2 weeks ago I knew nothing about the Myers Briggs test. I was a regular gal going about my day to day life, fixing things, figuring out stuff and eating potato chips. Sometimes I'd break for 5 minutes to pet my cats.
Now I am thinking of marrying the Myers Briggs test. It will be a simple ceremony. Just me, the test and probably a few reporters because someone marrying a test is kind of big news. Once when I was working on the Jerry Springer show someone tried to marry a horse, but I don't think anyone has ever married a test before. A test is a much smarter thing to marry since it can't kick you in the head plus you don't need to have its feet looked after.
In case you missed my post from last week where I introduced the Myers Briggs test here's a little rundown. The Myers Briggs assessment puts all people into 1 of 16 categories based on how they feel and react to different situations basically. Each person fits into one of those categories which are each represented by 4 letters.
Confused yet? I'm doing an excellent job of making something very simple seem very confusing. I'm good like that.
Your type is decided by whether you are an Introvert or an Extrovert. A Sensing person or an Intuitive person. A Thinking of Feeling person. And finally a Judging or Perceiving person.
Here's the test if you weren't around to take it when I wrote about it a couple of weeks ago.
These are the 16 types and just some random one word description of the type.
This is a *slightly* more in depth look at the types.
So ... I'm an INTJ. Which means I’m an Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking and Judging kind of person. I found that out 2 weeks ago, prior to my whirlwind engagement to the test. That's just the most basic assessment of the type. There are pages and pages written about whatever type you are. Everything from how to deal with people who aren't your type to what kind of job you should have because of your type.
INTJs are very rare. How rare? Female INTJs are the rarest of all the personality types. I am a female INTJ.
0.5% of all woman are INTJ. And only 1.5% of the entire population (men and women included) are INTJ.
Which makes my next statement extraordinary.
28% of The Art of Doing Stuff readers who took the test were INTJ. Statistically that means pretty much every INTJ female out there is reading this website. Even the men were INTJs. Like reader Cussot said, this site is an INTJ magnet.
Here's a rundown of all the types that read my site and took the test the other week so you can see how rare or popular your type is around these parts.
I'm thinking of wearing white. Don't judge.
As it turns out, Penelope Trunk, the woman whose test I linked to last week caught wind of my post and read it along with all of the comments. She emailed me to say #1 she was AMAZED at how many INTJs were hiding out here and #2 she asked if she could interview me during one of her Myers Briggs online courses about being an INTJ who is running her own business.
Penelope holds online video courses, many of which are on the Myers Briggs types. She let me watch one of them last week so I could learn more about what it means to be an INTJ. What my assets are, where I might have trouble. Apparently an INTJ is brilliant, can get almost anything, is pretty much always right ... but everyone hates to work with them. So it's a good thing I work alone. Mainly because I think most other people are incompetent. Also not my fault ... just a trait of being an INTJ.
When I told Penelope how much I loved her video course I blurted out that I'd like to share it with you folks. Penelope runs these seminars for money. For cash money. It's her job. So to ask her to let you watch one for free was kind of pushing my luck but she agreed.
So for the first time ever, for just The Art of Doing Stuff community, here is one of Penelope Trunk's videos on the different Myers Briggs types and what they mean. In this particular course she talks about which personality types are the complete nut jobs, which types are most likely to commit which type of crime and other fun and interesting things that pretty much every person should know.
Click here to watch Penelope Trunks Personalty Type Master Class - Session 1
You'll be asked for a password. The password is "stuff" (don't include the quotes)
Like it? Addicted to it? Need more? I know the feeling. And I know a LOT of you were interested in this when I posted about it. Here's the link if you're interested in taking this course from Penelope, which is The Personality Type Master Class. Understand you, your coworkers, your family, everyone! And learn to deal with them better.
So the interview! Penelope is hosting another course specifically for INTJs. It's a 4 day live, online video course called Best Practices for Leveraging INTJ strengths. She will be interviewing me during one of them. You wanna learn more about it? Maybe sign up for it? You can do so here.
Not an INTJ? Don't worry. If we were all INTJs the world would be a boring (though incredibly productive) place. If you liked the look of it you can take the
Now go away. I have a wedding to plan.
[shareaholic app="share_buttons" id="5342563"]
Kelli
Ironically I'm currently on a conference call with my office team and we are discussing this type of thing - our 'colors' though, don't follow these particular things (our company went through this exercise last year and now it's part of our corporate vernacular: http://tinyurl.com/k2hhc9y) . But I love this stuff, I love trying to figure people out, love to 'people watch', love to wonder what caused someone to be the way they are. Maybe I should have gone into Psychology? ISFJ Gold/Green!
Ana R.
