This time I’d like to talk a little bit about personality. If you’ve never heard of the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator, it’s this test that asks an endless amount of questions and can cost up to fifty dollars to take. However, as the internet is such a wonderful place, there are quite a few places where you can take the same test for free. Anyways, this test finds your personality alignment among 16 possibilities, based on 4 aspects. You could be Introverted or Extroverted, Observant or Intuitive, Thinking or Feeling, and Perceiving or Judging. this test was built upon years of research, and so we’re not going to try and focus on all of it. I just wanted to cover the introverted and extroverted part, and talk a little bit about what that REALLY means.

There are these ideas that have tagged themselves on to the words Introverted (socially inept, reclusive, boring) and extroverted (socially dependent, party head, loud), and sometimes they cause people to take a defensive stance on what they tend to identify with. Here’s the thing, my friends, nobody’s attacking you. All the words really allude to is how your energy is spent.

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For example, an introvert is merely someone that finds heavily social situations draining. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they don’t LIKE people, or that they’re SCARED of them. It’s just that it’s easier to remain in your own thoughts, or talk to yourself. Maybe it’s not as easy to communicate your thoughts as easily, and sometimes it can be like speaking a second language. That’s why maybe it can be a little tiring to be around too many people for more than an hour or two. And that’s when you say, “Alright everyone, it was fun” or “Okay, I’m gonna head out.” It’s just how you work, and that’s fine.

Now, consider the opposite. The extrovert is just as straightforward, as a person who might be able to work or process better around people. Of course, they can be alone, and operate smoothly, but sometimes being in solitude might be a little bit of an energy drain. One might get more energy from other people, and maybe they’re considered to be loud, just because it’s easier to include everyone around you in conversation than to be around people and be silent. And that’s when you say, “Hey, is this seat taken?” or “Might I ask what you’re reading?” or whatever the heck. You like polite conversation, and it’s chill.

So now that that’s said, nobody has to be as much of one thing as the next person. As we know, I like to view most things as a spectrum, and this is no exception. Sometimes, it’s hard to identify yourself as existing on one side or the other. In such a case, we use the word Ambivert. Even though my Type is ENFP (E standing for extrovert), the strength of that part of my type is a little ambiguous, and I end up being almost right on the line between that and INFP (I for introvert). This is because sometimes I feel like I need to be around people, and sometimes I feel like I need to be alone. Sometimes, I could do either or neither. Taking that into consideration, it’s hard for one to identify with one side. Maybe for you, too, dear Reader.

If you’re interested in finding out your personality type, 16personalities.com has the accurate test for free. If you want to find out a little more about your specific personality while still not paying a dime, Truity.com will also be useful. But always remember that your personality and self will always be so much more than what you read on a computer screen; these tests are just tools to help you consider how much of your mind there really is. Most importantly, no matter what you find, embrace and celebrate every bit of it. After all, each individual is different from the next, no matter how many introverts or extroverts there may be out there in the world.