For some reason, I have been thinking I was an INTJ - borderline ENTJ, but I re-tested today (several different tests) and found that I sometimes come out INFJ - borderline ENFJ. Now, maybe it is becuase I have trouble with the tests. I have difficulty in answering as they apply to my "work self" or my "home self" (this in itself should be a flag for me to seek help, I suspect) because the answers are often different.
I work in a public service area and at work I am very organized, methodical, and deal just fine with groups; I do however often look for new solutions to old problems and troubleshooting is one of my more finely tuned skills. At home, I am somewhat disorganized (clutter, clutter and more clutter), more whimsical, and prefer to keep to myself, family or a few close friends.
At any rate, all of my tests have me as "slightly" in one camp or another... so the self-testing isn't working too well for me. Maybe it's normal to have two or more "selves"... anyone care to comment?
11 November 2004
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3 comments:
Whenever I take these personality tests, I always answer in my "preferred" mode -- that is, how I'd ideally like to be able to answer, regardless of what other people might expect from me, or I imagine they expect (at work or any other context). Sometimes realizing that I've scored as an INTJ consistently since I was 19 is a little scary -- especially since I ignored that information for a decade, to my ultimate detriment. INTJ's are intense, intellectually rigorous, and individualistic. I can't deny that's pretty much who I am, even if it means I'm not Mr. Loveable, and it means I am Mr. Loner.
It isn't unusual to have the work and home dichotomy, though -- for many people it's a matter of necessity. I can testify that over time, having to necessarily partition yourself can be a cause for despair. Recently I made the decision that I was never again going to knowingly put myself in a work situation that ran counter to my fundamental nature (thus the present starvation-existence for me). It hasn't been an easy transition, but these recent research/writing gigs offer some hope.
I'm no MBTI expert, but I think the clutter you describe is more of a J/P issue than an F/T one. F/T is the axis of decision-making, I believe, whereas J/P has to do with action and outcomes. J's like order, order, order, whereas P's like to leave things open-ended and contingent. If you're fluctuating between T and F, I think that has to do with whether you are more likely to follow logic or feelings when making decisions.
P.S. -- sorry for the essay. I sometimes forget that people don't always want a shitload of data. I think you could be a TJ or an FP or 1/2 and 1/2 -- however, notwithstanding all that you are definitely some I'm glad to know, and letter combinations don't really matter much.
For the record, essays are fine. I think that my FP/TJ switch is owed to a number of factors. One, I was trained towards the FP side when I was a peer counsellor in high school. I still use most of those skills as I negotiate things like fine reductions at work. Two, if one is to give credence to astrological signs, as a moonchild/cancer I am supposed to be intuitive and moody. Three, I also trained toward the TJ with all the science fair geekdom in my background.
I don't know if any of it matters, and I am sure I don't really care too much. I do however find it interesting that I put on a different face at work than I do elsewhere.... and I guess that was more my point, but it got lost in my rambles...
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