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Today I have a special treat for all of you.

I’m going to share a resource that will allow you to take a deeper look into your personality, and will provide a tremendous amount of clarity on your identity.

Sound like something you might be interested in?

Behold, the MBTI test!

I won’t bore you with an in-depth explanation of the mechanics of the test and how it works. If you’re interested, please click on the Wikipedia link above for a detailed description of all that fun stuff.

Instead, let’s dive right in and get our hands dirty!

Taking and Interpreting the MBTI Test

To take the test, please click here. Answer each question as honestly as you possibly can. Choose the answers that best describe you as you are right now, not the answers that describe who you’d like to be in the future. The more accurate your answers are, the more accurate your results will be.

Once you’ve finished the test and received your results, click here to read a detailed description about your personality type. If you answered all the questions on the test to the best of your abilities, the accuracy of this description may blow your mind. I freaked out because mine was spot on.

The Personality Page also has in-depth personal development tips for each of the types. After reading the general description of your type, click here (scroll down) for a better explanation of your strengths and weaknesses and how to work on them.

One last cool thing the site explains is how your personality type influences your relationships and the way you treat others. It provides a tremendous amount of clarity on why you act the way you do towards your friends, family, lovers, and children. Please click here (scroll down) if you’d like to read further on this subject.

My Personality Type

I’ve taken the MBTI multiple times over the past 2 years, and my result has only changed once during that time. The first time I took the test my result was ESTP, but every time I’ve taken the test after that my result has been ENTP. The first result was inaccurate because I didn’t take the test seriously, and I failed to put the required thought into my answers. When I read the personality type description of ESTP it didn’t sound very accurate, and I unfairly decided the test was a terrible indicator of my personality type.

Six months later I decided to give the test another try, just for fun. This time my result was ENTP, and after reading the detailed description of my type I was amazed at how accurately it described my personality.

Since then I’ve been taking the test every 6 months, and my result hasn’t changed at all. Given the amount of growth I’ve experienced over the past two years, I think that’s pretty incredible. To read more about my type, you can click here.

Making the Most of Your Type

I’m writing this section under the assumption that you’ve already taken the test and read the detailed description of your type. If you haven’t done either and want to keep reading, be my guest. But be warned, some of this terminology may seem a bit cooky to you!

I’ve found that the understanding of my dominant, auxiliary, tertiary, and inferior functions has given me a substantial amount of clarity on where I need to direct my future self-improvement efforts.

For example, my dominant function is Extraverted Intuition. This means my primary mode of living is directed by using my intuition to interpret the information I take in from my external environment. I’m exceptionally good at doing this, and often times I’ll see connections and patterns in my environment that many of the other personality types miss.

Sounds like a wonderful superpower to have, right? Wrong!

This strength is a double-edged sword because of its dominant nature. Unchecked, it could turn into a personal development block by taking over my entire personality. As a result, my auxiliary function of Introverted Thinking and tertiary function of Extraverted Feeling would be overshadowed, creating an imbalance in my personality.

Such an imbalance would lead me to act on my intuitions without thoroughly thinking them through first. This could cause me to put myself in tough situations with problems I would have foreseen had I taken the time to think through my intuitions.

This imbalance would also prevent me from properly weighing other people’s feelings, and I could come across as cold and insensitive to the people who matter most to me in my life. In the worst-case scenario, I may be perceived as so inconsiderate and hurtful by my loved ones that they leave me altogether.

Totally NOT cool.

I’ve spent a great deal of time strengthening my Introverted Thinking function, and I feel like I’ve finally gotten it down. I used to jump from “brilliant” idea to “brilliant” idea without giving the consequences of my choices much thought. However, these days I’ve settled down, and I now think through potential ideas and their consequences much more thoroughly.

The strengthening of my Introverted Thinking function is actually the reason I came to the realization that sharing my personal development insights with others is the right career path for me. Without developing this function I would have never come to such a realization, and I would still be jumping around between potential career paths.

I’m now shifting my self-improvement efforts towards developing my Extraverted Feeling function. I am aware that I am extremely weak in this area, and I’ve started to use my newly developed Introverted Thinking function to help me understand the way my actions affect the feelings of those around me. It’s definitely a work in progress, and I’m confident that in time I will acquire the required amount of understanding necessary to make this shift possible.

Until that time, please forgive me if I’m unnecessarily cold or inconsiderate towards your feelings!

Develop Your Subordinate Functions

Choosing to develop your auxiliary and tertiary functions is one of the most important undertakings you can commit to on your personal development quest. By doing so, you’ll become a more balanced individual, and will gain control over your rampant dominant function. You’ll gain the ability to strengthen your weaknesses, and further strengthen your strengths. Your auxiliary and tertiary functions will begin to shine, and you’ll unlock access to abilities you never knew you had before.

The MBTI test, coupled with the information on The Personality Page, will give you all of the tips, suggestions, and clarity you’ll need to make this happen.

