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carl jung
October 2009 
"Hello, my name is Kathy and I am an ENFP"
Centria
My new friend http://halal-the-giraffe.gaia.com/ (isn't Halal the Giraffe a cool name?) has sparked a huge amount of thought today and the poor gal may be sorry she brought it up! Seriously, Halal, I am SO glad you mentioned the Myers-Briggs Personality types today as at least three dozen other people have mentioned this personality test during the few short months I've been here.
She provided a link to take the test and here are my results: ENFP. Apparently that means I am a moderately expressed extrovert, distinctly expressed intuitive, very expressed feeling and slightly expressed perceiving.
The test asked all sorts of statements like (check yes or no): You are inclined to rely more on improvisation than on careful planning, You trust reason rather than feelings, You know how to put every minute of your time to good purpose.
Dear friends! This is where it all has fallen apart. Maybe many of you test-takers were able to answer these questions without hesitation or confusion. But EVERY single question (for me) needs the answer: Qualified Maybe. Well, maybe not every question, but at least most of them.
Take the statement: You often contemplate the complexity of life. OK, that should be simple, right? Look at these blogs, will you. Obviously I like to contemplate the complexity of life. In fact it might even be a "duh" commentary. Except....except....I spend enormous amounts of time not thinking at all. Part of me prefers silence and not thinking at all. So which part is suppose to answer that question? I checked Yes, figuring it's closest to a more dominant part.
But other statements were even more agonizing. (If one wanted to agonize over it, that is!) Statement: You are more interested in a general idea than in the details of its realization. What? I am equally interested in the generalized idea AND the details. How do you choose between them? Seriously, the generalized idea is a heavenly dream and the details are the sweets of living. It's like asking one to choose between children.
Another one: You prefer to act immediately rather than speculate about various options. I don't know about you, but I sometimes act immediately and sometimes speculate for years. What angle should answer this one? You get bored if you have to read theoretical books. Seriously, Carl Jung! What KIND of theoretical books? Science? Darwinsism? Or spiritual theory 101? And what about the fact that sometimes I love theoretical books and other times absolutely not?
And all this before we get to the issue of introversion and extroversion. OK, the test-makers obviously think I'm an extrovert. That supposedly means that I'm outward-oriented? Yes. And definetely no. I am also a comfortable life-long introvert. (Not usually on Gaia maybe, but in other life situations.) The internal world and the external world get equal time.
OK....enough ranting.....here's what I propose. I believe that, as we become more aware, we realize that we are Everything. We contain the All, the infinite possibility to be more than just our dominant personality. So....if the test says we're an Introvert, can we find the part of ourselves that is an Extrovert and dialogue with it? Can we get more comfortable with the parts of self that may have been either been repressed, ignored, or denied? Or may not have been given equal awareness? If we're a feeling sort, find the parts that are in love with thinking. If sensing is the orientation, locate the part that is intuitive. If perceiving....go to the part of personality that judges. I suggest that we will almost always discover an "opposite" that contains incredible richness, truth and beauty within our multi-faceted complex diamond selves.
I think then we get closer to breaking past the patterns that create a definitive fixed personality and move towards a freedom to be even more than what we've ever dreamed.....
Actually the truth may be: we're all EISNTFJP!
Access: Public
Waaaaaaaaaahooooooo!!! Fantastic post, Kathy! Big fat grin, ear to ear! Ain't no way I'm lettin' go of you now!
My favorite part of all: ”So….if the test says we're an Introvert, can we find the part of ourselves that is an Extrovert and dialogue with it? Can we get more comfortable with the parts of self that may have been either been repressed, ignored, or denied? Or may not have been given equal awareness? “
Yes yes yes yes yes!!! This has such a quality of acceptance to it, and it seems to speaks of the way your mind works to accept it all, accept what is. Have I said yet that I love it? And you?
My own experience with this test: yes, I have trouble with the black and white nature of the questions, too. I typically try to take it as fast as I can so that my thinking brain doesn't get too involved. I also take it sometimes just to see if maybe this mood or that one will change the outcome. (I don't know why I feel so moved by this test… not true, I do, will get to that in a sec.) Never does. Steadfast INFJ. BUT! I also feel some remorse, like, what about that “P” part of me that really likes to fly by the seat of my pants? (J = judging but does not in this context mean “passing judgement on” – is more like “like structure, plans ahead”). How do I explain the energy I take from being with people on a contra dance floor? Not very “I” of me, you know… etc etc.
