What Color Are You?

Have you ever done any of those Facebook surveys where it’s like: “Answer these questions and we’ll tell you what color you are!” Or “Answer these questions and find out what Hogwarts you belong in!” Which celebrity would be your sweety or what tattoo you should get. Some of them are probably spam, but others are just fun ways to get something to tell you “who you really are.” Like you’re in Hufflepuff because you’re loyal and true. You’re spirit burns red because you’re passionate and extroverted. Or you should get an eagle tattoo because you’re a free spirit.

I like to do them to see how bogus some of them are.

There are some really good ones out there, but lately I’ve noticed that a lot of them say the same thing just in different ways. Like if you get one result it tell you: “You’re an independent person who’s loyal and people should watch out when you get angry!” And another result might say something like: “You stick by those you care about and are stable enough to stand on your own. You’re not easily angered, but your fury knows no bounds.” Pretty much the same thing, right?

Doing some of these surveys and quizzes is a way that some of us try to figure out who we are. If you read a result you like, it can be very encouraging. Even if you get something you doubt, it can still put that thought in your mind that maybe deep down you are courageous like a Gryffindor?

Whether you believe these cute, little Facebook games or not, there’s people out there who really do research into personality types and assign colors to them. We all know the 13 different personality types. The ones where you’re labeled as a bunch of letters in a row. Well, at my job, we’re doing a team building thing and this one involves answering 6 different questions that each have four answers. You’re supposed to order them as most like you to least like you. At the end, you get assigned a color. There are four colors: blue, red, green, and gold. Each color has different traits assigned to it. Like blue has harmonious and empathetic, red has adventurous and flexible, green has logical and philosophical, and gold has loyal and dependable. You get scored with so many points in each color. The most you can is 24, the least is 6.

I’m not going to share my results, but honestly, I felt a little called out in reading them over. This program that my coworkers and I went through includes tips on how your color set best deals with change, communication, stress, and other topics. I’ll be the first to admit I got a little defensive. To me, it read that the best way to treat my color set was to treat me like a child and nobody likes that.

I’m not sure how much of this color stuff I believe. I peeked on some of my coworkers’ results and though everyone got different values in their colors, it mainly focused on your primary color and all the tips were how you react and should be treated based on your primary color. Two of my coworkers had the same primary color, but every color after that was in a different order. Because their primary colors were the same, it listed the same things for both of them on how they deal with stress, communication, etc.

I know it supposed to be a quick reference and guide to understanding your coworkers, but it bugs me. There are only four colors and your primary color defines you in this case, so it isn’t designed specifically for you. That splits the billions of people on the planet into four categories. Oh, you’re green so you’re too logical. You don’t understand emotions. You’re red, so you’re too outgoing and loud. Being gold means you put responsibility first, so you don’t care about people. And blue? Well, you’re just too darn emotional.

It’s fun to see what results you get. Who of your team is similar to you and who is opposite, but I hope no one ever lives by these results–defines themselves by these results. Because, people–you–are so much more than a single color, personality type, Hogwarts house, tattoo, or whatever other quiz is out there. We live in a world full of labels and you shouldn’t be defined by just one. There are over 7 billion people on the planet, but there’s only one you.