WHat got you interested in MBTI?

[animenagai]

i was reading cimmaron's sig and it basically says that he/she's here so he/she can communicate with other types better. that's a big gap from why i'm here. sure, i like the practicality of MBTI and i was drawn by its accuracy, but to be honest, i'm just here cos i'm obsessed with the theory and want to exchange ideas for the sake of it.

why are you here?

 

[substitute]

Ironically enough, it explained why I was introverted... hahahahah

No, really. I was going through all kinds of mental hell because after years of isolation, a friend took it on himself to try to socialize me - his way. I mentioned it at more length in the thread Bringing you out of your shell.

I was feeling really confused because I wasn't responding very well at all to his efforts, and his interpretations of that were giving me all kinds of hell. I started desperately researching anything I could find that might help explain to me - and hopefully to my friend - why he really needed to just leave me alone to do it at my own pace, why his approach was not having its desired effect. I was Googling key words like "social anxiety" and "personal space" and stuff like that, and eventually a chain of links led me to an MBTI test on the humanmetrics website.

I did the test and came out as INTP, then read loads of explanations and stuff about introversion and it seemed a plausible explanation of why I was feeling so upset about all this socializing.

Of course later on I realized I was barking up the wrong tree - in fact I'm a strong extravert but wasn't liking ESFP style socializing, and besides, my social skills were stunted due to an isolated life.

It has helped me to get a sort of ball-park figure as it were, as to where I'm going wrong and what areas I need to improve on and possible sources of misunderstanding between myself and others - I wasn't willing to accept that when I was doing my best with good intentions, the reason I was having problems could be that I was just an asshole or a social retard cos I could get on with most people just fine. But I don't take it as comprehensive... it's pop psychology really, but still useful in a limited way.

 

[ajblaise]

Reading literature online about extroversion/introversion->reading about Jung->then MBTI->took the test->read the INTP description->googled INTP.. i think->found INTPc

 

[INTJMom]

My INFP sister first got me interested in MBTT, much like almost everything else in my life. I got my first computer because of her, got the internet because of her, etc. Anywho...

It was about 18 years ago. I started out with the book by Barron and Tieger called Do What You Are. After 3 months, I was still agonizing over what type I was. I wanted to be an INFJ, but I turned out to be an INTJ.

It has been extremely useful knowing which parts of my behavior are considered typical INTJ behaviors. I decided to stop beating myself up for being that way. It helped me accept myself.

Their book Nurture By Nature has been also hugely helpful to me in understanding my kids. I was even consulting it last night concerning my 14 year old.

Those two books and Naomi Quenk's book Beside Ourselves are the three I consult the most.

I guess INTJs tend to be extra relationally-challenged so INTJs apparently benefit a lot more from these tools than regular people.

 

[Night]

Like substitute, I was trying to find some information on introversion v. extroversion.

I tripped over the MBTI while doing so. Seemed too sugary and rooted in an ecosystem of personal, arbitrary bias at first.

As a credible system for predicting behavior, I haven't had much in the way of positive experiences with it. As breezy source material for interacting with others during my down-time, I like it just fine.


The MBTI is more of a conversation piece to me. A knick-knack.

 

[Jeffster]

i was reading cimmaron's sig and it basically says that he/she's here so he/she can communicate with other types better. that's a big gap from why i'm here. sure, i like the practicality of MBTI and i was drawn by its accuracy, but to be honest, i'm just here cos i'm obsessed with the theory and want to exchange ideas for the sake of it.

why are you here?

Are you asking 1)how I got interested in personality types stuff or 2)why I'm currently a member of this forum?, because those are two different questions.

Oh heck, I guess I'll answer both.

1) I'd like to say it had something to do with hot chicks, but I think it was some online quiz I came across.

2) It has something to do with hot chicks.

 

[am_i_evil666]

my mom showed me the test on the internet. i had no idea what my resul meantt, so i searched a little more. i gave it to my friends, out of curiosity. then, suddenly i felt the urge to know what type was everyone around me.......

