I periodically take the MBTI test, and personally I've found that mine varies almost every time I do so. Most recently (that is a few minutes ago) I retook the test and got INFP-T (4% of the population).
No matter when I've taken the test, I've always consistently gotten undisputedly Introverted and Turbulent. And I can agree that these parts of my personality I consider pretty constant. Recently I've valued social time more and seen how it can be fun! But nevertheless, I still feel drained after spending time with people after a certain time and know that my energy comes from being alone and left to my own devices.
I've definitely taken the test over more than this, but from old emails I found that, for example, I got ISFP-T and ISTP-T. The Prospecting aspect is also sounding more stable too now that I compare the 3, but could've sworn I've gotten INFJ before!
Usually for the other three categories, energy, nature and tactics, the percentage is pretty split. As you can see, even now, nature and energy are almost at 50% each. I'm surprised tactics is more certainly on Prospecting, but I think I can explain why. Normally when I take the test, I'm very uncertain about most things. I think, "well I can be a realist but also sometimes a visionary" and "well do I really feel this way?". This ends with me picking a weak agree or disagree which is why at the end, I'm functionally neutral for a lot of sections... In any case, this time I tried to more consciously make myself take a stronger stance, and I do think that myself compared to past years is ready to accept the stronger stances. Maybe as I get older, I'll find that the middle three categories become more polarized.
I know Myers-Briggs is kinda a scam, but it's still really fun, and I always enjoy reading about my type after taking the test. I do resonate with the Mediator archetype, and here are some lines from the website that I relate to:
Listen to many people, but talk to few - Unlike their Extraverted cousins though, Mediators will focus their attention on just a few people, a single worthy cause – spread too thinly, they’ll run out of energy, and even become dejected and overwhelmed by all the bad in the world that they can’t fix.
The risk of feeling misunderstood is unfortunately high for the Mediator personality type – but when they find like-minded people to spend their time with, the harmony they feel will be a fountain of joy and inspiration.
Mediators are led by the purity of their intent, not rewards and punishments.
Fantasy worlds in particular fascinate Mediators, more than any other personality type.
Left unchecked, Mediators may start to lose touch, withdrawing into “hermit mode”, and it can take a great deal of energy from their friends or partner to bring them back to the real world.
Ideas like networking and “the friend of my friend is my friend” hold little weight with Mediators.
Even as friendships grow stronger and deeper, and friends are lulled into a sense of mutual understanding, Mediators’ enigmatic qualities will never truly vanish. (hahaha what do you guys think??)
And some famous INFPs that you may know
JRR Tolkien, William Shakespeare, Björk, Alicia Keys, Amélie Poulain, Fox Mulder
Since my type seems to change depending on my mood and recent experiences, I'm of course, not married to the INFP identity. In life though, I do tend to see myself as more neutral in situations where people are fights. I do think mediating is a great skill, so maybe my personality type will stabilize and I'll find this one is it.
On a final note, it's always interesting me to consider personality and what we internalize and claim and what we reject. It can be validating to know yourself and your tendencies and your values, but I do think that people can significantly change over their life. I read this on Tumblr, and thought it was relevant to the topic, so here ya go, some food for thought.
From Reinventing Yourself by Steve Chandler
Wowie! This was a great post, very insightful 😊. I think a lot of the points about being an INFP fits you. I think you are good at giving advice because you do in a way mediate though you keep your distance as to not get involved and start drama (at least that’s what I noticed and appreciate). But I think it is interesting that your MBTI changes so frequently with time. I personally don’t hold tooooo much stock in personality tests in general, but I always felt some kind of validity with at least MBTI since it has always given me consistent results. And I like the last thing you left off with. I do think people often limit…