MBTI trusted sources and personal experience

[burningranger]

The more I read, the more I see people with totally different takes on MBTI. The vast majority of it seems very biased. A lot of people seem to have points to prove and it's like people don't even agree about the system they are studying, which is weird. I'm trying to wipe the slate clean of what I think I know of MBTI to get as clear and as unbiased a take on it as possible. I've realized I've been into it with the assumption that there's something you can DO with MBTI, but the more I read, the less sure I am of that. I'm still not sure what MBTI is for. I know I'm an ENFP but I don't know what to do with this information.

I first came across MBTI in an effort to understand myself better as a person. And on a superficial level I do. I realize now I have cognitive preferences. But so much of the content out there seems to not take into account there's more to personality/psychology than MBTI that the information seems just too general. It's not clear what MBTI is saying about me exactly, and what it has to offer.

I'm not sure if I missed or simply have yet to bump into content that has a sefl-actualizing spin to it, but that is ultiamtely what I'm interested in. I want to understand myself better in order to live a better life, but if MBTI can help you with that (if it can't then what can it help you with exactly?) it's not very clear how.


So I'm looking for two things :

a)the best possible resources on MBTI that you've personally came across and would recommend. What is your most trusted source of information on MBTI?
b)I'm also looking for personal stories of how you think you've developed into a better (in whichever way you choose to define that for yourself) version of yourself because of MBTI?

As a bonus, if you can address my predicament that'd be grand too Thanks.

 

[Metis]

I've realized I've been into it with the assumption that there's something you can DO with MBTI, but the more I read, the less sure I am of that.
(...)
I'm looking for two things :

a)the best possible resources on MBTI that you've personally came across and would recommend. What is your most trusted source of information on MBTI?
b)I'm also looking for personal stories of how you think you've developed into a better (in whichever way you choose to define that for yourself) version of yourself because of MBTI?

As a bonus, if you can address my predicament that'd be grand too Thanks.

a) Well, an overall conglomeration of what I've gleaned throughout my life is my most trusted source, for better or for worse. But my favorite MBTI type description and so far the most relatable for me is: ENTP: A Jungian Cognitive Function Analysis By SimulatedWorld "ENTP: A Jungian Cognitive Function Analysis By SimulatedWorld". The most relatable enneagram type description for me is: Enneagram Type 6 Profile "Enneagram Type 6 Profile ... Posted with permission from Ocean Moonshine".

Here's SimulatedWorld's ENFP profile. Maybe you've read it before / maybe it applies to you as well as the ENTP one does to me / maybe it doesn't: ENFP: A Jungian Cognitive Function Analysis By SimulatedWorld

Here's Ocean Moonshine's Enneagram 9 profile; maybe you find it insightful: Type 9 Enneagram Profile

b) I'm always trying to understand the world through MBTI, probably because that's a big part of what I was raised on. But I don't actually think it has helped my life. I think I overthink things, and MBTI is a major tool that I keep coming back to that facilitates the same overthinking.

I do find utility in the functions such as Ti/Te/Ni/Ne/Si/etc. in that I can associate different frames of mind with some of them and specifically try to practice at one or another, like you were talking about in the "Capitalizing on your type's strengths" thread, and see if I can improve at using them. Also, Ti/Te: I don't know what function is used to plan things out in detail in advance, make to-do lists, and that kind of thing, but perhaps Ti. It's not only easier to use whatever that function is, but it's also easier to work in a Te action mode if I've mysteriously, magically popped into get-it-done mode than it is DELIBERATELY to get into Te mode from physically-passive-planning-mode (Ti?). I mean, it's harder to switch intentionally from one to the other than it is just to find myself in one or the other with no apparent choice of when it happens. That makes it difficult to follow through even on well-thought-out, detailed plans. They're just two totally different frames of mind. Distinguishing between them in terms of type functions frames the dichotomy in a particular perspective... but whether that perspective actually helps me switch between those modes at will, I really can't be sure. Maybe it doesn't help at all. Maybe it's just another way of overthinking, and maybe it's a stumbling block to a freer flow of "the almost automatic usage of your functions" as you put it in the
"Capitalizing on your type's strengths" thread. But maybe there is utility in it, because then I can know that if I practice small ways of jumping between modes of thinking, I can strengthen that skill and become more versatile with better control over the timing. That would be my primary example, because that's a major chronic dilemma for me--popping between envisioning mode and enacting mode.

I'd like to have more essential and helpful insight for both this thread and your "Capitalizing on your type's strengths" thread. They're good topics. Maybe I'll think of more, or someone will.