strychnine
All Natural! All Good!
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2010
- Messages
- 895
Hello, I just joined up because I'm very interested in personality theory/ typology, yet still confused about my own type. I've taken the MBTI with my college's career counseling but I haven't yet seen the results. I also took Keirsey's second temperament sorter out of his book, Please Understand Me II. On that test, scored Ixxx -- strong I, and the rest were pretty much on the border. I think I had about 60% N. I've taken other tests online, but I can't find a cognitive process one. On the regular 4-letter tests, I've scored ISFJ mostly. But again, all the dimensions except Introversion were close.
So, I assumed I was an ISFJ, but then I read through the type's various descriptions, including Keirsey's (one of the few that doesn't treat the ISFJ as a dumb doormat character). Then I realized some of the more fundamental attributes of the type don't fit me well at all. For example, I don't have much of a desire for safety and security. I have very little sense of loyalty or duty, and I don't feel responsible to/for anyone. (And I HATE children, I intend to get sterilized asap and never have them.) I don't really think I have any obligations at all, I just follow my interests, which change but still remain constant. Well, that's confusing. I meant they change within one larger field, and the field is what remains constant. The one thing I can't usually do well is express things sequentially. I have very little sense of morality. I don't see things as "right" and "wrong", it is all contextual/situational for me.
I am also very unreliable. I don't expect people to be there for me, but I don't want to have to be there for other people. When others get emotional, I get very uncomfortable because I've realized that crying people don't want my potential solutions, they want sympathy I can't provide. I can't even tell what I'm feeling most of the time. I am not sarcastic normally but when angry or under pressure, I can really piss people off with my sarcasm.
Also, I don't believe that something is better than a new idea just because it worked last time. I don't necessarily respect something more just because it was done before. A track record of excellence alone does not, to me, guarantee excellence in the future. And also, I don't necessarily want guarantees, as I trust my ability to find a way out if something goes wrong, WHEN it goes wrong. I don't need certainty, and I've accepted that even my best ideas cannot be airtight anyway. Something will crash and burn at some point, and the best I can do is rebuild and correct my course along the way. I am fine with that. I think we either control everything or nothing anyway, because the things we don't control can just conspire against us in a manner that derails our plan -- so we essentially have no absolute control. I am also fine with that. (So I don't sound very J, do I?)
One part of the ISFJ description that fits me perfectly is the tendency to be seen as stiff and cold. However, I would not say that these perceptions are completely wrong. I don't think I am "warm hearted" inside. I am shy, though, and I don't like talking to people and socializing. Most people irritate me with their prattling about what they did last weekend, what they saw on TV, how so-and-so did x, y, and z. I can't keep up with that type of conversation and I don't care for it.
Actually there's another part about our frugality and the whole "good with money" thing. That's very true of me. I'm not good with money for the sake of it, though, I just tend to not desire things that cost money. I am just naturally cheap, haha. It's not because I am worried about the future. I guess this is similar to the duty part -- I don't think it's my duty to save money, and I don't feel obligated to do so, I just naturally end up being that way, which is similar to following an interest (not literally).
Anyway, I realize this is long, but I'm really confused about my type, as you can see. Please help me! Thanks in advance for your time.
So, I assumed I was an ISFJ, but then I read through the type's various descriptions, including Keirsey's (one of the few that doesn't treat the ISFJ as a dumb doormat character). Then I realized some of the more fundamental attributes of the type don't fit me well at all. For example, I don't have much of a desire for safety and security. I have very little sense of loyalty or duty, and I don't feel responsible to/for anyone. (And I HATE children, I intend to get sterilized asap and never have them.) I don't really think I have any obligations at all, I just follow my interests, which change but still remain constant. Well, that's confusing. I meant they change within one larger field, and the field is what remains constant. The one thing I can't usually do well is express things sequentially. I have very little sense of morality. I don't see things as "right" and "wrong", it is all contextual/situational for me.
I am also very unreliable. I don't expect people to be there for me, but I don't want to have to be there for other people. When others get emotional, I get very uncomfortable because I've realized that crying people don't want my potential solutions, they want sympathy I can't provide. I can't even tell what I'm feeling most of the time. I am not sarcastic normally but when angry or under pressure, I can really piss people off with my sarcasm.
Also, I don't believe that something is better than a new idea just because it worked last time. I don't necessarily respect something more just because it was done before. A track record of excellence alone does not, to me, guarantee excellence in the future. And also, I don't necessarily want guarantees, as I trust my ability to find a way out if something goes wrong, WHEN it goes wrong. I don't need certainty, and I've accepted that even my best ideas cannot be airtight anyway. Something will crash and burn at some point, and the best I can do is rebuild and correct my course along the way. I am fine with that. I think we either control everything or nothing anyway, because the things we don't control can just conspire against us in a manner that derails our plan -- so we essentially have no absolute control. I am also fine with that. (So I don't sound very J, do I?)
One part of the ISFJ description that fits me perfectly is the tendency to be seen as stiff and cold. However, I would not say that these perceptions are completely wrong. I don't think I am "warm hearted" inside. I am shy, though, and I don't like talking to people and socializing. Most people irritate me with their prattling about what they did last weekend, what they saw on TV, how so-and-so did x, y, and z. I can't keep up with that type of conversation and I don't care for it.
Actually there's another part about our frugality and the whole "good with money" thing. That's very true of me. I'm not good with money for the sake of it, though, I just tend to not desire things that cost money. I am just naturally cheap, haha. It's not because I am worried about the future. I guess this is similar to the duty part -- I don't think it's my duty to save money, and I don't feel obligated to do so, I just naturally end up being that way, which is similar to following an interest (not literally).
Anyway, I realize this is long, but I'm really confused about my type, as you can see. Please help me! Thanks in advance for your time.