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Ever wish you had never learned about MBTI?

arborvitae

New member
Joined
Sep 15, 2007
Messages
40
MBTI Type
ISFP
I can definitely see where the OP is coming from here. On the one hand, "discovering" my type and MBTI gave me the boost of courage I needed to get out of a bad situation, so I wouldn't want to give that up.

It does bother me how I end up monitoring my actions and thoughts and relate them to MBTI. If it is an activity or thought that I think my type should enjoy, I will pursue it more. I guess the logic behind this is that if I act more fully like my type, then I will be happier and more comfortable with a life that suits me. The end result, though, is that I'm not completely enjoying the experience of my environment and consciousness in the moment. I'm constantly stepping back and trying to fit everything into MBTI, and limiting myself to my type.

Does anybody else do this?
 

placebo

New member
Joined
May 11, 2008
Messages
492
MBTI Type
INFP
Nope... MBTI has changed my view of people in a very positive way... it's helped me be more accepting in a way and more tolerant of other ppl with different opinions. There was a short period when I kept thinking of everything in terms of MBTI and almost judging people like that, but you can get out of that kind of framework and realise it's just another factor and it can't be used to judge people...
 

kelric

Feline Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2007
Messages
2,169
MBTI Type
INtP
I wouldn't lose the knowledge if I could. That's not to say that I'm convinced that the theory has much predictive value by itself, but most of what I've gotten from it's not really dependent upon the specifics of the theory, anyway:

1. A better understanding that not everyone does, or *should* come from the same perspective mentally. This was, as you say, quite a revelation when I first discovered MBTI. I grew up as the outlier in a family of folks who shared viewpoints that I didn't - and the realization that I wasn't alone in my viewpoints was quite liberating.

2. It's given me somewhat, even if only vaguely, a better idea of why some things that aren't important to me are important to people that I care about. It helps me focus more on understanding.

3. At least for a large number of people, the results seem generally consistent. This isn't to say that I've done a good scientific analysis or anything, but I find it interesting and worthwhile to see what traits people share, and which ones they don't.

4. Last, but certainly not least, I've met some nice folks :D.
 

ThatsWhatHeSaid

Well-known member
Joined
May 11, 2007
Messages
7,263
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
5w4
Yeah, I definitely feel that way sometimes. But if I wasn't trying to classify people according to the 4 functions, I'd probably have adopted some other method. On the plus side, I did get some major validation after reading the INTP description. I felt empowered and less alone, like "you mean I'm not the only one who spends all day trying to analyze everything and put into some coherent framework?
 

Totenkindly

@.~*virinaĉo*~.@
Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
50,192
MBTI Type
BELF
Enneagram
594
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
... On the plus side, I did get some major validation after reading the INTP description. I felt empowered and less alone, like "you mean I'm not the only one who spends all day trying to analyze everything and put into some coherent framework?

Ditto. I never regret finding out about MBTI... but maybe that's because I keep the theory in perspective. It's not the end-all be-all, and if you just accept the basics of it, at least it validates that you're not a freak even if you're different than a lot of people you've met.

Honestly, it was one of the first real big boosts of self-confidence I ever got to realize I was "okay" even if different than many I knew.
 

FallsPioneer

New member
Joined
Dec 21, 2007
Messages
260
MBTI Type
INTJ
I don't really mind MBTI in the same way I don't mind seeing those astrology horoscopes... I found it fascinating when I first came across it, but in retrospect that was probably because I was so certain that I was in some way deficient or sick. Now that I'm out of that phase I've found that MBTI just doesn't do much for me, and is a dubious vantage point from which to consider things.

Exactly right for me. But before now, I experienced that phase of happiness over having found myself, then came the phase of self-induced mental anguish from trying to stop living life through MBTI. I'm now at a point in my life where I don't give myself deep mental anguish anymore and I can handle things a lot better now. But I might randomly get bored of MBTI sometime later.
 

ThatsWhatHeSaid

Well-known member
Joined
May 11, 2007
Messages
7,263
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
5w4
Ditto. I never regret finding out about MBTI... but maybe that's because I keep the theory in perspective. It's not the end-all be-all, and if you just accept the basics of it, at least it validates that you're not a freak even if you're different than a lot of people you've met.

Honestly, it was one of the first real big boosts of self-confidence I ever got to realize I was "okay" even if different than many I knew.

I hear that. The problem is when you start thinking that God or your genetics or your environment looked at you and deemed you an INTP (or INFP in your case :devil:). It leads people to confuse their thoughts with their identity at which point they become really attached to their thinking.

