I've been feeling a bit under the weather lately...I'm hoping that the medicine I bought this morning to throw at this sinus/allergy mess works well enough for me to feel like a functioning human today.
In addition to being literally sick, I've been struggling to keep my mercurial personality in check today...[I know that this isn't a personality classification that I talk about very much...but it's a classification that I learned about while I was in college, shadowing a doctor who was rather fond of personality typing...here's a little bit of info on it, sorry that it isn't very detailed]
I'm also trying not to take the passive-aggressive road, this morning...though, I'll admit, I'm not doing too great of a job of that thus far. :/
Sooooo, all-in-all....I think it's safe to say that I'm definitely on the struggle bus this morning...yayyyyyy.
So, I'm still researching the differences between INFJ and INFP...
Turns out, the -J and -P functions are quite polar...its far more than being more judging vs more perceiving...swapping out the -J and -P drastically changes which functions a person primarily uses and the way that functions are prioritized...[Explaining this will require me brushing up on the introverted/extraverted aspects of personality functions...I've found a few good sources for info, now I'm just working my way through it all...]
That being said...while I do think it could be entirely possible for a person to be 'borderline' between two [or more] MBTI types, I'm not sure how likely it would be that a person could truly be borderline INFJ/INFP...the two types are simply too different!
I found this video a couple of months ago...I think it does really good job of illustrating the difference between a person who is Fi [Introverted feeling - found in INFPs] and someone who is Fe [Extraverted feeling - found in INFJs].
The video is a little bit long [almost 7 minutes], but entirely worth the watch...in my opinion, anyway...The video is pretty self-explanatory. There's bits of text in it that explain which behaviors you should be taking note of as classing INFP or INFJ.
After watching the video, I've got to say that I still feel pretty confident that my MBTI type is INFJ...but, I will keep looking into this. You know...for science!!
Being the curious sort that I am, I've found myself thinking a good bit about personality types lately [again].
- If you've visited my blog before, you probably have read at least one post where I reference being 'INFJ'...INFJ has consistently been my Meyers-Briggs personality type. And in typical INFJ fashion, I'm pretty proud of being able to say that I belong to the small percentage of people that make up the rarest personality type out of the 16 possible MBTI outcomes .
I was browsing around on Pinterest this morning, as I do most mornings when I find myself waking too early...[some of my MBTI Pinterest finds...click them to make them large enough to read...]
Not really sure why, but I decided to re-take the MBTI assessment this morning and I had some interesting results...
HumanMetrics delivered the expected, reassuring results of INFJ...but, 16personalities threw me a bit of a curve ball...
Seeing the different [and yet, very similar] results piqued my interest in learning what the differences between the two types are...which boils down to what exactly is the difference between J and P [judging/perceiving].
Well...what I thought would be a quick, 2-minute google searched answer actually ended up being much more complex!
Soooo, what I'm going to do is research it and then share my findings here when I feel like I've got a decent understanding of what makes an INFJ different from an INFP...findings could potentially span several posts, so check back soon!
By now, you guys probably know that I'm a fan of most things psychological...including, but not limited to, personality types and theories. Right? Right! [Clickity here to see some of my posts on personality stuffs...]
Another personality facet that I've been giving some thought to, lately, is that of being 'sensitive.'
Now, this isn't necessarily referring to whether or not a person tends to exhibit socially acceptable behaviors [e.g., not laughing at a friend who has just witnessed their dog getting run over by a car, not telling the mother of a newborn that the child looks like a hellish troll spawn, or being the 'friend' that is always the first to remind someone that their haircut looks like crap.] Rather, in this case, sensitive refers to a person's thresholds for overwhelming stimuli and their responses to said stimuli.
The above links lead to a questionnaire to help determine if you might be 'highly sensitive' and then to a BuzzFeed article on the same topic.
I selected 24 items from the questionnaire as pertaining to being at least somewhat true...which makes me think that there's a good chance that I'm correct in identifying as 'highly sensitive' [So, looks like I might be able to add HSP or 'highly sensitive person' to my list of researchable traits! Me
lika do tha research!]
