Tuesday, January 6, 2009

The profile of Me

I was at a friends house tonight and we began discussing personality tests. They had recently taken all of the tests and were talking about their results and the way their personalities matched and clashed. I however, have not taken a personality test since my psychology class in high school (two and a half years ago). I hardly even remembered the scores and was wondering that if the results had changed much. So, when I got home I took the myers briggs test, and the results were so true it amazed me... and yes, I had changed a bit in the last few years. ;-) I figured that there were some of you that had questions about how a live life... and probably have questioned it for a while. I'm also sure that there are some of you struggling to understand me more now then ever. I thought these tests might help you see a little of the "why" questions you may have. Hope you enjoy reading the profile on me!

First, let me explain. I am an ESFP. In the myers briggs, there are four catigories: the Guardian, the Idealist, the Artisan, and the Rationalist. Anything that is a SP is an Artisan and I'm sure the name is self explanitory. However there are four types under that too, the Promoter, the Crafter, the Composer, and last but not least... me, the Performer.

ESFP
ExtravertedSensingFeelingPerceiving
Strength of the preferences %
891210056

"Artisan" Portrait of the "Performer" (ESFP)

Artisans have a natural intelligence in tactics – the ability to quickly perceive a situation, evaluate multiple options, and take action to get the desired result.

Performers have the special ability, even among the Artisans, to delight those around them with their warmth, their good humor, and with their often extraordinary skills in music, comedy, and drama. Whether on the job, with friends, or with their families, Performers are exciting and full of fun, and their great social interest lies in stimulating those around them to take a break from work and worry, to lighten up and enjoy life.

Performers are plentiful, something over ten percent of the population, and this is fortunate, because they bring pleasure to so many of us. Performers are the people for whom it can truly be said "all the world's a stage." Born entertainers, they love the excitement of playing to an audience, and will quickly become the center of attention wherever they are. Performers aren't comfortable being alone, and seek the company of others whenever possible-which they usually find, for they make wonderful playmates. Performers are smooth, talkative, and witty; they always seem to know the latest jokes and stories, and are quick with wisecracks and wordplay-nothing is so serious or sacred that it can't be made fun of. Performers also like to live in the fast lane, and seem up on the latest fashions of dress, food, drink, and music. Lively and uninhibited, Performers are the life of the party, always trying to create in those around them a mood of eat, drink, and be merry.

The Performers' talent for enjoying life is healthy for the most part, though it also makes them more subject to temptations than the other types. Pleasure seems to be an end in itself for them, and variety is the spice of life. And so Performers are open to trying almost anything that promises them a good time, not always giving enough thought to the consequences.

Like the other Artisans, Performers are incurably optimistic - "Always look on the bright side," is their motto - and they will avoid worries and troubles by ignoring them as long as possible. They are also the most generous of all the types, and second only to the Composer Artisans [ISFPs] in kindness. Performers haven't a mean or stingy bone in their body-what's theirs is yours-and they seem to have little idea of saving or conserving. They give what they have to one and all without expectation of reward, just as they love freely, and without expecting anything in return. In so many ways, Performers view life as an eternal cornucopia from which flows an endless supply of pleasures. “Girls just wanna have fun” is a great motto for Artisan women.

When it comes to study habits, performers are social learners. Studying with others helps them concentrate. When they work by themselves, they are the most likely of the Artisans to need to be listening to music. Jill is really good at creating funny poetry using the facts. The more she has fun with the material, the more she remembers.

Unlike Guardians [Who I believe would consider Stacey to be] who protect their study area, Artisans often don't have a particular area at all. They are likely to use their study area as a place to store everything needed, but they are unlikely to spend much time there. Their study area is likely to look very disorganized, but often the Artisan student can find anything within a few seconds.

Artisans are also likely to want to study while texting friends, listening to their ipods, and watching TV. Current research says that this kind of multi-tasking is very unproductive. However, there is a difference between trying to do many different things at one time and using music and physical activity as an aide to help learn. Many Artisans find they can't concentrate in complete silence.

