The Balance Journey (Day 16)

I love, LOVE, LOVE personality tests. It’s probably because I’m INFJ.

(If you want to know your type, click here for a free, easy test based on Jung and Briggs-Meyers. HumanMetrics.com gives some brief information after you hit Submit but if you want more detailed information after you know your type, click here. PersonalityPage.com has links to all 16 personality combinations defined by Jung and Briggs-Meyers.)

Whenever I start feeling down about how I’m different then everyone else around me, I go back to PersonalityPage.com and read about INFJ’s.

INFJ’s make up only 1% of the population! No wonder I don’t know anyone else like me!

INFJ’s trust instinct above anything else. This one is the hardest for most people to understand. There have been many times where I couldn’t explain why I felt the way I did but it made perfect sense to me.

INFJ’s prefer autonomy and creativity at work. Yep, definitely me there. I hate when someone gives me a job and then stands over my shoulder and watches me do it. Just leave me alone and let me shine.

I love this list of common traits. This is a direct quote from PersonalityPage.com.

• Intuitively understand people and situations
• Idealistic
• Highly principled
• Complex and deep
• Natural leaders
• Sensitive and compassionate towards people
• Service-oriented
• Future-oriented
• Value deep, authentic relationships
• Reserved about expressing their true selves
• Dislike dealing with details unless they enhance or promote their vision
• Constantly seeking meaning and purpose in everything
• Creative and visionary
• Intense and tightly wound
• Can work logically and rationally – use their intuition to understand the goal and work backwards towards it

If you ever wanted to know me in a nutshell, there it is. Some of the traits in the list are obvious strengths. Some that look like weaknesses I have already learned how to turn into strengths. And then there are the ones that are obvious weaknesses and those are the ones I’m working on for the next 14 days and probably the rest of my life.

If you take the test, leave a comment and let me know your type. I’d love to know more about my readers.

Don’t be afraid to learn about yourself. You are amazing!

The Balance Journey (Day 11)

Almost half way through my first 30 days of making conscious choices. I feel like I am doing better but I still have some areas where I know I need a little more work.

I still need to find a way to nurture my spiritual side. I think that’s where I’m still the weakest. Usually, getting outside or even just opening the windows in the apartment will revitalize me but this week it isn’t working. I’ve taken enough Psych to know there’s probably something else going on but I’m not sure what.

Physically, I need to schedule exercise better. I have my one yoga day but I also need to do cardio one day and weights one day. I’ve stopped drinking milk, not because I’m allergic but because as a Blood Type A I’m not supposed to drink cow milk. I’m supposed to drink goat milk, soy milk, almond milk or rice milk. I know I’m not getting enough calcium this way because my bones ache a lot, especially my hips and pelvis. I have to get that fixed.

Mentally is where I’m strongest. I’m constantly learning new things. I have realized that I need to figure out what I’m going to do to keep my brain sharp after I graduate with my Associates on June 16. (YAY!!!) I have continuing education that I need to complete to renew my insurance license next year but I also have to decide if I’m going to go to a 4-year school for my Bachelors or not.

Emotionally, I am doing much better about controlling my emotions and not letting them control me. I have stopped myself numerous times over the past 11 days and logically thought about what was going on instead of reacting illogically and emotionally. It’s been revealing to see how wrong my thought patterns have been. The hardest part so far is unlearning all the bad emotional habits.

 P.S. This is my 35th post. Just thought that was a fun little random fact.

Reflections

As I write this, I am officially one quarter and one week away from my Associate’s Degree. In 13 weeks, I will be done with the biggest thing I have ever set out to achieve.

Next week is the last week of Winter Quarter. I will be so glad to take the last two exams. Statistics and Accounting have been busting my butt all quarter. I should end up with B’s in both classes. I am very proud of those B’s because I usually don’t do well at all in online classes and these two were even harder than most other online classes.

Then a blessed week of Spring Break. The worst part is the ex has my daughter this year while she is on Spring Break at the same time but I imagine the new job (!!!!!) will keep me busy enough that I won’t even notice I’m on break.

My last Spring Quarter starts the first week of April. Ohio decided a few years back that all colleges would go to semesters so transferring from a 2 year school to a 4 year school would be easier. So this will literally be my last Spring Quarter ever. It’s very sad and at the same time, I can’t wait. I have 3 cake classes that I saved until the end on purpose and one class (Organizational Behavior) that may be kinda hard but that I hope is very informative.

And as I’ve close to the end of this journey, I’ve spent a lot of time looking back. Both at what I’ve learned (and forgotten) and how I’ve changed.

I think the most important thing I’ve learned is how to be less Type A. I don’t drive myself near as crazy as I used to about homework and tests and having everything done perfectly right every time.

I’ve learned it’s okay to not know all the answers. Because really, that’s why I was in school. I didn’t know all the answers. I was there to find them.

I’ve learned it’s okay to miss a homework assignment or two when life takes over and there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done.

I’ve learned you can flunk a test and still pass a class. It doesn’t feel good to flunk (and that’s probably the Type A in me) but life goes on.

I’ve learned more about human psychology just from watching and interacting with soooo many other students and teachers than I ever learned from my 5 Psych/Soc classes.

And I’ve also learned that I really am very smart. I do amazingly well with abstract concepts. I created the craziest mnemonics to remember information.

But I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that if I want to hold myself to a higher standard, then I can. Other people may think I’m high-strung (I am), or crazy (yep, that too) but that’s all part of me. I work well under pressure and stress. I know when I’ve had too much and I know what my triggers are. I know how to de-stress and I’ve learned how to ask for help.

Part of me is very sad that my time in college is going to be over soon. It may be temporary, it may be permanent. I am still undecided on if I want to continue with school. Some of that is financial, some of it is the vast amount of time it takes. Some of it is simply the fact that after 3 years of school, I need a break.

Most of me is very proud for having actually finished something.