If you're familiar with the MBTI type INFJ, what do you think about the pairing of INFJ and HSP?
I found this site's interpretation of INFJ behavior when exposed to stressful situations to be spot on...it's always a bit refreshing to read an article on your MBTI type and be able to say, "Yep! That's definitely me!"
[/chuckle which is an INFJ thing for me to say...seems like we INFJs enjoy affirmation of our MBTI traits more than most other MBTI types...]
According to Personality Playbook, stress can really do a number on an INFJ:
Normally, INFJs are most thrown off and stressed out by environments that oppose their own personal set of values. INFJs often become stressed when they are forced to extravert too much without a break to recharge their batteries, working in a place filled with lots of noise, and in places where they must work with those they see as lazy or ignorant individuals. They may become bored and/or frustrated with activities that require attention to lots of details, dictate specific processes that must be handled in a certain way, or environments where they feel unappreciated or misunderstood.
When faced with stress overload, which may come from dealing with unfamiliar environments with overwhelming amounts of details, having to extravert too much or in uncomfortable ways, or having their well settled plans disrupted, INFJs may find themselves “in the grip” of their inferior function, Extraverted Sensing. During this experience, the individual is likely to do things that are typically completely out of character. This may include binging on the pleasures of the senses by binge-eating, over-exercising, buying lots of useless items, etc.. INFJs may assume the worst of and become angry with the world, even blaming inanimate objects for purposely causing problems (ex. an ottoman tripping the individual on purpose), and they may obsess over details in the world around them that usually seem unimportant.
Fortunately, going through and coming out of a grip experience can lead to growth and balance of the personality and the person.
Here's the link to their INFJ page. From there, you can click on links to take you to the pages of the other MBTI types.
Curious to know what your MBTI type is? You can click on the link at the top of this post to visit one of my previous posts...there, I'd posted a link to a site where you can learn which MBTI type you are.
Thoughts? Comments? If yes, please don't hesitate to either leave a comment or send me an email...I love MBTI and talking to others about similarities and differences between the types!
[P.S. - I'm still freaking out about my hair appointment!]
So, I've been struggling to resist the urge to turn this blog into an online (and public) diary. I apologize in advance for this entry, but I think that at least a tiny bit of venting is a necessary evil. Otherwise, I'll just sit an stew in this mental mess for...probably the rest of time.
To enhance your reading experience, I offer this video to play in the background; a soundtrack, if you will:
This is "Sadness and Sorrow" from the Nartuo soundtrack. Every time there is a ridiculously heart-wrenching back story, someone pouring their heart out, or a sad/melancholy moment in general, this song is playing in the background. I know I've been watching too much anime when my internal monologues share the same soundtrack as the show I'm watching! Also, I think the girl in the video is a pretty awesome violinist! She's got a whole mess of videos on her YouTube channel, I highly recommend checking her out.
(I learned that the pictures that I post in my entries get big enough to actually read if you click on them, so pardon the ridiculously small text here...promise it's readable! Click on it!)
It's no secret that I've got the tendency to be a overwhelmingly sensitive person, especially when it comes to the select few people that I actually let "in" to my life. So if you realize that you're one of these people, please tread lightly...despite my tough-girl demeanor, I'm actually quite warm and fuzzy on the inside. (But that's not to be spread around, okay? I've got a reputation to maintain...)
I know I post a lot of MBTI stuff, especially INFJ things, but I really feel like this particular statements sums up a particular struggle of mine quite nicely.
Generally speaking, treat people nicely. People are not disposable objects.
This harkens back to the title of my blog. I think a big portion of my disappointments with people/things are because I expect too much. I need to continue to work on remembering that the majority of people I encounter are not and will not be "like me." The things that I find distressing/important/silly are not going to be the same for other people. I need to remind myself of this whenever I feel as if someone is being intentionally mean or thoughtless...maybe the problem isn't actually what I think the problem is...maybe, it's my thoughts about the 'problem.' (See? Incorporating the bit of advice from the wonderful Captain Jack Sparrow that was mentioned in a previous entry!)
