Personality Traits

As suggested by Debra, I joined in with Jen at Bayou Quilts and took the Meyer-Briggs personality test and discovered I am a INTJ. The disparaging way to summarize this personality might be as a bossy, know-it-all eccentric. But the positive way would be as a creative, pragmatic and self-sufficient person with deep feeling for others, although often for only a selected few. As I e-mailed Jen, I'm glad to be grouped with Jane Austen, but I'm not so sure about Donald Rumsfeld! My favorite part of the profile was this line: INTJ's may "simulate some degree of conformism in order to mask their inherent unconventionality." But enough about me--

If anyone wants to pursue the personality analysis thing a little further, Dr. Martin Seligman at the University of Pennsylvania has a website with a questionnaire where you can measure your signature strengths. I read his book Authentic Happiness several years ago and found it thought-provoking. He defines "signature strengths" as the activities or values that give you the greatest satisfaction, and a job or life style which allows you to use them would therefore provide happiness. My strengths were interest in excellence, and pursuit of knowledge. (I may not be remembering his terms quite right.) As a teacher most of my life, I've been fortunate to be able to use these. Come to think of it, these traits fit with the INTJ personality too. Hmmmm.