Tuesday, April 26, 2011

On personality types (i.e., ENFP, etc.)

What's an ENFP?

It was in the late 1980s that I was introduced to the book Please Understand Me, by Keirsey & Bates.

Talk about an eye-opening experience! I had always been a little different from the main crowd. It was a comfort to find out that I was not a weirdo, but that the percentage of people who also had my personality type, Extroverted, iNtuitive, Feeling, Perceiving (ENFP) was pretty small. That's why there were so few people who "got" me, and who I understood in return.

When I read the description of my personality type, I almost cried. It was so totally me! And I wasn't weird! There were other people Just Like Me!

So - if you are wondering what your personality type is (everyone has one), here's a freebie test on the internet that works pretty well: Personality test.

If, like me, you want to find out what personality type everyone you care about is, It would probably be best to buy Please Understand Me, because there is a test in the back with plenty of answer sheets. You can test everyone! Like I did! Over and over, even.

I used to test my husband on long road trips. He was always the same: Introverted, iNtuitive, Thinking, Perceiving (INTP). We get along really well because we are both intuitive and perceiving. On the other hand, we are both fair to very messy - because we are both intuitive and perceiving. doh!

Without recourse to the book, the Thinking, logical part of his personality might have driven me crazy; as my Feeling personality probably seemed a little too soft to him.

It's been a long time since I've read the book - so I'm not totally up on it any more. All I can say is that knowing your personality type and that of the people you love is a wonderful way to progress through life. By having this information, certain things the other person does - such as being unaware of sitting in the middle of a mess, or having to alphabetize the food in the pantry - won't drive you crazy.

At the very least you'll be able to say, "ahhh, that's from the Thinking part of your personality - I don't understand it, but I accept it."

No comments:

Post a Comment