Questions for those who are completely SURE of their type

[Society]

For those who are completely SURE of their own type:
for the purpose of this question, i am going to assume ENTP and not whatever i picked to place on my type tag at the time of anyone reading this (more on that later).

1) Were you always completely SURE of your type or did it take you awhile to arrive at it?

it took me awhile: before i ever learned of MBTI, i was somewhat familiar with the keirsey behavioral-oriented test (just the main website, the test on similar-minds and the wiki's). i have occasionally taken it a few times over the course of a couple of years, and have gotten every xNxP in the process. i have concluded that the system is broken but has potential, and that i had a few ideas on how to fix it (which lead to a few interesting and fruitful brainstorming sessions with cohort, but then it became an idea for an RPG magic system). much later, forgetting about the above completely at the time, i was asked by my spouse at the time to take the MBTI test, and it came out as ENTP. the description was quite fitting.

2) If you weren't always SURE of your type, what other types have you considered?

• further up the road - a bit before i joined typoC - when i got interested in typology for other reasons entirely, i started to get exposed to the depths of the MBTI lingo. initially i started getting the ruleset for function placement and a very general idea of what the functions meant - throughout that ENTP made the most sense. this was also after a long period of investigating child developmental cycles, and at the time i was investigating the mourning process in both adults and children, so i had a misconception of treating the functions as stages.. a misconception which actually made ENTP even more fitting. oddly enough, the results weren't that different.
• i unfortunately fall at the time into thinking of Fi as the stereotype for arbitrary dogmatic religious-like ethical systems, which distanced the possibility of considering it. more interaction with FPs from here, and furthermore understanding that the girls of my family are FPs (mother ENFP, sister ISFP), has lead me to reevaluate it of the time, but the expressions of Fi were still something which seemed too foreign for me to relate too.
• later, when i got into connecting the dots between function theory (Ji/Je Pi/Pe) and the the general strokes of MBTI (E/I S/N T/F P/J), i thought i could be an INTP.. but then the INTPs i talked to here, and retroactively people i typed as probable INTPs from my life, weren't just closer to the middle, they were very very introverted.
• for a brief while after i started my studying, i found it frustrating to learn theoretical computer science frameworks without experimenting and trying out the knowledge in code as i go along, which i interpreted as "hands on", so i considered ESTP. this was a suspicion that came earlier, having had similar interests to [MENTION=15886]superunknown[/MENTION], when he changed from ENTP to ISTP i considered doing the same, despite that his reason for doing so didn't quite fit my bill. later i realized this isn't how Se works, rather it's how Ne works - i really don't see "things" as easily as i see "potentials", and my brain needed to find out the potential in order to understand new information.

3) Have you ever previously thought you were another type and SURE you were that type but then later changed your mind and now you're SURE of your current type?
no, i don't like to be sure of things, tbh.


4) What makes you think you are SURE of your type. Is it mostly:

a. You consistently test as that type
actually i found that to be besides the point - i kept testing as ENTP throughout considering other types, and almost tried to question my type in spite of the tests.

b. The type description fits you very well
for the most part, though i suspected the T/F dichotomy doesn't quite fit, but i considered that i used to be very logical-oriented and became more emotional over time, and they had the disclaimer that Ts can have deep rich emotional lives, so that put it to rest.
also, this is all about MBTI. with enneagram i am still resolving the kinks in my internal understanding of the system - i might be a 7 despite not being an e7 party animal.

c. The cognitive function pattern fits you very well
i would say so, though they are subject to a lot of semantical debates, both everywhere in typology communities and in my head.

d. Family, friends, coworkers, etc. have told you how much you resemble that type.
people in my current RL do not know about typology, though when i took the mbti test on my spouse's request, she affirmed that ENTP makes sense to me.


5) Have people suggested you are a type other than the one you identify with?
two people have suggested ENFP, one while claiming to not quite understand MBTI functions, the other having a good grasp of it and later changing her mind that i sometimes related to her as an Fe>Ti feeler (probably cause i liked her).

