A week ago a friend and I spent several hours reviewing the Myers-Briggs personality typing. We psychologically geeked out, spent tons of time going through each "preference" description and created our own scoring system to have a sense of how we fit into each of the four areas. Now, mind you, the official testing is supposed to be done by a professional, taking several hours and costing several hundred dollars. So... I'm quite sure our fly-by-night scoring system based on some short summaries was flawed in more ways than one. Nevertheless, it was damned fun and gave at least a vague sense of how all this stuff applied to us.
I've studied Myers-Briggs in the past and had a fairly good sense of where I fit in this typing system. I was fairly certain I was an ENFJ (Extrovert/Intuitive/Feeling/Judging). Seemed pretty clear. I didn't know much about the two center preferences, but I knew I was unmistakably Judging (planning is my safety blanket) and I also thought I was unmistakably Extrovert. I mean after all I'm fairly outgoing, I best work through emotions/problems by talking through them with others, and I often enjoy the spotlight.
Well, I was shocked to realized that according to the Myers-Briggs criteria I actually fall more on the Introvert side of the scale than I do Extrovert. According to their criteria (in contrast to how the words "extrovert" and "introvert" are used in common language), this preference has to do with where you put your attention and where you get your energy. Well I definitely put a lot of attention into ideas and thoughts prior to action. I tend to focus my interactions on a few close friendships rather than a whole group of friends. In contrast to the common usage of the term, being an I has nothing to do with being shy (cuz I'm *so* not shy). The biggest non-E characteristic for me is that large groups drain my energy/resources super fast. In fact I'm avoiding those group scenes more and more. I definitely gain my energy from being alone or in one-on-one settings. This has become so blatantly obvious to me since moving to a big city.
I'm naturally not a complete I, but my own experience and this recent reevaluation of Myers-Briggs leads me to believe I'm definitely more on that side of the spectrum than the E side. That insight is a major shift in my self-perception and I find it really freeing. I no longer feel that I'm demonstrating poor social skills when I'm unable to enjoy a party/dance/street fair more than an hour or two. I no longer want to give into peer pressure like "I never get to see you because you don't want to come out with drinks with everyone." I think I used to believe that being E was the more mature/evolved way of being and strove to achieve that. I'm now learning to better embrace my I needs and preferences.
Hello my name is Damon and I'm an Introvert.
In the end I'm an INFJ, and extremely weighted on the F and J sides of those spectrums. I can tell you more about those if you care to know, but the I realization was the one that was the most helpful to me this time around. So I'm an INFJ, what are you?
| May 12, 2009 02:38pm | 
art
rant
reviews
shameless entertainment
comment already
because there’s nothing that amuses me more than hearing your pathetic opinion
if you think being an E was more mature/evolved, see the Atlantic Monthly article at the link below. It's by far the funniest, yet most accurate description of introverts.
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200303/rauch
| May 12, 2009 7:30PM
When I had this realization I was definitely thinking of that article you had pointed out months ago (and even remember commenting that I could relate to a lot of it). I definitely don't see being an I as being a lesser type. I just often feel peer pressure to be more social, to be more engaging and to be more present. It's nice to know that I can join the ranks of the Introverts and take better care of myself.
Damon | May 12, 2009 10:23PM