"Sticking" with a type?

[miss deceit]

This is mainly aimed at people who struggled between a few types and then managed to stick with one but feel free to answer.
Also, before we start - this is not a type me thread I am not looking to be typed.

Now with that out of the way, I'm curious how you managed to "stick" with a type after struggling for a while between a few. Like, whether you used a specific method to get it down to one or whether you used a specific method to stick with one over time or whatever you did I'm wondering how exactly you did it.

 

[noname3788]

Maybe, instead of trying to stick to a type, just accept that you may show some aspects of multiple types. You are a unique individual, not some copy-pasted version of one out of 16 avaible templates

 

[Luminous]

I kept reading and thinking. Analyzing. Until I felt like I came to the most likely answer. I enjoy theory, so I sometimes still take tests or question, but I'm pretty unlikely to change what I think my type is at this point as I've looked at it all from many angles.

 

[Saturnal Snowqueen]

I'm surprised I even stuck with my type so long(besides the ISFJ typing). INFP was what I've tested as for years, so I didn't question it much until typology was really my hobby and I knew what cognitive functions were. But what helped me stick with it even with all of the new information with it was mostly gut feel and getting in touch with my desires. ISFJ I considered because I'm a nostalgia nerd and I can look Feish I think because I'm agreeable and can be self sacrificing. Still, I've realized, Fi is my lens in life, it's where my desires comes from. Wanting to follow my own values and wanting to be authentic with a lot of my intense feelings coming from not wanting to sacrifice those values and my authenticity. Just like with enneagram in comparison-I'm pretty generous for example, which makes me look 2ish. Helping others isn't my true desire though, it's wanting to be unique and express myself and discover my true identity.

 

[Tina&Jane]

ISFJ I considered because I'm a nostalgia nerd and I can look Feish I think because I'm agreeable and can be self sacrificing.

I think a 9 core can also seem to "mimic" Fe because of the desire to avoid conflict, which on the surface appears similar to high Fe's desire for social harmony.

Maybe, instead of trying to stick to a type, just accept that you may show some aspects of multiple types. You are a unique individual, not some copy-pasted version of one out of 16 avaible templates

I agree. I think it's common when typing to fall into the mindset that your type needs to explain and account for every aspect of your personality, which is never going to happen when descriptions are meant to appeal to such a broad audience. I think in the case of typing it's more beneficial to look at the generalities rather than the specifics of your personality, so that you're focusing on which type seems to fit the overall pattern of your life.

 

[???]

Through experience with all different kinds of people I've come to realize what I'm drawn to and what I like and it's greatly helped me understand myself. But I've also spent a lot of time reading, understanding, and applying analytical psychology, as well as philosophy and how they intersect into Jungian theory. I believe most of what Jung came up with was already discovered through philosophy, but he was able to put it into a basic psychological framework that no one had done before (so as not to take away from his achievements).

The thing that made this "journey" difficult for me is the seeming obsessive need for most people to stereotype, generalize, categorize, misconstrue, and bash analytical psychology. Or people just come up with their own theoretical understanding of things and take it as fact. Jung wasn't super clear and can be easily interpreted in various ways without a proper background in philosophy (imo) and MBTI spins type in its own way too. Socionics too. And then you get people in the MBTI trying to make money off of it and putting their own marketing spin on it or the corporate spin that uses it to pre-judge people, without knowing them. To be frank, it's all a bit annoying for people that really just want to know what type really means.

I think when type sticks, it means knowing what it is at its core, and being able to appreciate how different people are and can be, especially those of the same type.

 

[Maou]

Simply put, people don't fit into boxes well. The type people adhere to, is most likely the type they see themselves as in that moment. Change, can be the result of stress, environmental changes etc. I have gone through an assortment of types in the NT range, and I always tend to go back eventually to the one type I most identify as. Whether or not I am that specific type, is up in the air. No one is static. Everyone changes.