6) Are you open to the possibility that you may not be the type you think you are?
yes, i have actually being trying out different types over the last couple of weeks to examine feedback. so far, people hated the idea of me being an ESTP, and ENFP isn't getting positive reviews either, but maybe if i say here "hate" instead of "disagree with pointed arguments", they will open up to the idea :grinn:

7) Even if you're SURE of your type now, do you ever think that in the future there may come a time when you seriously doubt or reconsider your type or even change your self-identified type?
yes, i aspire to it!

 

[Standuble]

1) I knew my type from the moment I finished the first MBTI test. The only time I have ever doubted it was when someone I had considerable correspondence with said I was one of two other types. I know who I am but considered the possibility that I had misunderstood the descriptions of the functions to me (e.g. perceived to be the same but not actually the same.) After a time this ceased and I am back to a state of near certainty with healthy levels of uncertainty.

2) INTP or INFJ (as they were the types the aforementioned person thought I was.)

3) I have not.

4) a,b and c

5) Answered in part 1 but also the occasional replay in the correctly typed thread.

6) I sustain a degree of flexibility with the idea I am mistyped or that my label is redundant if MBTI is debunked or disproved. In many ways I hope I am not one. Have you heard the horror stories about INFPs and INFP men in particular? The association with these people fills me with shame.

7) I'm trying to give up MBTI as I miss the days when I did not feel labelled and pigeonholed others into boxes and would like to have them back. But if I one day truly question my type I shall either explore or abandon MBTI completely. No sense being deluded if I feel I have the strength to persevere without it.

 

[Porcelain Hearts]

1) Were you always completely SURE of your type or did it take you awhile to arrive at it?

I was maybe 80% sure I was ENFP having read the profile, but then I read all sixteen and I could relate to INFP too. At the time, I was in college and under a lot of pressure and still finding myself. I didn't have the voice or conviction I nearly have today.

2) If you weren't always SURE of your type, what other types have you considered?

INFP, but I can certainly come off ENTP when there's a debate.

3) Have you ever previously thought you were another type and SURE you were that type but then later changed your mind and now you're SURE of your current type?

I labelled myself NFP on these boards but I think it's just my attitude in feeling typecasted. I always knew inside I was ENFP.

4) What makes you think you are SURE of your type. Is it mostly:
a. You consistently test as that type
b. The type description fits you very well
c. The cognitive function pattern fits you very well
d. Family, friends, coworkers, etc. have told you how much you resemble that type.
e. A combination of the above?

A,b, and c. I would love if other people knew the mechanics behind MBTI. It's so easy to read people when you can distinguish the order of a person's primary function.

5) Have people suggested you are a type other than the one you identify with?

Only on youtube, someone thought I was ISTP lol.

6) Are you open to the possibility that you may not be the type you think you are?

LOL I thought only an INTP would be as skeptic and I actually scrolled up to find my theory confirmed... I know my INTPs.
I'm pretty confident that I am an ENFP. If it were up to me, I'd prefer to be an ENFJ.

7) Even if you're SURE of your type now, do you ever think that in the future there may come a time when you seriously doubt or reconsider your type or even change your self-identified type?
I'd prefer not to fit into any category but in the end, it simply makes sense to me. My strength in both work and play is my communication, my greatest pleasure comes from inspiring people or making them laugh (writing for stand up), and my weaknesses is inability to follow through or taking on more interests than one. I have a very strong Ne and I choose the same company or those who at least understand my genius.

 

[Azure Flame]

For those who are completely SURE of their own type:

1) Were you always completely SURE of your type or did it take you awhile to arrive at it?

My brother told me what he thought I was (ISTP). It took 4 years to realize I was an extrovert.

2) If you weren't always SURE of your type, what other types have you considered?

