Growing up, I often felt like I didn’t belong.

You see, I’ve always been a bit of an oddball. I went through elementary school without any real friends. And in middle school, I couldn’t find my place in the usual cliques.

Loving myself was challenging when it seemed I did not fit in anywhere.

Struggling with Self-Love

It wasn’t until high school that I felt more comfortable in my own skin.

But learning to love myself was still a challenge. When you don’t fit in anywhere, it’s easy to feel like there’s something wrong with you.

For me, that started to change when I began to understand myself better. Instead of feeling ashamed, I could appreciate my quirks for what they were—things that made me, me.

3 Profiling Tools That Helped Me Understand Myself

If you’ve ever felt out of place or just want to understand yourself better, here are 3 profiling tools that helped me—and might help you too:

#1: 16 Personalities — Understanding How You Tick

This tool categorises people into one of 16 personality types based on how you make decisions, interact with others, and stay organised. Your result reflects your unique approach to life.

#2: Big 5 Personality — A Snapshot of Your Traits

The tool breaks down who you are into five key traits: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. It’s a great way to see which traits shape your behaviour.

#3: CliftonStrengths — Focusing on What You Do Best

(or the free alternative: HIGH5)

The tool focuses on your natural talents by identifying your top strengths from a list of 34. Rather than pointing out what you’re not good at, it highlights what you do best, and shows you how to use those strengths more effectively in your life and career.

Love Who You Are

Loving yourself starts with understanding who you are.

The more you learn about yourself, the easier it becomes to celebrate all the quirks and traits that make you uniquely you. There’s no need to compare yourself to others or fit into someone else’s mould.

It’s perfectly okay to be “weird” and different. (My best friends are all wonderfully weird, it's so much fun.)

As Oscar Wilde said, "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."