Things to Remember Before Using MB Spell Check™

       Often we learn to act "out of type" at work, around our parents, or with our spouse and children, and begin confusing learned skills with natural ones. Each of us starts out doing what was natural. Then, our Universe steps in and starts giving us feedback on our natural behaviors -- parents, teachers, coaches, ministers, babysitters, etc. What you persisted in doing as a child - in spite of being repeatedly asked not to do so -- is probably what was inborn. Someone had to invest "work" (praise and scolding) to get you to adopt the non-natural way that was valued by them and/or society. If you naturally expressed the trait they wanted you to express (i.e., you are an "I__J" and automatically sat quietly at your desk in first grade), no one had to tell you to sit still and quiet, you just did it -- and, you probably were praised for doing so, because most elementary school teachers want children to sit quietly during lessons. If it was not natural for you to sit quietly at your desk, the teacher most likely asked you to "please sit still and pay attention," and, probably had to ask more than once until you were "trained" to sit still and quiet while in the classroom. This is why I say that you can get "clues" about your natural type by looking at how you were as a child or teenager: what was praised and what was scolded?

       Also, just like disease diagnosis, not every element of a disease manifests in the person with the disease. So, not every one who is "I" will have every characteristic of being an "I". Also just like disease diagnosis, not every sign and symptom is specific to one disease -- hypertension can be from physiological vasoconstriction (increased vascular tone) or from arteriosclerosis (obstructing plaques) or both. If someone shows signs or symptoms of hypertension, it does not confirm clogged arteries - it suggests the need to looked at the sign/symptom from different angles. So it is with type. Some behaviors are "J" but also characteristic of "S" types. Few individual behaviors are pathopneumonic for one specific dichotomy. Very few will have 100% for any of the four checklists.

       To assist with Step Two, I often have people imagine they are on a safe but deserted island. How would you act? What would you do after the first couple of hours or days?

       For instance, would you make friends with the animals and birds, and invite people to the island, or would you continue to enjoy the seclusion, preferring to be by yourself or make-up playmates? Would you get tired of company, and send them all home after a while, or invite them to move in with you?

       Would you notice all the details of what's around you, and consider the practical immediate details, or would you watch the interesting patterns the waves and clouds make, imagine what you might do after you leave the island, and consider how this experience fits into the bigger picture?

       Would you figure out a list of things to get done, and a schedule to follow, or would you just be in the moment and take things as they came, with everything that needed to get done somehow getting done?

       Would you collect objective data to make your decisions, and make them logically, or would you make your choices based on what fit with your values even if it didn't seem very logical?

       Ready? Continue on to the External / Internal Check List.