Friday, October 27, 2017

My Myers Briggs Type & How It Fits Me

So the other day I was sitting in my living room with my roommate and some friends.  The conversation about our personality types came up.  My roommate and one of our friends chatted about what they were and labeled off a series of letters that made my head spin.  My roommate quickly looked up what the definition of hers was and began to read it off.  Our other friend and I got curious and we asked what they were talking about.

The Myers Briggs Personality Type.

I quickly opened my laptop and found the website to start the test.  I answered the questions to the best of my ability and with 100% honesty.  I hit the button that would bring me to my results and I got:

The Mediator (INFP-T)
53% Introverted vs. 47% Extroverted (which makes sense because I am an extroverted introvert)
78% Intuitive vs. 22% Observant
58% Feeling vs. 42% Thinking
54% Prospecting vs. 46% Judging
90% Turbulent vs. 10% Assertive (this is so true I am terrible at being assertive)

INTRODUCTION

"Mediator personalities are true idealists, always looking for the hint of good in even the worst of people and events, searching for ways to make things better (get out of my head). While they may be perceived as calm, reserved, or even shy, Mediators have an inner flame and passion that can truly shine (it me). Comprising just 4% of the population (ooooo I'm rare), the risk of feeling misunderstood is unfortunately high for the Mediator personality type – but when they find like-minded people to spend their time with, the harmony they feel will be a fountain of joy and inspiration."

"Mediators have a talent for self-expression, revealing their beauty and their secrets through metaphors and fictional characters." Okay now, this is just scary.

Other Mediators are: J.R.R. Tolkien (IM SCREAMING SO LOUD YOU CAN HEAR ME IN MORDOR I'M LIKE TOLKIEN), William Shakespeare, Julia Roberts, Lisa Kudrow, Tom Hiddleston, Frodo Baggins, Amélie Poulain, and Arwen.  I love and relate to at least all of these people and characters.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

Strengths are: Idealistic, Seek and Value Harmony (okay MEEE), Open-Minded and Flexible, Very Creative, Passionate and Energetic (many people say that this is me), & Dedicated and Hard-Working.

Weaknesses are: Too Idealistic (make up your mind???), Too Altruistic, Impractical, Dislike Dealing with Data, Take Things Personally, & Difficult to Get to Know.

ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS

The site says that INFPs are dreamy idealists who wish for the perfect relationship.  We also jump into relationships wholeheartedly and have a hard time separating fantasy from reality (and this is about half true for me).

Conflict is a tough spot of INFPs, and we tend to internalize and overanalyze everything said to us (MEE). However, at our best, we strive to be the perfect partner.  NOTE: I account this with both romantic and platonic relationships because I love my friends as well.

FRIENDSHIPS

"Mediators crave the depth of mutual human understanding, but tire easily in social situations (me at family events); they are excellent at reading into others’ feelings and motivations, but are often unwilling to provide others the same insight into themselves – it’s as though Mediators like the idea of human contact, but not the reality of social contact. (i feel ATTACKED)"

Basically what the rest of the page says is that Mediators are great at offering help to their friends and other peers around them, but are stand-offish to do that same.  This is true for me because I love helping my friends, but just the thought of telling them what is wrong gives me anxiety because I don't want to bother them with my troubles.

"Mediators will always need to disappear for a while, removing themselves from others so they can re-center on their own minds and feelings (I do this at least once a month, at the most three). Often enough people with the Mediator personality type will emerge from this time alone having come to some momentous decision that even their closest friends didn’t know was weighing on them, evading even the option of receiving the sort of support and advice they so readily give (they are describing my life). Such is Mediators’ way, for better or for worse."

PARENTHOOD

"Mediator parents are warm, loving and supportive, and take immeasurable joy in the wide-eyed wonder of their children as they explore, learn, and grow. People with the Mediator personality type will give their children the freedom they need to do this, keeping an open mind and letting their children gain their own sense of understanding (literally before I took this quiz this is how I felt about raising my future child(ren), I want them to be happy and be able to be themselves). At the same time, Mediator parents will try to provide a backdrop to this freedom and experience, establishing a set of morals and values that guide that liberty with a sense of personal responsibility."

