Hi everyone :hi:
I'm sorry in advance for the length of this; I know what I'm like when it comes to written discourse. It's going to get real very quickly, haha. In a nutshell; I'm having a lot of trouble typing myself.
I'd love your opinions and insights. I'm going to be as open and honest as possible, and resist any urge to go back and rewrite any answers.
1) What aspect of your personality made you unsure of your type?
The fact that I am inherently unsure of so many things in life. I constantly feel like there is - or very much should be - some singular truth that is eluding me. This is how I feel about MBTi - I wish to type myself accurately, this is SO important to me, to be able to understand myself at the deepest level. I have taken numerous online tests, but always ask myself; 'am I just identifying with the one I want to be?' 'how can I be answering the questions accurately if I'm answering them from the perspective of my own self?' 'Am I properly representing my true self or an idealistic version?' This has prompted me to seek other educated opinions - of which I do often - to see how well they resonate and fit into the constantly changing and evolving paradigms inside my mind.
2) What do you yearn for in life? Why?
To understand the mysteries of life, and my place in it. To understand myself, what holds me back, and what I am here to do. To have deep conversations, to learn, and to evolve. To reach a higher level of consciousness. (yes, always very grandiose. I'm also good at laughing at myself, don't worry.).
3) Think about a time where you felt like you were at your finest. Tell us what made you feel that way.
Any time that I am able to break through other peoples' barriers and connect with them over the things in life that truly matter. To help them reach new realisations. I am able to have these moments both in one-on-one conversations, and also group settings and even public speaking, which I am surprisingly good at. I am a secondary teacher, so I get these opportunities often.
4) What makes you feel inferior?
That I have never quite fit into society's mould, which I simultaneously reject, but in the same breath, allow to bother me far more than it should. I'm very aware of how I appear to others, so much so that I will often 'play act' a certain way around certain people, to display a version of myself that they respond to the best and like the most. I'm very good at this.
I don't take criticism very well and can get emotional about it.
5) What tends to weigh on your decisions? (Do you think about people, pro-cons, how you feel about it, etc.)
I am the most indecisive person in the universe. I chalk this up to seeing so many different sides of a decision, being able to place myself in a great many different perspectives at once, and then endlessly remunerating over the decision and constantly doubting the choice I've made. I take on a lot of other peoples' opinions and weigh them against one another, and against my own beliefs at the time. I am slowly becoming better at trusting my own judgement but I very rarely make a hasty decision. If I can get away with keeping things open-ended and flexible, I will do that for as long as I possibly can.
6) When working on a project what is normally your emphasis? Do you like to have control of the outcome?
It entirely depends on the project. If I see it as important, with a greater meaning, and feel emotionally invested in it in some way, I will go all-in, and usually try to control most of it (always subtly - I'm never, ever bossy/confrontational; in fact I'm almost fearful of negative confrontation. If I don't watch myself, I can be very manipulative/secretive). If I don't see the real point of a project, or its 'small potatoes', I'll likely find a loophole which allows me to do the least amount of work, for the most gain.
7) Describe a time where you had a lot of fun. How is your memory of it?
Travelling. New experiences. The problem is, I do this far less than I should, considering how much I enjoy it. This is due to indecisiveness; a lot of time spent wondering where I should go, when, money, who with, reasons not to, etc. etc. When I do, however, I suddenly find myself immersed and loving the new adventure. This, also, I am slowly learning to move past but its very difficult for me to quell the prior over-thinking.
8) When you want to learn something new, what feels more natural for you?
Not really sure what this question is asking. I love learning new things, but I have difficulty staying committed to one thing long-term. I spend a lot of time pinpointing new things I want to learn, beginning to learn them, and then falling off the wagon due to boredom or some other thread of interest that suddenly grabs my fancy. In general, I learn quickly. I excel in creative endeavours and have a strong flair for aesthetics, but equally love literature, poetry, music, philosophical debate and some scientific discourse. Jack of all trades, master of none.
9) How organized do you think of yourself as?
Very. I have a terrific short- and long-term memory, very little slips through. If I don't do something, its never because I forgot. It's because I didn't want to, or simply put it off. Quite a few things fall into that category.
10) How do you judge new ideas? Do you try to understand the principles behind it to see if they make sense or do you look for information that supports it?
Tricky one. I'd say both. I'd say I try to understand the principles first, then if I sniff out some credibility and it seems to make sense in my mind, I look for more information to support it. I often like the idea of things, but I feel myself to be very idealistic and often play devils advocate with myself, to make sure I'm not just seeking out what I want to hear, so to speak. I don't want to trick myself into believing something that isn't true.
