A few months ago, a friend of mine asked a group of us to complete the Myers Briggs personality test. I typically hate filling out any kind of survey or social test, but it had been a while since I'd assessed my personality according to Myers Briggs, so I followed his instructions. Imagine my surprise when I came up as an INTJ... the same personality type I've been categorized as since high school.

INTJ's are introverted intuitive thinkers and judgers. I fit the mold rather well as an over-analyzing freakshow. I'm fine talking to people and have learned to communicate my ideas clearly, but my preference is to be left to my own devices. Or at least to stand back from a crowd and assess (i.e., judge) what's going on around me. Hence, one of my all-time favorite activities is to people watch. It's the only reason I don't complain about airport layovers!

Today, I began contemplating how my INTJ personality allows me to decisively and rationally interact with the world, but also puts me in a debilitating, merciless (and confining) personality category. For example, this has not been the weekend to top all weekends. I've been frustrated with several friends over silly comments and actions. The thing is, I rarely let such "silliness" roll off me. I over-analyze and brood. I stick to my "intuition" and over-think everything... which rarely leads to a positive, caring perspective of someone else.

I type today wondering: what if I took the Myers Briggs just after a cry-fest with my sister; on a day where I allowed my emotions out of their airtight containers. What would my letters say then? And would I enact them simply because I felt them to be true about me?

In other words, how often are we our own self-fulfilling prophesies? I wonder how many times a day I give myself permission to be exact and unrestrained in my decision-making, versus considerate and understanding of someone else's perspective. What if I lived out the most natural version of me while still considering others: granting my friends the benefit of the doubt, extending patience to my family, rebuking my propensity towards harsh assessments or judgments, and questioning my own assumptions about the world. I just wonder if I could be a better version of myself. Is it possible?

Really possible?

I believe with Jesus' transforming mercy and power it is. I know no other way.