• You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community, you will have access to additional post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), view blogs, respond to polls, upload content, and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free, so please join our community today! Just click here to register. You should turn your Ad Blocker off for this site or certain features may not work properly. If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us by clicking here.

MBTI impact on life

Tayshaun

New member
Joined
May 13, 2007
Messages
172
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
5w4
s0532 recently started a thread called "Effects of Type Consciousness".

The theme of this thread is quite similar in that it discusses the role of MBTI awareness in making decisions, but is slightly different in scope.

My main concern can be formulated in the following question:

Had you learned about MBTI, enneagreams, or other tools much earlier, had you done some research about personality, people interactions and roles, would you have made the same decisions during your life?

Would you have chosen the same career path?
Would you have married the same person/people?
Would you have left home earlier/later?
Would you have pursued your dreams?
Would you have followed a more artistic path?
Would you have listened to people as much? tried to please them?
Would you have been less sociable? more skeptical?
Would you have missed great friendships, romantic relationships?

These kind of questions are not necessarily constructive, they have many shortcomings as they require a lot of speculation about the past, they might even be useless. However, I am curious to know what you think about this.
 

outmywindow

New member
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
163
MBTI Type
INTP
Had you learned about MBTI, enneagreams, or other tools much earlier, had you done some research about personality, people interactions and roles, would you have made the same decisions during your life?

This is a difficult question to answer simply because I've yet to experience many of the things you went on to ask about. That said, I do think that if I had read the INTP description earlier in life (high school as opposed to sophomore in college), I might have been able to begin the process of becoming comfortable in my own skin a bit earlier. But really, who knows?
 

Gen

New member
Joined
Apr 26, 2007
Messages
319
MBTI Type
INTP
Ugh, it's hard to say. I know that if I knew more about myself I never would have gotten married. That would have been a huge difference in my life. I probably would have finished school by now, since I wouldn't have wasted it pursuing things I'd ultimately hate. I'd probably have more and better friends right now because I'd know what it was about people that made me feel that bond. I used to close myself off from almost everyone, and now I can pick out the qualities in people that make me more sure that it's not "risky" to open up.

But there's really no way of knowing; I have this theory that some T's shouldn't learn about it too early because they tend to relate to the "non-emotional" stereotype and it becomes a self fullfilling prophecy of a stagnant unemotional void that needn't be. *breathes*
 

Economica

Dhampyr
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
2,054
MBTI Type
INTJ
Had you learned about MBTI, enneagreams, or other tools much earlier, had you done some research about personality, people interactions and roles, would you have made the same decisions during your life?

I learned about MBTI when I was 23 (I'm 25 now). Looking back, I can honestly say that I don't think I've made any big mistakes.

Regarding partner choice, I totally lucked out at age 19 when I met my ENFP SO. Before coming across MBTI, we never understood why it worked (and I had a teeny-tiny Pygmalion project going :blush:), but now we know we're a great match in theory as well as in practice. :wubbie: But if I hadn't lucked out, I have no doubt that I would have gone on to make an unfortunate partner choice. As I recall, I was consciously looking for someone pretty much like me. :doh:

However, I do wish that I had known MBTI earlier for the sake of those around me who have had to suffer my arrogance, stubborness and lack of empathy - my know-it-all little sister treatment of my ISFP older sister being my biggest regret. But I'm making it up to her now. :)
 

Alesia

New member
Joined
Apr 27, 2007
Messages
90
MBTI Type
INFP
I unfortunately did not learn about MBTI until the age of 35. Thus, here are the answers to these questions.
My main concern can be formulated in the following question:

Had you learned about MBTI, enneagreams, or other tools much earlier, had you done some research about personality, people interactions and roles, would you have made the same decisions during your life?

Would you have chosen the same career path?
NO
Would you have married the same person/people?
NO
Would you have left home earlier/later?
NO
Would you have pursued your dreams?
YES
Would you have followed a more artistic path?
Well, something more suitable to an INFP, like psychology.
Would you have listened to people as much? tried to please them?
NO
Would you have been less sociable? more skeptical?
No, I would have been more sociable. More at ease with feeling so different. And quite a bit less skeptical.
Would you have missed great friendships, romantic relationships?
No, I think I would have had better friendships and romantic relationships. I certainly have sense knowing MBTI. Plus I finally feel I am on a good career tract. Life has certainly improved for me, and much of it has to do with knowing my type and following my own path, rather trying to fit into what I considered "normal".
 
Last edited:

Totenkindly

@.~*virinaĉo*~.@
Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
50,187
MBTI Type
BELF
Enneagram
594
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
Had you learned about MBTI, enneagreams, or other tools much earlier, had you done some research about personality, people interactions and roles, would you have made the same decisions during your life?

