Will these 4 letters tell you who you are?

“What letters are you?”

“Eh,” I said. “Letters?”

“You know,” my desk mate continued. “Are you an I or an E?”

“I or an E…?” I said. “Oh, I’m an I.”

“I’m an ESTP,” he said. “What are the rest of your letters?”

He’s talking about Myers–Briggs personality test. Taking this test, you sit down and answer a long list of multiple-choice questions and at the end they assign you 4 letters based on your answers. Putting you in 1 of 16 personality buckets.

INFP (the Mediator), ESTJ (the Executive), ISFP (the Adventurer). And so on.

“Oh, I can’t remember,” I said. “But I know I’m an I.”

These 16 buckets are supposed to help you and your surroundings decode how you work, react and act in different situations, think, cooperate with others, etc.

Very helpful.

Yeah?

Looking at this from a different angle, executive coach Carolyn Coughlin, defines identity as: how I see myself, how I want to be in the world and how I want you to see me in the world.

It is something we develop all of our lives.

As we go through life we do things that work, and we do things that don't work. We do more of the things that work and (hopefully) let go of the things that don't work.

Slowly forming “who I am”.

Our identity.

Slapping ESTJ on your forehead can be one of many things adding to your identity.

Slowly telling stories about how you are Sensing rather than Intuitive.

Are you really?

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