[/buddhist nonsense] ;)
 

Totenkindly

@.~*virinaĉo*~.@
Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
50,192
MBTI Type
BELF
Enneagram
594
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
I hear that. The problem is when you start thinking that God or your genetics or your environment looked at you and deemed you an INTP (or INFP in your case :devil:). It leads people to confuse their thoughts with their identity at which point they become really attached to their thinking.

oh you ****ing (fill in the blank) ********. (Is that the right amount of asterisKs?) you crazy ENTP. or whatever PP thinks you are.

i don't even care what I am at the moment. i'm just me.

but i'm glad to know there is nothign wrong with me. MBTI is good for that much at least.

you're so right though. type is NOT prescriptive, and I hate the way people get locked into thinking, "Hey, I'm <this type>," and they change their beahvior to fit. Screw that sort of thinking, that's just silly. it's just supposed to give us a frame to understand ourselves and others a li'l better.


[/buddhist nonsense] ;)

oh don't apologize. buddhist stuff makes a lotta sense most of the time. 'specially now. :)
 

Magic Poriferan

^He pronks, too!
Joined
Nov 4, 2007
Messages
14,081
MBTI Type
Yin
Enneagram
One
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
Some things are worthy of more skepticism than others. For example, I see no point in questioning that I live in Florida, I have what appears to be a human body and I am using it to type this, and so on. Rampant philosophical skepticism just leads into an infinite regress of questions, so I accept those basic things as truths.

MBTI, on the other hand, is very worthy of my skepticism on a number of levels. The potential for delusionment/alienation/pigeon-holing people already mentioned, plus the fact that it has little acceptance in the scientific community, demonstrates no predictive validity and yet SEEMS to be insightful makes me question what the hell it really is doing.

I would be ready to drop it on a moment's notice if it weren't for one thing - why is there so much consistency between self-evaluation of type and how others type you? This really nags at me. Jung was either a brilliant scientist or a skilled magician.

Being in Florida and knowing you have a body are physical things.
My specific point is that I believe pretty much (if not)all psychological self-awareness is highly susceptible to skepticism. The MBTI doesn't stand out from any other form of mental self investigation in terms of it's plausibility.
 

rhinosaur

Just a statistic
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
1,464
MBTI Type
INTP
Believe it or not, it is possible to operate independently of your knowledge of MBTI. I used to pigeonhole people as well, and occasionally I would think "Well, he's an ESTP, so I should do this and this." No, don't do that. Just go with the flow. Every person should be handled individually, regardless of their type or your perceptions of their type. Just stop caring about it so much.

MBTI is just a convenient system we have to explain some trends in behavior. It doesn't define the individual, and I doubt it was ever intended to be comprehensive. In other words, there is a lot of overlap between the sixteen boxes. I have some characteristics of both ISTP and INTP. From each type description, there are things that fit, and there are things that don't fit. The same is true for everyone on the planet. As a result, everyone needs to be handled individually, or you risk making invalid assumptions about their preferences.
 

Siúil a Rúin

when the colors fade
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
14,037
MBTI Type
ISFP
Enneagram
496
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
Sometimes i have a habit of thinking in terms of MBTI that i get tired of. There are advantages to putting it aside and thinking without it. It has some uses, but also has a bit of an artificial quality I think. I go in cycles with it.
 

The_Liquid_Laser

Glowy Goopy Goodness
Joined
Jul 11, 2007
Messages
3,376
MBTI Type
ENTP
When I first discovered MBTI and the INTP description, I was ennamored. It was like a personal revelation. So many confusing things became clear. I thought as many of you did - I've been severely cheated to have missed out on a very critical "Hitchhiker's Guide to Life" handbook for such a critical portion of my life.

One year later after this "revelation" I am starting to rethink this as such a wonderful blessing of knowledge. I go around obsessively trying to fit people into these 4 dichotmous, arbitrary measures. I have developed an aversion to what I perceive as "S" types, the description of which is flimsy at best. I even try to, oftentimes with great failure, guide my actions according to what I GUESS is another person's type.

But what is most aggravating to me about this is that I have partially internalized my type while simultaneously externalizing other types, and so have many others everywhere. This is problematic on so many levels. I think the greatest Sin of Science I see on these boards are questions like "how do I get an ENFJ to like me" etc, etc, without providing ANY other information about the near-infinite complexity of variables that is a human being - and those threads actually get a lot of thought-out replies!! If you do this you are a seduced fool like I am and need to reevaluate precisely what the MBTI test is: a SAMPLE of human behavior. You are NOT your type; you TEST as your type.

