Personality (Part 4)

Last weekend, my friend (and I use the term loosely now - kidding), April and I were talking about different personality types. She had read my previous blogs on personality types, and did a little more research. She was giving me more insight into my personality (INFJ). She decided to begin with my negative personality traits, because, as she informed me, there were so many of them. In fact, there are many more negative traits for my type than hers, and there are more negative traits than positive ones - according to her research. Not to worry, though, April tells me that I have a lot of potential if I can just overcome these flaws. I'm so thankful that she worked so hard researching this so I can give you the following excerpt:

Potential Problem Areas

With any gift of strength, there is an associated weakness. Without "bad", there would be no "good". Without "difficult", there would be no "easy". We value our strengths, but we often curse and ignore our weaknesses. To grow as a person and get what we want out of life, we must not only capitalize upon our strengths, but also face our weaknesses and deal with them. That means taking a hard look at our personality type's potential problem areas.

INFJs are rare and intelligent people with many special gifts. This should be kept in mind as you read some of the more negative material about INFJ weaknesses. Remember that these weaknesses are natural. We offer this information to enact positive change, rather than as blatant criticism. We want you to grow into your full potential, and be the happiest and most successful person that you can become.

Most of the weaker characteristics that are found in INFJs are due to their dominant function (Introverted iNtuition) overtaking their personality to the point that the other forces in their personality exist merely to serve the purposes of Introverted iNtuition. In such cases, an INFJ may show some or all of the following weaknesses in varying degrees:

• May be unaware (and sometimes uncaring) of how they come across to others
• May quickly dismiss input from others without really considering it
• May apply their judgment more often towards others, rather than towards themselves
• With their ability to see an issue from many sides, they may always find others at fault for any problems in their lives
• May have unrealistic and/or unreasonable expectations of others
• May be intolerant of weaknesses in others
• May believe that they're always right
• May be obsessive and passionate about details that may be unimportant to the big picture
• May be cuttingly derisive and sarcastic towards others
• May have an intense and quick temper
• May be tense, wound up, have high blood pressure and find it difficult to relax
• May hold grudges, and have difficulty forgiving people
• May be wishy-washy and unsure how to act in situations that require quick decision making
• May have difficulty communicating their thoughts and feelings to others
• May see so many tangents everywhere that they can't stay focused on the bottom line or the big picture

(Taken from http://www.personalitypage.com/INFJ_per.html)

In all seriousness, though, it's crucial to recognize the negative aspects of our personalities just as we recognize the positive ones. It helps us to see how other people might perceive us and how we could offend or hurt people without knowing it. Looking at how certain spiritual gifts could be abused helped me recognize gifts I didn't know I had.

As I look at this list, I realize that many of them are things I struggle with. God has done a tremendous work in me and has redeemed me graciously. The process of sanctification is not done, though, so I still fail in many of the ways listed above. But April is right, I can overcome these flaws...but not in my own power. It is only when I surrender everything - gifts, flaws, abilities, failures - to the Lord that He will work through me and in me.

"So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them"

- Genesis 1.27

We were made in the image of God - perfection. When sin entered the world, that perfection was destroyed. But through the blood of Christ and His resurrection, God brings restoration. Only through Him do our flaws bring glory to Him.

"'My grace is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weakness...For when I am weak, then I am strong."

- 2 Corinthians 12.9-10

Personality (Part 3)

The test results also gave a link to an essay on Idealists (those possessing the iNtuitive and Feeling Character traits). Again I’ve highlighted in blue some things I think apply most to me. Feel free to comment.

All Idealists (NFs) share the following core characteristics:

Idealists are enthusiastic, they trust their intuition, yearn for romance, seek their true self, prize meaningful relationships, and dream of attaining wisdom.

Idealists pride themselves on being loving, kindhearted, and authentic.

Idealists tend to be giving, trusting, spiritual, and they are focused on personal journeys and human potentials.

Idealists make intense mates, nurturing parents, and inspirational leaders.

Idealists, as a temperament, are passionately concerned with personal growth and development. Idealists strive to discover who they are and how they can become their best possible self -- always this quest for self-knowledge and self-improvement drives their imagination. And they want to help others make the journey. Idealists are naturally drawn to working with people, and whether in education or counseling, in social services or personnel work, in journalism or the ministry, they are gifted at helping others find their way in life, often inspiring them to grow as individuals and to fulfill their potentials.

Idealists are sure that friendly cooperation is the best way for people to achieve their goals. Conflict and confrontation upset them because they seem to put up angry barriers between people. Idealists dream of creating harmonious, even caring personal relations, and they have a unique talent for helping people get along with each other and work together for the good of all. Such interpersonal harmony might be a romantic ideal, but then Idealists are incurable romantics who prefer to focus on what might be, rather than what is. The real, practical world is only a starting place for Idealists; they believe that life is filled with possibilities waiting to be realized, rich with meanings calling out to be understood. This idea of a mystical or spiritual dimension to life, the "not visible" or the "not yet" that can only be known through intuition or by a leap of faith, is far more important to Idealists than the world of material things.