*I pity the fool who thinks his real name is "Mr. T"
This one is unfortunately rather specific, and I sincerely apologize for feeling the need to post it here. I'm hoping that by getting it out here, I won't harbor negative feelings (which has been my less-than-ideal way of coping with painful situations. Bury it down deep enough and the nasty feelings will eventually go away, right?). If you read this, you probably know who I'm referring to. But if you don't, let's just call this person 'Mr. T.'*
This is very, very true! I don't have as much of a handle on this concept as I liked to think that I do...working on it though, and I get better at it everyday.
Screenshot of my results from the Buzzfeed quiz "How Dateable Are You Actually?"...
found it to be rather amusing and thought I'd share it here rather than on my Facebook page. (I leave the Facebook postings for superhero/gaming awesomeness...I'll post all the stuff about warm, squishy feelings here instead!)
Posting this just because science humor is the best!
And finally, this puppy. Isn't he just the cutest thing ever?!?
Hope you all have the most fantastic of Fridays, thank you for enduring my feeling-bearing blog post. I promise to keep these to a minimum!
Hope you all had a good weekend full of either lots of fun stuff or relaxation, whichever you prefer. I had a pretty decent weekend, my only complaint would be that it was too short, though I think most people have the same thoughts every Monday morning...
On Saturday, I was talking with my brother about the MBTI post from earlier. Though the statistical likelihood of us having the same MBTI result is rather low, we both consistently score as INFJs, so that's pretty awesome. My sister completed the questionnaire, too, and got ESFP. If you've ever met my sister, you'd definitely agree that it's pretty darn accurate. A few others let me know what their results were as well, sounds like they were pretty spot on! So despite the MBTI being pretty much 'just for fun,' I think it can be said that there is at least a tiny bit of validity to its results.
On a similar note, my brother and I got to talking about some of the many other personality tests that are available, the Keirsey Temperament Sorter (KTS-II) in particular. Seems to me like this test works well in conjunction with the MBTI and gives you another facet to consider when examining personalities. Here's the link to the version of the test that I took this morning:
I know the picture might be a little hard to read, but I've been placed in the "Idealist" category, and if you look at the brief description below that, you'll see that INFJ is listed as an 'idealist - counselor.' So that's pretty cool. I don't know near as much about the KTS-II as I do the MBTI, but I'm definitely going to read up on it. For those who are interested, I'm posting graphs that list some common traits/behaviors by groups.
Can I just take a minute to laugh at the INFJ 'stress behavior' bit? Not saying it isn't true...it's just funny to see it written that way...
I also spent a good deal of time watching way too many episodes of Naruto...though, when it comes to Naruto, I don't think there actually is such a thing as too many episodes!
Naruto!
Pretty sure it isn't healthy to get as attached to fictional characters like I do, but they're just so darn amazing! Hulu has all the episodes (at least I'm pretty sure it's all of them) available, and a good portion of them have a dubbed option as well as subtitled. Though, if you're going to watch an anime, you really should be watching subtitled episodes rather than dubbed. Something about Japanese words/names trying to pronounced by Americans who really have no clue what they're saying...just, no. And I still cringe when I watch one of the early episodes when Naruto is younger and runs around adding "Dattebayo!" after just about everything he says...there is no English translation for this phrase! So the solution? Let's have Naruto obnoxiously say "BELIEVE IT!" because it looks about the same! /Sigh....
Anyway, you should check it out, it's a really cool anime. There's just something about Naruto's undying determination that I find ridiculously motivating. I know it sounds lame, but watching the show and feeling as if I can personally relate to some of its characters has actually helped me get through some pretty tough times.
Fan art of Kakashi Hatake - one of my absolute favorites!
Last thing:
Edit: I switched out videos. I like this one better than the one I had originally posted. This one has scenes from the more recent Shippuden episodes that I've been watching as opposed to the earlier episodes when the characters are much younger.
