Corporate Astrology
Posted by Anne
Once upon a time, there was a dude named Carl Jung. He was uber-smart, and very interested in dreams, myth, and all things unconscious. In his free time, he enjoyed long walks on the beach, tiramisu, and pondering the various personality types among people. A couple decades later came WWII. A mother-daughter duo thought women might want some help deciphering how to choose war-time jobs. So they said,
“Hey! That Carl Jung…we think he was on to something with his personality theories, even though he was buddies with Freud, who was kinda creepy. Anyway, let’s create a little test people can take that will identify their personality type. And maybe it’ll become really famous. We’ll name it after ourselves…The Myers Briggs Type Indicator! And maybe because it’s expensive people will develop knock-off free versions that will appear on Facebook!”
Seriously…that’s exactly how it happened. 
If you’ve never taken the Myers Briggs before, it’s a personality assessment, and it’s used all over the world. You answer some questions, end up with your “personality type preference”, and it tells you how you interact with the world…specifically how you process information and make decisions. A colleague of mine calls it the Corporate Astrology, as it’s more academically respected (but not too different) than identifying as a Capricorn or Leo. Yep, that’s the “type table” to the right. Isn’t it pretty?
As part of my job, I use the Myers Briggs almost every day. Students take it, longing for answers to their career questions. There are several dimensions to the personality report, but the most relevant to Life in Pencil is the dimension that pegs you as either…
a) “Judging”: someone who prefers planning and dislikes ambiguity—the list-makers of the world, or
b) “Perceiving”: someone who thrives on spontaneity—adaptable people that feel boxed-in by making decisions too quickly. The procrastinators of the world.
It’s actually rather complex, but this is a blog-post, not a counseling session, so I’ll spare you.
I’ve taken the Myers Briggs approximately a million-jillion times, and I’m always the same. Do I even need to tell you? Yep, I’m the first…a listmaker. A hater of ambiguity. In actuality, both of these types have their benefits and drawbacks. And truly, my lists don’t bother me too much. But my incessant longing to to make decisions and end ambiguity? I’m not a fan.
Am I genetically predisposed to this?
Sometimes, I find comfort in the fact that my desire to plan is, in some respects, just a part of me. I have brown hair. I don’t digest ice cream very well. I make lists. And sometimes, this scares me. How can I break free from something that’s so deeply ingrained…so much a part of me?
So here’s the good news: your Myers Briggs Type shows only your preferences, meaning you can develop different sides to yourself. This means I can develop my “perceiving” side…even though I may always be “judging” at heart. It’s not a lost cause. But it takes work—battling against my natural preferences. I suppose that’s what this blog is all about. The work it takes to live Life in Pencil when your personality constantly reaches for a pen.
What do you think? If you’re a list-maker and planner, is it hard-wired? Has it simply been a part of you for your whole life? Or did it develop somewhere along the line? Or have you always been the spontaneous type?
Go ahead…follow this link and try it. You know you want to. This isn’t the real deal, but you’ll get the idea. Now what’s your type?
October 8th, 2009 at 7:20 am
Terrific post! I especially love knowing that Jung loved tiramisu and that Myers and Briggs were money-grubbing opportunists!
Seriously though, cool to realize and understand that we can develop different parts of ourselves with work and time. I will definitely be checking out your link later today.
October 8th, 2009 at 7:33 am
Interestingly, Anne and I are both the same MBTI type: ENFJ (which, incidentally, is one of the less common types). I am definitely a “J,” but I’ve worked hard on developing my “P” side for the past several years. Also, the Jung estate recently published “The Red Book,” a book that Jung created as the story of his unconsciousness. Fascinating stuff. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/magazine/20jung-t.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=red%20book&st=cse
October 8th, 2009 at 7:33 am
I am a list maker to the very core. I embrace it and take a lot of pleasure from making a list and checking things off. What I do NOT embrace are the personality characteristics that come along with being the list-making type — the constant planning of EVERYTHING. I would really enjoy being a lot more spontaneous and not letting the little things seem quite so necessary. I definitely think it can happen! : )
October 8th, 2009 at 8:01 am
I have always been an ESFJ — and always aspired to be an ENFJ. When I took this test for the first time at the bank where I worked — they loved the SJ’s becasue we were organized — but the NTs were so much cooler IMHO. I need to practice my NT!!
October 8th, 2009 at 8:04 am
I would have pegged you for a fellow ENFJ, Emily. And I, too, have always dreamed of being an NT, which Maikael is. Hmm…
October 8th, 2009 at 11:15 am
Well I am an ESFJ………I think it pegs me just right.
October 8th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
As a Myers Briggs “P,” I have always enjoyed the laid back nature of my disposition and that it can simplify life, since I can only deal with as many issues that fit in my head at a given time
However, keeping my schedule in my head probably takes valuable space from other potentially more meaningful thoughts, and has made Elizabeth the de facto keeper of our social lives.
October 8th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
If I have done this before, it’s been years. I hate questions that include words such as “always” or “never” or “routinely” or “easily”, so I spent a good bit of time arguing with the questions. Then I took it twice, trying to change my answers on the questions that were borderline. It didn’t seem to matter — each time I was an ESTP. Now, Anne, what do I do with it?
October 8th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Not that I probably needed to tell you, but, I’m an ENFJ.
Love to my fellow types!
October 10th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
I’m a ENFP who sometimes pretends to be a T or a J. I love a good list and I carry around a book bag (to keep track of the tiny paper scraps) with a handfull of pens (because I loose them) and loose paper side by side with several half-full note books. By my bed I have a notebook, by my phone, in the van – all full of my chicken scratch lists and notes to myself. My problem? Once I write out a list, I rarely look at it again for at least a week, or I spend 10 minutes searching for it. It’s fun to be a ENFP only until it’s time to get serious and get something done. It’s true, I envy Liz and yours J.
October 27th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
I am an ESFP. What does that say?
October 27th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Here you go, Marc. I would have pegged you as an ESFJ. http://www.personalitypage.com/ESFP.html