11) Do you find harmony by making sure everyone is doing fine and belonging to a given group or by making sure that you follow what you believe and being yourself?
This is hard to answer, because ideally, I feel both is equally necessary for harmony. I believe that what is best for myself should also be what is best for others, really. I don't like the idea that what is best for me should go against what is best for others, fundamentally. This doesn't make sense to me.
12) Are you the kind that thinks before speaking or do you speak before thinking? Do you prefer one-on-one communication or group discussions?
Another one where I am both. (Do you see now why I have such a hard time typing myself!?) But, if I had to fall toward one side of preference, I will say that more often, I think before speaking and I prefer one-on-one communication where I can tune into just one person instead of multiple at once.
13) Do you jump into action right away or do you like to know where are you jumping before leaping? Does action speaks more than words?
I like to know where I am jumping.
Action speaks louder than words, but I am not a good example of that. I get there in the end, but in a more considered way, shall we say. Improving in my efforts here.
14) It's Saturday. You're at home, and your favorite show is about to start. Your friends call you for a night out. What will you do?
I spend an inordinate amount of time in my own world, at home, which is very much me. But, every now and again I crave human interaction and like a night out. When I do choose to go out (which is very dependent on the specific people who will be there), I am lively and outgoing.
15) How do you act when you're stressed out?
I retreat and spend a lot of time alone, trying to work out why and how to 'fix it'. Thoughts and emotions spin so rapidly about in my brain, and events past and present replay themselves over and over. Anxiety and trouble sleeping. I am easily fatigued, due to very excessive brain activity. I find it hard to distract myself at times like this.
16) What makes you dislike the personalities of some people?
When a person acts too aloof and I can't break through that veneer. It bothers me and makes me feel like they think they are better than me, and others. Initially, they will be like a mystery that intrigues me, but if my efforts to connect with them go unrewarded, or if I feel dismissed or cold-shouldered, I dislike them more than is called for and I become unfairly judgemental.
To a lesser extent, I sometimes get frustrated when people are self-obsessed and only ever talk about themselves. I ask a lot of questions about others - as I'm always genuinely interested in people in general - so when that's not reciprocated, it can annoy me.
17) Is there anything you really like talking about with other people?
Anything that animates people. That creates 'real moments'. For a lot of people, that's their families, or their passions, or memories. Bigger-picture stuff.
I hate small talk. I'm good at it I suppose, but I can't stand it. It feels like a big idiotic parade.
18) What kind of things do you pay the least attention to in your life?
I really don't know how to answer this one! I feel like I pay too much attention to everything at once, and needlessly so. I really didn't need to think for that long about every possibility surrounding my car service, did I? But I did. Oh yes I did.
I suppose as I said before, I can be neglectful of long-term projects and hobbies, but I'm not overly concerned with this, as I've often just found something better/more interesting and beneficial to pursue.
19) How do your friends perceive you? What is wrong about their perception? ? What would your friends never say about your personality ?
I have this thing that I sometimes find a little disturbing to admit, where I feel my friends each perceive me in such different ways to each other, just as everybody does, because I actually feel like I mirror peoples' personalities back at them. I sort of absorb and mirror them, in my interactions with them. So much so, that I often can't pinpoint my core personality, hence trying to get a bit of a conceptual map of my true self via MBTi and cognitive functions! I also journal a LOT in an effort to read back and work myself out, as if clues are hidden in the pages I write.
Something that my friends would never say to my face is that I can be intense and talk too much about deep things. I'm aware of this and quite in-tune socially - as I'm always honing in to see if I'm losing the other person while in conversation - so I make a conscious effort to break it up with humour and light-hearted topics.
20) You got a whole day to do whatever you like. What kind of activities do you feel like doing?
A long walk where I can think and tease out whats going on in my mind.
See a close friend for brunch and talk about my life, their life, the state of the world.
Watch a thought-provoking or emotionally charged movie.
Wonder around in the city and people-watch.
Endlessly search the internet for information, ideas, intriguing new perspectives, and follow those 'down the rabbit hole', and then try to somehow fit it into some neat paradigm in my head, which ideally, applies to all situations. Another piece of the puzzle solved!
Thanks so much for reading all of this, and for helping me understand the odd nature of whatever is going on with my personality.
I'm sorry in advance for the length of this; I know what I'm like when it comes to written discourse. It's going to get real very quickly, haha. In a nutshell; I'm having a lot of trouble typing myself.
I'd love your opinions and insights. I'm going to be as open and honest as possible, and resist any urge to go back and rewrite any answers.
1) What aspect of your personality made you unsure of your type?
The fact that I am inherently unsure of so many things in life. I constantly feel like there is - or very much should be - some singular truth that is eluding me. This is how I feel about MBTi - I wish to type myself accurately, this is SO important to me, to be able to understand myself at the deepest level. I have taken numerous online tests, but always ask myself; 'am I just identifying with the one I want to be?' 'how can I be answering the questions accurately if I'm answering them from the perspective of my own self?' 'Am I properly representing my true self or an idealistic version?' This has prompted me to seek other educated opinions - of which I do often - to see how well they resonate and fit into the constantly changing and evolving paradigms inside my mind.
2) What do you yearn for in life? Why?
To understand the mysteries of life, and my place in it. To understand myself, what holds me back, and what I am here to do. To have deep conversations, to learn, and to evolve. To reach a higher level of consciousness. (yes, always very grandiose. I'm also good at laughing at myself, don't worry.).
3) Think about a time where you felt like you were at your finest. Tell us what made you feel that way.
Any time that I am able to break through other peoples' barriers and connect with them over the things in life that truly matter. To help them reach new realisations. I am able to have these moments both in one-on-one conversations, and also group settings and even public speaking, which I am surprisingly good at. I am a secondary teacher, so I get these opportunities often.
4) What makes you feel inferior?
That I have never quite fit into society's mould, which I simultaneously reject, but in the same breath, allow to bother me far more than it should. I'm very aware of how I appear to others, so much so that I will often 'play act' a certain way around certain people, to display a version of myself that they respond to the best and like the most. I'm very good at this.
I don't take criticism very well and can get emotional about it.
5) What tends to weigh on your decisions? (Do you think about people, pro-cons, how you feel about it, etc.)
I am the most indecisive person in the universe. I chalk this up to seeing so many different sides of a decision, being able to place myself in a great many different perspectives at once, and then endlessly remunerating over the decision and constantly doubting the choice I've made. I take on a lot of other peoples' opinions and weigh them against one another, and against my own beliefs at the time. I am slowly becoming better at trusting my own judgement but I very rarely make a hasty decision. If I can get away with keeping things open-ended and flexible, I will do that for as long as I possibly can.
6) When working on a project what is normally your emphasis? Do you like to have control of the outcome?
It entirely depends on the project. If I see it as important, with a greater meaning, and feel emotionally invested in it in some way, I will go all-in, and usually try to control most of it (always subtly - I'm never, ever bossy/confrontational; in fact I'm almost fearful of negative confrontation. If I don't watch myself, I can be very manipulative/secretive). If I don't see the real point of a project, or its 'small potatoes', I'll likely find a loophole which allows me to do the least amount of work, for the most gain.
7) Describe a time where you had a lot of fun. How is your memory of it?
Travelling. New experiences. The problem is, I do this far less than I should, considering how much I enjoy it. This is due to indecisiveness; a lot of time spent wondering where I should go, when, money, who with, reasons not to, etc. etc. When I do, however, I suddenly find myself immersed and loving the new adventure. This, also, I am slowly learning to move past but its very difficult for me to quell the prior over-thinking.
8) When you want to learn something new, what feels more natural for you?
Not really sure what this question is asking. I love learning new things, but I have difficulty staying committed to one thing long-term. I spend a lot of time pinpointing new things I want to learn, beginning to learn them, and then falling off the wagon due to boredom or some other thread of interest that suddenly grabs my fancy. In general, I learn quickly. I excel in creative endeavours and have a strong flair for aesthetics, but equally love literature, poetry, music, philosophical debate and some scientific discourse. Jack of all trades, master of none.
9) How organized do you think of yourself as?
Very. I have a terrific short- and long-term memory, very little slips through. If I don't do something, its never because I forgot. It's because I didn't want to, or simply put it off. Quite a few things fall into that category.
10) How do you judge new ideas? Do you try to understand the principles behind it to see if they make sense or do you look for information that supports it?
Tricky one. I'd say both. I'd say I try to understand the principles first, then if I sniff out some credibility and it seems to make sense in my mind, I look for more information to support it. I often like the idea of things, but I feel myself to be very idealistic and often play devils advocate with myself, to make sure I'm not just seeking out what I want to hear, so to speak. I don't want to trick myself into believing something that isn't true.
