Human Design Versus Personality Tests

When it comes to taking personality tests, I was a total champion. Since all the questions are subjective and situationally focused, I tailored my responses to whatever my employer or team needed me to be. I would re-take these tests at home, considering my own personal life, and the results would be completely different than before. Imagine that!

Then Human Design came along and a whole new world of possibilities opened up.

 
If you've ever been asked to take a personality test, or you've gone through one just for kicks, you probably realized how much the results could change depending on who you are in that moment.

The general take on personality tests from folks who aren't Reflectors is that they probably have some merit and would be able to hold up over time. This makes sense because every type except Reflectors has at least two defined centres where they would experience a level of consistency in how they experience things.

 
But with us Reflectors being wide open, you could take a personality test each day for a month and probably end up with a range of results, simply due to our openness and connection to the lunar cycle moving through all 64 gates each month.

Where this gets really interesting, at least in my opinion, is how much "we" as a society value compartmentalizing people into various categories to help make sense of who they are, what they stand for, and what they're skilled at.

Well, good luck trying to do this with a Reflector!

It amazes me how consistency and predictability in one's interests, career, and desires, can be so highly valued even with our quickly-changing modern world. It's almost as if it's ok for technology, fashion, health, and social media to go through trends at warp speed but people are expected to stay the same. That just doesn't make sense!

Except that throughout evolution, societies and communities have had to get really clear about who their members were and what they stood for so they could be judged as good for the group, or threatening to the group. I went to university to study sociology (followed by a fun Master's degree in urban planning) and was fascinated by how closely linked a group's success was to their ability to function as a unit. This doesn't necessarily mean that everyone performs the same role, quite the opposite actually. But when you had a role that was valued by the group, you kinda stuck with it and contributed in that way forever. Change in direction or ambition chipped away at the integrity of the foundation the community was built on, so it was discouraged in a big way.

Getting back to personality tests, these situation-based questions are designed to help your group figure you out so they know what to make of you, how to predict your contribution, and whether you'll be an asset or liability to the dynamic. But when these classifications are based on questions that a human being must answer, there's really no way to do it in an unbiased way. People naturally desire to look favourable to those whose acceptance is important to them. Which is exactly why I could always answer truthfully to those questions and still end up with results that an employer would look upon as beneficial.

Human Design, on the other hand, takes things in a much different direction. Yes, there are 5 Types and you'll belong in one of them. But that's just the beginning! It's known as the science of differentiation for a reason and one look at your chart will show you why. We naturally start with our type, then move onto profile numbers (like 6/2 or 3/5), strategy and authority, defined gates, channels (for non-Reflectors), incarnation cross, planets, arrows, and so much more. With each of these characteristics you peel back another layer into the depth of who you are and how you're meant to operate. Personality tests don't even scratch the surface.

When asked if I think Human Design is restrictive, especially for Reflectors, my answer is a resounding "No way!". Human Design gives you a framework to start investigating the nuances that make you you. Everything in your chart has a highest expression and a lowest expression, meaning you're going to see good sides of yourself as well as areas you're challenged with. And doesn't that sound exactly like the human experience of life? I think so!

There are days when the openness of my chart is super supportive and everything clicks into place nicely, and there are also days when things feel intense and tough. We aren't here to judge ourselves for having these experiences. These show up in our lives as a way to teach us lessons, guide us towards something more aligned, and generally help us live our purpose.

It's all about where you put your focus, the story you create about it, and how you interpret it.

The reason I take issue with personality tests the way I do, is because they don't pass the "So what?" test. Once you've been assigned to a group or colour or bunch of letters, you're probably left asking the question, "So what?", and personality tests don't have an answer for you. But your Human Design does.

Human Design gives you a supportive way to make decisions and trust the knowledge in your body. It highlights your unique sign of living in or out of alignment. And it also tells you your life's purpose, which is pretty amazing. Human Design has a ton of flexibility in its descriptions because, let's be honest, people grow and change over the course of their lives.

You won't find that in a personality test.