This is an AMV that a fan made to Trapt's "Headstrong." Love this video so much! I'll watch it from time to time if I'm feeling pathetically wimpy and it brings me back to focus on the task at hand and reminds me that you only truly lose if you give up. I'll never give up or back down for that is my ninja way, dattebayo!! ^_^
Good morning! It's finally Friday, and to most people that means the end of the workweek and the beginning of that glorious stretch of free time known as the weekend. And then, you've got people like me who are more or less self-employed AND a single parent, and the weekend is just a smidge less fabulous and stress-free and more like a slightly less soul-crushing workday.
Yeah, so there's that. Not a terribly optimistic point-of-view, but hey, I haven't had my coffee yet...so really, It's a miracle that I can even function at this point.
I wanted to briefly introduce a few things that will very likely be recurring themes in my blog posts, that way anyone who decides to read it might have a better idea of what I'm talking about rather than blindly stumbling through my seemingly incoherent mumblings. The first of these is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI for short).
The MBTI is a quick and dirty, yes/no type questionnaire that is often used for determining personality types. The premise behind the 'test' is that the vast majority of people's personalities fall somewhere in the grand spectrum of extrovert and introvert (duh) and it attempts to determine where you fall in that huge array of possibilities. The questions are based around a 4-axis approach to personality: extrovert/introvert, intuitive/sensing, thinking/feeling, and judging/perceiving. After answering the questionnaire, the results allow you to see which of the two possibilities you lean most towards on all 4 axes. (Evidently, 'axes' is the correct plural form of 'axis,' kind of odd, isn't it?) Now, I'm not absolutely positive that this is the same online version of the questionnaire that I've taken before, but it seems like it would probably do the trick if there is anyone who would like to see what their MBTI classification might be:
My results have consistently been 'INFJ.' Not sure if the link above breaks down the estimated percentages of the population that makes up each of the 16 types, but most sources will say that INFJ makes up the smallest percentile of the population. (Read: INFJ types are the most rare!) Some people will say that results of the questionnaire are rather unreliable. They argue that if an individual completes the questionnaire, there is a 50% chance that if the same individual takes it again in as little as 5 weeks, they will receive a completely different type. However, I am not in that 50%. I've completed the questionnaire several times over the years and always receive the INFJ type result. So, I think it's pretty safe to say that my results are consistent.
Now, a word of caution about MBTI personality typing: the results are far from scientific. They're somewhere between astrological horoscopes and polygraph tests as far as accuracy goes. (Okay, maybe a touch more accurate astrology since individual input is required rather than just a birthday) So if you do decide to take the questionnaire, just keep that in mind. Although it is kind of sciency, sort of, it's mostly just for fun.
So, why did I decide to introduce the topic of MBTI personality types only to turn around and say that it isn't scientifically valid?
Learning that my MBTI type is INFJ has actually proven to be helpful for me, personally. It allowed me an insight as to why I may not always have the easiest time relating to other people as well as why it might seem to me that 'no one gets me.' Researching INFJ traits, behaviors, and such has given me access to entirely new sources of information that I hadn't previously considered. I've found blogs and articles on the INFJ personality types and have actually picked up a few pointers on how I can change my perception of situations so that I might be able to see more than the surface drama of whatever the situation might be. It's also been somewhat of a source of comfort to know that I'm not the only person who sees the world the way that I do. (Read my blog for long enough, and you'll probably see what I'm talking about...not saying that my views are necessarily right or wrong, but a lot of people will most definitely agree that they're different...)
My undergraduate degree is in psychology, and I did a good bit of work with a few PhD's who specialized in personalities, so I find this topic to be particularly interesting! If you happen to take the questionnaire, please feel free to leave a comment or send me an email telling me what your results were...no really, it would be awesome if you did, it'd give me something to read up on later. :)
Wow, that turned into a much longer bit than I had initially anticipated. I wanted to touch on more topics, but I've exhausted my 'free time'...
I've posted a video from a YouTube channel that I follow pretty regularly - Agressive Comix. The girl in the video posts her thoughts/reviews of movies, video games, nerdcore stuff in general. Love her, love her videos, and love love love her sense of humor! Check it out, and then check out the YouTube channel if you like the video that I've posted here.
Okay, I have got to go find some source of caffeine. Bye for now!
