MBTI Excercise

Amy: The strict and aggressive Wolf

According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator I am a strict and aggressive wolf that speaks over others, dismisses ideas that haven't been proven, hold others to my high standards, and only seem to notice or comment on the flaws of people or projects. But on a positive note I can be a hard worker, contribute highly to team efforts, set and meet deadline goals, am an excellent problem solver, organize projects and develop efficient systems, and communicate honestly and directly. Wow what a mouth full! While many of these qualities both positive and negative may be true at times, I do not completely agree with my label as an ESTJ. Some of the ESTJ personality qualities are a bit extreme and when learning about the other letter types I definitely felt as if I could relate better toward others.

After our class presentation I learned a lot about my personality qualities: especially in leadership type situations. It is totally normal that I do not agree with all the qualities listed for a ESTJ, but it is also extremely important that I can learn to use my weaknesses and work with them towards improvement. I should also use my strengths to better working environments and work better with others to bring out success in whatever endeavors I choose to pursue.

The quote about restricting people when adding labels is exactly what I was thinking about the entire class time last Wednesday. Some people may fit certain labels or stereotypes, but in regards to myself I definitely do not think that is my case. I do not believe my MBTI perfectly describes me, although I do see some traits very prominent to who I am. I agree with the qualities of extraversion, some of the traits of sensing, 75% on the traits of thinking, and somewhat with the way I judge or perceive things. But I've learned to accept who I am because that is simply the way that I am. I did notice something interesting about our presentation: certain MBTI types were no doubt viewed more positively than others. Examples as easy as extroverts and introverts were distinctly seen one as the bad, loud, and controlling one, while the other had to deal with all the craziness. But I think direct statements such as the ones with not so positive qualities should be re-worded or at least explained the way they were in our class.

Societies all over the world want people to have labels, because it just makes it easier to identify differences and distinct groups of people. But the problem is that not everyone fits into these categories. At least I know I don't. We live in a world filled with beautiful diversity. People behave the way they do due to experiences, current situations, and or natural behavioral qualities. but there is no way to know an individuals exact attributes. My proposal is that instead of focusing on labeling people, we should just embrace differences and create a culture of unity through diversity. We are all different and that is perfect. We were meant to all be unique in our own ways to learn ways to cooperate and challenge ourselves everyday. Now it is our jobs to use our disadvantages as advantages and seek change to make the world a better place for all.