Thursday, March 09, 2006

Do you know your MBTI?

MBTI = Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
Wikipedia, as usual, has an excellent write-up, for those who want to know more.

I am an INFP tho my F vs T are pretty well balanced, such that I have also tested as INTP before. I think that's an interesting balance to have, since the T-hinking aspect involves analytical cause & effect reasoning with logical problem solving, while the other F-eeling aspect deals with empathy, personal values, and striving for harmony and positive actions. I believe that helps explain why I can always easily see and relate to other peoples' point of view, yet can "steel" myself to "do the right thing" anyway.

How did this topic come about? No, NOT due to the random word generator, LOL!

Well, a few days me & Rail were talking about Fung Shui and these 8 pillars thingy that can be determined by knowing one's birthdate and time of birth. She offered to look up my pillars for me, and I said why not, it's always interesting to read about all these personality descriptions from different cultures & perspectives.

We then moved on to similar topics about personality determining tests, and ended up talking about Myers-Briggs.

I knew I had this MBTI booklet easily reachable in my room, so I dug it up to email Rail the page about *her* type, and while I was at it, to refresh my memory about what "my" "type" is all about...

Some things resonated and jumped out at me from the booklet I was revisiting:
"INFPs recognise and honor the emotional and psychological needs of others, even when others may not have recognised or expressed their own needs"

"INFPs tend to work in bursts of energy and are capable of great concentration and output when fully engaged in a project ... ... but they can have difficulty performing routine work that has little meaning for them"

"INFPs are adaptable and flexible until something violates their inner values. Then they stop adapting. The resulting expression of value judgements can emerge with an intensity that is surprising to others"

"Under great stress, INFPs may begin seriously doubting their own competence and that of others, becoming overly critical and judgmental"

It seems that whether I am officially INFP or INTP, either way, I share my "type" with less than 4.5% of the (U.S.) population (INFP = 4.4%, INTP = 3.3%).

I was told that some of the best consultants are INFPs (I do know I could be an excellent consultant... but after having dealt with them on such an intimate basis for almost two years during my last years of work, I know I do not want to do that to myself!)...

It's interesting to see the Keirsey "enhancement" of the MBTI grid, where he added "Temperaments" based on the combination of N with F/T, and S with T/F.

So, "my" temperament is NF = IDEALIST, with what looks like a "calling" of HEALER.

... healer, eh? veeeery eeeeentereeeessssting :-)

Actually, I've been in limbo for a while, and I know I should identify and decide what I want to do once I do hit the "START" button on my life again (which should happen once I get back to the U.S. in the middle of this year); reviewing these various "insights" is a good step to reminding me of my strengths, areas for improvement, and things that make me go "oooh!"

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about two months later...

 ... hi again. This return to blogging is really not working out, is it? Actually, I am writing, three pages of mind vomit and affirmations ...