Even though I haven’t had a “job” for quite some time, I still am imprinted with our culture’s bizarre focus on the Monday through Friday work week. Although I was busy working Saturday and Sunday – and often take Mondays off – this morning I found myself thinking about what it would be like to have to drag my butt into some cubicle or office, half-awake and maybe not so enthused about the five days ahead.
This made me think about what used to make me do this. Like most people, I have BILLS TO PAY, and going to work seemed the straightest path to solving that particular problem. But is it? I mean, if you hate your job, what is the purpose of going to it, if its only purpose is to perpetuate the life that makes it a grudging necessity? Many of us know there’s another way, but even after we realize we might pursue this path, we’re not even really sure what we really want any more.
How about some tools? Recently Nick and I were discussing the value of various kinds of tests. Although I have no degrees, I have most of the skills and gifts of trained therapists and counselors, because I’m an ENFJ (more on that in a moment). Nick however has a degree in psychology, and in fact worked for several years with Dr. Jim McConnell, author of what was for a long time the world’s best-selling college psychology textbook. We have plans to share various self-assessment tools in the coming months, but I thought I’d share a “fun” one that is based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
This was one of the first tests that helped me zero in better on my true gifts. As an ENFJ, I apparently share traits with people like Oprah, Dr. Phil, Ronald Reagan, and Barack Obama. How’s that for an odd mix? The “ENFJ” stands for “Extroverted Intuitive Feeling Judging”.
So what “Myers-Briggs Type” are you? If you don’t have time to take a real version of the test, there are plenty on line that are reasonably accurate, provided your input isn’t too biased. There’s one here that has a single page of 75 very simple questions. What type are you?
