The Introvert In Me

When I was in high school I had a teacher who introduced me to the book, Please Understand Me: Character and Temperament Types by David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates.  For those who have never read it, it’s a book that includes a Myers-Briggs personality test along with descriptions of each personality type that exists.  This book was quite the eye-opener for me!

Imagine- I was a 16 year old student with what I thought was a really strange personality.  I didn’t mind being alone for long periods of time and was not all that outgoing.  Since most of my friends weren’t like this I thought that there might be something wrong.  Little did I know that I was perfectly normal, but only 6% of the general population!

Now I’m at the point where I can truly appreciate my personality, especially the introverted part.  It’s what helped me choose the career path I am taking.  I hope that someday (after the kids are grown!) I can really use the positive personality attributes I have to climb higher and higher up the corporate ladder.

Learning about different personality types not only helped me learn more about myself, but it also changed the way I thought about other people.  Everyones temperament and actions became so much more understandable, which helps me at work every.single.day.  There are so many different types of people in every work environment and it’s so important to work well with others, no matter how difficult, annoying or unintelligent they are.

Recently, I came across this old article: Caring for Your Introvert: The habits and needs of a little-understood group by Jonathan Rauch and wanted to share it, since I fall into the 25% of people it’s about.  If you ever wanted to understand others a little better, now’s your chance!

Until next time,
Shaindy