 

[Cimarron]

i was reading cimmaron's sig and it basically says that he/she's here so he/she can communicate with other types better.

Haha

I chose that because I figured that that was the best positive use for MBTI, and just went from there.

 

[Totenkindly]

I became interested in MBTI back in 1996 (I think), as a way to understand myself and more easily understand others. So it was a big part of my self-acceptance journey, to realize I was not screwed up (necessarily) just because I was different, and that I actually "made sense" in my own way.

So it also helped me chart where to go next, what a viable road looked like for me, what careers might be good to pursue. It also helped accept others who followed different values and processes, rather than being critical of them because they didn't uniformly follow my way of dealing with life.

Aside from that, I like tinkering with systems... especially ones that mix a healthy dose of abstraction with real-life data and are as complex as people seem to be.

 

[wolfy]

I became interested in MBTI because I am into personal growth and thought it would be a good tool to help me learn more about myself.
I came here to get answers to a few questions. I stayed 'cause it's fun.

 

[Flush]

I just felt like searching for "personality types" on google.

Then I was stuck.

 

[Hirsch63]

I ended up here after I had been exploring MBTI (and other tests) both on-line, through reading and administered tests. I was hoping to use it as a way to understand my interactions with others and the (unproductive, largely) results I had been getting. I stumbled upon this forum and it seemed to offer a great mix of well thought out insights and amusing distraction. I knew that I could learn from these forum members and I have. Thanks!

 

[Colors]

I think I found it while I was taking random quizzes on the internet on day.

Why did I get interested? Cimaron's answer is pretty accurate for me...

People are intensely confusing. (I've got me down pretty well.) Once I got old enough to get that I wasn't the center of the universe and enough experience to figure out that people are weird... I've been trying to figure them out ever since.

 

[burkeus]

Like substitute, I was trying to find some information on introversion v. extroversion.

I tripped over the MBTI while doing so.

"Tripped" ain't the word.

 

[phoenix13]

What got you interested in MBTI?
A drive to understand myself.

Why are you here?
The chance to learn. I don't like to socialize with strangers IRL which means I'm not exposed to a wide range of people. Here, I get to learn about different types of people and how to interact with them. Most meaningful, however, are the mistakes I make, and what I learn of my own weaknesses through them.

I don't think I could make that any cheesier...

 

[edcoaching]

I've used type for a long time both personally and professionally (thanks, INTJMom for reminding me I should pull out the Tieger book for some advice about our 18-year old). A type friend directed me to this forum, impressed by the volume of knowledgeable users, and I've stuck around to learn and dialogue...

 

[Eric B]

I had mentioned my story here:
http://www.typologycentral.com/foru...lf-before-learning-about-type.html#post257583 (and I thought there was another thread like this one as well).
Basically, my wife decided to get a counseling license with the NAtional Christian Counselor's Association. They use basically a modified version of the FIRO-B, but with inborn temperament measured. I find it accurate and learn how that works.
Then, a friend introduces us to the Keirsey test online. We take it, and I become determined to find out how it corresponds to our test. I had remembered earlier seeing the MBTI codes and the four functions, from time to time, and wondering how they worked, but didn't have the time to figure it out. This time, having learned a little about personality theory, I had a basis to compare from. Plus, I find that cognitive dynamics was a useful addition to temperament theory (particularly seeing how Linda Berens integrated them).

 

[Simplexity]

I think I relate to some of the NTP stories earlier on in the thread. I had a lot of mental turmoil going on and I somehow went through a method similar to ajblaise and researched it and thought about it for a while. I think though that it was the first thing that really sort of captured how I felt personally and it was somewhat refreshing not knowing I wasn't crazy and extremely lazy.

 

[placebo]

All of a sudden people kind of almost made sense.

 

[bbites]

My Psychology class talked about it. I got into it because I'm always trying to figure out why I am the way I am. Personal growth and all that.