Reading a post on Red & Honey (authored by Beth, a "barefoot coffee lover, crunchy mama of three small humans, and wife to a handsome pilot dude") sent me scurrying to my files to pull out my 14-year old Myers-Briggs testing.
Beth is an INFP - a healer - which is close to what Diana expected for me when she administered my test. Diana did NOT expect ENTJ!
Over fourteen years later, reading the ENTJ characteristics, I quite understand why. Me? Seriously??
Let me fill you in on Myers-Briggs Type Indicators. Based on Jung's theory of personality types, MBTI "personality inventory" testing is rooted in the assumption that seemingly random variations in behavior are anything but, that they are orderly, consistent & revealing, showing how our perceptions color our judgment & drive our actions. It reflects both nature & nurture.
Obviously. It's has to reflect nature, because my nurture never gave a hint of being strategic (ha!), efficient, goal-oriented, a leader. Even now, all of those words - along with organized, hard working, intellectual & ambitious - seem foreign.
But what if the testing is right? What if I seriously am an ENTJ (Extraversion Intuition Thinking Judging), not the ENFP (Extroverted Intuitive Feeling Judging) that Diana expected?? What if what's lacking isn't the gifts to be a full-blown ENTJ, but the grit to make it so?
Because reading the ENTJ description - The Commander - gives me pause. First reading it 14 years ago would have left me guffawing at the ludicrous possibility that the description could fit ME. But in March 2015, geared up to attend this month's Leading to Well-Being Conference, looking forward to attending - as a recognized elder care solutionist - a Capitol Hill briefing on 05/18/15's White House Conference on Aging... Yes, it makes sense. Doesn't feel consistent with my life that came before, but my life in this moment? Yes, it rings true.
ENTJs are strategic leaders, motivated to organize change. They are quick to see inefficiency and conceptualize new solutions, and enjoy developing long-range plans to accomplish their vision. They excel at logical reasoning and are usually articulate and quick-witted.
~ ~ ~
Beth, thanks for sparking my curiosity, for triggering my interest in my own MBTI designation, for helping me realize what seemed ludicrous fourteen years ago is utterly reasonable now. You might be surprised at how alike we are, in spite of what our letters reveal. Like you, my biggest obstacle in caring for myself is getting trapped in cycles of procrastination, overwhelm, lack of discipline. Like you, I've been seeking flexible structure in my life, because I also can't "let myself slip under that surface down into the murky waters of overwhelm and procrastination. Because it doesn’t come naturally to me, I must work to make it happen."
While I'm at it, let me take this moment to thank Suzanne Gladish Snyder. A few years ago, on a Saturday morning Bryn Athyn Bounty Farm Market, she said a few words that changed my view of myself, my whole world - "You are innovative." In all of my then 60 years, I'd never ever seen myself as being innovative, at being "quick to see inefficiency & conceptualize new solutions." Suzanne, you gave me the key to accepting that it's just possible I really am an ENTJ. Blessings on you.
If I can accept being that, if it's inescapable that I am wildly motivated to organize change, then it's time to stop resisting, stop letting old attitudes expectations behaviors get in the way of developing long-range plans to accomplish my vision. Just get out of my own way, just stop thinking "I can't" & let it roll out.
An ENTJ? Seriously? Oh, yeah!!!
BEFORE 
ENTJ in a Nutshell
ENTJs are strategic leaders, motivated to organize change. They are quick to see inefficiency and conceptualize new solutions, and enjoy developing long-range plans to accomplish their vision. They excel at logical reasoning and are usually articulate and quick-witted.ENTJs are analytical and objective, and like bringing order to the world around them. When there are flaws in a system, the ENTJ sees them, and enjoys the process of discovering and implementing a better way. ENTJs are assertive and enjoy taking charge; they see their role as that of leader and manager, organizing people and processes to achieve their goals.
Words describing an ENTJ include:
- Strategic
- Assertive
- Rational
- Organized
- Confident
- Analytical
- Hard working
- Outspoken
- Future-focused
- Efficient
- Enthusiastic
- Curious
- Directive
- Gregarious
- Thick-skinned
- Leader
- Competitive
- Goal-oriented
- Impersonal
- Intellectual
- Ambitious
- Expressive
- Responsible
- Creative
- Decisive
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