Well blogging friends, it has been a year since I last updated you on this site. You have asked for blog stories and in my attempt to not be a recluse and horrible friend, I have been working on some. Since I last wrote, much has happened. I left Djibouti, returned to the US, but am planning to return to Djibouti sometime...when, you ask? I don't know exactly. And thus, the title of this little post comes into play.
If any of you are familiar with the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator, you know that it measures personality preferences for how we get energized, take in information, make decisions, and interact with the outside world. If not, go to http://www.myersbriggs.org/ or just google it. I love the Myers-Briggs because it has helped me better understand how I like to operate and how to be gracious with others who operate differently than I do.
There are four categories: Introvert/Extrovert, Sensing/Intuitive, Thinker/Feeler, and Judger/Perceiver. My type is INFP (Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiver). Everyone has a different makeup and none are better or worse, just different. I don't mind being the first three things, but I've always hated being a "Perceiver" instead of a "Judger." Why? Because Judgers (just a name, nothing to do with being judgemental), are the go-to, get-it-done, scheduled, organized, decisive, non-procrastinating type. Ummm...that would not be me. But for a long time, I wished it was. I was so hard on myself when I was in school because I was "The World's Worst Procrastinator." I would look at all the "J" types around me and beat myself up about my laziness, my indecision, my unfinished to-do lists, my lack of follow-through. In fact, as a culture, I think America could be categorized as a "J" or Judger nation. Collectively, what do we value? Productivity, efficiency, scheduling, time management, organization. Ummm..that would also not be me. Not that I don't see value in these things, they're just not at the top of my priority list.
So what is? Here is a quotation from a Myers-Briggs workbook about "P"s or Perceivers like me:
"People who prefer to use their Perceiving process in the outer world like to live in a flexible, spontaneous way, seeking to experience and understand life, rather than control it. Detailed plans and final decisions feel confining to them; they prefer to stay open to new information and last-minute options. They are energized by their resourcefulness in adapting to the demands of the moment."
Yes!! That would be me. Do you want to come over unannounced, interrupt my work, sip tea and discuss the meaning of life for three hours? Then I'm your gal. Work can wait. Your plans changed last minute? No problem, I can just come and spend the night with you instead. Big project due tomorrow? Well, at least I've got all night...
Most of you could have guessed these things about me, so why spell them out in my little self-analysis? Because sometimes when plans, to-do lists, and getting the task done are the dominant values around you, you start to berate yourself for not fitting in, for not measuring up in productivity. I have done this off and on for years and have tried all manner of things to be more like a get-it-done J. Then I went to Africa.
My first trip was to Malawi, and from the moment I stepped off the plane, I felt instantly at home. I was with a group of six other American college students and I was the only one who experienced this deep feeling of "at-home-ness." I am only speculating here, but I wonder if it was because most of the others in our group were J's. They were organized, structured, goal-oriented people. Nothing wrong with that, except that life in Africa is the antithesis of these things. Why plan for tomorrow when you're not sure about your next meal? As much as Americans generally value structure, goals, and planning, that is how much Africans generally value spontaneity, flexibility, and open-endedness. To my delight, I encountered a whole continent of P's just like me!! They valued relationships over tasks, process over production, and savoring the moment over planning the future. Now, neither of these ways of living is better or worse, because both J and P cultures have light and dark sides. I have often felt that if we could combine the best of America and the best of Africa, we would have a beautifully balanced culture. However, during my summer in Malawi, it felt like fresh water in a desert to know that I wasn't a loser or a freak, just simply not a J like many of my countrymen.
Fast forward a bit to life in Djibouti. Even for my extremely laid-back nature, Djiboutians continually test the limits of my "P" side. So imagine the difficulties my American "J" colleagues have had as they try to adapt to what seems to be the most laid-back, open-ended culture on earth. Some of them have told me they are amazed and even envious at the way I have adapted to Djiboutian culture. "You're so flexible and adaptable...I wish I were more like you," is something I never thought I would hear from a get-it-done type colleague. Djiboutians have told me they feel just like I'm one of them. When other foreigners ask my secret of adaptation, I don't have much to say except that it's just how I'm made. I couldn't not adapt to whoever I was with and to whatever place I was in. No special recipe--it's just not in my nature to do otherwise.
