I don't like people relying on MBTI for everything they do

I don't like people relying on MBTI for everything they do

Is anyone INFJ?

A friend posted a question in their social circle, along with a screenshot of a character drawing.

 

I don't know when it started, but it seems that more and more people like to label themselves as MBTI personality tests, the four letters connected together have become a personality declaration with social attributes.

This test seems quite interesting.

 

I first came into contact with MBTI when I was choosing my major in my third year of high school. The homeroom teacher sent each of us a link to this test to help everyone find the most suitable major for themselves. Later on, I found out that MBTI is a theoretical model for describing personality traits. It categorizes 16 personality types based on how to acquire energy, gather information, make decisions, and cope with the external world. After 10 minutes and completing 93 test questions, I was determined to have an ENTP personality.

 

A Debater (ENTP) is a person with the Extraverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Prospecting personality traits They tend to be bold and creative, deconstructing and rebuilding ideas with great mental ability They push their goals Vigorously despite any resistance they might counter. 免费性格测试 | 16Personalities 

 At that time, I instinctively nodded - yes, that's me.

 Perhaps because of my attachment and sense of belonging to self-identity, I began to use it to define myself. At that time, I thought to myself, isn't it very interesting to have an additional way to understand myself? I started to enjoy using it to analyze others. In fact, before MBTI, people seemed to prefer using the twelve zodiac signs to mark themselves. In junior high school, I proficiently memorized the dates of each zodiac sign and searched for the best friend in my class based on the zodiac pairing index. Then, I discovered MBTI. Compared to constellations entirely predetermined by heaven, MBTI appears relatively scientifically reliable due to its theoretical and testing support. After understanding the classification of various personalities, I naturally believed that I had the tools to analyze myself and others, and began to tirelessly judge the types of others. MBTI is like a tool that concretizes our complex and elusive traits, allowing us to find a sense of belonging in the vastness.

 

I saw some topic discussions online, and people have endless stereotypes about various personalities: if you are INFJ, then you must have a great sentiment and mysterious atmosphere of helping the world; As long as you are ISTP, you must be a cold-blooded animal who doesn't care about emotions. Do you feel very familiar with it? It seems that everyone is trapped in the framework of MBTI, accurately labeling people according to 16 types and then categorizing them. Slowly, I also began to incorporate personal assumptions and personality stereotypes into the people I met.

 

For us, realizing our MBTI is just the first step, and to successfully apply the test results of MBTI to ourselves, we need to explore and understand more deeply.

 

I even imagined that I would be with an ENFP-type person in the future. They have strange and quirky minds and easy-going romantic personalities, they are simply angels on earth. But the later situation was that I couldn't find my ENFP, and my best friend wasn't the INTP that should complement me very much. That is to say, when encountering the person who truly falls in love, all labels and assumptions do not count. In this complex and diverse world, each of us is a unique individual with unique experiences, thoughts, and emotions. However, society often tends to define us using labels, attempting to reduce complex individuals to simple labels for easier understanding and classification. However, we cannot be bound by these labels, as our lives are rich and colorful story that goes far beyond the scope of any simple label.

Everyone is an independent canvas composed of various colors, patterns, and lines. Our experiences, education, cultural background, and interactions with others have left unique marks on our canvas. Attempting to summarize a person with a label is like trying to depict the entire canvas with a single color, which is an extreme simplification of individual complexity. When we are labeled, it is easy to be limited by societal expectations and biases. For example, a person perceived as "smart" may be expected to perform well academically without being allowed room for failure; A person considered a "literary youth" may be expected to achieve success in the creative field without being understood for their interest in other fields.

 

However, what we should pursue is freedom beyond labels. We all have the right to showcase our diverse traits and embrace our uniqueness. We can be rational thinkers or emotional creators; It can be a calm and mature decision-maker, or an adventurous explorer full of adventurous spirit. Our diversity makes human society more colorful because it is in this diversity that we find resonance, understanding, and common values. Try to say no to the tag.

 

So, I started to enjoy the possibilities that belonged to me. I allow myself to no longer be so obsessed with plans, such as making a last-minute decision to travel to Nanjing the night before and adapting to various unexpected situations that would have caused me to collapse; I try to reconcile with my emotions and no longer forcefully suppress or hide them; I try not to be so obsessed with planning my future and learn to live in the present. I have given up my superstition about labels now.

 

According to Jiao, P (2023), your MBTI personality is not who you are, not who you are now, not who you used to be, nor will it be who you will be in the future. It is just a way of showing your behavior at this moment when you are doing the questionnaire and a form of showing your inner self. Perhaps MBTI is more like a soft mold made of clay, bringing together a group of similar people, and allowing them to embrace their own appearance more firmly and confidently. Of course, there is also enough space inside, to jump out and find another path, or to let oneself grow wild, everything is up to you to decide.

                                    MBTI Theme Social activity at GEH B5, Saturday, December.2,2023.

                                    (WKU/ Ge Saier) 2023/12/16

So, do you believe in MBTI?