A few scattered thoughts

[alexmegami]

So I've taken the MBTI test again. This particular one has a percentage scoring, even! So I'm going to break it down for y'all:

Extroverted, 44%
Intuitive, 62%
Thinking, 1%
Judging, 89%

That's about right for my post-high-school self. If you had to bet which one of those has changed the most, which would you pick?

I guarantee you are WRONG, because it's the Judging. Once upon a time, I was a moderately-expressed Perceiving. (The Thinking has dropped, admittedly - I used to be much closer to an 80%+ Thinking than my basically 50/50 approach seen here - but nothing like the 100+ point shift I'm talking about there.)

I will say, though, that you're much more likely to see "me" in an ENFJ profile than an ENTJ. (I think, anyway; see for yourself: ENTJ / ENFJ)

But. People are ALMOST ALWAYS, and especially if they knew me pre-high-school (and even people who know me only from university on!), shocked that I am an Extrovert.

And I think this is because Extrovert actually has two separate axes: Energy and Personality.

People like me are "energy" extroverts. We may not need to be the center of the action or the loudest person in the room (although anyone who has ever played Cranium with me is not allowed to say I am not a total center-stage whore), but we need to be around people. A lot. Being alone is like anathema. People like, say, mysticjuicer, on the other hand, look on people like me and QUAKE IN FEAR! Or, you know, spend two weeks recovering from a prolonged weekend of socializing while I'm all "so Tuesday?".

On the other hand, I'm not always (or maybe even usually) a "Personality" extrovert. I'm not, say, as loud as Pete or Adrian. I'm not always the first person to speak up. (The stage is something different, but I couldn't entirely explain why.) Especially compared to some of my friends (cellophanedeity?), who are both Energy and Personality extroverts, IMHO, or even in comparison to Patrick, who you can't shut up even if you try really hard...

Well, I look like a motherfucking wallflower. But people like Pat, who are low socializing/high loudness come across as more traditional Extroverts. No one ever believes me that Patrick is an introvert. He LOATHES large social gatherings. But he's loud and can be charming, therefore, he is an extrovert.

Meh.

Comments

[safti]

. . . which may be why you and I get on so well; I am indeed an extrovert, which is where problems can step in if I get depressed - I don't WANT to be around people, but I NEED to be around people if my mood's going to improve.

[alexmegami]

Yep, I definitely get THAT. *lol*

[kisekileia.livejournal.com]

Interesting! I would've guessed you as INFP or maybe INTP, but that's in large part based on your high school self. I definitely wouldn't have guessed that you've become a J. I'm an INFP, but probably would've been INTP (wishing I were INTJ) in high school.

[alexmegami]

I think the J has a lot to do with my "scheduling preferences" nowadays - I'm not as open/likely to doing things on the spur of the moment, and I much prefer hard and fast decisions to open-ended, "I can change my mind at any time" decisions. It means I don't make decisions as often and I'm much more cautious when I do make them. (See also: almost two years between taking the massage therapy introductory courses and actually starting the program.)

I mean, I still have SOME perceptive qualities, like working to a deadline rather than planned tasks at regular intervals (to-do lists mean very little), but they're not as strong as they used to be.

And, like I said, I haven't been an I since elementary school at least. ;) I think what most people perceive as my "I" qualities are actually a reflection of my "N" and "T" qualities, since those are both very idea-based, analytical/theoretical qualities. And then the "J" somewhat limits the extrovert's tendency to act before thinking.