A few weeks ago, I took an online version of the Myers-Briggs Personality test, and since then, I’ve been thinking a lot about the results.
According to the test, I’m an “INTJ” personality type. It’s said to be one of the rarest of the 16 the test tracks.
Overall, I found the descriptions of an INTJ personality to be a very accurate description of how I see myself, but one friend of mine said she expected me to be one of the extroverted personality types.
According to the test, I’m an “INTJ” personality type. It’s said to be one of the rarest of the 16 the test tracks.
Overall, I found the descriptions of an INTJ personality to be a very accurate description of how I see myself, but one friend of mine said she expected me to be one of the extroverted personality types.
You see, in public, I do my best to be a chatty, funny and good natured. That, if you read the INTJ profile, is exactly the opposite of an INTJ. Instead, INTJ personalities are said to be cold-natured, calculating and distance themselves from others.
That, in truth, is the real me.
Somewhere along the way, I learned that my real personality — the one I ultimately defer to — is one that makes life in a highly-socialized society a little bit difficult. I realized that being too quiet and too reserved leaves me out of the game too much.
That, in truth, is the real me.
Somewhere along the way, I learned that my real personality — the one I ultimately defer to — is one that makes life in a highly-socialized society a little bit difficult. I realized that being too quiet and too reserved leaves me out of the game too much.
So, in most social situations I find I adopt a sort of back-up personality to get me by. It pretends to thrill in small talk. It pretends to enjoy sports. It pretends to like being “one of the guys.”
But in truth, most of the time, I’m not thinking about that kind of stuff. I’m wondering about how the architecture of the building was constructed, or that if the color of that chair matches a super-hero’s uniform, or what my next blog entry should be about. Other times, I’m analyzing the interesting way one of my friends talk, or considering how their past made them pick their career or why it is they pronounce a word the way they do.
But actual social interaction?
Eh, it’s not really for me.
It’s not my thing, and even with my family it’s something I have to work with sometimes. You can bet I love my family, but sometimes I’m just at a loss of just how to do it like a regular person.
But actual social interaction?
Eh, it’s not really for me.
It’s not my thing, and even with my family it’s something I have to work with sometimes. You can bet I love my family, but sometimes I’m just at a loss of just how to do it like a regular person.
Were we separated at birth or something, John? I find myself doing the same thing. I’m an INFJ, the rarest of all the types, and I find myself doing the same things you do. My daughter thinks it’s spot on, but a friend of mine disagreed, thinking I was more extroverted than that. Hmmm.