Is Human Design Just Another Personality Assessment?
Personality tests like the Meyers Briggs, Enneagram, and DISC profile to name a few, offer insight into the human personality. We love them because they make us feel good about ourselves. We take them because we want to uncover our strengths and what makes us different so we can improve our life situation. We take them because we want validation that what we already know about ourselves is true.
At one point in my life, I was obsessed with taking any personality test I could get my hands on. But, one of the challenges I always had with these assessments was that each required me to answer a questionnaire. The results depended on my level of self-awareness at that moment – and if I was looking to better understand myself through these tests, it was pretty easy to subconsciously skew the results to my favor, rather than learn something helpful I wasn’t yet aware of. What I didn’t realize at the time was that I had such little self-awareness when I was answering these questions, or my ego would get in the way, that I would either get results that weren’t accurate, or the results would always change. Then, I discovered Human Design.
In simple terms, Human Design is a system for knowing yourself. It is an in depth guide that goes beyond personality, built on a synthesis of systems including astrology, the Chinese I’ching, the chakra system, the tree of life from Kabbalah, and quantum mechanics.
Just like many personality assessments, the foundation of Human Design is based on types. These types are Manifestor, Generator, Manifesting Generator, Projector, and Reflector. However, there are so many layers underneath the type that you can fall under one of two billion combinations. No wonder Human Design is also known as the science of differentiation. When it comes to comparing Human Design to personality tests, the type you fall under is just about where the similarities end. Human Design goes deeper than moods, attitudes, and opinions. With Human Design, you can become more aware of not only your innate superpowers, but of your challenges, too.
One of the things I’ve come to love about Human Design – that would’ve probably had me rolling my eyes a couple of years ago – is that the information you get is solely based on your birth data. This is one of the biggest differences between Human Design and personality assessments. Not having to answer a questionnaire removes the requirement to already have a deep level of self-awareness to answer questions honestly – and get honest results. (I know this can be tricky for those that don’t know their birth time, but I do offer a resource that can help you figure that out, or to play with your design anyways, even if you don’t know the exact time). Being based on your birth date, time, and location means that your results don’t change. You can’t manipulate them.
I really like to approach Human Design with this idea that we already know who we are, and Human design is a system that helps us to remember that. Many of us can benefit from it because we’ve been taught to be something and someone that we’re not; we’re really conditioned away from our true self. In that sense, Human Design can help us rediscover who that true self is, and how we can get back into alignment with that. We are all so unique. We all have a unique design with a unique purpose, but we live in a society that often moves us towards homogenization, or being the same. That’s a huge part of how we get so conditioned away from ourselves, because we think the way that we are is not good enough, or we need to change to fit into some ideal that is placed on us.
Human Design shows us that we don’t need to change, we just need to give ourselves permission to be exactly who we were born to be. It shows us how to find wisdom in our challenges, and how to lean into our strengths. It allows us to witness and develop a healthy relationship with who we are, so we can live life to its fullest. It allows us to unlock our highest potential without telling us who to be – the thing most of us are searching for in all of those personality tests.
So no, Human Design is not just another personality assessment. It’s far deeper than that, and if you are or have ever been into these tests like I was, you are going to find so much value in Human Design!
