- ISFJ [Introverted (I) 57.5% Extroverted (E) 42.5%, Sensing (S) 51.52% Intuitive (N) 48.48%, Feeling (F) 54.29% Thinking (T) 45.71%, Judging (J) 52.78% Perceiving (P) 47.22%]
- INFJ [Strength of Preferences %: Introverted 44%, Intuitive 38%, Feeling 12%, Judging 22%]
- ISTP [E 40% I 60%, S 65% N 35%, T 70% F 30%, J 50% P 50%]
In other words, the only thing that all of them have in common is the Introverted part, and believe me, I didn't need a test to tell me that. After reading more about the various types here, I think the one that is actually most accurate is the INFJ--Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging. (All that being said, reading the basic overviews of the 16 types on the Myers-Briggs website left me thinking that each of these is pretty accurate ... So maybe my personality is just especially fluid? I don't know.) But what does this mean for me and my field study?
Introverted
Being introverted is extremely compatible with my project. I foresee a lot of library time in my increasingly-less-distant future, and the fact that I am able to enjoy being alone so thoroughly is going to make that aspect easier, I suspect. That being said, I'm not 100% introvert, and I'm going to need a little bit of human interaction. Getting out of my comfortable introverted zone to get that human interaction, and to make contacts with the people I need to talk to about my project is going to be (for me) a little difficult, especially considering the fact that my whole environment-comfort-zone is going to be some thousands of miles away. Much like the four steps of repentance, the first step of getting out of the introvert's comfort zone is Recognition (and there ends that metaphor). Recognizing that I'm an introvert will help me overcome it as needs be.
Intuitive
Being intuitive also contributes to my approach to living in London and completing my project. On the one hand, Intuitives are known for thinking more about the future than the past, but I'll definitely be working with the past. However, Intuitives are also attentive to "impressions or the meaning and patterns of the information" that they get. I will definitely be trying to be attentive to meanings, impressions, and patterns that I see in the literature that I read as I try to understand the underlying messages about man's relationship with God that are contained in that literature. At the same time, Intuitives have a tendency to try to work through things mentally, rather than hands-on. I don't want to experience London mentally—I want to be very hands on, and get to know the city and the people in the real world. Knowing that I probably have this tendency, like knowing that I'm introverted, will help me to force myself to go out and experience London.
Feeling
The Feeling aspect of my MBTI results is, I think, going to be of great benefit to me in being immersed in another culture, and in working together in group meetings. I am very concerned with maintaining harmony, and with being tactful. This is one of the things that makes me easygoing, and (as far as I am able to judge) pretty easy to live with (which will be important, since I'll be living with a host family)—I will do anything to keep peace, contentment, harmony, and good feelings churning around between people. The difficulties I foresee coming from this are the possibility that I'll be too soft because it's difficult for me sometimes to express what I perceive as the cold, hard truth, and I struggle with giving criticism (even constructive-going-to-help-your-project criticism) because I don't want anyone to take it personally. However, I think the benefits of being tactful, respectful, and trying to establish harmony will be helpful in building rapport in the various relationships that will be a part of my field study experience.
Judging
This aspect of my personality also melds well with my project, in my opinion. Though it's kind of a difficult concept to understand in the Myers-Briggs context, judging is a quality that reflects my get-it-done desire. It means that I prefer to get things done before I go out and enjoy myself; in other words, I'm going to get all that library time done early in the day before I turn my time over to getting to know London. In some ways, I like my life to be extremely structured. I might have trouble dealing with things not going the way that I want them to ... All that being said, I like to think that I know myself a bit better than the internet does, and although I may prefer judging over perceiving in most cases, I know that I'm very good at adapting to change, and that any wrenches that come into my project won't be life-crushers, but instead obstacles that I will (don't discount the amount of force behind that word) overcome.
