I think knowing types can help people (sometimes) make sense of themselves when they don't seem to fit in, and that's ok. But some people obsess over it. I tested as an INTJ in counseling, but I have some characteristics of an INTP also. A guy at the gym was talking about his wife being introverted and shy and I said, "yeah, me too." His response was that I was the most outgoing person there. I had to share with him the very conscious and deliberate effort I had made to introduce myself to new people a couple years before and explained to him that that was in the tiny gym with a small group of people I'd known for a while, not out in the rest of the world. No one there would ever think I was INTx. At the end of the day, who cares? No one of any type fits all the qualities perfectly. The descriptions are overarching tendancies, but they don't define us. We all are created differently, raised in different cultures, have different life experiences, and have different values. It's a foolish waste of time to spend trying to box ourselves and others into these or any other categories. It should be enough to know who you are, what you stand for, and move on with life.
zarie (not verified)says...
I think knowing types can help people (sometimes) make sense of themselves when they don't seem to fit in, and that's ok. But some people obsess over it. I tested as an INTJ in counseling, but I have some characteristics of an INTP also. A guy at the gym was talking about his wife being introverted and shy and I said, "yeah, me too." His response was that I was the most outgoing person there. I had to share with him the very conscious and deliberate effort I had made to introduce myself to new people a couple years before and explained to him that that was in the tiny gym with a small group of people I'd known for a while, not out in the rest of the world. No one there would ever think I was INTx. At the end of the day, who cares? No one of any type fits all the qualities perfectly. The descriptions are overarching tendancies, but they don't define us. We all are created differently, raised in different cultures, have different life experiences, and have different values. It's a foolish waste of time to spend trying to box ourselves and others into these or any other categories. It should be enough to know who you are, what you stand for, and move on with life.