But enough ranting... if you could do it, would you erase all knowledge of MBTI and "type" from your mind? Why or why not?

What you are describing is not a just a problem with MBTI, but it is a problem inherent in all knowledge. First one acquires knowledge, but then must also acquire wisdom to make that knowledge useful. For example first we (as a society) developed nuclear weapons and shortly afterwards we developed the wisdom to realize that we should never use them (or at least almost never). Now the thought that using nukes is bad is so prevalent that it seems common sense, but it didn't seem that way when they were being developed.

The problem with MBTI is that it's accepted and used by such a small percentage of people that a communal wisdom has not really been developed about it. The best we have is these forums here (or similar forums) and our own experience. I personally believe that MBTI is useful knowledge and like everyone else here am trying to develop wisdom in using it. At the same time I realize that when it comes to knowledge of any kind, knowledge without wisdom can be worse than ignorance.
 

Mondo

Welcome to Sunnyside
Joined
Mar 1, 2008
Messages
1,992
MBTI Type
EsTP
Enneagram
6w7
Nope.
This actually has helped me understand people a lot better and form stronger relationships with others.
It has made me less arrogant towards others because now I realize that they simply possess a different way of thinking and have different priorities.
 

nightwatcher

New member
Joined
May 27, 2008
Messages
84
MBTI Type
INXJ
Whatever would I do with my time if not for this endless self-obsession? Personality typing (which began for me with the MBTI) has made me such an interesting and complex human being, because now I’ve got all these often contradictory multiple personalities to define myself with from the zillion tests I’ve taken over the years. Only I still can’t get a date and I still don’t have a life… I’ll have to take some more tests to figure out why, I suppose ;)

Kidding aside, I like how Don Riso sums it up:

“Individuals are understandable only up to a certain point, beyond which they remain mysterious and unpredictable. Thus while there can be no simple explanations for people as individuals, it is still possible to say something true about them. In the last analysis, the Enneagram helps us do that, and only that.”

I think this a sensible policy for the usage of any typology.
 

enfpgirl

New member
Joined
Jun 20, 2008
Messages
6
MBTI Type
ENFP
I like being ENFP...it has helped me understand that it's okay to be me. I used to feel guilty all the time about not being able to be more mysterious or quiet. I used to not like when I would get really goofy and try to be the center of attention...yes I still try to tone it down and just bring it out for the tourists, but overall it has helped me understand myself more.
 

GZA

Resident Snot-Nose
Joined
Aug 13, 2007
Messages
1,771
MBTI Type
infp
MBTI has about run its course for me. It never got to the point where I was labelling people and it consumed all my interpresonal decisions, but it probably came close. I've always approached it as a loose guide, but more recently the limits of this guide have become very clear. Its all completely meaningless in the end. As others have said, the important thing it did was help me understand why people behave the way they do, and to be a bit more confident in my differences from other people.

I absolutely hate it now when people blame certain functions for problems they have or that other people have. A lot of people seem to use it as a complete excuse and its only going to dig them deeper. Its especially bad when they are talking about people they don't know (i.e. "I don't talk to most people in my class/workplace/gym/ect because they all seem to be S's", or "There were no intuitives at my school"). They already admitted they don't actually know the people well and then they make sweeping generalizations that are bassically an excuse in the first place.
 
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surgery

New member
Joined
Sep 28, 2007
Messages
257
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
Four
I'm not sure whether I would ever give up my knowledge of MBTI. I would, however, like to free myself from almost reflexively thinking, analyzing and labeling myself and others using the system.

Also, I tend to use MBTI as a excuse for unhealthy behavior. For example, I use my type to justify inappropriate behaviors in myself. For example, I know that I am an introvert, so I make myself more dependent on alone time than I actually need.
 

nolla

Senor Membrane
Joined
May 22, 2008
Messages
3,166
MBTI Type
INFP
Give away knowledge!? Not gonna happen. But, you know, if you have hard time with it, here's a couple of techniques to help with the symptoms.

Think of it as a spectrum, not as a set of boxes.

Find some other theory that'll beat mbti. (before i got obsessed with mbti, i was obsessed with humanistic psychology, before that it was astrology, before that mythology and so on. There's always one more)

---

BTW, I find it interesting that this "unwelcome knowledge" seems to be problem for the NTs mostly. Why are you the "information seeking personality" if you cant handle the info? :) These types are full of mysterious paradoxes...
 

htb

New member
Joined
May 14, 2007
Messages
1,505
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
1w9
Daily intrusive thoughts can annoy, but the understanding of myself and others is worth the distraction.
 
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