3 Free online tools I used for self-discovery
Tools to give you insight into who you are
You have the whole weekend to yourself in a vacant house. To keep you entertained, you’ve ordered a jigsaw puzzle online. The excitement of spending a day in solitude, solving this puzzle is high. Upon opening the box, you’re met with a sea of puzzle pieces awaiting assembly, but surprise; There’s no reference picture.
You find yourself attempting to fit pieces together based on similar colours or shapes. However, without a reference image to guide you, it’s easy to get frustrated.
An apt metaphor for life, isn’t it? Often, we find ourselves trying to piece together our lives without a clear picture of what we’re aiming for or what works for us, ultimately becoming frustrated and in some cases depressed.
This, my dear friend, is the predicament many face due to a lack of self-knowledge.
The Value of Self-Knowledge
Navigating life without a clear understanding of our values, beliefs, strengths, and weaknesses is like trying to solve this puzzle without a reference image.
I wrote more about the profound advantages of self -knowledge in the article on why it matters to know who you are
Free online tools
In this piece, I would like to share some free online tools that have been instrumental in my journey to self-understanding. I’ll also share some personal assessments from these tools.
While they may not provide a complete picture of who you are, they offer valuable insights into your unique strengths, traits, and potential weaknesses.
1. Unmasking My Personality: 16personalities.com
16personalities.com is a fascinating platform that blends the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator with the Big Five personality traits model to gauge how we perceive the world and make decisions. The beauty of it is that you don’t need any prior knowledge or expertise in psychology.
After responding to a series of questions, you’re classified into one of 16 personality types and provided with a report detailing your personality traits, strengths, weaknesses and potential career paths.
While the website has a premium detailed report, I was so surprised by the accuracy of the free version — it felt like they’d been secretly observing me!
2. Highlighting My Strengths: High5 Test
It’s human nature to remember our weaknesses and negative traits more than our strengths(negativity bias). This tendency often skews our self-perception.
Strengths tests, such as the High5 test, are designed to help people identify their unique strengths and skills.
The High5 Test is a free tool that counters the negativity bias by helping identify one’s unique strengths and skillset. After a 20-minute questionnaire, you’ll uncover some traits or strengths you might not have been aware of.
There is a premium paid full report you can access if you pay, but the free one is enough to give you an insight into the recurring patterns of your actions, feelings, thoughts and personal strengths.
3. An Unexpected Tool: Google Forms
This one might surprise you. Google Forms, typically used for creating online surveys, can also be a tool for self-discovery.
By creating a form and sending it to people around you, you can gain a unique third-person perspective on yourself. This is useful to filter out the many biases and the defence mechanisms we have installed in our minds that make us have distorted views of who we are.
When I was an undergraduate, I sent out a form pretending it was from my lecturer seeking feedback for better teaching strategies. As a result, I received honest, unfiltered and some uncomfortable insights about myself.
To improve the reliability of the form;
- Ensure the form doesn’t reveal you as the creator of the form. This makes people write honestly, thinking that you won’t see what they’ve written. The questions should be in the third-person point of view
- Don’t include the name or email fields. This way, you’ll get raw, unfiltered feedback. This prevents you from just rationalising why a given person wrote a certain response.
The questions can range from your strengths, weaknesses, behaviours under certain conditions, and more. Some questions can be;
- What does Laurel do in her free time on weekends
- What is Laurel’s greatest fear
- What does Laurel enjoy working on
- How does Laurel handle stress
- What advice/opinions do you often seek from Laurel
- What do you admire about Laurel
- What do you hate about Laurel
I can’t exhaust all questions or tell those that are relevant to you but I hope those above give you an idea.
However, keep in mind that this method also has its limitations as people may have biases towards you. Those you choose to get feedback from matter.
You’ll also gain a third person-view of how people perceive you
Further Exploration
There are countless other tools out there, but the ones above are the best, in my opinion.
One honourable mention is understandmyself.com, which measures your personality based on the Big Five personality traits (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism — O.C.E.A.N). It is however not free.
Concluding Thoughts
While these tools can’t fully capture the complexity and uniqueness of who you are, they provide a valuable starting point in understanding yourself and your potential.
Remember, each of us is unique, and no tool can fully define us, which is what makes us special.
Through this journey of self-discovery, not only will you gain a new perspective on yourself, but you’ll also find better solutions to your problems.
So, embark on this voyage and let these tools be the compass guiding you towards a clearer image of who you are.
