By: Suzanne Maiden
So you think you know what you are, right? Hmn, not so fast… People often and erroneously categorize themselves or someone else as either introverted or extroverted. Swiss psychiatrist, C.G. Jung identified these two dominant personality types, introverted or extroverted. How do you determine your personality type? Well, it may not be as obvious as you think. Introverted and extroverted personality types are NOT based on overt behavior. That’s a surprise, right? A tell-tale question is to ask yourself: Where do I get my emotional energy from?
Introverted individuals are stimulated by their inner world, they enjoy spending time in their private arena of thoughts; their psychic energy resides internally. Conversely, extroverted types focus on external events and they feel re-energized by people and crowds.
Most of my friends and colleagues mistakenly peg me as extroverted. I smile easily and can speak to anyone without difficulty. But, in actuality, I am a true introvert. I love my own inner world and private thoughts. I adore my alone time. Parties are fun, and I enjoy being with family and friends – briefly. But, when I need to restore my psychic energy, I go inward. I listen to music, write, play the piano, walk, and meditate – all solo. I crave time away from others. I often prefer my own company. Arrogant? Nope, it’s my introverted nature. If I over-schedule my social life, both my family and I pay a hefty price because I become irritable. All introverts will resonate with me.
For you extroverts, you get emotionally recharged by being with others. You get energized by a crowd. Why should you care about this? Because when you understand you and or your loved one’s dominant personality type – their behavior will make sense. You will understand their resistance or insistence on being social or withdrawn.
If you want to identify your personality type go to http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp (**This is a correction to previous post – reader brought to my attention other address was incorrect.) This 72 ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questionnaire is known as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). This free, 5 minute quiz, will provide you with your overall personality typology. The MBTI not only determines your overall introverted or extroverted type – but the four auxiliary functions which include thinking, feeling, intuition, and sensation. This quick test will illuminate how you and/or your loved one psychologically exist in the world. I’m an INFP (Introverted Intuitive Feeling Perceiving) – call me at 678-884-0524 and tell me what you are and if you’re surprised. It’s fun, it’s quick, and you may learn something about yourself.
*corrected website
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