 

[typologyenthusiast]

The Typing method that I apply

I think of typing myself as a process of inductive identification of two available typology theories : Jung' Psychological types and Isabel Briggs Myers MBTI and my memory. . So, There are two process : The first thing to do for me is to try to comprehend the theory and the second is to "gather" factual memory of myself . I believe When we do both well, it should be easy to identify what our type is. However, Both are not easy. The challenge that in implementing this method is that : one in comprehending the theory itself, and the second is that psychological memory is sometimes already forgotten. In comprehending the theory, for example, we may have questioned what Isabel Briggs Myers mean by types that ends with J and P (XXXJ, XXXP). Unless we have clear understanding of what it means, we will not be able to tell what a judger or perceiver is and is not. Some may get stereotypical understanding of both J and P, for example: XXXJ are people who likes to plan, and XXXP is people who don't really like it. While both could be correct for some, I would say it is only some observable behavioral tendencies and stating so we do not realize the possibility that some J may not plan and some P may be planning. When we had stereotypical understanding, we might type people stereo typically also including ourselves. With this stereotypical understanding, we could incorrectly identify a person who says: I have a plan but rarely stick to it as a P, I have a plan but it is general not specified, because P is stereo typically so
Collecting memory is another task. What I have been undergoing in order to gather memory is that: to write down memory when it comes back. The time for it is really very unscheduled. I simply can't control when a memory comes back. But when it comes back, I just write them down. Some says it is like diary writing but I don't think so. Diary is written usually for things happening at the moment, and it tends not exclusive to factual events and may probably includes opinion. Memory collection is limited to past factual events. It excludes opinion. It also excludes current events. Memory can be events twenty years ago I may have forgotten for such a long time that suddenly comes back. Memory can tell that we do have a certain habit in the past that we may not do anymore for some reasons or a past habit remains.

An example of J and P inductive identification using memory as a basis.

A simplified theoretical comprehension of MBTI J and P dichotomy
J is an abbreviation of judger, found in Isabel Briggs Myears MBTI and P stands for Perceiver. Judger is a person who makes judgement and a perceiver is a person who makes a perception.
Which type I had become in the past? Was I a judger or a perceiver?. To answer the question, in addition to the theoretical comprehension, I need memory and I need to identify inductively whether the activities falls under judger dichotomy or perceiver dichotomy.

Memory that comes back
Years ago around 1996-7, a sun eclipse happened which could be seen at my birthplace in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. I lived there. I was informed somehow , which unfortunately i can't exactly tell [probably by reading a newspaper that an astronomer had predicted it] and read a tips for watching it that is we can't use naked eyes to observe the natural phenomena, since we could get our eyes blind. I wanted to watch the phenomenon since it is believed as a rare phenomena I didn't want to just miss. I took black negative film and watched through it. You may not be familiar with what negative film is, as it is already an obsolete camera technology.

Inductive MBTI dichotomy Identification: Perceiver or Judger
Based on this, would I identify myself as a judger or perceiver?. I'd identify myself as a perceiver since by watching a rare sun eclipse event through a negative film shows a behavioral perception maker. The perception is a sensation one, since the sun eclipse phenomenon is observable by sightsenses through a black negative film. So a type I had become, inductively, was an XSXP.It is certainly not a judging behavior: i did nothing to judge the event. All I did was to have some sightsenses sensation: how the sun eclipse observably was happening from the time when part of the sun began to darken until it became full dark and slowly became bright again .

An experimental way as an alternative to memory collection
If you get stuck in memory recalling, you can try Another way is to test your energy. We don't need memory for this. This is more experimental . The goal is to find out what activities can make you psychologically drained and which are not. This method can be implemented since psychic energy nature dynamics is the main discussion in extroversion, introversion. While psychic energy is held naturally unobservable by the five senses, We can still tell it is impact on how draining you are in certain activities. When you feel drained, the condition may signify your energy is depleted, or your the activities that you perform may not be supported by psychic energy within you. If you correctly assign a certain activities to certain psychic energy, you'll be able to tell what energy type is in you psyche.
My mother, for example often grieves that she feels drained when thinking, which often makes her cease her thinking. But She is very diligent in updating news, she is more updated than I am that when I tell her a news that I just read, frequently she has known it.
Implementing this method, I wouldn't say by MBTI , I identify myself as one type only. However, if you were not really confident of what your type is, the explanatory reasons might be traceable to : lack of sufficient theoretical comprehension and not be able to "recall" memory or be lazy doing some experimental activities to check on which activities you feel that you are exhausted in.

