the most incredibly off putting words, “this is not the position for you Ms. Armstead.“ As I sat their baffled, I decided to respond promptly, “why is that exactly sir?” The prompter than continued , “you seem to a lack of empathy.“ Again, stunned by the words that he was saying, I replied, “I absolutely have empathy, empathy for people going through things and empathy for understanding difficulties, I have plenty of empathy, thank you.“ He looked up at me, slightly smiling and responded “well the reason why we say you like empathy is because of your score on the personality exam. “Do you know what personality type you are?” He asked, obviously knowing that answer. “Your traits are that of an ESTJ on the Myers and Briggs personality exam.“ I had no idea what he was talking about. He then continued on to let me know that based on my personality trait, I would be better suited for other positions such as: business management, a political office, federal work, teaching or being a executive supervisor.
Needless to say, this happened over 15 years ago, I am thankful for that experience. That was some of the best professional advice I would ever receive. Since then, I have gone on to have a success career in higher education, the federal sector and starting/owning my own business. I was empowered with self knowledge. I learned more about myself in that interview than from any professional interaction. This allowed for a deeper understanding of my personality traits, and how they align with my professional and personal life. From then on, I’ve taken the Myers-Briggs personality exam every each year and have scored the same exact personality type every single year. I’ve learned a lot about myself, about my personality and how it relates to different situations, as well as how to improve upon my weaknesses.
The moral to the experience, you have the ability to learn, grow, and know more about yourself than ever before. I hope I have empowered you, inspired you, and provided grow and develop for you as well. You deserve to learn more about yourself, that is how you will gain your true success. Learn how to improve upon your weaknesses, it is worth it. You are awesome just the way you are, and in order to be more awesome all you have to do is be willing to be open enough to learn more about yourself.
Happy self discovey,
Dr. Jaye
MBTI Personality Test. (n.d.). Retrieved August 22, 2022, from https://publicdocs.adler.edu/LMS/interactives/data/MBTIPersonalityTypeTest/story_content/external_files/MBTI%20Personality%20Type%20Test.pdf
