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10 Year Challenge - Myers-Briggs Style


Iceheart
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Going off of the assumption that, like me, you first took the Myers-Briggs personality test ~10 years ago when it first made its way online and started to gain popularity...

 

I took the test in college, and got INTJ, but my J was really weak, something like 10%.

 

Someone was talking about the test recently, so I decided to rabbit hole one night and ended up finding articles comparing the INTJ type to the INTP type... and I realize Ive been mis-typed. I took the test again and indeed slid back into the P zone. I suspect being in a rigorous academic environment when I first took the test is what slid me into the J in the first place.

 

And despite knowing the MBTI is totally unscientific, I think I feel like those people when NASA made headlines with tHe ZoDiAc hAs ThIrTeEn sIgNs AnD yOuR SiGn iSnT WhAt yOu ThInK iT Is and everyone with zodiac tattoos freaked out (I do not have an MBTI tattoo).

 

So. My newly-coming-to-terms-with-being-INTP self thought it would be fun to ask-

 

What is your MBTI?

 

How long ago did you take the test?

 

Have you taken it since?

 

Do you agree with the type you were originally given a decade or so later?

 

How much stock do you put in the system in the first place?

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My issue is that I'm really borderline for most of the splits. I got ESTJ or ESFJ 10ish years ago. I think ESTJ (Guardian) is somewhat apt, but ENTJ (Executive) and ESTP (Doer) are also there. I think my E and T are strong, but my N/S and J/P are a little squished. I don't necessarily like being in charge, but I have little patience for ineffective leadership. I like processes but hate useless or stupid rules. And I'm a little bit of an adrenaline junkie but I also carefully plan and strategize risks (but also sometimes say eff it and jump into a crazy situation). I thrive on challenge but also need to recharge.

 

I took a workplace assessment called DiSC, and got DC, which basically means I like to get shit done, but it also needs to be done right. Accurate af.

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I'm typically an INTJ, especially in a work environment or in any circumstances where I'm expected to be in charge and/or efficient. I think once I was in a more peopley state of mind and scored INFJ. But mostly I've always been an INTJ. And it fits me rather well.

On the DiSC, I'm always a high C but can swing back and forth between being closer to a D or an S depending on my mood. But naturally, I'm just a very high C.

 

I'm an information junkie.

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The only thing that's ever been consistent for me is I. Other than that, it depends on my mood, the time of day, and whether or not I've had a bowel movement.

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Guest El Chalupacabra

The only thing that's ever been consistent for me is I. Other than that, it depends on my mood, the time of day, and whether or not I've had a bowel movement.

This is totally me, too. Whenever I take a personality test, my results will range from ISTP, to ISFJ, to ISTJ, and sometimes an INTJ, but it really depends on my mood at the time I take the test.

 

Today, I am an ISTJ.

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Yeah, I might've been CD if I wasn't in the supervisor job role at the time. Although they called it Direct, not Dominant. And I'm pretty blunt and not afraid to ask for what I want. So... never mind, accurate.

 

I went back and read more and yeah, probably ESTJ still or ESTP. I don't love work enough to be ENTJ. But I will work my butt off on pet projects.

 

Funny, Chalup and I are pretty similar except the introvert/extrovert thing.

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I wonder if I took DISC thinking more about how I work with my coworkers, and not with customers, if I'd score higher on the D (heh). I'm very blunt and speak my mind with the people I know and trust and know they value my opinion, to the point where I get voted into leadership roles pretty frequently, but working with customers is always a game of making them think they got one over on me when I actually talked them into doing exactly what I wanted them to do.

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Guest El Chalupacabra

Yeah, I might've been CD if I wasn't in the supervisor job role at the time. Although they called it Direct, not Dominant. And I'm pretty blunt and not afraid to ask for what I want. So... never mind, accurate.

 

I went back and read more and yeah, probably ESTJ still or ESTP. I don't love work enough to be ENTJ. But I will work my butt off on pet projects.

 

Funny, Chalup and I are pretty similar except the introvert/extrovert thing.

I noticed that, too. Maybe it's because we both work around technology and are in fields that are detail-oriented in some way? When I took a personality test back when I was still an undergrad, the type of jobs that seemed to always come up were finance, accounting, or literally anything that requires organizing and attention to detail in some way. But I would still always skew introverted when I took personality tests. Oddly, though, when I was younger, I was less reserved and more outgoing when I was in the military. Perhaps the (over) confidence of youth? I guess for some people like me, life has a way of beating that out of you. :p

 

But seriously, I'd say being a supervisor, leader, maybe even a parent (which I am not) definitely brings the extrovert out in people. One has to be an extrovert in order to be effective as a supervisor or leader, or parent. I think many introverted people are capable of becoming extroverted when there is a reason to be, so maybe that just means that in my case, I haven't had the motivation to become extroverted.

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One thing that MBTI seems to ignore is that Ambiversion is a thing, too. I'm definitely an introvert, I need lots of alone time to recharge (as opposed to extroverts who need people and action to recharge), but that doesn't mean I don't work with the public 40 hours a week, or enjoy social events (of which I attend many as a member of the local media).

 

(Apparently excessive use of parentheses is pretty typical of INTP's, just in case you were wondering why I always have a sub-conversation going in pretty much every post I make.)

 

One of the biggest stereotypes of introverts is that introverts are terrible at small talk, and avoid it whenever possible. I am extremely skilled at small talk. I do it every single day. It's a really simple equation of public face + politeness and friendliness + keeping up with current events so you can hold a conversation no matter where it turns. But I'm still a hardcore introvert, and here's how you can tell - I'm bad at networking because I can charm anyone once we're talking, but purposefully initiating a cold introduction gives me an anxiety attack.

 

So, I tend to doubt that a true introvert would flip their I to an E just because they have career or life circumstances that requires them to be more social.

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Guest El Chalupacabra

Perhaps you are right. I am no psychologist or sociologist, but there are degrees of extrovert and introvert, so what you say about introverts is true for some, but not all.

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I'm definitely and introvert. But I can flip to being "on" at a moment's notice. In fact, every manager I've had who was well-versed in DiSC has always assumed that I was closer to an I or at least more on the S side. Nope. It's fake.

Actually, I think I took a test once that somehow calculated my "natural" state versus my "work" state. I can appear extroverted when I need to, but I'll always have to recover later in solace.

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I'm actually becoming a little more introverted because my kids and Girl Scouts are talk talk talk. And then I have to talk talk talk at meetings all day. Leadership brought out the introvert in me. But I think it's mostly the kids doing me in.

 

I've always been comfortable with silence. But I do enjoy being around people much more than my husband. Funny enough, I think most people at work would consider him to be an extrovert but he's totally not. Poor guy is stuck in a house with 3 extroverts.

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You know, this discussion has reminded me about Susan Cain's study on introversion, especially the part about introverts faking extroversion to survive in the 21st century workplace, and how much damage that can cause everyone - https://www.forbes.com/sites/roncarucci/2016/10/11/three-reasons-closeted-introverted-leaders-can-stop-pretending-to-be-extroverted/#51e6e24a6eb4

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