Sunday, July 24, 2011

Cult of personality

My friend Amy tipped me off about an interesting personality test you all should take. The free version is only 36 questions, so it won't take you very long. The full version has four times as many questions but costs ten bucks, so don't bother with that.

I've never really been into tests like this, but that's largely because none have ever described me as well as this one does (or at least as well as I think it does). Of the 9 Enneagram Types, I scored the highest on 7--the Enthusiast. Other than the stuff about manual dexterity, I feel the description is pretty spot on.

Some of the highlights:

--The Enthusiast's basic fear is "being deprived and in pain;" their basic desire is "to be satisfied and content--to have their needs fulfilled."

--This personality type is "enthusiastic about almost everything that catches their attention. They approach life like 'kids in a candy store'...they have a quality best described by the Yiddish word 'chutzpah'--a kind of brash 'nerviness.'"

--Sevens "foresee events and generate ideas 'on the fly,' favoring activities that stimulate their minds--which in turn generate more things to do and think about. Sevens are not necessarily intellectual or studious by any standard definition, although they are often intelligent and can be widely read and highly verbal. Their minds move rapidly from one idea to the next, making Sevens gifted at brainstorming and synthesizing information. Sevens are exhilarated by the rush of ideas and by the pleasure of being spontaneous, preferring broad overviews and the excitement of the initial stages of the creative process to probing a single topic in depth."

--"Sevens are frequently endowed with quick, agile minds, and can be exceptionally fast learners...ironically, Sevens' wide-ranging curiosity and ability to learn quickly can also create problems for them. Because they are able to pick up many different skills with relative ease, it becomes more difficult for them to decide what to do with themselves."

--The Enthusiast uses "the 'trial and error' method: they try everything to make sure they know what is best...they therefore tend to try everything--and ultimately may even resort to anything as a substitute for what they are really looking for...we can see this in action even in the most trivial areas of their daily lives. Unable to decide whether he wants vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry ice cream, a Seven will want all three flavors--just to be sure that he does not miss out on the 'right' choice."

--"Sevens are extremely optimistic people--exuberant and upbeat...they are naturally cheerful and good humored, not taking themselves too seriously, or anything else for that matter."

So what do you think? Is this me to a tee, or am I a bit delusional? And what number are you?

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