Would you have chosen the same career path?
No. Idealistically, I would have become a psychologist or artist... but unfortunately I would not have been ready, I was not mature enough to deal with the rigors of dealing with people or the nature of self-promotion.

Would you have married the same person/people?
Probably not. :(

Would you have left home earlier/later?
(no difference)

Would you have pursued your dreams?
YES -- I would not have doubted myself so much.

Would you have followed a more artistic path?
YES -- I would not have doubted myself so much.

Would you have listened to people as much? tried to please them?
No -- I would not have doubted myself so much.

Would you have been less sociable? more skeptical?
More social, actually, and less paranoid about justifying myself. (See Alesia's answer above. :))

Would you have missed great friendships, romantic relationships?
I don't think so, I missed a great deal as it was.
 

"?"

New member
Joined
May 2, 2007
Messages
1,167
MBTI Type
TiSe
Would you have chosen the same career path?
I wonder whether knowing one's type, or not, would make that much of a difference. For the most part, career path can be determined in knowing one's passion. I think that those fortunate enough to know their interest will have a better opportunity than those who do not. Besides, this can be one of those things affected by external pressures (ie, family, environment schooling, etc)
Would you have married the same person/people?
Again, not something that I would base my decision on, any more than knowing their astrological sign. I would have to assume that with such a high divorce rate in America, many of these people may have been knowledgeable of these sort of systems. Besides, it's a sensor type world and most marry for many reasons outside of compatibility.
Would you have left home earlier/later?
Would not have made a difference. I was not escaping my home life, but the small rural area which provided no opportunities.
Would you have pursued your dreams?
Would you have followed a more artistic path?
Would you have listened to people as much? tried to please them?
Would you have been less sociable? more skeptical?
Would you have missed great friendships, romantic relationships?
These are all some great questions, which I think can be asked in lieu of knowing any type system. If anything, the enneagram has given me a better understanding as to my reasons for reacting in specific ways. One of my greatest problems with MBTI is that it's limiting and too theoretical at times, to be applied to real life situations. An example is, most would probably admit that the average person is less than healthy. The MBTI has very little information to explain the teritary level, which is most likely where most of us reside. At best it's a map, no different than any other system, with it's limits. Again, good questions.
 

Maverick

New member
Joined
Apr 29, 2007
Messages
880
MBTI Type
ENTJ
Had you learned about MBTI, enneagreams, or other tools much earlier, had you done some research about personality, people interactions and roles, would you have made the same decisions during your life?

I think I would have made worse decisions because it would have legitimized some behaviors that I worked hard to dampen. Maybe I would not have tried to be diplomatic, understanding or compromising anymore. Maybe I would of used my MBTI type as an excuse to be a complete moron. There's nothing fundamentally liberating about reading an ENTJ profile.

Would you have chosen the same career path?

No. I would have gone into business. But then again, maybe years later I would have realized that I had missed something fundamental in my life.

Would you have left home earlier/later?

No. I left as earlier as I could.

Would you have pursued your dreams?

Maybe not. I could only have true access to my dreams by not focusing on a definition of my personality given to me by a theory (i.e. "you're supposed to be a leader and blablabla").

Would you have followed a more artistic path?

No.

Would you have listened to people as much? tried to please them?

I would have listened to people more. As you can imagine, I used to be pretty opinionated. I would devalue systematically anything that wasn't N like. The MBTI has taught me at least to value Sensors.

Would you have been less sociable? more skeptical?

I would have been less sociable. It would seem as though I would have decoded human personality and it would have taken the fun out of meeting new people... When there's no mystery and you think you know everything, sometimes it makes it difficult to spot possiblities. I'm guilty of prejudging people more easily today based on what I perceive to be their type, but realize it's not a good habit to have.

Would you have missed great friendships, romantic relationships?

Yes, most definitely.

I think the MBTI is more liberating for certain types than others. For me, knowing that I'm supposed to be a leader and that I make tough decisions isn't really a revelation for self improvement. "Tough decisions" doesn't even sound good, it sounds like something a bastard would do with a disregard for others. Not exactly positive in my book. For me, the key lies in being a balanced individual. Learning to "let go" of your natural urges. For an ENTJ, learning that self-mastery is more important than trying to lead others. That true strength lies in restraint and tolerance. That any attempt at leading others that only satisfies the ego is in fact a sign of weakness. That would have been better.
 

Park

New member
Joined
May 3, 2007
Messages
263
MBTI Type
INTP
Had you learned about MBTI, enneagreams, or other tools much earlier, had you done some research about personality, people interactions and roles, would you have made the same decisions during your life?

