I find it fascinating how warped my perspective and aspirations seem when compared to most other peoples; this is not to be narcissistic, or emblematic of some type of megalomania God complex. It is just irrefutable that I am unlike most people - this is fact, not opinion.
I don't believe in astrology and horoscopes, but I've always given weight to the premise of broad-brush categorisation that it relies upon; perhaps that is why I am drawn to the MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator) and the implications of it's results. Being the type of person who get's frustrated with inaccurate input, and incomplete datasets, I concede that the MBTI output will only be as reliable as the data put into it, but I do believe that there is value in it's process. I also believe that your "Type" can (and undoubtedly will) change as you mature and develop as an individual.
Currently, according to MBTI, my 'type' is an INTJ-T which I feel is an accurate representation of how I perceive my own personality; I'll explore specific examples of this momentarily.
As a side note, out of curiosity I also tested my daughter (ISTP) and nephew (ESTP) though I feel it's necessary to punctuate the fact that their lack of comprehension of some of the questions may have elicited incorrect responses thereby skewing the result. That said, the descriptions of those personality types did seem to be a relatively close fit for my daughter and nephew too (hence their inclusion).
Let's go back to my opening observation. I find that I am "not your average" when it comes to my perspectives and aspirations. How so, you ask?
- Love
First and foremost, I find little to no value in romantic relationships. At all. I have been single now for over a decade and do not envision that changing ever in truth. Maybe my values and traditions are maligned, but I fail to see any appeal with a romantic partnership aside from indirect benefits such as shared living costs. I view everything from a cost/benefit point of view, and the financial, emotional, spiritual and physical cost of sustaining a relationship simply does not seem justified for the negligible benefits of companionship and intimacy, both of which can be found without commitment. I also have no real interest in intimacy or sex, and I abhor people who use sexual activity as a yardstick for their value as a person. - Friendship
What I have learned is that all friendships are transient. Unfortunately, I truly do mean all. People change, such is the inevitability of impermanence; I change, they change, we grow apart, and we reminisce of the memories we made and experiences we shared - but nevertheless, the friendship decays over time. The amount of time, energy, and love you invest into a friendship seems utterly futile against the sands of time. I have had friends which I spent substantial amounts of my finite life with, who I have not seen or heard from in years; friendships I thought would last forever are now just distant memories. I therefore find peace in solitude, far beyond the concept of introversion, investing in myself, the one person I will never 'lose'. I suffer with "notification fatigue", I am the first to admit that I consciously ignore messages and phone calls, and I typically only engage with people on my own terms. This causes friction, because people misguidedly believe that they are entitled to my time and attention, and that by simply reaching out to me, social etiquette compels me to acquiesce to their summon, which I snub. Potentially this exacerbates how fast friendships break down in my life, nevertheless, I do not mourn the loss - with serene acceptance I simply acknowledge another friendship has drawn to a natural conclusion, and move on with my life. - Money
I am not materialistic whatsoever which is an alien concept in the current age. I do not care about expensive "luxury" items, or the trappings of success. This is a salient point which I get frustrated trying to explain to people - social status is a transient and fickle thing. I struggle to comprehend the current culture of vanity where "named brands" carry social status, where the make of your car, or the brand of your devices determines your place in some archaic pecking order - and worst, where spending credit on things you do not need to impress people is laudable. We live in a society that champions people for their consumerism, which is such an absurd notion. Buying something expensive (for example, the latest iPhone) is heralded over buying something efficient (an Android model). People judge others based on their financial standing, without actually ever knowing their true financial standing; masses buy luxuries on credit to "compete" in the pageantry of vanity, and maintain their social standing. If somebody cares about irrelevant non-entities such as the brand of clothes I wear, or the make of car I drive, then I have no interest in their opinions. We are clearly existing in completely different worlds, and operating on completely different planes of reality. Sentimental and nostalgic value are worth more to me. I have no interest in wasting money on maintaining social status which does not reflect my value as a person. Honestly, I would rather emotionless efficiency over superfluous individualist expressionism; stop encouraging "competition" and just allow the monopolisation of industries where variation is surplus to requirement - why does the world need 400 different brands of footwear and why do people pay £450 for a Balenciaga Croc? It will never make sense to me. Judge me by my character, not by arbitrary attributes and irrelevancies such as my willingness to spend money on overpriced fashion fads. - Interests
I want to know everything there is to know, and experience everything there is to experience. I want to visit every country, read every book, hear every song, watch every film, play every game... I want to learn every subject, be able to play every instrument, speak every language, achieve every goal... the world is vast, immeasurable, and stocked with overwhelming amounts of information and creative endeavors - and I want it all. Most people seem to be content with the minimum; the same mundane existence, never growing, improving, or challenging themselves - going through the motions, the same day over and over, the same vacation every year, the same boring predictable life. It frustrates me that people can be so at peace with missing out on all of the things that life has to offer.
The MBTI is similar to the works of Carl Jung and his proposed Archetypes; Jung believed that people's personalities were largely inherited via collective unconscious and devised several Archetypes that pigeon-holed people accordingly. Sigmund Freud disagreed with Jung and believed children were born as a blank slate, and their experiences shaped their personality as they grew. According to the MBTI, the INTJ-T is the Architect. Jungian Archetypes peg me as the Sage.
No comments:
Post a Comment