If you've worked for any duration in the corporate world,

Or-- if you've attended some kind of academic institution or job coaching program,

Chances are, you would have taken the MBTI or some other kind of test that tries to 'profile' what type of person you are.

I know, I've had such tests done too. I found them... well, interesting and generally accurate as a description of my personality type. But I've never really used them for anything much. They're just, well, interesting reading that you put away after you're done with them.

While this is in no way meant to disparage the thousands of hours of academic research that no doubt went into the design and rigor of these tests, I sometimes feel that trying to fit a person into a one of a set number of fixed categories in order to explain 'what they are' doesn't do enough justice to the uniqueness and splendor of the Being that they really are. There are not just 16 or 20, or 56 categories of people. There are as many types of people as there are people on this Earth!

For me, each person that comes before me is gifted in unique ways -- and very often in ways that are unseen in the matrix of conventional profiling tools.

For example, there is a type of person called the INTJ in the MBTI system who, according to the profiling matrix, is a decisive 'chop-chop' type of person. However, one INTJ could be uniquely gifted at kickstarting and leading new projects at their workplace while a second INTJ might instead enjoy implementing things rather than being the initiator. They're both decisive people but each will excel and gravitate towards a different segment in a production line.

There's also another type of person called the INTP in the MBTI system who is known as the 'Logician', i.e. the unconventional-thinker Albert Einstein type. I know a number of INTPs and trust me, they come in vastly different varieties. Some are making huge quantities of money using their natural genius while others are kind of just getting by. Some are hugely ambitious (Elon Musk is reportedly an INTP) while others are piddling along not giving much of a care.

In other words, you might have two people who appear superficially similar on a profiling test but are in actual fact different in important ways when you look at them more closely, i.e. when you look at...

• What they actually enjoy
• What gives them energy
• Where they tend to trip up on their path to success
• Whether they tend to gravitate towards more spiritual things or more grounded/material things
• What specific ways they inspire and support the people around them
• Where they are headed directionally over time in their growth (not just where they are at now)
• ... and more

My view is that conventional profiling tools like MBTI will likely give you some good descriptions of your personality that you can resonate with at some level.

But, they are unlikely to give you deep insight on the full spectrum of everything that you deal will with in life -- and everything that makes you YOU -- in all its shit and glory. They won't tell you what makes life worth living for you specifically and how you can truly flourish and have a blast on Earth -- not just today but tomorrow and beyond.   

And the last is what I suspect most people are really looking for at the bottom of it all when you take a profiling test like MBTI to 'know yourself'.