Monday, November 2, 2015

Myers Briggs and Jung: Day 1,938

I take a M-B style test roughly every year or two.  I find it fascinating to see how a person's personality changes with time.  When I came to Guatemala just over 5 years ago, I was very much an INFP; I had ranked as that since middle school.  After being at the Hogar and being a teacher, I became an INTJ.  For a long time after that, I kept scoring as an INTJ which for someone like me is frustrating because while I think that thinking is a good thing, I also think that feeling is equally important.  And while I like to have matters "settled" (a J characteristic), I'm always open for changes in plans (a P characteristic).  For example: I go into a meeting with a list of what we're going to talk about, but if I see that there is something more important to talk about, sure, let's talk about it!  While I make plans--just to not be fumbling around at the last minute and wasting others' time--they are 100% flexible to adjust to the needs of the group.

So, I have accepted that I am an intuitive (N) introvert (I), but beyond that, I'm a little more fluid.  On the T-F scale, while at the Hogar and teaching, there was little space for "Oh, well, this person is trying hard; so they can have a better grade."  No, there had to be a separate category for that on the grading rubric, usually called "participation."  Everyone had to be treated equally so that I wouldn't be accused of playing favorites or anything like that.  In my project, there's a little more flexibility, and I think Jeanne stated it best on Thursday that there's a point when you have to bend the rules simply to encourage.  A grade of 79 is my "hard limit" for earning the first point, but when a child's report card has a 78 or even a 77 as the highest grade, I'm no longer in a position where I have to say "No, tough luck."  My goal is encouraging kids to get better grades now, not grading them.  Yes, you may have a point.

So, I'm pleased to announce that today I tested as an INFJ.  The I, N, and F were all 82% strength while the J was only 64% reflecting my flexibility.

INFJ
(From my results today.)

Some famous INFJs from history for you: Adolf Hitler, Osama bin Laden, Mahatma Ghandi, Thomas Jefferson, and Ron Paul.  Interesting mix which just goes to show that one's personality doesn't dictate what side of history one will be on.

If you'd like to learn more about the general concept, Wikipedia is a good start: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers%E2%80%93Briggs_Type_Indicator


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