Can People Change?

For some time now, I've been thinking about my type-A personality or the Myers-Brigg version, called the INTJ. Introverted-iNtuitive-Thinker-Judgmental. And occasionally I find myself "out of body" when I've scolded a child, usually Brooke, for something that's really stupid - like eating candy in the living room....I set up that rule, which is stupid, for the reason that I didn't want ants and more importantly, that I would be saved a step in cleaning sticky off the couch.

In the scheme of things, who really cares?

So, anyways, during these "out of body" experiences, I think, "Jeez lady, that's not a very nice way to talk to your daughter." And then I'm back in me, and I blow it off, because I think I'm right.

Well, I'm wrong.

How can I change? Is it possible for a type A to cross over to the lazze-faire type B? Wouldn't that be nice? Not to have any cares? Not to feel the pressure of crossing things off a to-do list - for that matter, to even create a to do list in the first place!

Oh, there comes my sarcasm again. Apparently that's a weakness for INTJ's. I told you I've been reading up.

In fact, there are several weaknesses of INTJers....check it out:

INTJs

• May be unaware (and sometimes uncaring) of how they come across to others I'm actually becoming more aware thanks to those "out of body" experiences
• May quickly dismiss input from others without really considering it
• May apply their judgment more often towards others, rather than towards themselves That has me written all over it!
• With their ability to see an issue from many sides, they may always find others at fault for problems in their own lives I try not to blame others, though. Really, I try to take ownership for my faults. I think that has to do with becoming a Christian, which has taught me to look at my sins and seek forgiveness.
• May look at external ideas and people with the primary purpose of finding fault Can you say Democrat? Ok, I admit it. I do this often.
• May take pride in their ability to be critical and find fault in people and things Yep. I once took a test for a friend who was getting his masters in counseling, and I think I told him something like, "And what's wrong with that?" I really thought it was ok to be hyper-critical of others.
• May have unrealistic and/or unreasonable expectations of others Yes! That's partially what drove me out of teaching! But I never thought of those expectations as being unrealistic. Maybe being able to write in complete sentences and pass an open book science exam was too unrealistic for a 13-year-old.
• May be intolerant of weaknesses in others Again - this one has my name written all over it!
• May believe that they're always right Aren't I?
• May be cuttingly derisive and sarcastic towards others If you haven't had to opportunity to read any of my other posts, you probably wouldn't pick up on that from me...:)
• May have an intense and quick temper I actually think I'm a slow-to-boil kind of person.
• May hold grudges, and have difficulty forgiving people Again, I think having Christ in my life has actually helped me with this, although I'm not as quick as He was in forgiving me.
• May be wishy-washy and unsure how to act in situations that require quick decision making Indecisive...that's me. That's also Haley.
• May have difficulty communicating their thoughts and feelings to others You usually have an idea of what I'm thinking. Feeling? Now there's something for me to think about.
• May see so many tangents everywhere that they can't stay focused on the bottom line or the big picture Another way to describe that is easily sidetracked. Yes. Me.

One thing I learned while doing a bit of research on this is that it's supposed to be good for INTJers to journal. Maybe that's what sort of led me to this Blogging thing. Even if no one reads it or responds, it has been kind of fun. It's given me a chance to think throughout the day things like, "That would be good to blog about!"

So respond if you like. I will try not to be explosive or too judgmental - I am working on that!