ThroughlinesLife Personality Test

  • The ThroughlinesLife Personality Test

  • Welcome to the ThroughlinesLife Personality Test! Based on the book Throughlines: The Life of Your Personality by philosopher and life coach Don Snedeker, the test incorporates your views of yourself as well as your sense of how others view you. As with all self-reported tests, your results reflect your input, and is primarily food for thought to help you better understand yourself and perhaps those in your life. This and all personality tests, whether formulated by therapists, sociologists, academicians, teachers, philosophers, or any number of professionals, are conjectural—they are guides to provide a framework with which you may come to understand yourself and your relationships with greater clarity. 

    There are 77 questions, which will take about 20 minutes to answer—for the most accurate results be sure to answer all of the questions. And be sure to have some fun with this! It isn't therapy, it's another way to get to know yourself and those in your life. Enjoy the test and life's journey!

  • 1. Check the box to the left of the set that comes closest to describing you. Not perfectly, not everything within each set, but in the aggregate which one best captures you?*
  • 2. Check all of the following for which EVERY TRAIT in that set accurately describes you.*
  • 3. Do you remember things you said or did to childhood classmates that make you cringe when you think about them today?
  • 4. Check all of the boxes for which you think others view you as a combination of BOTH traits.
  • 5. Rate your temper on a scale of 1-7, with 1 meaning very little agitates you and 7 meaning you readily lose your temper.
  • 6. Check the box next to two of the following that most closely represent your approach to entering a long-term relationship (e.g. marriage). (9 choices)
  • 7. You call someone just to chat. Comparing their reaction to a weather forecast, what sort of weather do you think they expect when they see your name on their caller ID? (Check one.)

  • 8. Are others likely to think the following statements about you? (9 parts.)

  • i) I can't fully explain it, but you are a wonderful person.
  • ii) You are generous, kind and energetic.
  • iii) I feel better about myself when I am with you.
  • iv) I would like to get to know you better.
  • v) You are smart and socially awkward, but quite informative.
  • vi) You are organized, direct and self-aware.
  • vii) You mean well and can be helpful, but you create tension.
  • viii) You are emotionally unavailable, opinionated, and don’t seem to care about anyone but yourself.
  • ix) You are sociable but self-serving and extreme, and I am not comfortable around you.

  • 9. Do the following tendencies regarding work apply to you? (9 parts)

  • i) You strongly prefer to be passionate about a job to remain content doing it. You have some tolerance for keeping a job for the paycheck but will become discouraged and disengaged if a boss is unkind or the work is boring. You are pleasant to colleagues and somewhat interested in their personal lives.
  • ii) The idea of a new job and environment brings asense of excitement rather than dread. You can be a slow starter, but when the pieces of the new environment, company, colleagues and responsibilities come together, you work quickly and are extremely productive. You are stimulated by interacting with your new colleagues,which sometimes distracts you from your work. You are entrepreneurial and strongly prefer working for yourself than for someone else.
  • iii) You quickly process a new job and don’t take long to become  productive. Though naturally sociable, you aren’t too distracted by others because you can focus on the job itself and are a fairly good multitasker. You are liked by colleagues and have upper management potential.
  • iv) You are able to make sense of a new position relatively quickly and begin contributing to the company by not requiring as much training or oversight as others. You are comfortable recognizing your own limitations and will ask for help when necessary, but work very well on your own and can tolerate less-than-ideal colleagues and jobs.
  • v) You are not overly distracted by colleagues in a new job, are able to focus on the work and figure things out quickly. You are task oriented and prefer to finish one project before starting another, so are not a great multitasker. You are productive, and though a bit quirky are liked by colleagues and management.
  • vi) You are a quick learner and efficient with your time, and have good project management skills. You will assist colleagues when they ask for help or input, but are intolerant of laziness and not a big fan of stupidity in others’ approaches to their tasks. Multitasking is not your preferred way of working, but you have no problem managing multiple things simultaneously.
  • vii) You hit the ground running in a new job or project. Your focus is the result, not how you or your team accomplish it. Excuses are unacceptable even if reasonable. You find inefficiencies quickly and are not easily tempted to socialize with colleagues at work. You seek to maximize everyone’s output, and will not hesitate to suggest ideas to your bosses. Can be fun, but will rub people the wrong way with a lack of sensitivity in presenting your ideas.
  • viii) You have an overarching disinterest in a new job due to ideological differences with the vast majority of people. You have either a complete lack of interest in earning money in standard ways, whether in a career or in starting your own business, or are completely absorbed with accumulating money but are rarely fond of the people you work with. You are emotionally detached and have a general disdain for people, which makes going to work a dreaded experience.
  • ix) Your fondness for a job is hit or miss, depending on the nature of the job and the compensation. You can be extremely productive if the work suits you in the moment, and can also be a total disaster if the job or people you work with lose their appeal. There is little gray area, and absent running your own business or having a job in which you are paid very well and your ego is stroked you will eventually quit or be fired.

  • 10. Check YES, NO, or NOT SURE for the following questions. (29 parts)

  • i) Do you instinctively look to validate others’ experiences and perspectives?
  • ii) Do you have a good sense of how others value you?
  • iii) Are you friendly, approachable, and fairly excitable?
  • iv) Do you instinctively look for the good in others?
  • v) Do you enjoy giving to others with no expectation of receiving something in return?
  • vi) Do others consider you easy to talk with?
  • vii) Are you inclined to look for common ground between yourself and others to reduce potential disagreement?
  • viii) Are you pleasant and welcoming?
  • ix) Would others describe you as diplomatic?
  • x) Are you non-dogmatic about most things?
  • xi) Do you notice small gaps in others’ thinking without being contentious or judgmental?
  • xii) Are you comfortable having questions rather than having a deep need to find answers?
  • xiii) Do you enjoy sharing non-personal information with strangers?
  • xiv) Do you like helping others in quick doses without necessarily looking for long-term relationships?
  • xv) Do you like to get straight to the point in conversation?
  • xvi) Do you prefer others to be direct with you (i.e. not sugarcoat things)?
  • xvii) Are you honest with yourself even when someone points out a fault of yours?
  • xviii) Do you consider yourself to be helpful?
  • xix) Do others consider you to be overbearing and relentless?
  • xx) Are you comfortable making others uncomfortable?
  • xxi) In conversation, do you habitually point out contrary information?
  • xxii) Do you easily disengage from others?
  • xxiii) Do you have higher expectations of others than of yourself?
  • xxiv) Do you consider yourself intelligent, with clear notions of how the world should operate?
  • xxv) Are you disinterested in the well-being of others?
  • xxvi) Are you relatively unmoved by others’ opinions of you?
  • xxvii) Do you find yourself treating others as though they are dancers in your choreography?
  • xxviii) Do you notice when you’ve hurt someone but are relatively unmoved by it?
  • xxix) Do you amuse yourself at the expense of others?
  • 11. Which TWO of the following sets of jobs and job types appeal most to you?

  • 12. Rank yourself according to each of the following traits. (22 parts.)

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