I wanted to call off from work today in the worst way. I felt achy and gritty eyed and I wanted to stay home to do laundry & read my new J.D. Robb book (Kindred in Death). I lay there & thought about it for a minute, but then I just went ahead & got up. Later I was trying to decide whether I felt too introverted to call my boss, or if it was mostly my sense of responsibility that got me out of bed. I think it was some of both.
Erin at Fierce Beagle introduced me to the website TypeLogic, which analyzes the different types from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. When we were in seminary Dr. M & I took the MBTI. I'm an ISTP Introverted Sensing Thinking Perceiving), and Dr. M is an INFP (Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Perceiving). I think it's a pretty accurate gauge of a person's inclinations. And it has helped us innumerable times in our marriage. Because, according to the MBTI, we are enigma to one another: a puzzle; totally foreign in nearly every facet.
I want to fix. the. problem. Dr. M wants to understand how we feel about the problem. I'm a present moment person (so present moment in fact that I have to make a concerted effort to dress for the weather outside, not just how I feel at the moment I'm putting the clothes on – which is usually hot from my shower). Dr. M is present in all times. There is no past, present or future with him. All times are now. I want to peruse my options, make a choice quickly & get the heck out of the store. Dr. M wants to make sure he sees every possible option, pick one, but then think about it a while longer, and then think some more after we've left the store, and maybe next week too.
I think we work because we're both introverted and neither of is all that into extreme order. But if you go check out our type descriptions from the website (links below), you'll see that the author lists some famous people with our types. And I'm just not sure how Tom Cruise (me) would get along with the Virgin Mary (Dr. M). Dr. M is James Taylor, Carl Rogers & Anne of Green Gables. I'm Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood & Frank Zappa.
I don't really know how we work. But we definitely do.