"The biggest challenge for Mediator parents, especially more Turbulent types who often have even more trouble with self-doubt than most, is to establish more practical and day-to-day structures and rules."  why don't you @ me already, I have 90% turbulent.

CAREER PATHS

"First and foremost is seemingly every Mediators’ dream growing up – to become an author." OKAY WHAT HOW DID YOU KNOW THIS ABOUT ME???

"...with their gift for language and written expression..." I want to be an author and I am a French major... GUESS THE TEST IS RIGHT!

In another paragraph, it also mentions how face-to-face jobs like social workers and teachers are a suitable fit, which makes sense because when I was younger I wanted to be a teacher and that feeling has never fully gone away.

WORKPLACE HABITS

"...there are a few basic truths about what Mediators seek in the workplace: they value harmony, need an emotional and moral connection to their work, and loathe bureaucratic tedium." Oh, this is me, if I don't have a good connection to those around me and my work it just doesn't sit well with me.

INFPs also need meaningful work that will leave an impression and not just something to do and forget so they can pay the bills.  This I find is exactly the type of work that I want to be getting into.  I want to do something so wonderful, that I never forget it or the impact it gave me from making it.  As a boss/manager role, most INFPs tend to focus more on the relationships which cause a problem with times when the boss needs to be the boss.  This is true for me because in my two clubs I like to have it open and free yet when I have a set agenda and want to get things done, it's hard for things to go smoothly.  But I'm working on it! ...granted because of this MB type...I might never fix it.

CONCLUSION

Mediators need to work hard on their weaker traits and other skills when they go into any situation, but all in all, I think that this Myers Briggs type really fits me and how I have become today.  The website offers a roadmap to the future if I want a premium profile, but for now, I think that I will just stick with this, and if I need help in the future I will see what that premium profile demands of me.

What's your Myers Briggs personality type?  Don't know, take the quiz.  Let's talk about it in the comments.

À bientôt!

Photo/Gif creds: mediator female, different types grid,

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Reading Challenge 2017 Completed!


Just the other day I was so happy to have gotten the notification that I have completed my reading challenge for 2017.  My plan was originally read 20 books, which I brought down to 15, and as of this post, I have read 16 books.  I did it!

I brought my amount down from 20 to 15 because I didn't feel that with school and other activities that I'd have the time to read 20 books, but it seems that I will get closer to it than I thought. I have gone OVER my challenge amount.

The last time I completed my challenge was in 2015 when I read 33 out of 20 books. It was a great year for me.  The next year I was going to try 20 books again, thinking I could do what I did the year before, but I only read 19. I knew that this year I should either put 15 or 20 books and I wanted to push myself.  So I put down the bigger number.  About halfway through the summer, I thought that I wouldn't get enough books and that trying to get to that higher number wouldn't be healthy for my mental state, so I lowered it. But thankfully from reading some books for my classes and finding some small amount of actual free time I was able to reach and go beyond my goal. It's surprisingly liberating to have the goal completed. Like a weight was lifted off my shoulder from this year.

Most of the books that I have read this year I have only reviewed on my Goodreads account, and one I reviewed on this blog. I have stopped making book reviews on my YouTube account because I never really have the time to stop and make a video, I'm just always moving. As it is it took me a few days just to write this post because I've been bouncing all over my campus doing so many things.  I can't wait to see what other books that I read this year!  I'll post a blog post on one of the last days of the year listing all the books that I have read and what rating I gave them.

À bientôt!

Reading Challenge photo from Goodreads.com

Barkskins by Annie Proulx

So this book was given to me by my French advisor as a gift before my graduation, and I was so excited to start it that I added it to my T...