Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Who am I?

I haven't been able to get online for over a week, since an electrical surge wiped out the computer and modem. I really missed my internet fix, but it was probably good to force me to do other things. I spent too much time on the computer still playing solitaire. I have also been reading the book "I'm not crazy, I'm just not you" about personality types. It was very helpful in clarifying the meaning behind all the letters, but I have a feeling I really don't know myself very well. I keep changing my mind about which style I prefer. I am an introvert definitely. I have always said that a lot more goes on in my head, before the words come out of my mouth. I can make a comment half an hour after the other person thinks the conversation is over, because I have still been tossing the ideas around in my head.
My perception process is confusing to me because I think of myself as a realist, and facts driven. I draw on past solutions to address a new problem. In my job as a stylist, I assess the current state of the clients haircut to see what changes should be made, and I see the changes as technical adjustments. I don't see myself as innovative or creative or visionary. I prefer to be given a vision, so I can work out how to set it in motion. I love food and the beach. I read more fiction than non-fiction. I take people literally. Even the way I am writing this is in present tense observations of what I do. This all points to Sensing but.... I have always thought of myself as analytical. I make connections and see patterns in the information I find. I like to translate the information and interpret it. I have to go back and reread this blog, but I believe that most of what I do on this blog is reinterpret the information I read. I always used to tell people I had a theory about this or that. Can I be both? I grew up being told I was a daydreamer. Maybe that is an introverted thing. I have swung back and forward on the perception thing for the whole week. I used to always say N, but the creativity and visionary thing is what makes me think no. I like facts and actively seek them out. I like to know how, why. I am known for this, it's how I got the nickname google.
Something new for me is discovering that I may be a feeling type. The word feeling seems wrong applied to me. I don't think of myself as being emotional, but my husband perceives me to be. ( he's told me this for years, but I never believed it till I read it in a book. I just couldn't see it.)Because I am introverted I don't think of myself as a people person, but I like to make people happy. I like the beach because it makes me feel good. I don't like confrontation, I cried when coworkers got fired because I felt bad for them. I like the company Aveda because of their values. I care what people think of me, though I try to pretend I don't. I really convinced myself that I was a detatched clinical person. Not sappy and emotionaly driven. My husband says I use tears against him, therefore I am emotional. I thought all girls cry. I actually thought all people did. All children do. Doesn't everyone get sad? One possibility is that I am a T, but conditioning as a girl makes me more F. Another is that I am an F, and this is my blind spot. How could I miss that? I think of myself as a thinker, but again that word is used differently here. I "think" about how things impact people, mostly me. I worry about the kids feelings and their emotional growth. Again I thought that is just how everyone thinks. I'm unromantic about things. I don't think of myself as girly. Never have. I didn't think I wanted to be domesticated and housewifey, but I sort of am. I still like to look pretty sometimes, but I have done the anti-pretty thing too. Apparently 2/3 of feelers are female. I used to mediate in arguments between my Mum and Dad. Mum would get confused by Dads argument and confused by his often contradicting logic, she couldn't explain herself because she just felt wrong, and there wasn't always logic to it. I would point out the flaws in his story, and speak on her behalf. I identify more with his logic than her feeling, but when I tried to decide who I would live with if they split, I remember not wanting to hurt either ones feelings. I cried when I heard them fight. I feel faint if I think about people being hurt, and I think about their families. I was vegetarian for 7 years, despite loving meat, because I felt bad for the animals. I think I use logic to assess how things will affect relationships, so which is that?
I changed my final preference to Perceiving fron Judging, because while I like some planning I am also open to flexibility and like to wait and see, leaving my options open. I tend to go with the flow and am not very decisive. I reserve the right to change my mind. However I have rules for lots of things. Certain actions will give certain outcomes. I have been known to change the way I do things in a haircut sometimes though just to prevent boredom. I definitely collect information though. A case is never closed, there is always potential for new information to shed light on a situation. I withhold information sometimes, lest I limit my options. So IP I am most confident about, and the percieving functions S&N the least.

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