4 Elements of You, 4 Elements in Nature

4 Elements of You, 4 Elements in Nature

Have you ever heard of the Myers-Briggs Indicator?

Last night, I found my old results for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

What is it? The MBTI describes 16 types of people. The Indicator questions deal with the way you like to use your perception and judgment--the way you gather information and makes decisions. There are four separate preference scales and two opposite preferences on each scale. The four scales describe where you like to focus your attention (E or I), the way you gather information (S or N), the way you make decisions (T or F), and how you deal with the outer world (J or P).

On 9/21/01, my "type" consists of four letters that represent my four preferences at the time. My answers to the MBTI questions indicated that I reported preferences for ESTJ. This is also known as Extraverted Thinking with Sensing.

A graph was provided of my scores on the four preerence scales. The length of each bar is based on a formula by Isable Myers that compares the two choices for each preference. "Very Clear" means that you chose the preference consistently. "Slight" means that your choices were more evenly divided. The graph is a short explanation of each preference.

When I took this test again 2/21/06, my preferences changed to ENFP.

I drastically changed to become more Intuitive from a sensor and from Judging become more of a perceiver. What does this all mean?

Here are the four possible combinations explained:

E (Extraversion) means that you probably relate more easily to the outer world of people and things than to the inner world of ideas.

I (Introversion) means that you probably relate more easily to the inner world of ideas than to the outer world of people and things.

S (Sensing) means that you probably would rather work with known facts than look for possibilities and relationships.

N (iNtuition) means that you probably would rather look for possibilities and relationships than work with known facts.

T (Thinking) means that you probably base your judgments more on impersonal analysis and logic than on personal values.

F (Feeling) means that you probably base your judgments more on personal values than on impersonal analysis and logic.

J (Judging) means that you probably like a planned, decided, orderly way of life betterthan a flexible, spontaneous way.

P (Perceiving) means that you probably like a flexible, spontaneous way of life better than a planned, decided orderly way.

Through five years of experience, influence, other elements, I have shifted more to another combination. Each combination of preferences on the MBTI tends to be characterized by its own set of interests, values, and skills. Whatever your preferences, you still use some behaviors characteristic of contrastic preferences, but not with equal liking or skill. This is especially true in your preference score on a scale is "Slight" (under 10).

Knowing about yourself can help realize your actions through quick judgment versus prolonged thoughts of what your actions would have been. I know finding this has helped me realize myself. We are all these elements, but where do you lie?

To find out take the MBTI and discover yourself.

Some jobs even require this to see if some people are compatible with the various positions they are applying for. Get your hands on it!

Posted: 2:38 p.m. EST February 20, 2007 by Anne Meesriyong