Lately I have started to wonder if MBTI is taken too seriously by people (including me too). I mean, the theory is not even proven to be valid or reliable according to some criticism. So, people are defining themselves according to the theory, judging other people according to it and putting people to boxes. Before I saw no danger in the whole thing. I said to myself that I use the MBTI tool only to understand people but lately I have started to see some dangers related to the whole thing.
Is there even anything behind in the traits, the functions and in the personality types? Is it any different that astrology?
My answer to all of this: I don't know. That is why I'm asking.
Your thoughts on the subject?
When it comes to relationships, I think that it shouldn't matter what type people are. Whether or not you're compatible/incompatible according to MBTI didn't matter 4,000 years ago.
Relationships take hard, hard work and require a high level of commitment. If both people are willing to work at it, I don't see why some of the worst-suited types should think twice about starting something.
BUT, MBTI certainly has its commonsense applications. An INFJ, like me, for example, can use it to help them find/narrow down what kind of job they'd be suited for as opposed to jumping into some horribly suited job, like accounting.
I'm still uber-new to MBTI but it seems like if someone spent a good amount of time observing themselves, how they act around others in different situations, likes and dislikes, that they'd be able to come up with a rough (and I mean ROUGH) understanding of how their personality works.
The nice thing about MBTI is that someone's already gone through the trouble of all the head-work. We get to take the test, and go 'Oh! I'm a ____.'
How seriously should MBTI be taken? Well, someone could conceivably, if they already haven't, come up with a similar test that tells you what political party you're in. But if I took such a test I would certainly take it with a grain of salt and make my own decisions given the situation at hand.
Similarly, I think MBTI should not be given a status of infallibility, but should be used as a self-discovery/learning tool that can be deviated from at any time.
No matter how you look at it, though, it's thought provoking and addictive as all get out.