What should you be when you grow up? What should I be when I grow up? When you come to a giant fork in the road, what is the right way to go?
I get emails from people asking how to get on their “right” path. Its an impossible question to attempt to answer for someone else, even if you know them intimately well. We all have our own dreams, talents and karma- and messing with that for you is none of my business!
While I do not thrive on being labeled or labeling people, I do think we all have our own personal “manner” of relating with life. Considering all the hats I wore (too many to list!) to arrive at what I do now in my feng shui’d life-styling, I can not imagine who or what could have predicted I would be doing this, yet a little constructive guidance might have been nice! For the purposes of career counselling and psychotherapy and self-development, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) test might help you shine a more objective light on your own style of relating to life, and where you may best thrive.
According to the Myers & Briggs Foundation:
The purpose of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) personality inventory is to make the theory of psychological types described by C. G. Jung understandable and useful in people’s lives. The essence of the theory is that much seemingly random variation in the behavior is actually quite orderly and consistent, being due to basic differences in the ways individuals prefer to use their perception and judgment.
“Perception involves all the ways of becoming aware of things, people, happenings, or ideas. Judgment involves all the ways of coming to conclusions about what has been perceived. If people differ systematically in what they perceive and in how they reach conclusions, then it is only reasonable for them to differ correspondingly in their interests, reactions, values, motivations, and skills.”
I’m an ENFJ. Idealist Portrait of the Teacher. (do you guys agree?) Four people I super-admire are apparently (according to the Internet:)) ENFJ’s – Marin Luther King, Jr., Oprah , Jane Fonda and my favorite researcher of human potential, Abraham Maslow! Clearly, I have a very long way to go to 🙂
If you are interested in a comprehensive testing and analysis of your Myers-Briggs type, there are experts you can hire who will cover all the bases. THIS free Myers-Briggs test online takes about 3 minutes and can illuminate what you can not articulate about your strengths and potential directions. At the very least, its REALLY interesting. If you take the test, let me know if it resonates with you! xoxo Dana
OMG. I usually fluxuate between an ENFJ and an INFJ and ENTJ and INTJ…depending on my mood. Cool to know we’re the same! Right now I’m an INFJ, but last week I was ENFJ. I score about 50/50 on the E/I and the T/F. But it’s cool, I love this stuff!
100 % introvert and yes, that’s me so no surprises there! ISTJ with high T & J.
Currently reading Susan Cain’s book ‘Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking’, much recommended
oh wow, i need to add that to my amazon wish list! thank you!
I took this test several times a few months ago- I’m right in the middle of INFJ and ENFJ. http://www.personalityjunkie.com has really complete analyzations on each type if you guys are interested. =)
checking it out now! xoxo
Thanks for publishing all this. Been a looong time since I took the test and my how similar, yet transformed I am since the last time over 6 years ago!
ENTJ- at the present:)
This is the first test that suggests scientific work, or engineering. Which I find very odd. As a teen and young adult, I was very creative in several mediums and gave this up to do my job as medical secretary. I was efficient, organised, streamlined the work flow, knew what meetings my boss had to attend and where the paperwork was for six months ahead. The more I did it, the more it didn’t feel right. Maybe as there was no career structure. I lasted 15 years, stopped it all and became creative again. I love the freedom, the uncertainty, the discovery. This is me. So how does that work?