Artisan roommates can be lots of fun because they add spontaneity and immediacy to life. They really dislike boredom so are often very active people who love to experience the variety that life has to offer.

Artisans vary in so many ways that it is hard to predict them—and that’s the way they like it. Some can be incredibly messy, and then go on a neatness kick. Others get rowdy to blow off steam, and then settle down for a very serious streak. Artisans can get highly emotional, then chillingly rational. So it is best to take them as they are and enjoy the ride.

Performers love the social life and are best friends or good buddies. They believe that life should be a party and need this positive spark in their life. In fact, if they aren’t allowed to have some fun, they find it more and more difficult to settle down to study.

Famous examples of the Artisan Performer would be: Elizabeth Taylor, John Goodman, Marylin Monroe, Judy Garland, Magic Johnson, Pablo Picasso, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Elvis Presley, and Leonard Bernstein, Dale Evans, Gracie Allen, Bob Hope, Eva Gabor, Willard Scott, Goldie Hawn, Kyle Petty, Arsenio Hall, Mary Lou Retton, Kathy Lee Gifford, Steve Irwin, Woody Harrelson (Cheers), and Tim Allens character as Tim "The Toolman" Taylor (Home Improvement).

So there you have it. Me as a Performer! I'm sure that some of that was nothing you didn't know but I hope now that you know that it's not abnormal for my personality type to be the way I am... and whats funny is that we love our personality, even if it gets us into trouble sometimes. (Although I know that's no excuse for things...)

I also wanted to give you a a few more tests results... maybe this will help understand me even MORE! lol... I hope this helps too.

I hope that most of you have heard of the five love languages. I have been a fan of them for a while and think that there is a lot that can be told about a person based on their results. Especially as Christians I think it's important to know each other's love languages so that we know how to show each other we care. I have made it a point to find out from most of my close friends their results and that comes in handy quite often. Here's my results.

The highest score possible is a 12, the lowest is a zero. (Usually the scores aren't as evenly scored as mine was... lol)

Score Love Language
6 Words of Affirmation
9 Quality Time
0 Receiving of Gifts
3 Acts of Service
12 Physical Touch

Your strongest love language is Physical touch. You feel loved the most by something as simple as a hug or a pat on the shoulder. You hardly ever have problems with physical space and are very quickly taken as warm and friendly because of the welcoming touch or hug you may give to someone.
Signs of the Physical Touch love language: When sitting in a group, they tend to be very close to those on either side of them and will usually touch them when talking, such as resting a hand on their knee or on their arm. For girls, this takes a whole new definition. When watching a movie, you will usually find them "cuddling" with others, whether male or female. These are also the types to hold hands with their other girl friends while walking or shopping. They tend to like the presents of others who are strongly matched in physical touch as they too will show their love in the same way. Those that get to know them will soon become very aware of their need for physical touch, as they will very easily show it.
Your second strongest is Quality time. You take it very seriously and close to heart when people spend time with you. You like for people to try to understand you and to do something as simple as make eye contact often. Quality time is usually hand in hand with Physical touch and the two aren't far from each other.

And quickly, one last test result: the Fruits of the spirit.

1: Love
2: Joy
3: Kindness
4: Goodness
5: Gentleness
6: Patience
7: Peace
8: Self-Control
9: Faithfulness

Ok, that's all for now. I hope this gives you a glimpse into the life of me and helps you understand all about me, although I know that some of you never will :-)

2 comments:

The Kings said...

OK, the results didn't surprise me in the least, in fact I could have done the write up on you w/o you ever taking the test. That however, does not mean that I understand you completely. I do know that "Spirit controlled" temperments differ from natural temperments as God changes us to be more Christ-like. I too, struggle because I like the way I am and often am not open to changing to be more like Jesus. This is something I am working on. I have always known that you are unique and have some wonderful qualities...like all of us you have to build those that are positive and work on those that are not. Isn't it wonderful that God created us to be so unique and interesting...makes life exciting!

Unknown said...

This is really interesting, Shelley. I don't think any of us are surprised about your results, though - I think we understand you better than you think... ;)