Would you have chosen the same career path?
Yes, I wouldn't be able to do what I do today if I hadn't followed the career path I did.

Would you have married the same person/people?
Yes.

Would you have left home earlier/later?
No.

Would you have pursued your dreams?
I've allways done that. I can't say whether MBTI would have been an advantage or not.

Would you have followed a more artistic path?
No, I do get to be as artistic in my everyday life as I feel like.

Would you have listened to people as much? tried to please them?
It might have made a difference in my childhood and teenage years. However, I allways subconsciously understood that what worked for my surroundings often didn't work for me and in my late teens, I just went with my intuition. I'm a professional people pleaser but in my private life, I probably could do better.

Would you have been less sociable? more skeptical?
No, I don't think so.

Would you have missed great friendships, romantic relationships?

It could have gone both ways. When I think back, there are a few people I probably would have payed more attention if I had known about MBTI. I once briefly meet this chess player in London who made a great impression on me we only talked for a few hours and he dissapeared out of my life again, I think he could have been a good friend.
 

logan235711

New member
Joined
Apr 29, 2007
Messages
166
MBTI Type
INTJ
Would you have chosen the same career path?
maybe, I don't know!!, I think what I'm doing now is a good effort at expanding my other functions, but when I do it, I usually don't think of it in terms of functions, so it's hard to say where my own style ends and where the function style begins : )
Would you have married the same person/people?
who knows!!! I'm still single for all you ladies out there :D
Would you have left home earlier/later?
haha, probably not, leaving home was never about type--more of a forced thing :p
Would you have pursued your dreams?
lol probably, actually about 95%!+ probable, but my dreams change so often as I change as a person, it's hard to say what I will desire in another 20 years : ) (though i would like to think it will be something completely different)
Would you have followed a more artistic path?
hah sorry, Im already an A-r T I-st I-ckk m as-t-a
Would you have listened to people as much? tried to please them?
perhaps :p but I was doing a lot of emotional exploration etc. before I even cared about MBTI :eek:
Would you have been less sociable? more skeptical?
no! skepticism is a good thing! it keeps us on our heads so we dont think too much into one style ..sociable...mm..yummy :)
Would you have missed great friendships, romantic relationships?
Well I never would have met all you wonderful and life-changing people on the epic MBTIc message boards :hug: :wubbie: :hug:
 

Xander

Lex Parsimoniae
Joined
Apr 24, 2007
Messages
4,463
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
9w8
Would you have chosen the same career path?
Wait. I have a career? Oh yeah that'd be something I'd have changed.
Would you have married the same person/people?
I never did take an active dissection of a partner so quite probably.
Would you have left home earlier/later?
Dunno. Probably about the same time.
Would you have pursued your dreams?
Nope. I'd have used the information to make dreams which I'd actually follow through.
Would you have followed a more artistic path?
Nope I'd have followed a more ME path. Like computers.
Would you have listened to people as much? tried to please them?
Yes, that's part of my psychological model... just not the MBTI bit.
Would you have been less sociable? more skeptical?
Yes because I'd have been more confident that I wasn't a no hoper.
Would you have missed great friendships, romantic relationships?
No idea.

Hope that helps.
 

riel

New member
Joined
Dec 14, 2008
Messages
204
MBTI Type
ISFP
Had you learned about MBTI, enneagreams, or other tools much earlier, had you done some research about personality, people interactions and roles, would you have made the same decisions during your life?

THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN CHANGES IN SOME AREAS.

Would you have chosen the same career path?
NO
Would you have married the same person/people?
I'm still single.
Would you have left home earlier/later?
I like my parents' house. :D
Would you have pursued your dreams?
I'm still pursuing it. :)
Would you have followed a more artistic path?
A BIG YES.
Would you have listened to people as much? tried to please them?
DARLING, I'VE BEEN PLEASING THEM ALL MY LIFE.
Would you have been less sociable? more skeptical?
I WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE SKEPTICAL..PEOPLE SAY I'M TOO TRUSTING!
Would you have missed great friendships, romantic relationships?
NO
These kind of questions are not necessarily constructive, they have many shortcomings as they require a lot of speculation about the past, they might even be useless. However, I am curious to know what you think about
this.
I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN ABOUT TYPE EARLIER BECAUSE I ALWAYS FELT THAT I'M DIFFERENT FROM MY FAMILY MEMBERS..AND WHY I ALWAYS FELT FRUSTRATED WITH MYSELF...NOW I KNOW. THANKS TO TYPE :)
 
Top