Know Thyself??

I have a weakness for online tests--personality tests, IQ, all the stuff on Blogthings! For the most part, they are good, mindless fun and an easy way to temporarily distract yourself from whatever ails you. I mean doesn't every one want to know what flavor jelly bean they are (margarita...a certain "je ne sais quoi"), What crappy Christmas gift you are (a self-help book) or What animal were you in a past life (Jaguar..understanding the patterns of chaos). But some of them, at least on the surface, seem more serious than others. For example, the free personality test at www.oneishy.com. I have taken it twice, a couple of weeks apart, just to see if the results would come out the same. And apparently, your results somewhat rely on your state of mind at the time that you take the test. The first go round I was primarily Melancholy followed by Choleric (don't I just sound like a blast at parties). The second go round I was primarily Melancholy followed by Phlegmatic (oooh....yep, a real blast). Since Melancholy came up as the dominant personality trait both times, I thought I'd see what it had to say about it.

Emotional Strengths

Deep and thoughtfully
Analytical
Serious and purposeful
Genius prone
Talented and creative (I'd sure like to think so!)
Artistic or musical (They've never heard me sing!)
Philosophical and poetic
Appreciative of beauty
Sensitive to others
Self-sacrificing (To a point, yes, but this can turn into a weakness)
Conscientious
Idealistic

The Melancholy at Work

Schedule oriented
Perfectionist, high standards (If you have the time to do it over, you have the time to do it right to begin with)
Detail conscious
Persistent and thorough
Orderly and organized (They haven't seen my desk!)
Neat and tidy
Economical
Sees the problems
Finds creative solutions
Needs to finish what he starts (he?? where's the she in this?)
Likes charts, graphs, figures, lists

The Melancholy Parent

Sets high standards
Wants everything done right
Keeps home in good order
Picks up after children
Sacrifices own will for others
Encourages scholarship and talent

The Melancholy as a Friend

Makes friends cautiously (Absolutely. I'd rather have a few, close friends than tons of acquaitances)
Content to stay in background
Avoids causing attention
Faithful and devoted
Will listen to complaints
Can solve other's problems (easier than solving my own)
Deep concern for other people
Moved to tears with compassion (many, many times)
Seeks ideal mate

The Emotional Weaknesses

Remembers the negatives (You mean like the chick in second grade who stole my pencils)
Moody and depressed
Enjoys being hurt (Uh...no.)
Has false humility
Off in another world (doesn't this go with genius and creative)
Low self-image
Has selective hearing
Self-centered
Too introspective
Guilt feelings
Persecution complex
Tends to hypochondria

Work Weaknesses

Not people oriented (as Heidi would say...its not that I'm antisocial, I just dont like people)
depressed over imperfections
Chooses difficult work
Hesitant to start projects
Spends to much time planning
Prefers analysis to work
Self-deprecating
Hard to please
Standards often too high
Deep need for approval

Parental Weaknesses

Puts goals beyond reach
May discourage children
May be too meticulous
Becomes martyr
Sulks over disagreements
Puts guilt upon children

Friendship Weaknesses


Lives through others
Insecure socially
Withdrawn and remote
critical of others
Holds back affections
Dislikes those in opposition
Suspicious of people (sadly, true)
Antagonistic and vengeful
Unforgiving (You mean like that chick in second grade who stole my pencils?)
Full of contradictions
Skeptical of compliments (And how!)

In looking over this list, there are things that I agree with and disagree with (is it because it is wrong or because I just don't like it). I didn't comment on the parent items because unless the cat and dog really do count, I'm not one. And I can't comment or attest to the scientific validity of the test on this site, but it was interesting and I think that there is probably enough truth in it to give one something to think about.