Posted on 26 Sep, 2008 -
3 psychological games for you to play
Whatever state of mind we are living in at the moment, we are normally so much within it that we do not really recognise or appreciate what is going on in the deepest parts of our own minds. We may also be far too busy or preoccupied with the wellbeing of others to care for the deeper needs of ourselves.
What I am inviting you to do this week, therefore, is to devote ten minutes of your time to really listen to yourself and find out what’s going on with you.
The following three psychological tests, games, questionnaires, call them what you will, have been borrowed and slightly adapted from psychology texts to give you three simple little exercises that can dig deep and very quickly reveal things you may only have had an inkling were there.
It would certainly be a good idea to print this off and do the tests manually with a pen in hand if you can.
No.1. What are your finest qualities and aspirations?
For this exercise, all that is required of you at first is that you look around your home, at the pictures that you have, and choose the one that seems best to represent you.
Once you have chosen a picture, ask yourself what this picture tells you about yourself. What does it say about your personality? What does it say about your needs? Your values? Your longings? Your strengths?
No. 2. Your inner needs and feelings
As you read through the list of statements below, simply tick the ones that you think apply to you, put a cross after the ones you don’t. Don’t spend too much time with it, just go on your first reaction. When you have finished, spend a few minutes reflecting on your responses.
I wish I were doing something new and exciting.
I often feel that life is boring.
I wish I was someone else.
I am very happy being me.
I can’t imagine my life being much better than this.
I think I am an ambitious person.
I think I am a considerate person.
I wish I could change my personality.
I am very sad.
I am happy with what I have done in this world.
I am worried about the future.
I carry around too much of the past.
I am unhappy in my marriage.
I have a dream.
I have a secret.
I am in love with life.
I am secretly frightened of everybody.
No. 3. Carl Jung’s word association
Below is the list of 100 words that psychologist Carl Jung used to help his patients explore their personalities, their past and their complexes and their now.
There are two things you can do with this list. Firstly, you can look at each word one at a time and write next to it the first thing that comes to mind. The first association, whatever it might be.
The second thing you can do is to take various words from the list and make sentences out of them.
Whichever you choose, you will no doubt be surprised by some of the discoveries that you make about what is quietly going on below the immediate conscious level of your own mind. Perhaps you will be embarrassed. Perhaps pleasantly surprised. It may offer some momentary reassurance and self-appreciation. Or it may unearth something more important that you will want to explore further.
head
frog
green
to part
water
hunger
to sing
white
dead
child
long
to take care
ship
pencil
pay
sad
window
plum
friendly
to marry
to cook
house
to ask
sweatheart
cold
glass
stem
to quarrel
to dance
fur
village
big
lake
carrot
sick
to paint
pride
part
to cook
old
ink
flower
angry
to beat
needle
box
to swim
wild
voyage
family
blue
to wash
lamp
cow
to sin
friend
bread
luck
rich
lie
tree
behavior
to prick
narrow
pity
brother
yellow
to fear
mountain
stork
to die
false
salt
anxiety
new
to kiss
custom
bride
to pray
pure
money
door
foolish
to choose
pamphlet
hay
despise
contented
finger
ridicule
expensive
to sleep
bird
month
to fall
nice
book
women
unjust
to abuse
Have fun!
