Most of us are familiar with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Go here to take the test. It provides a means to identify various personality types, and how they relate to one another and the world. (I am an ISTJ.)
“Paradigm” is a word that entered popular culture in the last decade. It speaks of a particular way of looking at the world. It might be an “us and them” mentality. Remember the song “You and Me Against the World?” I think of people with this type of outlook as walking around with a perpetual scowl. You can keep others at a distance if your face says “back off.” It also tends to make one susceptible to conspiracy theories. Even if you don’t have a scowl, you may see a Communist under every rock. Wait! That was the 50s. Today it would be the Trilateral Commission, or the Jews, or a government conspiracy to keep us from learning the truth about 9-11.
An opposite paradigm is that “everybody loves me.” I think of how our boston terrier greets guests. As more guests arrive, the excitement builds, until she is racing around the house in total ecstasy. She has no enemies. She would gladly get in a car with a total stranger.
The Myers-Briggs Indicator measures sixteen different combinations of personality traits. Each has its distinct way of relating to others. Once you know your classification, you can google it and verify that you fit the description. It seems that basic personality is largely genetic. You can’t change the way you are born. All you can do is temper it to make it palatable.
I don’t think there is any right or wrong personality. However, some are definitely easier to get along with. If you find yourself stuck with 10 others in an elevator for 18 hours, what kind of personality would you like them to have? How would they like you to behave?
Thinking about how we look at the world makes me wonder how we can give young children the best possible perspective. Do I want them to be careful, or cautious, or optimistic, or all of the above? Our kids are now adults, so it’s too late to correct mistakes that we may have made. How should we teach our children to be likeable adults in a world where the next person they meet may have sinister plans?
Can someone who is suspicious be changed into being loving and open toward others? Do you need to change, or are you happy with the way you are? I’m assuming that you agree with me that we would all like to be loving and open. That speaks of course, to the existence of absolute truth, which we have discussed previously. Otherwise, some would desire to be cruel, and others to be kind, and one would not be better than the other.
As mentioned previously, I am an ISTJ, although I consider myself barely an “I.” My “I” is almost an “E.” Do people who like to blog tend toward certain characteristics in their personality? Look at this description of each classification after you take the test and see if yours is an accurate description of you.
