Personality Profiles

  

Good morning!  I recently went back to personality profiles, primarily the Myers Briggs, and revisited some of the things it reveals about me.  Here at Kettle Moraine Counseling, I do like to know the profiles of our staff because it helps me to know how to relate to them, and also what some of the challenges may be.   I do not think personality tests say everything about us; we are complicated humans!  But they do reveal some truths/patterns that can be helpful to us in understanding and caring for ourselves and others.   Now if you are in the middle of the profiles, thats good!  It means that there is more flexibility to your personality, but it also means that just one of the profiles probably will not fit you very well.

So I am solidly an INFP.   What this means is that I am introverted, intuitive, feeling and perceiving.   Introverted:  my energy comes from spending time alone or with one or 2 other people, big groups tend to be draining for me, and getting time alone is replenishing.  Intuitive means I like big picture things, dislike details, can be a dreamer, likes possibilities and the future, can have my “head in the clouds”.  Feeling: I respond to others from an emotional- feeling base.  And perceiving; I don’t like a lot of structure, am always gathering more information before I make decisions and decisions can be difficult for me.

How does knowing this help me?  Well, I know to give myself lots of time alone in order to feel my best, socializing can be fun, and I need to balance that with quiet time.  My husband is an extrovert and is an S (sensing); he needs more socializing and also is more practical than me.  When I come up with an idea (which is often!), he will be the first to say “how’s that gonna work?”.  He can keep me more grounded, but I will get irritated and think he is being a “wet blanket” to all my wonderful ideas!

And being a P, means I dislike a lot of structure, so I don’t over schedule myself, and give lots of free time to do whatever I feel in the moment.   One of the downsides to being a P is that I work with a lot of J’s (judgers, but that does NOT mean they judge people!), and my lack of structure, organization and clear guidelines can be frustrating to them!

We tend to think others are like us, and this is not the case.  We know this!  But often in conflict or communicating, we forget.

Two websites that I recommend for personality information from a Myers Briggs perspective are personalitypage.com and 16 personalities . Com

Insight into ourselves is a great way to support our inherent needs and to make our relationships stronger.