Know Thyself

Yesterday, I took an online test to find out a little bit more about myself. Earlier this year I took the Strengths Finder survey (which was quite helpful) and the most recent test I took is called the Life Languages Evaluation, put out by the Life Languages Institute. I always find these tests interesting and look forward to what they are going to tell me about myself. An added benefit to these surveys is they explain how to best work with people who, shall we say, have opposite personalities. Where, I want to know, were these surveys when I first got married? Let’s just say, I’ve learned a lot about working with opposite personalities, through trial and error, right here in my own home.

So, here is what I learned yesterday. I am very verbal! Who knew? If you are raising your hand right now, you may put it down. Yes, it’s true, I am verbal. When my husband is asked what kind of degree I attained in college he tells people I majored in talking. I try explaining to him that my degree is in communication but he seems to think that is the same thing.

Of course, with every positive about a person’s traits, there are negatives. So, just for the record, even the non-verbal types have negatives. For instance, they can be challenging to carry on a conversation with at times! But, I actually found one of the negative traits about me quite humorous. My test results say that “when excited, fatigued, or stressed, you may find yourself prone to exaggeration.” NO WAY! I NEVER exaggerate. The very idea of this stresses me out!

O.K., so I didn’t really learn a LOT about myself from this test. No wait, I did. What I learned is that I do know myself pretty well. I guess after 53 years of living with me, I’ve learned a little something. Now I just have to trust what I know and, as they say, accentuate the positive.