Two more thoughts and I'll shut up (who's sorry they started this now?). The reason I have a special affinity for this test is because the first time I took it and read the INFJ profile, I burst into tears. You mean there are others like me? I'm not terminally weird? Uncommon, yes, but reachable? Call all of that immature if you will, but I needed to know I fit somehow when that profile hit me. And it fit well.
And second, what I'm taking away from your post is the real possibility of not only realizing we are Everything, but beginning to reach it as well.
Funny where a flip comment will lead from the beginning of a day to its end. :-) Best to you!
(hi again halal)
Kathy, would you mind posting this to the MBTI thread in the Psychology board on the God Pod? Interestingly enough we are mostly NFs there… We're all different, some of us are more strongly one letter or another while a third or fourth can flip… it's fun to learn more through this but not an absolute
Hi again Nicole! Would you mind posting a link to that thread? I haven't done much with the pods and boards (though I ostensibly belong to several), but I might like to look into this one more carefully.
Just took this test. I used to be an ENFJ but now am an INFJ..thisis interesting..
“Many INFJs perceive themselves at a disadvantage when dealing with the mystique and formality of “hard logic”, and in academic terms this may cause a tendency to gravitate towards the liberal arts ( my master is in LA) rather than the sciences” My I is 11, my N is 12, my F is 88 and my J is 11.
I am a counselor idealist…I did not know that!
Halal, oh you make my heart sing! (the feelings leading the way this morning again….) I am so glad you got excited about this. You know one of my dear friends took this test and had the same reaction as you did. She burst into tears. She said she felt deeply accepted, deeply right, for the first time in her life after she was affirmed through the test. She said her label (don't know what you call it) said that only 2-3% of the people had that personality grouping. Now she understood why she felt so different, so out of synch with many others. Actually I think mine said only 2-3%, as well. It's fun to think of the benefits of the test now…. :) PS I think we're bonded forever. :) :)
Dear Nicole, like Halal, I'm not too technologically savvy…..but getting better every day…..do I just go to the bottom of the MBTI thread and make an entry, cross-referencing to this page?
Good morning Aley, hope you're having a good time with your friend Donny. Your numbers are interesting….my E is 33, N is 62, F is 88 and P is 22. Our F's are the same! That probably has to do with our bonding, too.
Part of my challenge and amusement with this is that my Introvert part is out of sorts with this “judgement”. The Introvert is saying “You know I'm really the bigger part.” and the Extrovert replies, “Ha ha, no you're not!” and then the adult says, “Now kids quit bickering, you're both important!” and the part that loves taking tests and categorizing says, “Can we take the test again, please, please?”
I'm glad to have read this because every time I've taken a multiple choice test I was a sucker for the all of the above answers.
“Dear friends! This is where it all has fallen apart. Maybe many of you test-takers were able to answer these questions without hesitation or confusion. But EVERY single question (for me) needs the answer: Qualified Maybe. Well, maybe not every question, but at least most of them. ”
YES! I have to force myself to move quickly through the test and not overthink or else I cannot take tests like that at all!
The most recent time I took it, I believe my result was INFP.
I love your take on it all, though! Let's not find our “type” and be restricted by it. Let's use is as a springboard for exploration and growth!
I forced my first impression only on the answers, without judging the questions…here is why..I think many times I feel very extroverted, I still have no issue with public speaking and going up to anyone and talking about anything. Of late though, I hate crowd energy, I woul rather be home and working alone, I hatepeoples silly dramas and although I find learning fascinating, I hate hem haw explanations!
So…I could have answered either way. To me the “F” is the most important, and I did know it. The “J” made me mad, as I do not like the word judgement! LOL
All in all, I think the test could change, and has for me, depending on my state of mind at the time it is taken..
And now….I shall crawl back into my hole!
(((grin)))
Hi. Thought you might get a kick out of my “type”–ENFP! A while back, I was an ENTJ…so it must change every once in a while.
I find some of those questions tricky at times, too.
Anyone here know their Enneagram type? I think I'm an “enthusiast” with an “individualist” wing or something. I don't know much about it, but it's interesting, too.
Lisa, now I'm really laughing! You want us to find out our Enneagram type now?? May I wait until another day? My introvert is absolutely dying for some silence and thinks all this talking and gabbing on Gaia is ridiculous. She's particularly annoyed because I was “devoted” much of the day yesterday. You know….somehow I thought you and I might kind of be somewhat the same……and there those letters go and prove it! :)
Mr. Tom, I know just what you mean about those multiple choice tests. It's not just this test. It's so many of them. Why can't all the answers be at least partially true?