 

[typologyenthusiast]

Psychological Functions Identification Another Method

In my previous post, the method is somewhat scientific. The following method is more psychological.

In order to answer the question what are psychological function in my stack on our own, we should familiarize ourselves with the nature of Jungian psychological functions. The question such as What is extroversion? What is introversion? What is feeling function, what is thinking function, what is intuition, what is sensation, Which one is rational and which one is irrational, what does primary, auxiliary, tertiary, inferior function mean, How is the pairing primary and auxiliary nature, What do we mean by function that is extroverted and introverted should be clear for you.
The second is to check function manifestation in basically what action do you take, what you express verbally and written, etc
Check your verbal writing expression or your to identify which function as the function manifestations are in those and you to identify others' check their verbal and written expression also. What specific actions that you take may also give some clue of which cognitive function available in your stack.

I have somewhat brought this Jung theory a little bit more in the extroverted feeling functions grouping known feeling to the psychological function. I raise the question: is there any known feeling that is naturally extroverted, that introverted feeler can't naturally get conscious of . I have identified which feelings are naturally extroverted: like vengeful, regret, guilt, . Whoever ever get conscious of these feelings without pretending or play acting, is identified as a psyche with extroverted feeling at their stack.

 

[lunalum]

Okay, storytime. So I typed myself as INTP from 2008 until around 2013. Then I had an identity crisis and switched to ENTP for a few years. I got burnt out on it for a while, and then relatively recently I have kind of settled back on INTP.

Other people have also typed me as INFP or ENFP. I never thought INFP quite fit. I considered ENFP for a short bit. I come off very differently in different contexts. Like, I would figure most people on here would agree on INTP for me, while on another similar forum, people largely agreed that I was ENxP.

One key thing about it is that this many years later I still do not feel settled on my type. I don't think I ever will.

But at the least, I am back to enough sureness to list INTP as my type again. How?

(1) No one on earth who has met me in person would consider me an extrovert.

(2) Some of the things I attributed to Ne could easily also be attributed to Ti.

(3) I am very in touch with my Si. Like if I am an ENxP I am possibly the most balanced one on the planet.

Though counterpoints:

(1) I consistently score highest in Ne in function tests. The extroverted intuition section in Psychological Types made me feel seen like almost no other description had ever before. I have bad anxiety about the sensations in my body and Jung considered that characteristic of Si inferior.

(2) Since when do I go with group consensus?

But pretty much, my thoughts on it recently have been that in the large scheme of things it doesn't really matter if I am mistyped, as long as the one I choose to work with works well enough. And just plain trying to just live my life and not obsess on typology in general so much helps a lot in maintaining my type decision

A specific method did not help. I know function theory very well, like to an extent where I'm considering making a blog about it soon, and function theory is what got my doubting my type in the first place. Methods such as identifying one's inferior function, taking the MBTI backwards (answering the opposite of how you would usually), and matching temperament to type.... these have a lot of promise. But just saying from experience, none of them are guaranteed. At a certain point you may have to simply give yourself a break, and make peace with that lingering uncertainty.

 

[Opal Star]

For a few years, I thought that I was ISTJ (from 16Personalities). I rediscovered MBTI a few months ago, and I started to suspect that I was INFJ. I thought that some of the signs did fit (emotionality, talent in creative writing, ambiversion, interest in social issues, and I felt like "I didn't fit in"). These signs were from articles that said: "Signs You Are An INFJ." So I took tests to confirm whether or not that was true.

After taking countless MBTI tests (dichotomy and cognitive functions), I received ISTJ, INTJ, and ENTJ. ISTJ and INTJ were not surprising results, but ENTJ was surprising. I wondered how I was an ENTJ. I did not conform to the "strong, bold, and natural leader" stereotype that is given to ENTJs. I kept getting ISTJ on cognitive functions tests, so I thought that it would fit.

Out of desperation, I created a Reddit account so that I could have a second opinion on my MBTI type. I was typed as an XSTJ, leaning towards ESTJ. ESTJ was the most common opinion. I had an "aha" moment that told me that I did not include substantial things about myself. So, I created another "Type Me" post. They said that I was an ENTJ. I started to look into ENTJ, and a lot of it did make sense.

