"Type-ing Your Way to Health™" is a workshop series designed to help companies reduce their health care costs by applying personality type concepts to healthy lifestyle and wellness. "Myers-Briggs Spell Check ™" is the first workshop in this ground-breaking employee development series. It is designed primarily for people over age 30, and people who were raised in less than optimal home environments. Often, children from homes where one or both parents were overly controlling or abusive, had problems with misuse of alcohol and/or drugs, suffered with a mental illness such as chronic anxiety or depression, and those who lost a parent during childhood, were not in an environment that fostered the development of their natural Jungian personality type. The process of best-fit type identification is often complicated by learned survival skills. Ironically, these are the people who can benefit most from the personal growth aspects of Myers Briggs personality typing.

Overview

       Obviously, every aspect of personality is not included when we reduce all the personalities in the world to four temperaments or sixteen personality types. Temperament and personality type only refer to our preferences within four specific inborn aspects of our personality. Remember, the inventory instruments do not tell how strongly you express the trait; they simply tell you which of the two opposites are part of your brain's operating system.

1. How we get and use personal energy
   a. our E xternal world, or
   b. our I nternal world
   
   
2. How we become aware of the environment and take in information
   a. through our 5 S enses, seeing details first and building patterns, or
   b. i N tuitively (subconsciously and unconsciously), seeing patterns before noticing details
   
   
3. How we make decisions and come to conclusions
   a. based on data and objective methods, T hinking it through, or
   b. based on personal values and subjective methods, in touch with F eelings
   
   
4. How we orient to and organize the outside world
   a. structured (chaos to order), liking to come to J udgment, or
   b. unstructured (order to chaos), liking to keep o P tions open

       All of us use all eight of these processes -- we just do so to different degrees and with different natural ease. Rather than putting you in a box, personality typing allows you to concisely describe and understand the box that you've naturally been in all your life.

       Inventory instruments that give you a percentage score for each of the above subgroups are simply indicating how certain you are that you are an E versus an I, an S versus an N, etc. None of these tests quantifies the trait or measure whether you are extremely extroverted or just mildly extroverted. If you come out on the fence (50-50 or 60-40) it simply means you are uncertain which letter best describes your natural system (in other words - time for you to get some professional help!)

       Each temperament and type occur at a different frequency in the general population; therefore, some types are more common than others. In fact, some are more common among women (those based on a subjective, values driven decision-making style), and some are more common among men (those based on an objective, data driven decision-making style).

       If you are like many of us, you're initial best-guess will be off by one letter -- and you may not discover this until you've "tried type on" for a few months, and really start understanding the difference between introverted Feeling and extroverted iNtuition.

       I know you're impatient to get to the page with the checklists, but please be patient with me. It really is important to understand a few things before you jump in and try to identify your inborn personality type. Before we move forward to figuring out your four letters, let's go over some common misunderstandings to increase the probability you'll arrive at an accurate best-fit type.

Some Common Errors & Misunderstanding

•    The MBTI® is NOT designed to determine your best-fit type.
  
         This is the most widespread mistake. Many people think that all they have to do is take the test, and the test magically identifies their correct Myers Briggs personality type. This is not true, but a common misunderstanding. The MBTI® was never intended to be used as a stand-alone test. Unfortunately, this commonly happens -- even more so, now that there are casual instruments available at no cost on the World Wide Web. When the result doesn't really fit, people often jump to the wrong conclusion that "typing" is worthless.
  
         Most often, this mistyping happens because no indicator can distinguish between learned and innate behavior. (1) Most people raised in dysfunctional homes have strong learned behavior that masks their natural behavior. (2) When people take a personality type inventory in a career or family situation that requires use of their non-preferred way for many years, they often answer the questions according to their current behavior or work-related behavior rather than their inborn behavior. (3) Most people over age 30 have a great deal of learned behavior, and strong values that may be different from their natural type. (4) People often decide to figure out their personality types when they are stressed -- marriage or job failing, problems with their children, mid-life crisis -- and people under stress often do not exhibit their natural tendencies.
  
