INTJ
I took the Kiersey Temperament Test today to find out my personality type, and guess what? I'm an odd ball. No surprises there. I'm what they call an "INTJ", which stands for "Introverted-Intuitive-Thinking-Judging". My numbers for introvert and extrovert were split 5-5, because I'm very outgoing and outspoken in certain contexts and very self-content and unsure of myself in others. After reading the descriptions of the different temperaments, however, it's very clear that I'm much more introverted than extroverted. What I found intriguing was the fact that I am of the temperament least common to all human beings, represented by a whopping 1% of the human population (insofar as statistics are accurate). Maybe I could qualify under affirmative action... I'M KIDDING, I'M KIDDING, relax! ;-)
Have any of you all taken this profile? What type are you?
Have any of you all taken this profile? What type are you?
I don't know what my profile would be... but I think Jesus would be "INRI"
ReplyDeleteMatt,
ReplyDeleteI backtracked to your blog from the comment you left on tallskinnykiwi. I was intrigued by your comments on being an INTJ - I happen to be one too. Not quite sure what that has meant in my life. Maybe just means that we always ask more questions than we should and are always looking for answers that aren't always there. However life is good so maybe being an INTJ isn't too bad after all.
Thanks so much for dropping in, Christine. Tom wrote me a kind email as well, including an attached introduction to the new book, which I look forward to reading.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the 1% club! :) It definitely does entail asking lots of questions, and probably too many. This has lent to my spiritual and emotional instability for as long as I can remember! I like to think that this is the price to pay for being someone who is desperate to use every ounce of his or her life to maximize the glory of God and the well-being of others, even when those others can't recognize (or are too proud to admit) their need. I'm not sure how a non-Christian INTJ would express their driving motivations in life, but would be curious to learn!
If nothing else, I have never felt at home in this world--not in the central Missouri town of 2,000, on the farm on which I grew up, at school, in the urban neighborhood in which I last lived, or now in the suburbs of Chicago. I'm reading a Pullitzer Prize-winning book called Gilead, which recounts an elderly, retired pastor's telling of his journey on earth to his young son--somewhat of a memoir, I suppose. Throughout the story, he unpacks the pecularities of pastoral life, and strangely enough, I find that many of these have been typical of my life, even though I've yet to serve on staff at a church.
I suspect that I'll always feel like an outsider in most contexts, including churches. The challenge will be keeping myself spiritually and emotionally healthy enough to be a joy-filled light and blessing to others. Praise be to God for "Christ in me, the hope of glory".
I've been amazed to see how many INTJs blog! I'm an ISFJ, which is supposedly a more popular personality in the wider world, but seems to be rather sparsely represented on the internet. I belonged to a technical, nonprofit, linguistic organization for many years, and I have had many INTJ friends. In that world, ISFJs were the oddballs! At one point, I began to wonder if I were the only person in the entire organization who didn't like StarTrek--I think they should ask that as one of the MBTI questions--science fiction doesn't even make sense to me :) Even though I have been one who also often felt "not at home" and not understood, my life has been enriched--relationally and spiritually--by people whose personalities are so different from my own.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Gilead was a great book!
Can't say I was ever into Star Trek, but I dug the Star Wars movies and Lord of the Rings. I was probably fascinated more by Sci-fi as a child. Now I prefer movies about real life type characters and situations, people I can relate to and/or learn from.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping in!
Go INTs! Although I must say that I'm of the perceiving variety, and rather strongly so. That, and the war between T and F (which I also have a tendency to get), sometimes seems to lead to paralysis. But I don't know how I would live without the careful scrutiny, constant curiosity, burning desire to understand, and (often impractical) idealism.
ReplyDelete