Highly ethical in their actions, Idealists hold themselves to a strict standard of personal integrity. They must be true to themselves and to others, and they can be quite hard on themselves when they are dishonest, or when they are false or insincere. More often, however, Idealists are the very soul of kindness. Particularly in their personal relationships, Idealists are without question filled with love and good will. They believe in giving of themselves to help others; they cherish a few warm, sensitive friendships; they strive for a special rapport with their children; and in marriage they wish to find a "soulmate," someone with whom they can bond emotionally and spiritually, sharing their deepest feelings and their complex inner worlds.

Idealists are relatively rare, making up no more than 15 to 20 percent of the population. But their ability to inspire people with their enthusiasm and their idealism has given them influence far beyond their numbers.

Princess Diana, Joan Baez, Albert Schweitzer, Bill Moyers, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mohandas Gandhi, Mikhael Gorbachev, and Oprah Winfrey are examples of Idealists

This came from:

http://keirsey.com/handler.aspx?s=keirsey&f=fourtemps&tab=3&c=overview

Personality (Part 2)

The first link the personality test results gave me was to an essay on my specific personality type. I have highlighted in blue the things I think most apply to me. I think other people often do a better job of seeing aspects of your personality, though, and can tell you how you are perceived. So I’d love to hear your perspective. If you see things in this that you think really apply (or maybe don’t apply at all) to me, leave a comment.

And, again, if you want to put a link to your blog results of your test, leave it in the comments section.

Counselors (INFJ) have an exceptionally strong desire to contribute to the welfare of others, and find great personal fulfillment interacting with people, nurturing their personal development, guiding them to realize their human potential. Although they are happy working at jobs (such as writing) that require solitude and close attention, Counselors do quite well with individuals or groups of people, provided that the personal interactions are not superficial, and that they find some quiet, private time every now and then to recharge their batteries. Counselors are both kind and positive in their handling of others; they are great listeners and seem naturally interested in helping people with their personal problems. Not usually visible leaders, Counselors prefer to work intensely with those close to them, especially on a one-to-one basis, quietly exerting their influence behind the scenes.

Counselors are scarce, little more than one percent of the population, and can be hard to get to know, since they tend not to share their innermost thoughts or their powerful emotional reactions except with their loved ones. They are highly private people, with an unusually rich, complicated inner life. Friends or colleagues who have known them for years may find sides emerging which come as a surprise. Not that Counselors are flighty or scattered; they value their integrity a great deal, but they have mysterious, intricately woven personalities which sometimes puzzle even them.

Counselors tend to work effectively in organizations. They value staff harmony and make every effort to help an organization run smoothly and pleasantly. They understand and use human systems creatively, and are good at consulting and cooperating with others. As employees or employers, Counselors are concerned with people's feelings and are able to act as a barometer of the feelings within the organization.

Blessed with vivid imaginations, Counselors are often seen as the most poetical of all the types, and in fact they use a lot of poetic imagery in their everyday language. Their great talent for language-both written and spoken-is usually directed toward communicating with people in a personalized way. Counselors are highly intuitive and can recognize another's emotions or intentions - good or evil - even before that person is aware of them. Counselors themselves can seldom tell how they came to read others' feelings so keenly.

Mohandas Gandhi, Sidney Poitier, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jane Goodall, Emily Bronte, Sir Alec Guiness, Carl Jung, Mary Baker Eddy, Queen Noor are examples of the Counselor Idealist (INFJ).

This came from:

http://keirsey.com/handler.aspx?s=keirsey&f=fourtemps&tab=3&c=counselor

Personality (Part 1)

So I’ve been going through materials from “Foundations” at Grace Church (it’s a study on the core values of my church). In looking at the ‘Relationally Connected’ section, one of the suggestions for growth was to take a personality test to see how you might relate to others and how others perceive you. Well, that stuff is so interesting to me, and since yet another of Greenville’s famous blizzards has given me the day off work, I decided to take a couple online tests.

These things really get more interesting every time I look at them. God is amazing. He creates us all so uniquely and purposefully (Psalm 139.13-16). He even gave psychologists amazing and inquisitive brains to study people and come up with personality types. I am so thankful for the work that people have put in to help me learn more about myself and why I do/think the way I do.

The first test I took (and liked the best) is here if you want to take it (it doesn’t take long):

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

The results told me I was INFJ (which I think I knew from a previous test). Specifically, according to this test, I am Moderately/33% Introverted, Moderately/38% iNtuitive, Moderately/38% Feeling, and Very/78% Judging.

The results were interesting, but most interesting to me were the short essays/explanations of my personality type that the test results gave me links to. God has been speaking to me a lot lately about my abilities and Spiritual Gifts (which are two different/separate things), and I have been praying about how these gifts are to be used. I’ve been asking God to show me how He wants to work through me and through the gifts He has given me. I feel like the insight into my personality type will help me analyze myself and continue to pray through using my gifts.

I don’t want to write a huge post, but I do want to post the results. So I think I’m going to break it up into a few manageable chunks and post them separately. If you have some time to take the test and want to put it on your blog (or Facebook note), post the link here so we can read them. I think it would be interesting to see.