Know Thyself

Know Thyself

by Alia Joy “Easily offended? What! I’m not easily offended,” she gasped as she read her results. Her brows were knit together and her face had deepened into a crimson flush as she read through the list of weaknesses commonly associated with her personality type. We sat there watching her whilst trying not to point…

Thoughts from an ISTJ on the Introverted Sensing Type

Thoughts from an ISTJ on the Introverted Sensing Type

Extraversion and Introversion; there are many misconceptions tied to this one letter in Jung’s first pair of psychological preferences in the Myers Briggs. The most popular being: extroverts are outgoing and introverts are shy. And while I must acknowledge the correlation between extroverts and the socially confident individual, I feel like there’s a lot more to it.

“ESFJ”

“ESFJ”

by Sarah Rose Lochelt “What’s your profile type? ESFJ? Oh, that’s totally you!” As a lover of all things personality-typed, I greatly enjoy the interpretations that come with sharing any of these with people. I’m an ESFJ. Here’s a little about what this means for me: Extroversion – outward-focused people who gain energy and refreshment from…

What I Learned from the MBTI Alphabet Soup: I’m a J

What I Learned from the MBTI Alphabet Soup: I’m a J

What Didn’t Surprise Me It wasn’t my type that surprised me. When I took the MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a highly-esteemed personality assessment test) during a class last year, I was told I was an “INFJ.” Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Judging. I immediately nodded, agreeing. I am an introvert: I recharge from an afternoon alone with…

3 Tips to Make Friends as an Introvert

3 Tips to Make Friends as an Introvert

The fact that I’m an introvert isn’t something that took me by surprise. I’ve always had tell-tale characteristics, like being an avid reader, having an active imagination and thought life, and preferring a small friend group. But for many people, the discovery that they are introverted is a surprise. Luckily, this surprise can help make sense of seeming anomalies in life.

Introversion can help connect the dots.

who I was created to be

who I was created to be

I’m an introvert. Sandwiched right in between two confident, outgoing siblings and with parents who didn’t know a stranger, I felt like the odd one of the family. It wasn’t that I didn’t like people. I did. I loved that growing up, our home was always filled with strangers who never seemed to mind the simple…

A Quiet Person in a Noisy World

A Quiet Person in a Noisy World

The small bell on the door announces the arrival of more guests. The store resembles a living room — with cushions on the floor for reading and toys in a basket for playing. This humble bookstore boasts the charm of a private enterprise. It’s the kind of bookstore I love most.

My children are accustomed to our monthly visits, and they know to use our library-quiet voices when we’re here. So my youngest daughter tugs on my shirt with enthusiasm to garner my attention.

Why I Love Extroverts

Why I Love Extroverts

As an only child, a diligent student, and now a single 20-something, solitude has never been very difficult for me, and I could easily rattle off a list of ways introverted behaviors—silent meditation, journaling, solitary prayer—contribute to a rich spiritual life. As a teenager, I would have been very happy to spend every Sunday worshipping on my own beneath a tree. Only as I matured as a Christian did I begin to understand that whatever virtues we introverts might possess, these virtues are most fit for kingdom work when sharpened against the very real strength of extroverts.

The End.

The End.