Alizah Hashemy

Beyond the Linear Path: Personality types not only list what traits you possess, but also how you should navigate life. As a consequence, they do not account for how a person can change and grow, and how their needs and interests can evolve as a result. The maze path abruptly ends, giving way to a vast field that goes into the horizon.

Lifelong Journey: Self-discovery does not end with taking a personality test. Rather, it lasts over your lifetime, encompassed in your experiences and the lessons you learn.

Unreliable Road: The shaky, pseudoscientific foundation of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is represented as a road that slowly crumples away, implying that it won’t take you too far on your journey.

Only the Highlights: The preference for more outgoing personalities in Western culture stifles individuals who are more on the other end of the spectrum, in which quietness or passivity are seen as undesirable traits. The extrovert ideal is represented as main attractions that you would visit on a trip. However, when only visiting the main attractions, you are missing out on a lot more places that are just as interesting and unique.

Deflection: Personality types or astrological signs can be used as a means to deflect blame and responsibility from yourself for bad behaviour, preventing you from growing or changing for the better.

All Places at Once: The Barnum Effect occurs when an individual deems a description of themselves as very accurate, but, in actuality, that description can be applied to a wide variety of people because of its vague statements.

Obscured Focus: A limited, surface-level understanding of a personality type or astrological sign can lead to harmful stereotypes. By only focusing on the immediate structures in the forefront, it can limit your perspective of an entire place.

Overlapping Parts: In order to make the most of the places we travel to in life, we need to tap into both our introverted and extroverted qualities, emphasizing how introversion and extroversion are two ends of a spectrum rather than clear-cut binaries.

Going in Circles: Despite the belief that personality tests reveal who you are, the only thing that they really do is confirm what you already know about yourself.

Transformative Outlook: Your mindset and attitudes are strong parts of your personality and can heavily influence your personality traits that are thought to be unchanging. Hence, when adopting a growth mindset, you can ultimately change aspects of your personality through the belief that you can develop yourself through hard work and effort.

Pseudo-Travels