Why Know Thy WorkType?

The following is a guest post from fnBlog Contributor Kabir Sagoo, CEO/founder of TidePool. Kabir previously contributed to clomid online.foundersnetwork.com/2012/09/founder-profile-tidepool/”>”Founder Profile: TidePool”. TidePool derives personality and other core psychological characteristics from photos. This post, originally posted on the TidePool blog, discusses the value of knowing yourself as a way to facilitate respecting yourself, accepting others, understanding relationships and accepting decisions.

Two popular sayings appear to be forever at odds with one another:

• “Know thyself” – Various Greek Sages
• “Ignorance is bliss” – Thomas Gray(paraphrasing Sophocles)

So which is it?

We all have experience with both. How many new relationships or new jobs appeared perfect at first; no flaws, only fun? After a while we discovered some cracks in the façade and the reality set in – there were more problems here than we thought. Problems that will take a lot of work to fix. We wish we could return to the happy-go-lucky times before we saw behind the curtain. Ignorance was bliss.

We’ve also seen the benefits of self-knowledge. For example, it’s best to have a realistic assessment of your conditioning when you stand at the starting line of the half-marathon. Night Owls don’t often thrive at sunrise jobs. Acrophobic? Sky Dive Day will be no picnic. When you know you’d rather listen to fingernails on a chalkboard all day than have a conversation with Johnny, you’re using self-knowledge.

The fact is, ignorance is bliss, for a while. In fact, the Sophocles/Gray quote originally referred to the innocence of childhood, which is great but doesn’t last. We all need to face reality eventually. Which means we need to accept that all relationships take hard work to function well. And we all have personal blind spots and limitations.

But let’s not set up a false dichotomy here – just because ignorance is bliss, that doesn’t mean that knowledge is misery. Not at all. Self-knowledge provides some of the best gifts in life: freedom, truth, authentic relationship. As it turns out, knowledge is bliss too.

At TidePool we’re in the self-knowledge business. We develop instruments that try to look past who you’re trying to be, or think you should be, to who you really are. Then we tell you what we find and give some pointers to help you thrive in your job selection, your relationships, and improve your sense of accomplishment.

How exactly will you benefit from knowing thyself? Self-knowledge helps you to…

Respect yourself: We’ve heard many of your stories already about taking the TidePool assessment to learn your WorkType and it resonates with you on a deep level. You’re finally able to accept that yes, you really are a Ghostwriter (Reserved X Artistic) despite a lifetime of fighting against it for one reason or another. “I need to be more outgoing” you’d tell yourself, or “I need to do something more practical than creative work.” Reading about the Ghostwriter, you find that it not only fits, it’s a type filled with many socially valuable and practical qualities. Self-knowledge can help you accept and embrace your primary personality and interests, which is incredibly liberating.

Accept others: Once you begin to see yourself as a multi-faceted combination of traits, interests, and experiences, you start to get curious about the people around you. Whereas you previously tore your hair out because Sally didn’t agree with you, now you’re curious about how Sally’s WorkType contributes to her view of the problem. The conflict turns from a battle of wills to a much more helpful exploration of different perspectives.

Understand relationships: Just as no two people are alike, no two relationships are alike either. But there are common issues that are likely to arise when various personalities and interests intersect. How might a Laser Beam (Realistic X Organized) interact with The Kiln (Artistic X Sensitive), for example? They will clash and complement one another in very different ways than The Anchor (Stable X Conventional) and The Workhorse (Reserved X Realistic) will. But by having a common understanding of the self, we can use a common language to begin the dialogue (use our Compare feature to see this in action).

Make sense of your past and current decisions: When you understand that your primary interests are social, it won’t surprise you that you were most miserable in solitary research jobs. When you know you tend to be cautious by nature, this may help you decide between a high risk job offer and one that is more stable. And when you know you work best in large, diverse groups, this knowledge will help you form your next work team. This is the real power of this knowledge – now that you know who you are, you can make truly informed decisions.

So was Socrates right when he said: “The unexamined life is not worth living”? We would tend to agree.

By the way, Socrates’ WorkType was The Connoisseur.

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TidePool designed an interactive photo assessment that measures personality and other psychological traits. Our first product is a WorkType that tells you how your personality and interests are expressed in your professional relationships. Compare WorkTypes with your friends and co-workers at TidePool.co.

• WorkTypes help you accept yourself, respect others, understand relationships, and understand your decisions. [tweet]
• Knowledge is bliss. Knowing your WorkType not only reveals the real you, but unveils your weaknesses and strengths. [tweet]
• Knowing your WorkType reveals the 4 qualities necessary for a happy career and a happier you. [tweet]
• TidePool helps you look past who you’re trying to be and unveils who you really are. [tweet]

Want to learn more about @TidePoolInc? Follow their blog or connect with Kabir on Twitter @ksagoo