Prayer and Temperament
Myers-Briggs Personality Types
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is based on Carl Jung’s theory of psychological types or personality preferences in four areas.
1 How do you get your energy, and where do you focus your attention? Introvert (I) vs. extrovert (E). Do you get your energy from inside or outside of yourself?
2 How do you get your information? Sensing (S) or intuition (N). Do you gather factual data, or do you think of possibilities?
3 How do you make your decision? Thinking (T) or feeling (F). Do you make decisions on what is logical or on relationships and what is of value?
4 How do you deal with the world? Judging (J) or Perceiving (P). Do you deal with the world in a planned, organized way, or are you more flexible, spontaneous, keeping options open? When there is a problem, do you look for closure, or do you keep gathering data? — David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates in Please Understand Me, Character and Temperament Types.
The Myers-Briggs Indicator test has been so helpful in understanding myself, my family, and those I work with. The above is again a short, very basic summary. There are also multiple books about it and tests you can use. When I talk to spiritual friends, I suggest they connect to a group or therapist who uses the indicator.
I remember how helpful it was for me in my medical practice. We soon learned that we needed all types in our group. We need J’s who wanted closure in solving problems, but we also need P’s who wanted us to look at all the possibilities before deciding on an answer. We needed T’s who wanted our group to look at what was logical, but we needed F’s who looked at what was of value. We needed partners who were I’s in our practice, who did not speak until they had processed an answer inside, but we needed E’s who solved a problem by thinking outside and vocalizing their thought process. We needed S’s who looked at concrete data, but we needed N’s who looked at possibilities.
So, the indicator can help us live life on life’s terms personally and in community, but how does it help our spiritual journey? More tomorrow.
Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/