Ultimately, I don't think that these personality types are by any means definitive of who I am as a person (a belief that is perhaps fueled by the fact that I got such varied results with each test, and the fact that descriptions of each one seemed to be pretty true of me). It's possible that because I am so comfortable in my general environment right now, I've been able to break out of my typical comfort zones and explore different ways of approaching life, so even though I have certain tendencies, I've still tried to experience things in other ways. I might tend to be a "feeling" person, but I've tried to be more "thinking"; or I'm usually pretty "intuitive", and I've taken the opportunity to be more of a "sensing" person. Going out into the field may be an experience that strips all of that comfort away and chucks me back into the attitude of living according to my most basic preferences. (Note to Self: Take the MBTI again after a week or so in the field and see if my personality "type" changes because I think I might answer some of the questions differently if feeling frequently uncomfortable, uncertain, super-introverted, etc.) I guess what I'm saying is that, to some extent, I won't know how I'll respond to being submerged in another culture until I actually get there. I don't think anyone really does (that's why we have a term for it: culture shock). BUT, realizing that certain aspects of our personalities are just tendencies means that we're not trapped by introversion, or whatever else. They're only preferences, and they are things that we can deal with and overcome to be more capable of doing the things we want to do, such as a field study. :)
Feeling
The Feeling aspect of my MBTI results is, I think, going to be of great benefit to me in being immersed in another culture, and in working together in group meetings. I am very concerned with maintaining harmony, and with being tactful. This is one of the things that makes me easygoing, and (as far as I am able to judge) pretty easy to live with (which will be important, since I'll be living with a host family)—I will do anything to keep peace, contentment, harmony, and good feelings churning around between people. The difficulties I foresee coming from this are the possibility that I'll be too soft because it's difficult for me sometimes to express what I perceive as the cold, hard truth, and I struggle with giving criticism (even constructive-going-to-help-your-project criticism) because I don't want anyone to take it personally. However, I think the benefits of being tactful, respectful, and trying to establish harmony will be helpful in building rapport in the various relationships that will be a part of my field study experience.
Judging
This aspect of my personality also melds well with my project, in my opinion. Though it's kind of a difficult concept to understand in the Myers-Briggs context, judging is a quality that reflects my get-it-done desire. It means that I prefer to get things done before I go out and enjoy myself; in other words, I'm going to get all that library time done early in the day before I turn my time over to getting to know London. In some ways, I like my life to be extremely structured. I might have trouble dealing with things not going the way that I want them to ... All that being said, I like to think that I know myself a bit better than the internet does, and although I may prefer judging over perceiving in most cases, I know that I'm very good at adapting to change, and that any wrenches that come into my project won't be life-crushers, but instead obstacles that I will (don't discount the amount of force behind that word) overcome.
Ultimately, I don't think that these personality types are by any means definitive of who I am as a person (a belief that is perhaps fueled by the fact that I got such varied results with each test, and the fact that descriptions of each one seemed to be pretty true of me). It's possible that because I am so comfortable in my general environment right now, I've been able to break out of my typical comfort zones and explore different ways of approaching life, so even though I have certain tendencies, I've still tried to experience things in other ways. I might tend to be a "feeling" person, but I've tried to be more "thinking"; or I'm usually pretty "intuitive", and I've taken the opportunity to be more of a "sensing" person. Going out into the field may be an experience that strips all of that comfort away and chucks me back into the attitude of living according to my most basic preferences. (Note to Self: Take the MBTI again after a week or so in the field and see if my personality "type" changes because I think I might answer some of the questions differently if feeling frequently uncomfortable, uncertain, super-introverted, etc.) I guess what I'm saying is that, to some extent, I won't know how I'll respond to being submerged in another culture until I actually get there. I don't think anyone really does (that's why we have a term for it: culture shock). BUT, realizing that certain aspects of our personalities are just tendencies means that we're not trapped by introversion, or whatever else. They're only preferences, and they are things that we can deal with and overcome to be more capable of doing the things we want to do, such as a field study. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment