What are you like more often? Do you take control more often, or do you go into the background more often?
Not super easy to answer but I'm going to go with 'take control.' THat's probably because when I really CARE about something, then I want it done right. But then I got roped into helping on a Cub Scout committe and I didn't really care how this particular thing was organized so I just did it and helped.
Do you plan what you design beforehand or just 'go with the flow'?
Something in between. For example, if I'm making flower arrangements for clients then I'll buy a certain amount of 'tall' backbone flowers, a few focal flowers, a bunch of small fillers and some trailers - but I'll figure out the design when I get there. Or if it's a particularly big project then I might have made some sketches in advance, but not a detailed design.
Taking responsibility on a church board - this does indeed sound STJ-ish. (many INTJ's are atheists and agnostics - I'm different, in that I'm a practicing Catholic who doesn't really relate to either belief) How outspoken are you during board meetings?
Ok, I belong to a liberal/progressive church, and I'm on the board under Buildings and Grounds - nothing to do with religion or theories! I'm quite opinonated actually and say a lot.
By problem-solver, I assume that you mean that you are adept at resolving personal conflicts. Unless you use logic correctly to solve personal problems...
Hmmm...not sure. I definately am good at resolving personal conflict. However, I'm good/logical in other ways too. Many years ago my husband wasn't getting ahead in the large corporation he was in and complained to me about it. I took it upon myself to find out what experience/qualifications that others in the company had who were above him, found out that the company paid the tuition and practically enrolled in him his MBA program. There - problem solved.
medium in terms of patience
Borderline J/P? Please clarify what you mean further.
I tend to get impatient when I'm in meeting that drifts off topic or gets personal so I tend to butt in and get the meeting back on track. On the other hand I'm quite patient with children and animals.
Why do you love to research? Just because you love facts, because you wish to see why certain events or things occur in life, or because you like looking for correlations while researching? The last part is certainly J-ish - taking control to bring closure.
MOSTLY, because I'm always on this 'self-improvement' quest and also finding out the BEST way to do something, take care of something, etc. So before I got my dogs, I had to spend a few months researching dog breeds to see what types would be best for my family. Before I got new hardwood flooring I spent considerable amounts of time reviewing wood types. When two of my kids were diagnosed ADHD, I read a ton of books on the subject so that I could understand them and help them. I don't care about facts for facts-sake, it's all about gaining useful info.
Hmmm.... what sort of things make you anxious? (You don't need to answer if it is too much disclosure.)
Lack of security, lack of money, dying young, something happening to my family, my body failing, growing old, medical tests. Yet I recently went for my first physical in three years but I didn't go for a long time because I was so afraid of the doctor finding something. Stupid I know.
Perhaps more examples of your behaviour would be indicative? Mind you the lack of examples would lead me to think that your not a sensor at all but an intuitive person.
Interesting! The first time I took a MBTI test I came out INTJ (Professor Snape type it said)!! But I read up on it and felt it was all wrong - I'm not into abstractions, theories and I'm much more social than that type. Then I thought I was ISTJ, but it also felt wrong because I'm not a 'bean-counter' type - I would hate the kind of routine monoteny I suspect that they like.
I know Jennifer asked about my daily routine in a speculative way, but I just thought I'd mention what works for me. I love a 'flexible routine' meaning that I usually have a 'focus of the day.' I do this 'focus' after I've completed my morning routine which is get up at 5:15, drive kids to school, straighten out the house, do a load of laundry, walk the dogs, surf the net for a bit, and (usually) workout. Depending on how motivated I am, and how much I actually needed to do, I am done around 10-11 and then spend the rest of the day on my 'focus.' When I have jobs I simply shift the 'focuses' around on my calendar. But it really doesn't matter to me whether I do the laundry first or walk the dogs first - I just do whatever makes sense at the time.
You guys are SO helpful!! I really appreciate it.