I'm an INFJ

I recently stumbled across an intriguing site linked by my buddy-in-blogging Barb the Evil Genius (affectionately known as BTEG). It's a 4-question quiz utilizing aspects of the Meyers-Briggs personality test to identify one's blogging style. After taking the quiz I discovered (as expected) that my blogging style reflects my Meyers-Briggs personality type: INFJ.

Here is my blogging style, according to Bloginality (you may need to scroll down).

Here is a longer description of the INFJ personality type, according to The Personality Page, an online personality testing site based on Meyers-Briggs principles (disregard the new-age astrological stuff--that's not from Meyers-Briggs). I took the Meyers-Briggs test during employee orientation for a position as an academic advisor years ago, and I was impressed then by the accuracy of the results. The above summary is still a fair description of my personality. I didn't know that it is apparently the rarest personality type of all! (I think that's kinda cool, especially since I have always seen myself as more of a "blend into the wallpaper" type rather than someone who is unusual or unique.)

If you have never taken the Meyers-Briggs test and have an opportunity to do so someday, I would recommend it. It's quite long but extremely wide-ranging and thorough, which in my opinion is why the results tend to be pretty accurate. I found it interesting when I took the test to learn about the four spectrums along which personalities may be measured (Introvert-Extrovert, Intuitive-Sensing, Feeling-Thinking, and Judging-Perceiving) and to learn the meanings of those spectrums, which may not be what you expect. The Introvert-Extrovert spectrum, for example, has less to do with whether one is shy or outgoing and more to do with where one gets energy (from within or without) and in which "world" one tends to primarily live (the inner world of the mind or the outer world of the environment). By visiting the link above you might be able to get an idea of your overall personality type, but taking the actual test would give you a better indication of where exactly you lie within each spectrum (for example, how extroverted or introverted you are). Even with one personality type there can be significant variation because of the differences in where people of that type fall on a particular spectrum.

One last fun aspect of the website from which I got most of the above links consists of pages outlining how the various personality types may be manifested in a person's choice of career and his or her behavior in relationships with significant others, friends, and children. For my readers who might be interested (I'm thinking husband, children, and close friends), here's a description of the INFJ as spouse, parent, and friend. Here also is a description of the INFJ as worker and a listing of the best career choices (whaddya know--the list includes religious worker, teacher, medical doctor, dentist, psychologist, counselor, social worker, musican, photographer, and child care worker. Sounds like that pretty well sums up my two primary "jobs": homeschooling mom and self-employed musician!)