Have you heard of the MBTI? It’s the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. It’s the assessment, not test, that gives you your preference for different parts of personality. The first is I vs E, or introversion vs extroversion. This is followed by N or S, intuition or sensing. Next comes F or T, feeling or thinking. Finally, there’s P vs J, perception vs judging.
Many people take the titles literally or in a context that is misdirected. For example, introverts and extroverts are evaluated as such by how one gathers their energy, not by how social they are. Introverts gather energy alone, in their heads, thinking. Extroverts like to be in groups, shouting out ideas until someone nails it. Introverts can be in that group, but they’ll only participate once they have made up their minds what to say. For more detailed information, check out http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/.
One thing I do want to stress here though is that the point is to have a balance of both sides. So if you had the assessment taken, it would be ideal for you to be on the cusp of both. That is the goal, not to be 100% one or the other. However, I believe it is ok to like your type, as I feel very happy with mine.
My husband and I have one letter in common, the F. I am an INFP, he is an ESFJ. However, I am a very strong INFP, with strong preferences for the letters. He is closer to ideal, in the middle. It is easy to see how this plays out in our relationship, and we have used it before to work on differences. Let me just tell you, it is so cool to see how that can work!
So now we have our Bumble! I am so excited to see what she is going to be like! The debate is still out on how people develop their personalities. It is a combination of nature and nurture – so which comes from us, the parents? If I had to guess/pick, I think she’ll be like me. (It’s only fair since she shares an astrological sign with her father, right?) The I or E is a hard one to say since she is so tiny and just starting to coo. And although her father and I have different preferences, we both practice on or the other at different times in different situations. I think she will, too.
I think she’ll be an N like her momma. Intuition is not all hippie stuff, (but whatdoyaknow?, I believe in that, too!) it is a preference for interpreting the information you get instead of taking it as is. This is seeing patterns, etc. As a girl she might be more natural at this anyway, as it could be intrinsic to decoding others emotions, which women are stronger at than men.
The next letter could go either way, but I do believe she’ll be like both of us and have a preference for feeling. I know that some people say your children sometimes are the complete opposite, but since we are raising her I think she will be raised to be a feeler. This means she’ll take into account the people and feelings of a situation, instead of purely logic and reason.
Last, is P or J. This one I’m not committed to predicting. More J’s are managers and in power positions. That would be nice for her. But P’s have a special edge, I believe. The J is the decider; they make a decision and stick with it no matter what. The P, or perceive, gathers as much information as humanly possible. And even after they’ve made a decision, if there is new information that can change their minds, it might.
So there you have it, I hope my little girl is an INFP, and sometimes and ENFP, and all the time growing to try and be an IENSFTPJ.
What is your type? If you have children, do they follow your type or are they opposite?
A Bumble 