Joyce Ann Isidro
Having an analytical personality is a double-edged sword.
On one hand, the world makes a little more sense when you make more of an effort to understand it…
…but on the other hand, it stops making sense when you obsessively prod and pick it apart.
That being said, there’s no denying the power of analysis. It allows you to find simple, creative solutions to difficult problems, and equips you with the knowledge to lay out a concrete plan to solve such problems.
So how do you know you are an analytical person?
In this article, we’ll show you the 10 signs you have an analytical personality.
Interested? Keep reading to learn more!
1) You like to solve problems
Analytic people like to solve problems—whether these are math and science problems that use logic or philosophical problems (like the trolly problem) that requires higher reasoning, they enjoy these brain teasers.
And if you’re one of them, you understand that it’s not so much as finding the answer, but more about the process of finding it. You like to ask questions, and you love how one answer leads to another.
This inclination to solve problems might even manifest in real life, when you try to solve your friends’ problems. Be careful, however—this involves real people and has real-life consequences, so treat it less like a puzzle and put more empathy when you try to help.
Because of this, as an analytical person, you probably don’t like a problem that is too easy or on-the-nose, but prefer one that poses a real challenge.
2) You enjoy a good challenge
Liking puzzles, riddles, and brain teasers is a thing for people with a highly analytical personality.
Simple problems with simple solutions are too boring. You like those that challenge you to think, that make you ask numerous questions. In fact, you probably feel most alive when you’re trying to solve a good problem.
This is because you’re addicted to the “eureka!” moment of finding the solution to a problem, especially if you’ve been looking for the answer for quite some time.
For some people, this process can be excruciating. They can even get frustrated when they don’t find the answer easily.
But for people like you, the harder the challenge, the more exciting they are.
This desire to always be on your toes searching for the answers for your questions means that highly analytical people like you are naturally curious.
3) You’re curious
Do you like to ask, “why?” or “how?”
Do you wonder how certain phenomena take place, and how things are made?
If you do, you’re probably a highly analytical person.
As naturally curious creatures, analytical people like to ask questions.
They wonder how things are done or made and how to find answers to certain questions because they’re naturally curious about people and things.
And if you like to get philosophical, you often ask “why?”
Why do we exist? Why are we motivated to do the things that we want to do? What is the reason behind this or that?
Of course, the answer often doesn’t matter as much as the process. You probably also like bouncing ideas off of another analytical person as well.
Because of this, you’re also inclined to experiment.
4) You like to experiment
Being curious as a highly analytical person means you also like to experiment.
Analytical people always have a thought process for everything, from something as big as philosophy and morals to something as simple as personal style and food.
Simply put, you like to see how things work—so you experiment with ideas, which processes lead to what answer, or which things lead to what result.
Of course, this means you’re experimental not just with your thoughts, but with your lifestyle in general.
You’re probably often told by friends that you’re “adventurous” with your food choices because you like to experiment in order to find out which ones you like best.
Your style also changes often, and not because you can’t make up your mind—you simply like to experiment with clothes to see which style fits you best.
This urge to always carefully weigh your choices, however, also has a downside, because it causes you to overthink often.
5) You overthink often
Overthinking often is a common downside of being an analytical person.
Because you like to analyze things, sometimes you can’t help but go overboard, which causes you to over-analyze them.
In order to reduce your overthinking, it can help to know that sometimes, things should be taken at face value, because not everything has a deeper meaning or answer to them.
This is also partly because of your desire to find a good challenge. You always think there’s something more to a problem, one that warrants solving, but sometimes, they don’t. The simplest answer is the best answer.
This lack of common sense often makes people think you’re overly critical.
6) People think you’re overly critical
There’s no question that you have great critical thinking skills. However, some people think you might be too critical.
For you, there really is no such thing as “too critical.” This is because as an analytical person, you have a deep appreciation towards analyzing everything.
However, as we’ve previously established, some people believe in simplicity. What sets you apart is that you revel in the complexity of it all.
Be careful, though: having a highly analytical personality does not excuse you from being overly critical—maybe even borderline judgmental—towards other people, especially your friends.
While it’s completely fine to want to analyze everything there is in the world, it’s not okay to be so critical of other people that you end up hurting their feelings.
But because analytical people are naturally smart, you probably already know this, and it makes you careful with your judgments.
7) You’re careful in your judgments
Even if you’re a very critical person, when it comes to other people—especially your close friends—you’re just as careful to pass judgment.
Before you make your judgments, you make sure that they’re warranted. And when you’re sure that they are, you corroborate with other details to ensure that your opinions are based on fact and evidence.
This means you never forget to always contextualize before forming opinions. You might know one side of the story, but you won’t form an opinion until you know the other.
This is because you know that judgments can hurt other people, and you’re always careful not to do that.
But you’re an analytical person, so surely, you care more about facts than feelings, right?
Well, that’s not entirely true.
Analytical people like you are smart enough to accurately weigh the consequences of your decisions, and you know that caring about facts doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t care about feelings anymore.
It’s actually this regard for other people’s feelings that makes you a good leader.
8) You’re a good leader
Why are analytical people good leaders? Why does having good critical thinking skills equate to being capable of leadership?
Well, people with an analytical personality are good leaders because of their ability to solve problems, and being able to easily solve problems means that you’re also capable of leading people to achieve a common goal.
It’s your enthusiasm towards the process of solving problems that makes you effectively encourage people to find solutions to the problems that they might find along the way.
The same enthusiasm makes you an effective coach as well. When someone asks you what to do, you’re always prepared to answer.
9) You dislike superstitions
For people with a highly analytical personality, it’s very well-known that superstitions are not based on fact, and that they border on the supernatural.
And as an analytical person, you don’t usually believe things that don’t have evidence.
You don’t believe that a black cat walking across from you means your whole day is about to be doomed, because black cats are bad luck. It just doesn’t make sense, right?
This gives you a “to see is to believe” attitude. Unless it happens in front of your very eyes, you usually have no reason to believe it.
However, even if you don’t personally believe in superstitions, you don’t insult or belittle the people who do. You’re smart enough to know that superstitions usually have a cultural background, and you respect cultures that are different from yours.
This means you’re completely open to the possibility of being wrong.
10) You’re open to the possibility of being wrong
Analytical people like being right, but this doesn’t necessarily mean they completely close themselves off to the possibility of being wrong.
Even if being wrong can sometimes sting, you’re still open to being corrected.
As a highly analytical person, you’re smart enough to know you’re not always the smartest person in the room, and you’re open to being proven wrong.
You like a good challenge, and it’s only when you’re wrong that you are challenged. Not to mention that being wrong means you’re about to be illuminated with better knowledge, which is always exciting to analytical people like you!
That’s just the power of analysis—even when you’re wrong, it can still be exciting because you’re always thrilled by the prospect of finding new knowledge.