Aley, I'm crawling into the hole with you. No, not with you. Alone. But, truly, your blog about peace yesterday helped balance things for me. Or it least point in a more balanced direction. Still trying to figure out how much energy to give to Gaia and how much to give the silence, the peace, the expansion. And of course work, family, Spanish lessons, etc….
Emma, you hit the nail on the head: Let's not find our “type” and be restricted by it. Let's use is as a springboard for exploration and growth!
Dear friends, thank you.
You know, I feel a little guilty continuing to talk about this when you guys want to crawl back into holes and all… my prayer is that you don't even look at email until you're ready to be in the world again. :-) (As soon as I hit the last keystroke here, I”m off to hibernate myself for a couple of hours!)
Here's another thing I enjoyed about the MB. When I read my profile, I felt it was worded as if I was the greatest thing ever! See how magnificent I am for being an INFJ! (cough cough snort achoo!) Then I went to read my opposite and found it conveyed exactly the same enthusiasm for those beautiful ESTPs! I love that there are no rights and wrongs, no betters or worsers, just amazing human beings of such complexity that a mere personality inventory could not begin to tap into who we are.
May a shroud of silent warmth surround and keep you…
Halal
Maybe we'll all just peek out of our holes occasionally to see what's happening here on Gaia. :) Love what you said, Halal, about how the descriptions of the personality inventories showed us all how magnificent we are. All right, maybe the test isn't that limiting….maybe it does just show us: there are no rights and wrongs, no betters or worsers, just amazing human beings of such complexity that a mere personality inventory could not begin to tap into who we are. Smiling calmly with all the peace of a quiet afternoon, Love, Kathy
thought i had posted the link to the MBTI discussion on the God Pod. guess the gaia monster ate it. here it is again:
http://pods.gaia.com/is_there_a_god/discussions/view/297615
My name is tara & I am a 7 (in the enneagram that is ;-)
I use the enneagram a lot when coaching & you might find it interesting to do a personality test on that one.. I find it gives good leverage to the Myer Briggs method in comparison.. check it out for some more fun :-D the enneagram personality test
love & joy tara
Nicole, I posted the link under that part of the God Pod. Even though the Gaia monster may have lunched on the link (yum yum!) I used super sleuthing skills and found the appropriate section. Hugs to you.
Hi Tara number 7. Is 7 the number of bodacious bloggers? :) I may have taken one too many personality tests this year….but may look into the enneagram at some point. Then I'll let you know what number corresponds. Love and joy back at you across that expanse of blue ocean.
Centria,
I loved your posting.
According to the Myer-Briggs test, I am an INFJ, but many of my friends have told me I'm an Extrovert. When I took the test, like you, I agonized over almost every question. I tend to agree that each person embraces EVERYTHING.
yay for super sleuthers!
and peace seeker, i think that part of the learning is in how you take the test, even, because it's interesting to observe… for example i went through the test with a friend and was amused and delighted by how he dealt with it, i learned more about him just observing that :)
Ha ha, Nicole! What a perfect point….I love it!…..that HOW we take the test reveals more about who we truly are than maybe the test itself. (or at least as much.) Such a good point.
Ms. Peace, so glad you liked this. Isn't that interesting that most people say you're an extrovert and you're really an introvert (according to the test)? And many people say I'm an introvert and the test said extrovert? This morning at work I was telling a co-worker about this and she said what the test reveals is where we get our energy. For example, I need and desire long periods of alone-time. But I get my energy from people and communication. And that would be true….I get so energized from people that it's necessary to just retreat to find center and balance again.
Interesting thoughts!
that is absolutely correct. And for those of us who have many traits from both, we can flip flop on I/E or others depending on what is happening for us while we take the test
Hello Centria!
Many people have difficulties with the test for many different reasons. For one, the free tests found online aren't necessarily the best tests available. I think reading type descriptions and reading about the functions is a better way of figuring out what type fits.
Some people just don't like that the MBTI forces you to make a single choice. However, I must say that you're uncertainty from your mind jumping back and forth between the possibilities does seem in line with Inution and Perceiving. I'm not sure about ENFPs, but I've known plenty of INFPs and they're an indecisive lot.
If you don't like having to decide between one side or another, then you might prefer the traits tests(Big 5, FFM, etc). They test on a spectrum, and I think some of the tests will show your range on any given spectrum.
