The Blog

So just recently my job at the Office of International Services suggested that we their employees take a Myers Briggs test in order to identify the personalities in the office and conclude how we best relate and work with one another. A quick summary of the Myers Briggs would state that it is a personality test that pin points one's personality into four categories giving an individual four letters to relate themselves to; in my case I am INFP. INFP means I am to the entire right side of the scale, there being two sides of the scale with most people falling throughout the scale, rather than to either end. Here a humorous note to add is that while i am entirely on the right side of the scale my supervisor at work is entirely on the left. Anyways, back to my thoughts on the matter...As I was going over the results I was amazed at the accuracy of how the test had suceeded in labeling me as an individual with a working personality. I am an idealist, I am sensitive, I enjoy reading discussing and reflecting on possibilities for positive change, I am committed to a strong personal belief system....As I marveled at all these bits and pieces of my personality being suddenly revealed to me clearly by the written word and the authority of Myers Briggs my loving roommate made a comment about how I might find bits of my personality in any result and agree with it (was my roomate saying I was flippant? easily swayed by the words of others? No way, she was pointing out a real truth). And that comment led me to think and to write this entry...Are we to quick to allow others to label our personality? There are so many people in this world who seem to thrive by telling others exactly what they think they are, "You are stubborn!" We hear these words from others, and usually, we can see how they are right and so we accept their words and use them as an excuse to continue being that thing or if we weren't really already that thing we allow ourselves to become it. Now granted Myers Briggs didn't have that many negative things to say about personalities in general; if they did they tried to present it in a good light, and maybe in a way that suggested a way to change. This test has just made me question who I am listening to when it comes to what I am. There are enough people in the world who are to fearful to come face to face with the person they are so they feel the need to continually label other people. I think an important part of taking in what others say about you is to have some kind of standing on who you believe yourself to be already. We had to guess what we thought our personality was before we were allowed to read the results of our test; I guessed mine almost dead on. I belief I know who I am, including the parts that I need to work on.

Last night I went to see the band Mewithoutyou again. Another wonderful experience. Their music and the way in which they live their lives continues to be a strong influence in the way I lead mine. I was excited to take someone who hadn't seen them before with me and watch as they to were effected by their strong on-stage performance. I once tried to capture the feeling of a Mewithoutyou show into words and it didn't work, so I won't really try again.

To conclude Myers Briggs also had this to say about me:

"INFPs are usually talented writers. They may be awkward and uncomfortable with expressing themselves verbally, but have a wonderful ability to define and express what they're feeling on paper"

I guess that's why I write these random entries.