What is the difference?

The Myers Briggs personality test (MBTI) consists of 16 personalities that are made up of 4 different elements. MBTI tends to focus more on the inner workings of one’s mind, figuring out what role you might play in different groups, or what occupation might fit you the best. It also helps one understand how their mind works and how one might process and think through things. Enneagram on the other hand is more spiritual based and focuses on analyzing your mind. It finds one’s fears and what drives them, along with their weaknesses and how to handle them. Both tests are great for learning about yourself, and each person may like one test over the other. It all depends on one’s outlook and what they want from the test. Simply put, Enneagram is better for when you want to learn about your mind and how you react to different things while MBTI is better for understanding how your brain processes things. 

Myers Briggs downsides:

Despite it being a simple personality test, the popularity of the Myers Briggs types has risen vastly recently. With popularity always comes controversy and difference in opinions. Most people’s problem with the test lies with the fact that it is too simple. It’s hard to categorize everyone into 16 different personality types. Not only that, but it makes a lot of character traits black and white when really it should be a whole color wheel. This causes problems because it separates people into two separate categories when there could be dozens. Another problem people encounter is the low re-testability rate. When taking the test twice only 5 weeks apart, 50% of people got the same answer, which makes the test unreliable. 

My opinion on Myers Briggs

If the test is said to be bad and possibly inaccurate, why do I love it so much, and why has it become so popular? I think it all depends on the person and how serious they choose to take it. Obviously with any free personality test online there’s going to be inaccuracies, but it’s important to take them for a grain of salt. If you know something isn’t true, then pay no attention to it. If you feel as though the results aren’t accurate, read the different personality types and decide which one you are for yourself. I really like knowing others type because it’s a great way to help understand other’s minds. It helps me get along with other people knowing that they tend to focus more on the present while I look toward the future, or knowing someone else is more introverted than I am. I also prefer MBTI over Enneagram because every time I take the MBTI test I get the same answer, but every time I take the Enneagram test, I get something different. At the end of the day, it really just depends on the person.