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Extravert. Introvert. Sure, we’ve all heard these terms, and might have assumingly assigned one to ourselves. Where do the terms stem from? How can we bi-pass stereotypes to get a deeper understanding of ourselves to better interact not only with the world around us, but find the space and confidence to in our sense of self? The answer is in knowing more about your personal preferences and you personality type. Why? Imagine if you woke up in the morning and there was a printed itinerary next to your bed. It was personalized, and it knew just how to position you for success, it was like an administrative assistant that presented the right tasks at the right time so your best work was done at the beginning of the day and you had the right amount of rest period to re-energize for the next task at hand.

MBTI is your administrative assistant. It’s a tool to better help you understand how you expend and absorb energy depending on preference pairs that make up your unique MBTI code. Okay, so that sounds complicated. What is it?

History behind MBTI

Carl Jung theorized the idea of personality types and that each of us are born with innate preferences, but it wasn’t until Katherine Cook Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers took Jung’s theory and developed it further. World War II had a big influence on MBTI and Myers believed that if people better understood each other and the way they work, the way they interact the world, they’d be able to interact in a more cohesive manner.

The first MBTI assessment was published in 1962 and it’s now the most widely used personality assessment in the world.

Fast Forward to Today

MBTI is used in top companies, with individuals, and across the world, all with the simple goal of helping people understand their individual preferences so they can create better environments for themselves and others.

How can MBTI be helpful for me?

Regardless of what stage of life you are in, you can level up your experience by gaining knowledge in your self and lean towards personal growth with that knowledge in hand.

There are four preference pairs in MBTI:

In the assessment, you answer questions to help identify which pair of opposites you prefer. Like everyone, it’s important to remember that we all have tendencies towards each pair, but it’s whatever you prefer over the other that matters. Sure, we can all be extroverted and introverted at times, but what leaves you with more energy at the end of the day?

Think about your gas tank at the beginning of a road trip. Or your happy family full to the brim with snacks and a good night’s rest. Fast forward to 6 hours later and you can see your gas is low and so are your ornery family members. This is exactly how MBTI works. By having the power to know what keeps your gas tank full, you now have the power to sustain more energy and make better life decisions along the way.

MBTI and others

If you have a family, chances are you’ve seen the ways your logic may not make sense to others. And you’ve felt the frustration of another person not understanding a viewpoint when you’ve so clearly mapped it out in front of you. Well, like personality types, people vary in how they view and interact in different scenarios. Knowing your spouse’s MBTI type or your siblings, co-workers, and kids type, can be like unlocking a new language to finally freely speak to each other in a language that is understandable.

There is no right and wrong in MBTI. There’s only understanding.

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