ENFP or J???

Tony attended a personality type workshop (MBIT and Leadership) at work last week and came home with his Myers-Briggs Indicator Type easily figured out. Being the solid ENTJ that he is, he worked his out quickly then made some copies of material based on what he thought my profile was... but turns out, he was... well, he was very, very close. We had a fun evening looking through my old profile tested back in 1995 where I was pretty clear on the first three areas, but my final area was very borderline - which is why Tony got it kinda wrong. He is very clearly ENTJ. When we read through the profiles, strengths, challenges, etc he said it was like somebody was writing just about him. Funnily, when we read through mine, there's a gray area between the 'judging' and 'perceiving' preferences about how i organize my life. Of course, I have my days and weeks, meals and bedtimes, exercise and shopping all planned out to a T in a stable and organized way (really?)... but really, I do prefer to go with the flow and maintain some type of flexibility depending on the circumstances. When we really thought about it again, we concluded that a lot of my "J" tendencies are because without structure I'd get nothing done because of my "P" preferences so I've learned a behavior that works (especially with pre-schoolers). Since reviewing these preferences, Tony and I are understanding each other a bit better and it helps to have more tools in our 'love toolbox'. You can look up your own personality type www.mypersonality.info/personality-types/ and those of your loved ones!

My structured side likes to have 'learning time' with the kids a few days a week. Of course I'd plan for it to happen daily, but my 'go with the flow' side usually finds something else for us to do.

The kids do actually enjoy their activity books and they love it especially when somebody else sits down and does it with them or at least watches (yes, two extroverted parents have yielded two seemingly extroverted children). It's fun to see them enjoy learning.

Here's Helena talking on her 'cellphone' to Grandma! Pretty much since the day Hunter started morning kindy just about 4 weeks ago, she decided that she didn't want to wear diapers anymore... at first I dragged my feet, but she drove this potty-training train so I went with it... the phone was a little reward for a week of diaper free days!!! (what was I thinking buying my daughter a noisy toy?!?) 

On a structured fun day, I took the kids to see Tony at the library in town on a Saturday not by car, but by train! Only the train service was cancelled and we had to take a bus! Best plans don't always go the way you want, eh? Plus Hunter wasn't feeling well and the whole thing just didn't work out to plan... good thing I'm flexible!

Despite the change in plans/health... we did take a few minutes to sniff the proverbial roses and caught a tender moment together along the riverside in Porirua after having said good-bye to Tony in town.

One thing I do appreciate about Tony is his spontaneity - for being an ENTJ, he does come up with some family fun and we end up going on fun adventures. One Friday after his course finished we picked him up and got out to enjoy the absolutely stunning Wellington afternoon.

Honestly, it was so warm that people were swimming in Oriental Bay without wetsuits... and there were more than one daring sunbather along the sand. Crazy to think about in March!!!

Some mornings the kids get up in time to do exercise with us... a few days in a row they wanted to run with baba... so Tony took them out to the driveway to run sprints. I love that the kids love being active! You should see them doing the 30-day shred with Jillian Michaels!!! They rock!!

The day after the fun personality type conversation, I decided to scrap my regular routine and took the kids out to Makara beach on a stunning day (after a cold spell)...

Spontaneity rules!