For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Meyers Briggs Type Indicator, it is a psychological test that helps you determine your personality type, its attributes and its strengths and weaknesses. There are 16 different personality types, and they are all unique. I've taken it multiple times, with the same result. I am proudly one of the two percent of the ENFJs (Extrovert Intuitive Feeling Judging) in the world. To help you understand what I'm about to say, here's the ENFJ description, straight from the Meyers-Briggs website:
Warm, empathetic, responsive, and responsible. Highly attuned to the emotions, needs, and motivations of others. Find potential in everyone, want to help others fulfill their potential. May act as catalysts for individual and group growth. Loyal, responsive to praise and criticism. Sociable, facilitate others in a group, and provide inspiring leadership.
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Let's start with the first line, shall we? We try to be warm. We try to be empathetic toward others' feelings. We try to respond to them in a way that makes them feel important and cared for, and we try to be responsible. That's a lot of trying, and when we don't succeed, know the effort was there. Sometimes, it gets pretty exhausting making sure everyone else is emotionally fulfilled. There it is. That's where the fault lies. As ENFJs, it isn't our job to make people feel whole. It isn't our job to take care of every detail or micromanage, but sometimes we do. You just have to love us through it, and we have to take care of ourselves, too.
Here's another secret. We see the good in almost everyone. The problem is, being attracted to someone's potential to be a good person with good intentions is so very dangerous. We know it, but we try to save the world anyway. Why? Because we are visionaries. Like Ms. Norbury from "Mean Girls," we're 'pushers.' With pushing comes change, and we hope for the best.
Where there's love, there is loyalty for us ENFJs, and when you try to push us away, we still stand by you. It's hard sometimes, but it's who we are. We stay until you give us a reason to leave, and sometimes hang around for a while afterward. We'll accept your praise, and we'll soak up your criticism, and eventually, we will take it, run with it and turn it into something brand new.
We're the social butterflies, the monarchs that lead the charge to fight, even if we have to fight alone. And, when we are alone, it's sometimes hard to cope. Feeding off the energy of a group makes for a hearty meal, my friends. It's like feeling full and satisfied after a plate of your mother's home-cooked food.
So, here's the good and the bad, the blessings and the curses. And here's to ENFJs everywhere. May you be blessed with a group setting today.
