My Problem with Personality Tests

Often well-intentioned, but there’s a much better way

Welcome back to The Workaround. I’m Bob 👋

I’m here to make you think, smile, and discover a shortcut to success or a trap to avoid.

This is one of those periodic pieces for Paid subscribers. The paywall is my way of ensuring I don’t scare people off, see if they want me to go there, and a challenge to get outside my comfort zone.

These posts get pretty deep, a bit weird, and a little woo.

Note that 100% of the proceeds go toward new reader acquisition, so your subscription dollar pays it forward to others.

Might this be it? The one personality test to rule them all and finally lead me to the higher levels of consciousness? Nah…

I’ve taken multiple personality tests over the years, both for work and for fun.

We humans love this stuff. It all began when we climbed down from the trees and started looking up at the stars. Our fascination continued into the era of science and rationalism, beginning with the measurement of skull shapes, and now extending through a plethora of quizzes and existing as a standard line item in HR budgets.

They also keep evolving. The other day, I took a new one, SoulPrint, which is a Meta of multiple tests. After a set of questions that seemed similar to every other such test I’ve taken, it announced:

“As a Manifesting Generator with Sacral Authority in Human Design, your decision-making is driven by your gut responses. This innate guidance system provides immediate ‘yes’ or ‘no’ signals that help you determine whether to engage in an activity or pursue a particular path.”

As befits its report on my personality, I went with my gut and decided that this did not resonate with me. I declined to pay the $49.99 for more details about something I already know a lot about: myself.

We keep doing these tests, searching for…something. We spend a significant amount of money on them and are increasingly subjecting our employees to them. But why? Is it working? Could there be a better path?

I found something that works much better for me. It’s also free, and represents a model that you can use to change your personality for the better.

The paid break goes here because it’s par for the course of these tests—just kidding. But seriously, I’m going to share some alternatives, including access to a test you can use. You might find this information worth $8. If not, NBD and we’ll see ya next week!