         Basically, mistyping happens easily when we have a high skill level with the non-preferred way, or when there is a great deal of secondary gain from behaving in the non-preferred way. The more we value or practice something, the more comfortable we are with it. This can make it difficult to distinguish between what is natural and what is highly valued or what is learned.
  
  
•     Remember to use Myers-Briggs® definitions of terms, not dictionary ones.
  
         Many people inadvertently substitute lay definitions for the professional meanings of Myers-Briggs® terms. Successfully using personality type requires that we avoid the negative stereotypes that are often associated with the lay definitions.
  
         Perhaps the most misunderstood term is "preference." In lay language the word "preference" implies a choice -- which one we would rather have, do or take. In Myers-Briggs® language, "preference" means most easily and naturally, and refers to what is inborn. Since it is the way our mind worked before we learned other ways, it may or may not also have one of the following meanings: the way we like better; the way we wish described us; the way our parents or teachers taught us was the '"right" way; the way society seems to value more; the way our spouse or partner behaves or expects us to behave; and the way that is currently most automatic and comfortable for us.
  
         There are many things I prefer now, that I have not always prefered. For instance, I did not naturally prefe the taste of wine with dinner over the taste of chocolate milk. Here is what we mean by preference in the world of personality type:
  
  Sign your name here, the way you normally sign a business letter, your child's report card, or a letter to a friend:
  
  ___________________________________________________
  
  Now, change hands, and sign your name again:
  
  ___________________________________________________
  
         For most people, the first was fast, easy, and comfortable. The second was slower, awkward, and looks sloppy. So it is with our natural personality preferences. When we use the word prefer in respect to personality type, we mean which of the two options has been more natural and comfortable throughout childhood, adolescence and young adulthood before learning to value the opposite option through family or societal values.
  
         Another common misunderstanding is with the term "introvert." In every day language the term "introvert" is used to describe someone who is often unattractive and has difficulty socializing. In Myers-Briggs® language, the term "introvert" simply means someone who gets their personal energy from the inside world rather than the outside world. It is not related to sociability. "Introverts" and "extroverts" can be equally happy in social settings, and many "introverts" are successful actors, performers and public speakers -- and enjoy it!
  
         Another example is the term "judging." In lay language, we commonly use the word "judgment" to mean critical or biased, and confuse the words "judgment" and "judgmental." In Myers-Briggs® language, the term "judgment" strictly refers to the desire to reach a judgment -- in others words, the drive to make a decision or come to a conclusion.
  
  
•    Myers-Briggs® personality type only addresses four aspects of our personality.
  
         Webster's dictionary defines personality as "the totality of an individual's behavioral and emotional characteristics." Personality is complex, combining both nature and nurture, and is influenced by many factors. Obviously, all the personalities in the world cannot be neatly reduced to a handful of sixteen "personality types" that include every aspect of personality. Myers-Briggs® personality type only refers to four specific inborn aspects of our personality.
  
  
•    Self-esteem is about loving your natural self.
  
         A cornerstone of good self-esteem is being accepted, valued and loved for who you are, not just what you've said or done. Who we are includes our personality, as well as our values, beliefs, interests, and our spiritual nature. Understanding our own personality type, and accepting and working with our natural preferences is a critical part of our happiness, success, and health. Once secure and comfortable with our natural type, we can begin to bend away from our natural preferences, and choose to develop our non-preferred ways.
  
         Please remember that one's personality type is not a choice. Forcing ourselves or others to act in a way that is not consistent with natural type is ultimately ineffective, and often results in confusion and frustration, much like forcing a left-handed person to become right-handed.
  
  
•    Personality type is not an excuse for bad behavior.
  
         The purposes of knowing our type include awareness and acceptance of our natural preferences, as well as the natural preferences of others. Understanding how we interact with the world, and how that differs from others, can help us reduce stress, leaving us more confident and relaxed. It can help us see the gifts that others bring to the world with their different way of moving and interacting. There are always at least two ways to view a behavior, and too much of a good thing can become a liability. Tenacity can become stubbornness; patience can become procrastination. Therefore, a natural tendency is not an excuse for the negative expression of that tendency.
  
  
•    There is no "good" or "bad" personality type.
  