After studying the functions, I realized that I am not a Ni-dom. I also realized that I had MUCH more Te than Fe. I made the mistake of thinking that emotionality = feeler in MBTI. I have trouble with reading others' emotions, complying with social norms at times, and empathizing with others. I also do not have insights on other people that arise from an INFJ's Ni and Fe combination. Therefore, INFJ was out of the question.

I also realized that I have inferior Fi, not inferior Ne. I can be resistant to changes at times, but I am willing to experiment and try new things. I also did not catastrophize when I was at my worst (inferior Ne).

 

[Morpeko]

I don't think I'll ever stick with an MBTI type. The definitions of cognitive functions aren't solid enough for me to choose whether I belong to the Se-Ni or Si-Ne axis and I've been struggling with that ever since I've gotten into typology seven years ago. I currently feel satisfied in the possibility that I am an ESTP, but I've felt this level of acceptance with all my previous typings (ISTJ, ISTP, ISFP, and at one point INTJ). Who knows how long this will last... I don't really care though. MBTI isn't a great system.

Enneagram has been easier for me to pinpoint. For the past year, despite oscillating between two types, I've been about 99% confident that I am either a 4 or 6 core, which I don't think is that bad. 6 works fine, but if I were to waver in my enneagram core, I think I'd only ever consider 4 in the future. At least the pool is narrow.

Gut fix has been a lot harder, but I think 146 as a tritype is my best match. Unless someone has a great case for me being an 8 or a 9 fix, I can't see that changing in the near future.

 

[miss deceit]

I don't think I'll ever stick with an MBTI type. The definitions of cognitive functions aren't solid enough for me to choose whether I belong to the Se-Ni or Si-Ne axis and I've been struggling with that ever since I've gotten into typology seven years ago.

Relatable, I'm also currently satisfied with my current typing of ENTP but like, that most likely won't last. I am much more confident in my enneagram being 7w8, and my tritype being 738 than I am with my MBTI/Socionics lol.

 

[crustydemon]

This is mainly aimed at people who struggled between a few types and then managed to stick with one but feel free to answer.
Also, before we start - this is not a type me thread I am not looking to be typed.

Now with that out of the way, I'm curious how you managed to "stick" with a type after struggling for a while between a few. Like, whether you used a specific method to get it down to one or whether you used a specific method to stick with one over time or whatever you did I'm wondering how exactly you did it.

This thread caught my attention because I've been through just about every type. I started from 16 personalities, then started reading through Jung & his students work & those books and lectures helped me narrow down to at least Se - Ti-Fe-Ni. Since I'm a polarized type due to split personalities of whatever, it took me awhile.


I thought I was an INFJ or INTJ due to my anxiety disorder, (which does not discriminate against type/people) -- mental health and etc will cause some to have what Jung and his students call a "polarizing personality". Polarized types can be healthy or unhealthy.


Most of the time, polarized people with well developed auxiliary functions are the healthy polarized type while people like me are more neurotic or whatever. Both types are more in touch with the inferior functions, making them seem more rounded and complicated than others of their same type. I'm real thankful I can read, otherwise I'd be lost!! I've realized I'm a polarizing Estp. I seek intuitions but I don't live by them. Sometimes I find myself jealous of Ni doms but whatever.

Hopefully I stick with that and hopefully so do my other personalities.

 

[yubitzu]

I originally typed myself as INFJ and then as ENFP.
After I read about cognitive functions and enneagram,I realized that I have some traits normally attributed to Fe doms or auxs due to having enneagram 2 in my tritype and so/sx instinctual variant .
I also figured out that I also have very strong Ne because of the 7 in my tritype ,and that often INFP 9s have less emotional baggage and overthink less,which could have confused me into thinking of myself as a Ne dom .
Ultimately when I analyzed the way my functions work,I noticed that even though the strenght of my functions was all over the place,the way I used my functions made total sense with the stacking order and the whole functions as an archetype thing.I noticed that using Fi is how "I save the day" and so on and so on . I feel like you can get the point by now.

 

[typologyenthusiast]

Basically since, following Jung, we only have 4 psychological functions at our stack, We can be other type but it is limited to what psychological functions are available at our stack. Otherwise we can classify it as a mistype or false type identification.
When you don't have the Fe, you can never naturally be like true ESFJ, ISFJ, ENFJ, INFJ, ESTP, ISTP, ENTP, INTP. If you force yourself to, you'll experience psychological exhaustion.

