Why do I need to know my personality?

Dear EQuipped Leaders,

We all have an unconscious mind. There are things about ourselves that we don’t know yet. And there are things about ourselves that we will never know.

Isn’t that weird? And cool?!?

There are also things others know about us but that we don’t know about ourselves–areas of our personality that are clear to everyone else but that we are blind to.

Isn’t that weird too? And maybe slightly less cool!

When we train education leaders on personality, we use the awesome visual of the johari window to emphasize the why of studying one’s personality:

So in order to see ourselves better, we have to be willing to disclose what’s really going on inside us, and we have to be willing to ask others for feedback about how they experience us.

You might be thinking, “That sounds horrific! I don’t want to tell people about the parts of myself I’m hiding from everyone. I don’t want to ask people to tell me things about my personality that I’m unaware of. That sounds scary!”

Fair. Why risk the emotional exposure of telling a trustworthy human the truth about a part of you that you may have deemed unacceptable or unlovable?

Why risk the pain of hearing critical feedback and finding out your personality is not totally delightful 100% of the time?

Well, let’s start with what happens if you are NOT open to becoming more self aware:

And here’s what happens if you ARE open to disclosing the truth and seeking feedback from others:

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” - Carl Jung

To me, self-awareness is a treasure worth having, but do I have the guts to earn it?

I need to be willing to face the shadowy parts of myself with curiosity. I need to find kind people who will help me be more gentle with parts of myself that I have unfairly judged and hidden away. I need to cultivate relationships with people who will lovingly hold me accountable for my behavior and help me see when I’m unconsciously hurting others. I need to be brave enough to enter the cave and make sure I’m EQuipped with a team who can also brave the shadows.

It sounds hard, a little bit scary, and totally worth it. :)

Are you ready to grow your self-awareness for yourself or with your team?!? We have a tool created just for educators to give you the common language you need to explore personality and grow together.

Better EQuipped Together, Elizabeth elizabeth@appliedeqgroup.com

(P.S. Be on the lookout for a free gift in next week’s blog. We want to start your summer off right with some teacher love!)

Want to better EQuip your school’s leaders, classrooms, and parents?

Connect with us through email or Schedule a free call with Jenny, our Director of School Partnerships, to discuss your school’s needs and if we’re a good fit for your campus.