Omniverts- How knowing my personality type made me more self-aware

There’s a popular belief that people’s actions stem from their personality type. While this seems to be accurate, it doesn’t mean there are no exceptions. For instance, recent studies show there are other personality types such as ambiverts or omniverts. But how did they come about their findings?

Originally, psychotherapists Carl Jung and Briggs Myers agreed that there are two main, legitimate personality types: extroverts and introverts. Along the line, Adam Grant, a professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, conducted further research on personality differences, and his findings were interesting. First, he found that two-thirds of people don’t strongly identify as introverts or extroverts. These people, who are the vast majority of us, are called ambiverts. This means they have both introverted and extroverted tendencies and create a balance of both personalities.

However, since ambivert is a term that describes a balance or intersection between the aforementioned personality types, what then can be said of those who can be either of the two by staying between the extremes? According to the book Spirituality for Extroverts: and tips for those who love them by Nancy Reeves, Omniverts are people who can be energized by both the inner and outer world. They can move to the orientation that is most useful for them at any point.

If we are close, you can easily guess what personality type I fall in. Yes, you are right, omnivert. It took me so long to realize this because I struggled to understand why my conflicting moods was my normal- switching from hymns to rap music without flinching, being a drama queen/the life of the party, to deriving pleasure in being alone. I wondered how I could be either of the two and also relate well with both personality types.

The moment I realized who omniverts are, I felt a part of me come alive (ignorance isn’t good)! It was like someone out there finally understood me and even decided to do more research on why I act the way I do. So how then did my personality type improve my self-awareness. 

Firstly let’s look at what self-awareness is *switching to a lecturing mode*. Self-awareness is the effort you make to understand the reason for your uniqueness in order to be a better version of yourself. For instance Instead of saying, “I think I have bad luck with certain things; therefore, I accept those things are not for me”, you try to understand why you have bad luck with those things and see how best to change the situation to be a better version of yourself. 

So, when I became self-aware of my dual personality type, it made me fully accept that I can compartmentalize my life and be totally okay with extreme choices but guess what people who can’t understand my personality call me? A weirdo 😂.

Related: How intentional living can improve your life.

Other benefits I have gained from being self-aware of my personality type include:

1. Being able to take up various work tasks.

2. Increase in creativity.

3. Relate better on my own terms with people. 

4. Be more empathetic about people’s feelings. 

5. Make better life choices. 

6. Lead my life better by not allowing the world to detect how I should be.

7. Know the kind of help I need when I don’t feel okay.

8. I can make plans and goals for the week, but also know when to be spontaneous.

9. Understand people who believe they have a monochrome or coloured life.

10. Switch between personalities based on the vibe I received from people (in a place like work).

Although this is a relatively new study, I believe there is a lot to know about omniverts. In summary, there’s nothing like having a positive feeling about yourself when others have a different narrative of you. If you need to understand yourself better (which is normal), reach out to a therapist or psychologist.

Over to you, how has knowing your personality type improved your life?

If you love this blog, kindly share the posts with your friends and loved ones. It will mean a lot to me to know your thoughts in the comments. Love, Grace