Understanding our personality type can help us to be more successful in our relationships and careers, better understand how to solve problems, and teach us to communicate better. It also allows us to learn how to be more successful when trying to achieve a goal, and this certainly doesn’t exclude our health and fitness goals.
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While most of us know which type of exercise we prefer, we usually don’t take time to stop and think about how our personality may impact our success when it comes to reaching our fitness goals. In fact, knowing this may be the key to setting yourself up for success. Not being aware of your personality type or how it can be applied to your fitness goals may be the reason that you are unable to achieve them, time and time again.
Also Read: 10 Tips To Burn More Fat During Your Workout
Knowing your personality type, on the other hand, can help you better understand what inspires you, what keeps your interest and energy levels up, and what gives you the motivation to stay on track — critical factors when it comes to success.
By taking the time to understand your personality type and applying this knowledge to your goal setting, you will be reaching for goals that are tailor-made and personalized for you to succeed.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
If you are not sure what your personality type is, a good place to start would be the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator categorizes individuals as one of sixteen possible personality combinations based on the spectrum of four basic traits. To find out what type you may be out of the 16 possible combinations, take this variation of the test for an overview and explanation of your personality type.
They’re based on the following criteria:
- Extroversion
- Introversion
- Sensing
- Intuition
- Thinking
- Feeler
- Judging
- Perceiving
Those who are high in extroversion more successful reaching goals when they are able to talk through their goals with others, and enlist others to help. If you rank high in extroversion, you may want to attend group fitness classes, grab a friend, or even enlist the help of a personal trainer rather than going at it alone.
Those who are high in introversion are naturally more reflective and are more successful when they allow themselves time to reflect and think through their goals. These people may benefit from writing their goals down in a personal journal, reflecting on why they are pursuing their particular goals, and tracking not only how they are working towards achieving it, but how each small achievement makes them feel. They may also prefer to work out alone.
Those who are high in sensing are more hands-on and are more successful when their goals are simple and attainable. They also need to see some sort of tangible evidence that it is possible to reach a goal. Sensers may want to consider a FitBit or some other means to measurably track their fitness. They may also want to make sure that their goals are set in achievable, concrete units, rather than as faraway pipe dreams. For example, “I will be fit by next year” is not a good goal for sensers; “I will be able to do 20 push-ups in two months” is a more realistic goal.
Those who are high in intuition are more likely to be successful by setting goals that are very inspirational, encourage challenge, and are not too obvious. For these people, a workout challenge or enrolling in an unusual fitness class (like rock climbing or parkour) may be just the ticket to stay on track.
Those who are high in the trait of thinking are more likely to be successful when there is a firm objective that reflects the best possible outcome. Thinkers need to driven by the what and the how when they set a goal. Thinkers may want to create and execute a tailored and personalized, full-body workout plan that has been specifically designed with their goals in mind.
If you are a feeler, reaching goals may be more attainable when goals are set that reflect a concern for others. For feelers, the goal of being fit and healthy may be easier to achieve if it is based on the idea of being your best self for your kids or family.
Those who are high in judging are already naturally used to setting goals. Goals need to be explicitly defined and thought out in a way that considers all possible options. Judgers don’t typically need a lot of help in the goal-setting department; chances are, if fitness is their goals, they’re already working hard to achieve it!
If you are high in the trait of perceiving, you are more likely to be successful if you set goals that are flexible, constantly changing, and set as more of a guideline. Perceivers may want to avoid signing up for that inflexible, year-long boot camp occurring at the same time each week; instead, perceivers may benefit from a gym membership that offers a variety of different drop-in classes to try at flexible times.
Using your own personality combination can help you set goals on your four most prominent personality traits. Use the list above as a guideline when setting new goals.
Are You A Morning Person Or A Night Owl?
Another factor to consider when it comes to reaching your fitness goals is your level of “morningness” or “eveningness.” Whether you are a morning person or not is actually a part of your ingrained personality. The saying goes that “the early bird gets the worm,” but this is only true for those who are high in morningness. While most of us learn to adopt a schedule that rewards and is based around early mornings, this isn’t something that comes easy or naturally to all.
Those who are high in morningness (also known as “morning people”) are more likely to be energized, productive and have an easier time getting out of bed early and falling asleep early. If you are high in morningness, set yourself up to succeed by planning morning workouts. Those who are high in eveningness have a harder time getting going in the morning and are often more productive and energized at night. Knowing whether or not you are a morning or evening person, and accepting it, can help you better plan for your workouts and set fitness goals. If you know you are not a morning person but you keep setting up morning workouts, you may find it difficult to make it to these workouts, and thus, you may find it extremely difficult to reach your goals.
Understanding who we are helps us set personalized fitness goals. More importantly, the more these goals are catered to our personality, the more achievable they become.