 

[Red Memories]

This is mainly aimed at people who struggled between a few types and then managed to stick with one but feel free to answer.
Also, before we start - this is not a type me thread I am not looking to be typed.

Now with that out of the way, I'm curious how you managed to "stick" with a type after struggling for a while between a few. Like, whether you used a specific method to get it down to one or whether you used a specific method to stick with one over time or whatever you did I'm wondering how exactly you did it.

I personally feel MBTI alone is imperfect. It is too "defined". Per say, it does not intake for people who utilize these functions in a different faucet.

In my case, I picked the MBTI type (xNFP) which I relate to the most in general disposition and etc, then I used other typology templates together. NFP 1 is going to have stronger Te and a bit more of a "J" like feel. I prefer MBTI + Enneagram. I feel together it can give a whole picture. MBTI alone is only half a photo.

I found though, I felt better with MBTI typing after studying the way each function works upon specific axises. Cognitive functions alone is good but it doesn't grasp the picture of what it means for them to work together.

 

[Vendrah]

If you are uncomfortable with MBTI and the functions, and you are comfortable with the enneagram and/or big 5, I had developed 2 converters - one from enneagram tri-type (quadri, actually) and another one for big 5. Basically if you see the great picture, they speak a lot of the same things - human personality - and a lot of aspects of them are interchangeable between each other, even if that is complicated and not much visible. Perhaps in MBTI you oscillate between one type or another, but there is a chance that on big 5 even with some changes overtime the converter will mostly have the same result. And if you are clear on the enneagram, the converter will likely solve your problems on MBTI (except for N/S). Here are the converters:

Enneagram to MBTI:
https://www.quotev.com/quiz/12991371/Enneagram-tri-type-to-MBTI

Big 5 with facets to MBTI:
https://www.quotev.com/quiz/12999568/BIG-FIVE-to-MBTI-converter-quiz


They are not perfect, specially because I dont have all the proper data and was forced to do some good calculated guesses, but can be still quite handful. Oh, both of them mixture dichotomy and cognitive functions (I couldnt really separate), so if you are one type on dichotomy and another one in the functions, then the calculator will likely point to a common cousin (that what I would expect to happen with [MENTION=33903]Jazzy Orchid[/MENTION]).

 

[Yara the Corpse]

hm the Enneagram conversion gave me IxFP, and the Big 5 gave me ISFP. And I think IxFP also fits the Supine-Phlegmatic temperament of mine. But other types are likely too.

 

[Red Memories]

If you are uncomfortable with MBTI and the functions, and you are comfortable with the enneagram and/or big 5, I had developed 2 converters - one from enneagram tri-type (quadri, actually) and another one for big 5. Basically if you see the great picture, they speak a lot of the same things - human personality - and a lot of aspects of them are interchangeable between each other, even if that is complicated and not much visible. Perhaps in MBTI you oscillate between one type or another, but there is a chance that on big 5 even with some changes overtime the converter will mostly have the same result. And if you are clear on the enneagram, the converter will likely solve your problems on MBTI (except for N/S). Here are the converters:

Enneagram to MBTI:
https://www.quotev.com/quiz/12991371/Enneagram-tri-type-to-MBTI

Big 5 with facets to MBTI:
https://www.quotev.com/quiz/12999568/BIG-FIVE-to-MBTI-converter-quiz


They are not perfect, specially because I dont have all the proper data and was forced to do some good calculated guesses, but can be still quite handful. Oh, both of them mixture dichotomy and cognitive functions (I couldnt really separate), so if you are one type on dichotomy and another one in the functions, then the calculator will likely point to a common cousin (that what I would expect to happen with [MENTION=33903]Jazzy Orchid[/MENTION]).

quiz wise:
Your type is either ENFP or ESFP! Google these initials if you dont know what they mean.
This is not a 100% precise, check the second result.
ENFP: 7-4-2-9 / 7-4-9 / 479 The Gentle Spirit

ESFP: 7-9-2-6 / 7-9-2 / 279 The Peacemaker

but humoring as you discussed before...for Big 5 I got xNFJ. XD