According to the Myers-Brigg (MB) test, I am an ISFJ. That’s Introverted Sensing with Feeling, for all you non-MB followers.
I did the MB test last year, just out of curiousity. There is a whole personality type description that goes with the four letter code. Maybe one day I will explore the rest of it on the blog.
When all the responses were analyzed, MB said that I was slightly more introverted than extroverted. I like to to think of myself as being an extroverted introvert (i.e. mostly introverted but with some spurts of extroversion).
I often need to bring a chart to the front desk after seeing a patient, only to bump into another client. Fortunately, I usually remember their name and their pet’s too. I greet them, we chit-chat a bit and I head back to my work. I learned by watching my friend Rita, who has a fantastic way of greeting clients at her optical store without being fake about it. To me, the effort spent on extroversion is all about creating a community.
The other “stage” is when I go into the exam room. There are certain expectations that clients have of what should happen and how I should behave with them and their pet. I enjoy it. It feels good.
But I can only do all of that for so many hours in a day. My extroverted side starts to wear out and I need to recharge. The introvert in me craves time alone, silence and a chance to slow down. That’s how I know I am mostly introverted. I know of people (like Rita) that seem to gain energy from being with others. Extroverted individuals get bigger and brighter in a crowd. It is a wonderful thing to observe.
Sometimes I wish for a little bit more of that extroverted energy.
However, whether I am being extroverted or introverted, I am trying to be my true self for that person or pet in that moment. During uncomfortable situations in a previous job, I’ve felt a strange twinge where my mind is telling me to say or do something other than what is happening currently. It is a sign telling me to get out of that moment because I am not being true to myself. Lots of hard lessons associated with that last thought.
So regardless of whether I am ME or me, my aspiration is for being in the moment with honesty.
