A friend of mine is trying to get certified as a counselor for the Meyers Briggs test, so I took an online thing today so I could go to a group session tomorrow. It was very interesting, and I found that I fell in between the two options on the screen so often that it was SO HARD to pick one. I wrote down the questions that I had trouble answering, and I thought I’d post them for fun:
Do you find keeping a schedule liberating or confining? – Here’s the thing, I don’t like keeping a schedule. I definitely don’t like that I have to regulate my entire life by a book and a pen, and deadlines, or even charts and check boxes. I hate that. But has keeping a schedule been confining? I really can’t say that it has. It’s enabled me to keep track of things and meet deadlines. It’s given me the ability to be productive when I otherwise wouldn’t be. It’s really more a little of both. I hate it, but I get a LOT of good from it. Not the least of which is my novel that I’m very proud of. I finally put confining but it didn’t feel like the truth, exactly.
When making a decision, is it more important to you to weight the facts or consider people’s opinions and feelings? – Facts are really important to me. They are. I think that every decision should be made based on facts and not on We Wish or We Hope. But, facts have different weights depending on your feelings. That should be taken into account. For example, what if I’m looking to move to a new city? I can look at ratings of best cities, but maybe “best” is based on number of bike paths. If I hate to bike, that fact isn’t going to matter to me. That shouldn’t be weighted equally with how much live theater a place has. I care about that much more. It’s both. We need both to make a valid decision. I waffled, and then finally picked opinions and feelings…
Do you rather prefer to do things at the last minute, or find doing things at the last minute hard on the nerves? – I LOVE chaos. I love struggling, feeling that adrenaline rush and knowing that you’ve been the one to solve that last minute problem with aplomb. It fills me with glee. This is the reason I loved running the Electrical Parade costuming crew so much. Disaster was imminent every night, and I often got to be the hero. Still, if given the chance I’ll plan ahead. I also like that satisfied feeling, that I’m competent and in control, to know that my tasks are finished and I can just enjoy (or be ready for the coming chaos). 90% of the time, I plan ahead and am ready for anything, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love a little last minute action. I honestly don’t remember what I picked for this one, it was such a toss-up.
Among your friends, are you one of the last to hear what’s going on, or full of news about everybody? – This is a weird one for me. I have a hard time keeping in touch with people. Unless I interact with them on a daily basis, I’m always out of the loop. I’m a terrible correspondent and I don’t answer my phone (ever). This means that I’m usually behind the times on what’s happening in people’s lives. But… acquaintances have this weird habit of telling me insanely personal details about themselves. I like it because I get to be in the know, but I often find it strange how I end up being the confessor. I straddle both divides. I think I put down “last to hear,” because I usually am the last among my nearest and dearest.
Are you at your best when dealing with the unexpected, or when following a carefully worked out plan? – Oh man. I’m better when I’m following a carefully worked out plan, and I enjoy working out careful plans. That is the truth. But I’m better than anyone I know at dealing with the unexpected. Very little phases me. The world could be burning down, and I’m like “thanks for the info, we’ll deal with it when we get there.” Does talent for something give enough weight to claim it as best? I was true to myself and put plan, but I still don’t know if it was the right choice.
So that’s it for the test. On another note, there is a large group of people yelling outside my office as if they’re at a sporting event or something. The ways of college students are mysterious (says the girl who graduated 6 months ago).
Casey E. Hamilton 