In my teenage years, those of the ’90s, my CD player played U2, Alannis Morisette, and whatever band sang “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” My closet held Brighton belts, baggy jeans paired with baggy tees, and formal dresses with really poof-y sleeves. And my eyes scanned for any magazine quiz I could get my hands on: Seventeen and Cosmo quizzes were those of choice.
Why is discovering who you are so fascinating, but also so important?
Pastor and theologian John Calvin said, “Without knowledge of self, there is no knowledge of God.” In other words, it’s good theology to know how God wired you because it shows you insights into who He is.
God gave us a specific personality, various gifts and talents, and a passion for what’s hurting the world. What we learn about ourselves will help us better understand the God who created us. So let’s dig in to discover who we are.
Personality Resource: Enneagram
This year, I discovered the Enneagram, which is an ancient personality typing system that helps us understand who we are and what makes us tick. When I read about my type in the book The Road Back to You, I thought the chapter was written about me because the book is so insightful on what I do and why I do it.
Like eerily accurate.
It’s been so helpful in giving me understanding about who I am that I want to know everyone’s number so I can understand them better too. If you know your number or take one of the tests below, I’d love to hear what type you are in the comments section.
To learn more about the Enneagram, consider one of these options (costs are current as of January 2018 so you’ll want to confirm current pricing whenever you check these out!):
- Enneagram Worldwide – $10
- The Enneagram Institute – $12
- Your Enneagram Coach – Free
- Read The Road Back to You
– Free at your library or you can purchase The Road Back to You.
– Free at your library or you can purchase (Required FCC Disclosure: I’m an Amazon Affiliate, which means I earn a bit of commission on each sale. But don’t worry there’s no added cost to you!)
Personality Resource: Meyers-Briggs
The Meyers-Briggs has been solid in helping me understand who I am and how I interact with others. To find out your type, head on over here.
Spiritual Gifts Assessment
God doesn’t want us to be ignorant of our spiritual gifts because He uses them to build His church and to bring us great joy. Spiritual gifts aren’t aptitudes, abilities, or strengths. Spiritual gifts are given by God to His people for accomplishing His purposes. Pretty cool, right?!?!
Here’s an assessment that will help you determine your gifts.
Emotional Health Resource: Overall Health
Pastor and author Kevin A. Thompson lays out seven questions to determine your emotional health. His questions are insightful and helpful.
Emotional Health Resource: Focus on Compassion
Author of a mindset-shifting book Kristin Neff compiled this list of 26 questions to determine how much grace you offer yourself.
Which resource did you try? What were the results? Let me know in the comments section below. I’d love to hear.
Pin them for later:
INFJ-T Fits me perfectly. Explains why I usually feel like an outsider. Less than 1% of population like me. LOL also helps me understand why I hated all of my jobs.
K – isn’t it just amazing how God so fearfully and wonderfully makes each of us so uniquely! It’s good to have that kind of understanding doesn’t it?!?! -jill
“Your Enneagram Coach” is actually not free, the cheapest option, step 1 and also step 2, are $49. Just a heads up so you can update the post 🙂
TC, thank you so much! -jill
I took the “Your Enneagram Coach” for free. It was the most thorough of the online tests I’ve taken.
Suzanne, thank you so much for sharing because that will help others decide what test may be the best for them. -jill