I'm an ESTP! So it's more like 0.0001% of AODS readers are ESTP.
Glad to be one of them!
Karen
Fun! ~ karen
Carol
I was very skeptical but it turns out that I too am an INTJ! Either the test itself is flawed, INTJs aren't as rare as reported, or your blog is an INTJ magnet. In any case, it's quite fascinating.
Bonnie
Ok, as one of the only ENFPs here, I need support. Who are you, the other ENFP? Why are we here among all of these INTJs?
Allison
I'm either an ENFP or ENFJ depending on when I took the test. Let's team up, Bonnie. I'm intimidated by all the INTJs here.
Bonnie
Ok, there is power in numbers, if only 2.
grackle
I'm kind of shocked at the moment - I followed a link to the chicken coop from Pinterest got to this post, and.... uh, I am an INTJ. I hadn't thought about the Myers Briggs stuff in awhile but actually this is super helpful to me right now. Wow.
Karen
LOL! Well .... welcome to the post that's completely different from the coop post! You never know what my posts are going to be on but they're always pretty varied. Clearly. :) ~ karen!
Mary Werner
OH MY this was great information. Hard to get used to her at first but I finally got it - Melissa's explanation of the four letters really cleared up why I felt my results were not accurate and now I'm in total agreement with INFP. Also, hearing this helped me realize why I disliked so many co-workers before - the people that didn't care about why or who would answer without knowing the answer just to have closure. I could have been so much more compassionate towards my work team with this information. I will delve deeper into this so the future (in-law) relationships will be good. Thank you SO MUCH Karen for bringing this to us !!!!!!!!!!!!!
CSB
Is this written down anywhere? I'm hard of hearing and she talks way to fast and scattered for me to be able to get much out of this.
Nancy S in Winnipeg
When we did the workshop at our office retreat one year we had only 4 INTJs - me, my boss, his boss and the accounting clerk. So, we all sat at a table together.
Amyjean
Wow. I took the test after you posted it and found I was an INTJ. Didn't think anything of it at the time but now knowing how special and rare we all are :-)) I'm fascinated. Thanks for sharing!
randi
Looks like my type INFJ is even rarer than yours.....competitive? Nah.
Jennifer
Here's an ENTJ reporting in that missed the first post where we were supposed to report in...Love Myers Briggs!
Karin
ISTJ here. And that fits me to a "T". Like someone else mentioned I took this test in college and twenty five years later still the same result. By the way - I hope this isn't a contest and only the INTJ's win? We're all special, right? I KNOW I am!! :D
Anna
I am an INTJ and so is my husband...I guess that makes us a very rare couple. Luckily we see eye to eye on most things (but when we don't, watch out). We are both high school math teachers and we work at the same school. It's interesting to me that INTJ's seem to attract other INTJ's.
Rose-INTJ
Watched the video. Fun watching an extrovert at work. She drank half a bottle of wine, but what she said totally makes sense!
Coleen Clark
I repeat, it is not a "test". It is a questionnaire.
It is hard to believe you are an INTJ with this kind of sloppinees. Normally, INTjs are much more demanding of themselves.
I am cancelling my subscription. This is a waste of time.
Karen
LOL. If you get that upset over one word, then this is probably not the best place for you. ~ karen
Alice
I hope this doesn't garner me a lot of hate mail, but Myers Briggs is really not that great an evaluation tool:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/give-and-take/201309/goodbye-mbti-the-fad-won-t-die
http://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2013/mar/19/myers-briggs-test-unscientific
Karen
Hi Alice! Well I wouldn't trust reddit for information, but the other two are O.K., lol. Yes I said in my fist post that the Myers Briggs test is the most popular and most criticized of all the tests, but based on my own experience I'd say it's pretty damn accurate and I went into it thinking it was stupid. ~ karen!
Laura
An INTJ convention must be held . I'll bring green chili artichoke dip. Then we can all sit quietly together, thinking our rational little thoughts and intuiting our masterful little intuits.
Natika
It is amazing that you have so many INTJs in one place! I'm not however. I'm a ENTJ. One letter off close enough?
Karen
Natika - Apparently ENTJs are the leaders of the world and most CEOs are ENTJS! ~ karen
ISTJ
If you are going to wear white now it is OK since it is after Easter. That's the rule. But if it was before I would definitely judge you.
Sonia
Also an INTJ and diagnosed as such some 20 years ago as part of a work related retreat. Although finding out the results was interesting, it was even more fun to be in a room full of my co-workers (all of whom I thought I could peg pretty well) and finding out their personality types (I was wrong). Beware Karen that the results don't always stay the same. Take it again in 10 years.
Li Anne
10 years ago, I was an INTJ. And this year, I'm still an INTJ. lol