Dear Marmalade, That is interesting that the “uncertainty factor” in choosing between answers lines up with Intuition and Perceiving. Thank you for pointing that out! Actually, with the help of all these comments, I'm beginning to like the test a wee bit more. A wee bit, mind you. Have learned so much from all of you…. P.S. I see you have taken off on a thread concerning this subject over on the God Pod. Haven't read all the commentary yet, but it sounds like this test opens up a host of subjects for you (and many others too).
It does indeed! As Marmalade can tell you more than anyone else I know! He has begun to show me so many fascinating applications of the typology to many different aspects of life.
Nicole, I now think Marmalade is absolutely the coolest…
But it's also probably pathetic how I can never take one viewpoint and stick to it. Someone offers their option and it becomes THE opinion for the moment. And the next moment, and the next moment. I'm sure that's all figured into the personality typology too. In fact, I do believe it was listed as one of my traits….
(but I still believe we are all everything…..smiling slyly)
Coolest? Wowzers! I'm the coolest.
Centria, are you familar with Jung? Typology is based on his ideas, and he proposed the theory of archetypes which essentially says that everyone has all potentials. He also was wary of his ideas about personality being systematized because he felt that types were only tendencies.
Marmalade, not only are you the coolest–the fact that Jung was wary about it is comforting. Years ago (oh, here it is on the bookshelf still) I read “Memories, Dreams, Reflections” and thought it a wonderful book. Perhaps it's time to re-read.
Hey Kathy, I came across this blog entry last night while on a completey different search. I found the description of type theory via brain physiology interesting.
very true , Kathy, Marmalade is the coolest! Ben, Andrew thinks you are, too, he was telling me so last night on the phone…
that is awesome, halal! I found this from your link especially interesting.
Jung’s assertion that each of us has a preferred function is supported by a neuro-chemical, physiological fact that our brain has one area which is more energy efficient than the remaining three areas. This means that using our dominant function requires less oxygen to perform than the other three functions. His belief that each person has two natural auxiliaries finds support in the brain’s inherent structure. Research shows that neuronal bridges hardwire a person’s preferred function to their auxiliary functions, thus making communication between the preferred and the auxiliary functions relatively easy. It also shows that there are no naturally occurring bridges between the dominant and least preferred function, thus providing the rationale for why behaviour changes are so different when a person is using their least preferred function…
When we are using our preferred functions and having positive feedback, affirmation from outside of ourselves, our integrity stays intact, and we do not have to think about how we must behave in order to survive. However, for the most part, people are encouraged to ignore this primary internal guidance system from an early age, and instead look outside of the self for feedback and affirmation. When parents and society do not reward individuality or support the use of the child’s preferred functions, or when they provide incentives for being out of integrity with the self (being “good” instead of authentic), a compensatory or adaptive behaviour and neural pattern for Falsification of Type is set…Although adaptation is a necessary part of our development as members of a society, excessive adaptation causes children to survive at less than optimal levels of functioning.
No doubt, the cost of living an adaptive life rather than an authentic life is a serious one, which has physical, spiritual, and psychological ramifications. Prolonged adaptation can cause symptoms such as fatigue; food cravings; increased sensitivity to environmental stimuli (e.g., light, sound, odours); poor healing; increased susceptibility to illness; memory loss; poor concentration; mood swings; poor impulse control; loss of creativity; pessimism, withdrawal, and avoidance of conflict; poor self-esteem; and increased defensiveness. Ultimately, the expression of the authentic self and the achievement of self-potential are not possible when living an adaptive life…
Therapy, education, understanding, empathy, emotional support, and reframing of one’s individual experience are powerful psychological tools that help to alleviate the symptoms that are associated with Falsification of Type. In the long term, however, a person’s ability to self actualize using these modalities effectively is lessened when they has been conditioned to function in an adaptive way, and there is no awareness of what is truly needed for them to reclaim their authentic self. By knowing one’s preferences, and using the brain’s inherent structure and functions for the expression of the self, a clear path to self-actualization can be found.
Anne Dranitsarisis a clinical psychotherapist and corporate therapist with more than 25 years experience working with individuals, couples and groups in private practice and in organizations. Anne has worked extensively with Jung’s Psychological Types and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® since 1985. She is currently writing a book on Relationship Positions also based on Jung’s Psychological Type theory and brain physiology. Anne is also a frequently published writer and speaker on a broad range of topics on the impact of behaviour, emotional intelligence and personality type on business and personal relationships.
If you would like to participant in the research for Anne’s book on Relationship Positions,
please go to the following link to complete the questionnaire. http://www.consultingservices.ca/pdf/RelationshipQuestionnaire.pdf
Yes, Halal and Nicole….interesting stuff!