I love to see the look on people’s faces after they complete the test and read the detailed description of their results. It’s always a look of amazement and satisfaction. Since I can’t see your pretty mug through my computer screen, I would love if you share what you think of the test and your results in the comments section below!

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Do you struggle with setting goals, and actually reaching them?

Time and time again you set lofty goals for yourself, only to watch yourself get off track over and over again.

You went on vacation, and there weren’t any healthy meal options available. You took that opportunity to end the torture you were putting yourself through, and stuffed your face with all of the fatty foods you could get your paws on.

Bye-bye new diet!

You were waking up at 6AM for a week straight; until you realized it would require the sacrifice of those late night hang out sessions with your friends to keep it up.

Sayonara sunrise!

You’ve tried and tried over and over again to reach your goals, but for some reason you keep getting distracted along the way.

Well, you can kiss those days goodbye! I present you with the solution to all your goal setting woes.

Focus on how the goal you’ve set improves your life in the present moment, rather than focusing on the hard work and suffering it will take for you to reach it in the future.

Tah dah! It’s really that simple.

How it Changed My Life

Prior to this shift in perspective, I struggled with goal-setting for a long, long time. I had so many challenging changes I wanted to make to my life. But every time I set goals that would help me implement these changes, I would eventually get distracted and fall off track.

I tried writing my goals down and reading them to myself every morning. I tried making my goals measurable and attainable. I used up my entire tank of self-discipline and motivation on the pursuit of reaching my lofty goals.

I still failed over and over again.

I was beginning to think the whole goal-setting process wasn’t for me, when I luckily happened to stumble upon the perspective of “focus on how a goal improves the quality of your present moment” while reading Steve Pavlina’s wonderful new book.

For the longest time I had wanted to create a daily routine that facilitated my productivity throughout the day.

For the longest time I had wanted to hit the gym every morning and do at least 30 minutes of cardio, so I could work my way down to 8% body fat.

For the longest time I had wanted to get back to writing high quality articles for this site, so I could make progress towards creating the career of my dreams.

This new perspective has allowed me to start moving in the direction necessary to reach each of these goals, and I know I’ll reach them this time. My mind is zoned in on how each one improves the quality of my life right now, so there’s no more mental struggle involved. I no longer adopt goals that cause me pain and suffering in the present moment because, well, what’s the point in subjecting myself to such torture in the first place?

No Improvement? Drop it!

This is one of the most important points of this perspective. Stop adopting goals that cause you pain and suffering in the present moment. Instead, adopt goals that improve the quality of your present moment. Sometimes you don’t have to change your goals at all to make this happen. All that may be required is a simple shift in focus.

For example, I used to dread going to the gym every morning and working out because I was always focused on how long it would take me to reach my goal of slimming down to 8% body fat. I was always looking to the future for salvation, while I viewed the present moment as a form of torture. Eventually it required way too much self-discipline for me to keep up my routine, and I gave up.

After applying the new perspective, however, I now focus on how productive and healthy I feel during and after my workout. I know that whenever I decide to head to the gym for some early morning cardio, I will receive immediate benefits. Why wouldn’t I want to hit the gym every morning when I feel this way?

Here’s another example. I used to feel like writing articles for this site was a drag because I was so focused on when I was going to make enough money to support myself with the site’s income. The results didn’t come as soon as I expected, and it wasn’t long before I gave up.

After applying the new perspective, however, I now focus on the awesome feeling I get knowing I’m progressively creating the career of my dreams by writing these articles. I also focus on the amazing feeling I get knowing I’m providing substantial value to my readers. Why wouldn’t I want to write articles for this site when I feel this way?

Examine Your Goals

Write down a list of the goals you want to reach in the next 3 months. While doing so, focus on how each one improves the quality of your present moment.

Does the goal motivate you? Does it inspire you? Does it excite you? Does it make you feel more productive? If you can’t find a reasonable answer to how it improves the quality of your present moment, drop it.

If you already have a list of goals written down somewhere, apply this perspective to each goal on your list. Cross out the goals you feel don’t improve the quality of your present moment, and replace them with new ones that do.

Remember, sometimes all it takes to move a goal from the “torture” column to the “improvement” column is a simple shift of perspective. Can you focus on the aspect of the goal that improves the quality of your present moment, rather than focusing on the aspect that makes it feel like a grind? If this tactic doesn’t work, then obviously you must drop the goal.

Don’t Make it Harder Than it Should Be

Forget about making goals measurable and attainable. Forget about reciting your goals to yourself every morning. Forget about applying and expending tremendous amounts of self-discipline and willpower in the process of reaching your goals.

None of this is necessary.

Choose to focus on how the goals you set improve the quality of your present moment, and you’ll never find it difficult again to stay on track to reaching these goals. There’s nothing we human beings love more than instant gratification, and what better way to give that to yourself day in and day out than to apply this perspective to the pursuit of reaching your goals?

Don’t make reaching your goals harder than it should be. It really is this simple.

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