ESTJ, ENTJ, INTP, ISTP, ENFJ
Enneagram 3 and 7

3) Have you ever previously thought you were another type and SURE you were that type but then later changed your mind and now you're SURE of your current type?

Yes. I was very sure I was an introvert.
I'm starting to realize the definition of "introvert" is quite shady and means different things to different people.

4) What makes you think you are SURE of your type. Is it mostly:
a. You consistently test as that type
b. The type description fits you very well
c. The cognitive function pattern fits you very well
d. Family, friends, coworkers, etc. have told you how much you resemble that type.
e. A combination of the above?

choice E

It is the missing puzzle piece that explains why people treat me the way they do. Also, grueling time spent in self analysis and meditation has revealed to me that I'm terrible at meditation and self analysis, hence the Se dominance versus Ti dominance.

5) Have people suggested you are a type other than the one you identify with?

ENTP, cuz I'm not a dumbass.

6) Are you open to the possibility that you may not be the type you think you are?

Always. I get bored of my "type" so its nice to think I'm something else every so often.

7) Even if you're SURE of your type now, do you ever think that in the future there may come a time when you seriously doubt or reconsider your type or even change your self-identified type?

Not sure. Sometimes I get these wierd sensations I'm actually an ENFJ or an ENTJ. But those go away if I ignore them long enough.

 

[OrangeAppled]

1) Were you always completely SURE of your type or did it take you awhile to arrive at it?

I was sure of my type once I bothered to consider it beyond a test or two and some descriptions. But when I first tested & read descriptions, no, none sounded like me. INFP was too nice & squishy & INTP was too detached & INFJ was too organized & ISFP was too grounded.

However, I settled on it quickly once I had enough information. I am comfortable with a state of indecision until I have enough info, and so I suspended any conclusion for years without identifying as any type, mainly because I wasn't interested enough at the time to investigate it more deeply. Once I have enough info, the answer tends to pop out at me very quickly; it resonates & I don't feel a need to pick it apart. I read good Fi descriptions (Jung & Van Der Hoop) & it was clear that was me. Ne was the clearer choice for me over Se also, as was INFP over ISFP. A few good INFP descriptions helped cement that.

2) If you weren't always SURE of your type, what other types have you considered?
INTP & INFJ, mainly, and maybe ISFP a bit.

3) Have you ever previously thought you were another type and SURE you were that type but then later changed your mind and now you're SURE of your current type?
No.

4) What makes you think you are SURE of your type. Is it mostly:
a. You consistently test as that type
b. The type description fits you very well
c. The cognitive function pattern fits you very well
d. Family, friends, coworkers, etc. have told you how much you resemble that type.
e. A combination of the above?

Mostly C, and I'd say INFP is the best fit of the descriptions. However, many have a heavy e9 lean that I don't relate to.
I consistently test as INxP, often INTP, and occasionally INFJ.

5) Have people suggested you are a type other than the one you identify with?

Very rarely. I've humorously had it suggested by an off-kilter poster via pm that I am Si-Fi (ISTJ) and by yet another that I am Fi-Ni (ISFP).
A few have told me I see "T-ish". Most seem to view me as almost prototypical INFP. My INFJ aunt thinks I am INFJ also. No one else I know IRL knows or cares about MBTI.

6) Are you open to the possibility that you may not be the type you think you are?

Yes, mainly because I'd like to talk about it .

7) Even if you're SURE of your type now, do you ever think that in the future there may come a time when you seriously doubt or reconsider your type or even change your self-identified type?
I have doubted my type, not because of who I am or my understanding of the theory, but because of other people who identify as that type or other people's impressions of my type which don't align with how I see myself or the theory or how friends/family IRL see me. But I trust my own understanding of the theory, understanding of myself, & the impressions people I know IRL have of me over internet forum collective impressions.
Every now & then I get a paranoid feeling I might be ISFP or INFJ or something, but then I laugh it off.
I highly doubt I will change the type I identify with in the future. Whenever I go over it in my mind, INFP makes the most sense.