Retrorepsective Self Analysis myself

There are often multiple versions of me to folks. Let’s start with the most common example: I.

In some countries, testing one’s characteristics is very famous. You or your friends can follow the survey sheet about how you would behave or think in certain circumstances. After 5 - 20 minutes of surveys, one’s characteristics are evaluated into 16 categories. Since there are lots of great sources, here I simply share this blog.

What triggers me to write this essay is I have had multiple characteristics over time. It could be the one I feel, and the talks I heard from friends. For instance, I used to be a shy boy in my childhood. When guests came to my home, it took a while to be friendly. But when the threshold time value is reached, I liked the guest and treated her/him as if I found a new family member. I found it not good so I did my best to change my character since I entered college. I moved to a new city. I left my hometown, my family, and my friends. The new environment is literally completely “new”. The amount of energy in converting me is much cheaper in this case because I don’t have to consider others’ views. Everybody will see me as the one who behaves today.

In my early 20’s, my fake extroverted-, insider campus life began. The more I approached people actively, the broader my network became. Since I used to admire the life of an insider, I liked it in the beginning. However, one day I found myself having the original character which is quiet and introverted. I deduced the reason why it happened.

The first hypothesis is that I had to consume too much energy because I had to fake lots of time. Naturally, I opt to save my energy. The second hypothesis is that I was again exposed to a different environment so I changed without my intention. There have been a few events big enough to say “new” environment. First is military service. Second is life in Sydney without knowing anyone and working as a foreign labor. Third is life in Korea as a job seeker. Fourth is joining corporate and starting a professional career. Fifth is the combination of studying in Germany + being remote due to Covid + getting back to student + marriage. Sixth is the founding of a company which means seeing the market from the entrepreneur view. Everyone’s life is a story. When I look back on my last 10 years, a simple conclusion of “why” seems not possible.

One thing I need (very likely you also need) is intentionally tweaking the environment and making additional commitments. You don’t have to necessarily move to another country where you live and change your career or leave your family. Let’s start with a small change and use it to trigger being another version of me. This process helps your version get better.