11) Do you find harmony by making sure everyone is doing fine and belonging to a given group or by making sure that you follow what you believe and being yourself?
This is hard to answer, because ideally, I feel both is equally necessary for harmony. I believe that what is best for myself should also be what is best for others, really. I don't like the idea that what is best for me should go against what is best for others, fundamentally. This doesn't make sense to me.
12) Are you the kind that thinks before speaking or do you speak before thinking? Do you prefer one-on-one communication or group discussions?
Another one where I am both. (Do you see now why I have such a hard time typing myself!?) But, if I had to fall toward one side of preference, I will say that more often, I think before speaking and I prefer one-on-one communication where I can tune into just one person instead of multiple at once.
13) Do you jump into action right away or do you like to know where are you jumping before leaping? Does action speaks more than words?
I like to know where I am jumping.
Action speaks louder than words, but I am not a good example of that. I get there in the end, but in a more considered way, shall we say. Improving in my efforts here.
14) It's Saturday. You're at home, and your favorite show is about to start. Your friends call you for a night out. What will you do?
I spend an inordinate amount of time in my own world, at home, which is very much me. But, every now and again I crave human interaction and like a night out. When I do choose to go out (which is very dependent on the specific people who will be there), I am lively and outgoing.
15) How do you act when you're stressed out?
I retreat and spend a lot of time alone, trying to work out why and how to 'fix it'. Thoughts and emotions spin so rapidly about in my brain, and events past and present replay themselves over and over. Anxiety and trouble sleeping. I am easily fatigued, due to very excessive brain activity. I find it hard to distract myself at times like this.
16) What makes you dislike the personalities of some people?
When a person acts too aloof and I can't break through that veneer. It bothers me and makes me feel like they think they are better than me, and others. Initially, they will be like a mystery that intrigues me, but if my efforts to connect with them go unrewarded, or if I feel dismissed or cold-shouldered, I dislike them more than is called for and I become unfairly judgemental.
To a lesser extent, I sometimes get frustrated when people are self-obsessed and only ever talk about themselves. I ask a lot of questions about others - as I'm always genuinely interested in people in general - so when that's not reciprocated, it can annoy me.
17) Is there anything you really like talking about with other people?
Anything that animates people. That creates 'real moments'. For a lot of people, that's their families, or their passions, or memories. Bigger-picture stuff.
I hate small talk. I'm good at it I suppose, but I can't stand it. It feels like a big idiotic parade.
18) What kind of things do you pay the least attention to in your life?
I really don't know how to answer this one! I feel like I pay too much attention to everything at once, and needlessly so. I really didn't need to think for that long about every possibility surrounding my car service, did I? But I did. Oh yes I did.
I suppose as I said before, I can be neglectful of long-term projects and hobbies, but I'm not overly concerned with this, as I've often just found something better/more interesting and beneficial to pursue.
19) How do your friends perceive you? What is wrong about their perception? ? What would your friends never say about your personality ?
I have this thing that I sometimes find a little disturbing to admit, where I feel my friends each perceive me in such different ways to each other, just as everybody does, because I actually feel like I mirror peoples' personalities back at them. I sort of absorb and mirror them, in my interactions with them. So much so, that I often can't pinpoint my core personality, hence trying to get a bit of a conceptual map of my true self via MBTi and cognitive functions! I also journal a LOT in an effort to read back and work myself out, as if clues are hidden in the pages I write.
Something that my friends would never say to my face is that I can be intense and talk too much about deep things. I'm aware of this and quite in-tune socially - as I'm always honing in to see if I'm losing the other person while in conversation - so I make a conscious effort to break it up with humour and light-hearted topics.
20) You got a whole day to do whatever you like. What kind of activities do you feel like doing?
A long walk where I can think and tease out whats going on in my mind.
See a close friend for brunch and talk about my life, their life, the state of the world.
Watch a thought-provoking or emotionally charged movie.
Wonder around in the city and people-watch.
Endlessly search the internet for information, ideas, intriguing new perspectives, and follow those 'down the rabbit hole', and then try to somehow fit it into some neat paradigm in my head, which ideally, applies to all situations. Another piece of the puzzle solved!
Thanks so much for reading all of this, and for helping me understand the odd nature of whatever is going on with my personality.
If anything, I could stand to improve in pushing back against people a bit and standing up for myself...!