         We may be more comfortable with one type over another. We may personally value the traits of some types more than others. That doesn't make what we do and value "right" and how others naturally behave "wrong." Personality typing provides people with the awareness and understanding that there are at least sixteen right ways. Each of us use all eight of the processes every day -- we just use some of them more often and with greater ease and skill than we use the others. Each type has characteristics that are socially desirable, and each type, when taken to extreme, has characteristics that are socially undesirable. Each type contributes value to our society, and is critical to the whole.
  
  
•    The purpose of personality typing is not to label and judge yourself or others.
  
         Many people who are familiar with type often try to label someone else as a specific type. Even with knowledge and experience, we can only make an educated guess. The individual is the only one who can determine how their own mind naturally operates, and what is acquired or learned behavior, or even symptoms of a mental dysfunction such as obsessive-compulsive disorder.
  
         Many of our personality characteristics -- desirable and not -- are unrelated to Myers-Briggs® personality type. Within a personality type category, we are unique individuals with widely varying attributes, experiences and personal qualities. Also, many people enjoy careers and relationships that require them to use and develop their non-preferred way, and should not be discouraged or prevented from doing so. It is their choice, not ours to make for them.
  
  

Ready to Start Identifying Your best-fit Myers Briggs Personality Type?

       Although I am qualified to administer the MBTI©, I rarely, if ever, use it to help people identify their best-fit type. I have found that most people can identify their best-fit type with greater understanding and clarity to apply it to their lives meaningfully, by using the following self-assessment process, with a small amount of feedback from an expert at the end of STEP THREE. The key is identifying your temperament and dominant mental function, rather than focusing on the individual dichotomous categories.

• STEP ONE: Identify Your Temperament
  
  First, identify your temperament. This will tell you two of your four letters with a fair amount of clarity, as your temperament defines your basic nature, and the categories are fairly distinct.
  
  
• STEP TWO: Make an Educated Guess For All 4 Letters
  
  Second, make an educated "guess" at all for four letters. This step introduces you to the detailed meanings of E/I, S/N, F/T, and J/P. It provides four checklists of the typical traits for each dichotomy. Not every trait in a category will fit -- we all do all eight of these functions. This step simply asks you to identify the one side of each pair that is more natural, easier and inborn (not more valued or that you currently use more often).
  
  
• STEP THREE: Learn the TYPE DYNAMICS of your best-guess type.
  
  Third, validate if your best-guess type is your best-fit type through applying the concept of Type Dynamics. In this step I introduce you to the concept of TYPE DYNAMICS -- how the "letters" synergistically combine to become a "word" that has far more meaning than the four letters taken separately. This is where you will identify your dominant Jungian mental process. The descriptions of all 16 types are also found in this section. You will know your best-fit type by the end of this step, or will need to contact a professional to give you some extra assistance and help with clarifying terms and behaviors.
  
  If you have clear and strong preferences, the description will fit you very well. If you aren't as clear (ie, have a lot of learned behavior or value-driven behavior that you don't yet recognize as learned), or weak preferences, the description will simply be the one that most closely describes you, but may not give you an "Oh my gosh! This is SO me!" feeling. Regardless, there should be one of the 16 descriptions that clearly fits better than the others, even if every element does not fit.
  
  
• STEP FOUR: Take the MBTI© or other Inventory
  
  Fourth, play around with online inventories, or take the official MBTI©. No inventory can identify your best-fit type with 100% accuracy or reliability because science does not yet know how to separate learned, value-driven, and innate behaviors by observation of the expressed behaviors. Even the most reliable and extensively tested inventory (MBTI©) successfully identifies best-fit type only about 75% of the time -- that's just the nature of psychological tests. These quizzes are meant only as additional tools -- you should trust the best-fit type you come out with at the end of STEP THREE far more than the type any inventory assigns to you.
  
  If the types you get from these quizzes do not match your STEP THREE type, it more strongly suggests that the typing instruments are in error, and you did properly identify your best-fit type. HOWEVER, there is at least a small possibility that you don't know with clarity where you stand on one (or more) of the four dichotomous pairs (E/I, S/N, T/F, J/P), and may benefit from professional assistance.

You're now ready to move on to SPELL CHECK ™