ENFJ/P

so i took a form of the MBTI (meyers briggs type indicator) test.  i'm pretty sure i've taken one before because, in general, i love this kind of stuff. i have no recollection of what type i may have been when i took it a ways ago then, but now! now i shall remember.

i'm writing about here, for posterity and all.

i took it twice.  not because i didn't like the results. because given the subjectivity of these things, i wanted to be sure.  i gave myself rules each time, to try to ensure that the results were true.  i could not think too long about any one question.  i had to go with my gut. and i had to be done with the 72 questions in less than ten minutes.

i followed these rules both times, but the second time i took it, i gave in to my need to practically approach the question.  see, i found, both because of the results of the quiz and the actual quiz itself, that i do not deal in the theoretical all to well.  to gauge my true response, i had to put some of the questions- not all, but some- into a real world situation. i had to ask myself things like "do i make decisions based on advanced planning or my current emotions? well, i'm a planner so i'd like to think i make them based on my prior thinking but honestly, when i make decisions like whether or not to buy two shirts or one at target, i don't base it on the amount i said i'd spend. i decide based on my current desires. at work, when i'm managing a large group of people, i don't always think about what i had planned on doing- i go with my gut and thoughts in the moment."

by doing that, i think i was able, the second time around, to more accurately answer with my honest opinion.

and both times, three things were shockingly clear:

-i am dominantly extraverted.

-i am most definitely dominantly extraverted in either feeling or intuition, which means...

-i am most definitely more likely to shun things like highly logical decision making, thus the thinking or sensing sides.

some of this came as a personal affront to me. i read the descriptions of my results with quite an open mind, but i was slightly surprised to realize that while i pride myself on being a logical, reasonable, reasoning person, in reality, most of the decisions i make about my relationships, my career, my life moves and dreams, are based on my feelings, values, and perceptions about those i meet and those whom i love.

so my two tests returned two incredibly similar but slightly different results.  in the first, i am most assuredly- well, moderately at least, given those percentages- an ENFJ.  that's an Extraverted Intuitive Feeling Judging person.  in the second, i am an Extraverted Intuitive Feeling Perceiving person- an ENFP.

as an ENFJ, i'm a dominant extraverted feeling person, with auxiliary of introverted intuition.  as an ENFP, i'm a dominant extraverted intuitive person, with an auxiliary of introverted feeling.  

given that the two are so close, i believe the quiz was correct. especially as i researched the descriptions of both types (ENFJ here, here, here and here; ENFP here, here and here), i found that i believe the second result to be more accurate reflection of my true self, though i exhibit many of the ENFJ traits as well.  

in both cases, all indications point to me being a people person. beyond true.  i always thought i was someone who loved expending energy outwardly but needed alone time to gain it, but this test, and further reflection, proves me wrong.  take this post, for example.  if i were truly an introvert, i would not need conversations with cambodians to lift my spirits or make me feel happy.  i'm generally happy person, and i am good at identifying people's feelings or motives, both in friends and acquaintances.  

of course, i made chris read both the ENFJ and ENFP descriptions, and he agrees. though i exhibit many of the ENFJ tendencies, i am more dominantly an ENFP.  

as an ENFJ, i do consider people my highest priority in life, and i think the world is full of possibilities.  i love sharing things with others so that they can become the best, or develop their skills- which is why ENFJ's are sometimes classified as "the teacher" type.  i love public speaking and think i'm decent at it. i am straight-forward and honest, and i absolutely love things to be highly organized- i'm quite fussy about it, in fact.  but, ENFJs are often classified as people who usually value other people's feelings over their own values or feelings or opinions.  they put other people first in nearly everything. i wish i could say this was true of me, but my own notions- ones i feel i've honed through experience, research, reading and general intuition- are almost most important to the way that i operate and view the world.

as an ENFP,  i'm overly passionate, i find that i am usually good at the things i try- and i try to do a lot of things.  my personal values are incredibly important to me, and are my guiding focus through my life.  i struggle with maintenance-type tasks (picking up my water glasses? remembering to pick up that paper i dropped the other day? meh.) and i am most happy when when i get to work with people or big ideas- too much routine is stifling for me.  i value independence and attempts to label me is the fastest way to piss me off.

of course, i made topher take the test.  he's in bed with giardia (welcome to g club, hubs!), and he returned with a result of a type trait that so described him that it's...scary.  

and, i had to ask myself: are we complements to each other?  and we are.  this website, which of course i'll take as canon, explain that in many ways, opposites do attract in love relationships.  so the fact that topher's dominant type and auxiliary types and functions are complete opposites of mine is a good thing- a balance thing, if you will.  however, we share the same dominant function (that second letter).  we both operate dominantly- me, outwardly, him, inwardly- letting our intuition lead.  this works for us because though we may function, or deal with the world differently, many of our values and beliefs align because we dominantly function the same way.

(in working relationships, though? best to be surrounded by those more similar to you.  explains. so. much. about how i work with people at school and in my previous jobs.)

what i loved about learning more about the MBTI was that while it is an indicator of natural tendencies, it isn't a predictor of talent, or usefulness, or success.  all the types have strengths and the ability to grow their auxiliary, or inferior, traits to become a balanced individual.  usually, professionally administered MBTI are followed by a best fit process where test takers actually review the types and are able to select what they believe to a best fit description of their own selves.  and experts do actually believe that we are our own best judge in indicating our type.  so after reading all sixteen of the trait analyses, i believe that i am more of an ENFP than an ENFJ.

thank god i married an INTP, who possesses those logical thinking and decision-making skills i so desperately need to help inform and balance my feeling based ones.

want to take the quiz i did: see here

what's your MB type?