Do What You Are

Do What You Are will help you discover your personality type and how it can lead you to a more satisfying career that corresponds to your talents and interests.

The MBTI began with research by Carl Jung in the early 1920s. Nearly two decades later, Katherine Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers dug deeper into Jung’s studies and produced this approach. The method focuses on four areas of personality and gives 16 personality types.

Each preference is indicated by a letter. Combining all of your four inclinations will give you a personality type. Here are the four indicators for personality type:

Extraversion (E) and Introversion (I): Extroverts tend to enjoy the company of people, but introverts would rather spend time alone.  Sensing (S) and Intuition (N): Sensors focus on the here and now and what they can physically interact with, while Intuitives trust their gut. Thinking (T) and Feeling (F): Thinkers enjoy analysis that neglects emotion, and Feelers lean toward empathy and compassion. Judging (J) and Perceiving (P): Judgers are organized, while Perceivers prefer flexibility.

Finding your type can seem confusing at first but it’s not so hard. There are multiple tests that you can take online to determine it. I took the questionnaires at 16Personalities and Humanmetrics.com and discovered mine in just a few minutes. Once you uncover your nature, the next step is to figure out how to use it to live life to the fullest.

The right job that will make you excited to get up in the morning isn’t just going to land in your lap one day. You need to go searching for it by conducting a job hunt.

After discovering your personality type you’ll have a better idea of what your strengths and weaknesses are. This list can help you discover potential careers for yourself. If you decide to take the online questionnaires mentioned previously, they’ll outline some options based on your personality type. But don’t just take the information at face value, explore your options.

Look closely at what is most important to you. Examine your interests and anything you feel called to do. A great guide to begin developing your interests and purpose is Angela Duckworth’s Grit. Once you have these and see a few potential careers that may suit you, write each way that you would use your strengths and skills in each of these careers.

Finish your job hunt by seeking out people who do the work that you are considering. Interview them to discover what they like and dislike about it so you can see how it might suit you or not.