Personality-typing quizzes are the best way to try to make highly specialized information conveniently available online, but they’re still not perfect. There are quite a lot of nuanced factors at play which can interfere with getting the Type identification exactly right. In an ideal world a private consultation would be available to everyone!
But meanwhile, let me explain some additional aspects to consider so that you may Type yourself correctly. Start with the Your Vitality Personality Quiz. Once you get your results, if they don’t seem spot-on, consider this . . .
There are a couple of dynamics that can influence how you are answering the quiz questions. These are called your Wings, and your Arrows – and your current amount of stress influences how much of these are showing up in you right now.
Here’s how you can find out about your Wings & Arrows:
This is called the 9 Types Symbol. It shows all nine Personality Types on a wheel, with lines in the center connecting some Types to other Types. This little graphic actually imparts quite a lot of information.
Your Wings
Looking at the perimeter of the circle, you can see that any given Personality Type is sandwiched between two others. These neighboring Types are the Wings to your Type. So for example, if you’re a Type 9, your potential Wings are Type 8 and Type 1. If you’re a Type 6, your potential Wings are Types 5 and 7.
What this means is that in addition to the classic traits of your Personality Type, you might also display some of the traits of your neighbor on either side of you (on the symbol).
Some people observe that they share traits of both Wings, and some people only seem to display one Wing, and some people don’t appear to display Wings at all – they’re just straight-up their Type. That’s all ok – there is no “right” way to be.
Your current amount of stress influences how much of this neighboring Type is being expressed. For example, I am a Type 7, known as The Uplifter on a good day, or The Hedonist on all the other days. This is a pleasure-oriented Type, who runs for the hills when life gets tough. However, when I became a holistic doctor and entrepreneur, running a busy practice with several employees, this put me in a new dynamic. Even though there were plenty of times I just wanted to chuck it all and go lounge about with a fruity cocktail, it was also really important to me that I find a way to make a go of it.
Ta-da! Out popped my Type 8 Wing, known as The Leader or The Bully. This is a take charge, make-it-happen Type, who will see a project through to completion no matter what – even if that means making a bunch of enemies along the way.
On the one hand, this helped me tremendously. I suddenly discovered strength, tenacity and drive within myself I’d never really seen before. On the other hand, I definitely became more of a jerk, too! I wasn’t nearly so relaxed and cheerful as I used to be. The stress of doing something new and challenging brought out all kinds of different dynamics in me than I used to demonstrate. If I had taken the VItality Personality Quiz while I was right in the middle of all that, it’s possible I would have answered more like a Type 8 than a Type 7.
After finishing the quiz, if you didn’t totally recognize yourself when you read the Type description, it’s possible you were answering more like your Wing, than your core self. Try taking the quiz again, and this time answer the questions more like how you would have answered when you were a young adult. You know… before life really got hold of you and flushed out extra stress dynamics!
Your Arrows
Take another look at the symbol above. Inside the circle, you can see there are lines connecting any of the Personality Types to two other Types. These are called the Arrows.
The Arrows indicate that you sometimes exhibit traits of these other Types, even though they are, in fact, opposite of your Type in some way. This usually happens in times of great stress, or new growth.
The more you can cultivate in yourself the Consciousness-Directed traits of these other Types, the more stable and well-rounded you will become. The longer you are under prolonged duress, you will likely come to demonstrate the Ego-Driven traits of your Arrow Types.
Even though you have two Arrows, you don’t emulate both of these Types equally. You have a Primary Arrow, and a Secondary Arrow, and they serve different functions. Let’s use the Type 7 as an example again, so I can explain how this works.
As a Type 7, the Primary Arrow points to Type 1 – The Architect / The Judge – and the Secondary Arrow points to Type 5 – The Sage / The Miser. Again, the presence or absence of stress influences which of these Arrows the Type 7 might be acting like.
The Primary Arrow serves as a mirror, reflecting back to you how you are thriving or eroding. It’s the Primary because it’s very common to take on some of these traits.
The Secondary Arrow is the most vital and potent part of you. It is your darkest Shadow, and it is your brightest Light. It’s Secondary because you tend to visit this place only in rare circumstances.
Since the Primary Arrow is much more commonly seen, if you’ve been under prolonged duress, it’s possible you could have answered some of the quiz questions like your Primary Arrow would have, rather than your core self.
Again, If you didn’t totally recognize yourself when you read the description of your Type after you took the quiz, try taking the quiz again, answering the questions more like how you would have when you were younger and less burdened.
Hopefully you recognized yourself immediately in the Type description you received after you finished the quiz. But if not, give it another whirl, answering for your younger self, and see if this makes a difference.
If you really are struggling to determine your Personality Type, I do offer private consultations in order to help you figure it out. Please reach out, I’m delighted to help!