Get to Know Yourself Through the Oldest Personality Test

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There’s one person that all of us want to get to know better—ourselves.

Growing to truly know yourself is simultaneously one of the most difficult tasks you can undertake, and one of the most rewarding. When we know ourselves, when we know our proclivities, our weaknesses, and our strengths, we can make decisions that are good for us.

Knowing all this means that you can not only set realistic goals for yourself, but that you can also surround yourself with situations and types of people which make you the best you can be. Ultimately, knowing yourself leads to a happier, more productive life. One of the ways you can grow to know yourself better is through the five elements.

The five elements—the five pillars of creation—originate in ancient China, whose scholars theorized that the universe was made up of five forces—water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. Every person’s personality and health can be described as a balance of these elements in which one or more can be dominant.

Understanding each of these five elements, and which ones are dominant in your own personality, is one of the oldest ways—over 2,000 years old, in fact—of getting to know yourself. Let’s take a look at these elements so that you can better figure yourself out!

Water

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You see them in coffee shops, engaged in deep conversations, surrounded by small groups of close friends. They’re the artists, the intimate conversationalists, the slightly messy and always imaginative thinkers who ask deep, probing questions when getting to know you.

Waters want their lives to align with their values—they’re idealists to the core, constantly on the search for meaning in all aspects of life.

Does this sound like you? If so, beware of the following.

Fear is likely a large part of your life—fear of loss, of a lack of meaning, of man’s inhumanity to man, and much more. Make sure that you spend time with positive friends rather than focusing on the news, or even on social media. Don’t believe your worst fears—your mind is capable of making the world a much more terrible place than it really is.

And don’t be afraid to ask for alone time. Even with the most loving significant other, waters need their time—it’s nothing personal.

Finally, take the time to exercise. Just as waters can become stagnant, so can you, tending to be still for long periods of time. Get up and stretch! Move around. You’ll be all the healthier for it.

Conquer your fears, take your alone time, and care for your body, and you’ll be able to take full advantage of that creative mind of yours.

Wood

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Woods are tough. They’re fearless, ambitious planners who see the big picture and will find solutions to even the most vexing problems.

They also love organizing, and have little time for the cosmetics of life—their hairstyle is practical, their clothes are simple, and they don’t spend much time on tasks that they consider frivolous.

They can also have a temper which can flare brightly, particularly at inefficiency or injustice.

If you’re a wood, here are a few things to look out for.

Stay flexible. Trees that cannot bend in the wind will break. Woods who cannot combine their tenacity and ambition with vulnerability and empathy will quickly find themselves alone and lonely.

Take care to maintain a balance between work and life. Work is not so important a thing that all must be sacrificed for it. Slow down and enjoy your life, as well as the wonderful people in it.

Most important of all, don’t allow your anger to consume you. People make mistakes. They may not perform as well as you, or may seem to have their head in the clouds. If their personalities aren’t directly affecting your wellbeing, try to let it go. Let people be themselves, and love them where they’re at. This may be the biggest challenge for those with large amounts of this element, but when overcome, anything is possible for a wood!

Fire

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Those who possess an abundance of fire live in the moment. They appreciate every breath, and enjoy life to the fullest, pursuing their passions with wild abandon without much thought for the past or future.

Fires are the life of the party, and can often seem to be a walking celebration. Interestingly, they care little for what others think, yet others tend to think well of them, adore them, even. Fires love life, and they want you to enjoy yours, as well!

On the flipside, fires can be impulsive—if this is your primary element, take care to practice your self-control. Fires can easily lose themselves in the moment, in the pursuit of fun and excitement. Take the time to think and discern in order to avoid trouble and dangerous situations.

Panic can be a problem for fires. They can have difficulty seeing the bigger picture, and because of this, they might miss out on the fact that life comes in phases—some good, and some bad. The bad parts of life can seem like they’ll last forever, creating despair.

But fear not! Through contemplative exercises such as meditation, fires can regain a sense of the larger picture of life, which can bring about the realization that difficult periods are fleeting. And once they’re gone, one of the natural strengths of a fire is the ability to let these experiences go.

Earth

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Earths love bringing people together in peace and harmony. They’re comforters who love to please. They’re cultural bridge-builders, nurses, and caregivers.

They’re also great workers who strive to be collaborative, and to help others relax in the fact that they’ll get the job done, increasing morale.

Earths adore relationships—for them, this is the heart of life, itself. Friends, connections, and falling in love are incredibly important. Almost always, they’re attracted to the idea of starting a family, and make excellent parents.

This giving nature, however, can overextend an earth, and any who have this element as their dominant nature must take care not to harm themselves in the quest to please or comfort others.

If you’re an earth, worry for other people can dominate your thinking, leading you to believe that the people around you are completely reliant on the your caregiving. They’re not.

Remember—people make their own choices and are fully capable of taking care of themselves. Realize—in the best way possible—that people don’t need you. Be loving and be a comfort, but take care not to cross the line into enabling and self-destruction.

Metal

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Metals are creatures of enlightenment, and are cool and collected. They are often pacifists, conflict-avoidant, and disciplined. They are also practical, methodical, and pragmatic.

While this may begin to sound like wood, metal is very different—when something is wrong, a wood will express their displeasure. You’ll know. Metals, however, can detach from people with little emotion. They don’t want to fight—that would only get in the way of the purity of their quest toward enlightenment.

Metals are also graceful individuals. When they enter a room, they do so like royalty—everyone takes note. That grace isn’t limited to their movement and appearance, however—they take on life’s challenges without looking ruffled, and constantly seek out the company of masters, of those who have the most to teach them, gracefully striving to reach their personal best.

Not prone to developing one-on-one relationships, metals can often be seen serving the greater good of humanity, volunteering, giving to charity, and running nonprofits.

Something for metals to watch out for is the need to stay connected. If you’re a metal, you need the company of others—not only that, but you need deep, personal relationships.

Any relationship can wither without the proper care, and for a metal obsessed with their own personal quest, that withering can easily happen. Make sure to take an interest in the spiritual evolution of those close to you, as well as your own.

Bring others along on your journey. You’ll be happier for it.