Meyers and Briggs Personality Test

 

We all have deeper aspects to our personalities than we might want to admit.  I found better words to describe myself than I got from the people around me.  

 

Meyers and Briggs Personality Test

There is some information on the Internet that shines a negative light on the Meyers and Briggs Personality Test.  This first one makes me laugh.  “The Meyers and Briggs personality test is not predictive.”  Predictive is a word that suggests the complainer expected the test to tell fortunes.  The test does not tell your future or your fortune.  The next one says, “Phycologists don’t use the Meyers and Briggs test.” This one also makes me laugh because psychopathology which is explored by therapists is not about standardized personality traits.  My therapist did not treat me based on a test.  She treated me based on the issues that were rife in my life.  Another comment, Meyers and Briggs test rates at 50% after a 5-week retake.  That particular comment is referring to the test as it was in the 1960’s, not as it is today.  I find it ludicrous that anybody would continue to use that comment, especially since it shows that they were a lazy researcher.  A lot has changed about the expectations on women since the sixties.

https://my-personality-test.com/personality-type-indicator is the place to take the test for free if you are interested in learning more about your personality and how you can find what really makes you happy.

The 16 personality types are:

• ISTJ
• ISTP
• ISFJ
• ISFP
• INTJ
• INTP
• INFJ
• INFP
• ESTJ
• ESTP
• ESFJ
• ESFP
• ENTJ
• ENTP
• ENFJ
• ENFP

The first letter refers to INTROVERSION v. EXTROVERSION

The second letter refers SENSING v. INTUITION

The third letter refers to THINKING v. FEELING

The fourth letter refers to JUDGEMENT v. PERCEPTION

These aren’t judgmental descriptions.  Consider the difference between “standard” measurements and “metric” measurements.  There is not one thing about right or wrong involved in using one or the other. They are simply different.  From experience, I know that I can use a metric wrench on a standard nut or bolt and sometimes it works because the nut is already loose enough for the wrench to catch.  But if it is tight, the wrench will continue slip and strip the nut.

I am an INFJ.  This means that I prefer to think internally.  I am intuitive.  I feel the situation.  I place a priority on long term planning rather than adapting to a current circumstance. 

I am best suited to jobs that help others such as counselor or psychologist.  If a shared project requires thought and planning, I do not perform well inside the group.  I have to think when I am alone and come back to the group later to share what I have come up with. The group discussion benefits me by allowing me insight into the thoughts of others.  I can take that information away with me, think on it, and see how it fits into the puzzle.  When I am in the group my high sense is feeling. It is called "extroverted feeling".  I am processing the energy that I feel and find it difficult to stay on the topic if the underlying feelings outweigh it.  This is my most awkward personality trait from my perspective because if you are ranting about how angry you are at someone, I feel your anger.  I feel it with you.  It doesn’t energize me.  It drains me.  Unless I’ve made an agreement to experience your emotional roller coaster, I am not equipped to maintain my energy levels for the rest of my day.  That means I can be worn out by other people sharing what annoys them.  I work hard to be tolerant and nonjudgmental so that I might use my energy to accomplish my plans and dreams.   However, I absolutely am energized by hearing of your successes because I FEEL your joy too. 

I love personality tests.  I love the deep dive into my internal workings.  In fact, personality tests help me to understand what it is about me that is so different that I do not “fit” into large groups of people well.  I don’t need to feel like I am a broken, ruined, or socially inept.  I laugh as I read more and study more on the Meyers and Briggs personality traits because I can hear the words of the people who have advised me on methods of getting things done or solving problems.  Of course, I’m going to fail, if I am being advised to do something that is contrary to my personality style.  The only way that I am going to live my best life is that I embrace what it is that I want out of my life and move forward in ways that make the most out of my strengths.

I appear to adapt and accept circumstances.  I appear to not have an opinion.  I appear not very intellectual.  I appear to be different than other people.

Today I can laugh as I accept that one of those things is true and the rest of them are me as I appear through the lens of somebody else attempting to process me through their opinions.   I am different than other people.  In fact, INFJ’s make up about 2% of the population.  We will always be outsiders because we think and act differently than most of the people in the world.  We have a rich inner life.

In choosing a partner it is extremely important to me to choose someone who is in alignment with my core values.   Service to others is important to me, but I have had many life lessons in “who” to help with what.  I dislike being bossed around, spoken down to, or being treated as if I shouldn’t use a chainsaw.  GAG!  In the past I have been vulnerable to narcissists, because of my orientation toward service.  My experiences have made it easier and easier for me to avoid people with personalities who believe that I am an available pawn in their schemes. 

One of the things about an INFJ is that we love deep dives into the psyche.  We love learning to understand the inner workings of the mind in the same way a motorcycle enthusiast loves her vintage bike.  You get to know your bike more when you have to work on it yourself because motorcycle shops only work on bikes made in the last 10 years.  Even though there are many similarities in the same make and model, each one ages into its own quirks.  Sometimes a conversation with a fellow enthusiast can shed light on a problem or offer a new perspective.

Another important thing that I understand more clearly about myself is my disinterest in small talk.  I am a deep dive person.  I can connect deeply and almost instantly which is why it is not unusual for people to talk to me about things they don’t share with others.  This can be awkward on a Seattle street but can be avoided now that I know that my attention to somebody can instigate it.   My connection style also means that I can be apart from someone for years and on meeting again, pick up where I left off.  That passage of time has very little meaning to me.   However, if you agreed to meet up with me at 3:00 and don’t show until 3:30 without texting me, I am not likely to stay closely connected for long.

An important conflict of my connection style exhibits itself in large group settings.  A temporary meeting is something I’m fine with, but with meetings such as church services, where the same people attend over and over, my idealism and ability to see through the bullshit and get to the point, can wear on me and others.  People who are attached to their negative story have a right to keep that attachment and my tendency to want to repair that should be kept on a leash.

You may think you know who you are.  You may think you know what you want.  You may even think you know somebody else and what they want.  Being truly alive can only happen if you keep open to the changes in yourself and honoring them instead of trying to conform them to someone else’s expectations. 

I am not defined by my circumstances and I hope you aren’t either.  Please continue reaching toward your higher self, toward a way of being that honors your existence and know that your example is more powerful than your words.

Sincerely, Carmen Davis