So the coming to terms part has been realizing that my "P-ness" (as a friend hilariously described it) does not have to be a source of shame and self-torture. In the right situation, it is a gift from God. And I am thankful that He brought me to a part of the world where this personality type is common amongst locals and envied amongst expatriates. It just took a couple years in a different place to realize that I am blessed and not cursed by who I am. (And to learn that I need to be around people different from me so we can balance each other out!)
So if you wonder why I am sometimes lax in communication and getting necessary things done, my Perceiver personality is part of it. I don't say that to excuse myself from necessary tasks or from being a better communicator, merely to give you some insight into why I can be so sporadic in writing these stories and keeping in touch. But knowing myself better means that I can also intentionally try to fill the gaps better. So here's to some more stories in the hopefully near future! And if it takes a little longer than I'd like, it's probably because I'm having a chat with a friend about the meaning of life. :)
If any of you are familiar with the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator, you know that it measures personality preferences for how we get energized, take in information, make decisions, and interact with the outside world. If not, go to http://www.myersbriggs.org/ or just google it. I love the Myers-Briggs because it has helped me better understand how I like to operate and how to be gracious with others who operate differently than I do.
There are four categories: Introvert/Extrovert, Sensing/Intuitive, Thinker/Feeler, and Judger/Perceiver. My type is INFP (Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiver). Everyone has a different makeup and none are better or worse, just different. I don't mind being the first three things, but I've always hated being a "Perceiver" instead of a "Judger." Why? Because Judgers (just a name, nothing to do with being judgemental), are the go-to, get-it-done, scheduled, organized, decisive, non-procrastinating type. Ummm...that would not be me. But for a long time, I wished it was. I was so hard on myself when I was in school because I was "The World's Worst Procrastinator." I would look at all the "J" types around me and beat myself up about my laziness, my indecision, my unfinished to-do lists, my lack of follow-through. In fact, as a culture, I think America could be categorized as a "J" or Judger nation. Collectively, what do we value? Productivity, efficiency, scheduling, time management, organization. Ummm..that would also not be me. Not that I don't see value in these things, they're just not at the top of my priority list.
So what is? Here is a quotation from a Myers-Briggs workbook about "P"s or Perceivers like me:
"People who prefer to use their Perceiving process in the outer world like to live in a flexible, spontaneous way, seeking to experience and understand life, rather than control it. Detailed plans and final decisions feel confining to them; they prefer to stay open to new information and last-minute options. They are energized by their resourcefulness in adapting to the demands of the moment."
Yes!! That would be me. Do you want to come over unannounced, interrupt my work, sip tea and discuss the meaning of life for three hours? Then I'm your gal. Work can wait. Your plans changed last minute? No problem, I can just come and spend the night with you instead. Big project due tomorrow? Well, at least I've got all night...
Most of you could have guessed these things about me, so why spell them out in my little self-analysis? Because sometimes when plans, to-do lists, and getting the task done are the dominant values around you, you start to berate yourself for not fitting in, for not measuring up in productivity. I have done this off and on for years and have tried all manner of things to be more like a get-it-done J. Then I went to Africa.
My first trip was to Malawi, and from the moment I stepped off the plane, I felt instantly at home. I was with a group of six other American college students and I was the only one who experienced this deep feeling of "at-home-ness." I am only speculating here, but I wonder if it was because most of the others in our group were J's. They were organized, structured, goal-oriented people. Nothing wrong with that, except that life in Africa is the antithesis of these things. Why plan for tomorrow when you're not sure about your next meal? As much as Americans generally value structure, goals, and planning, that is how much Africans generally value spontaneity, flexibility, and open-endedness. To my delight, I encountered a whole continent of P's just like me!! They valued relationships over tasks, process over production, and savoring the moment over planning the future. Now, neither of these ways of living is better or worse, because both J and P cultures have light and dark sides. I have often felt that if we could combine the best of America and the best of Africa, we would have a beautifully balanced culture. However, during my summer in Malawi, it felt like fresh water in a desert to know that I wasn't a loser or a freak, just simply not a J like many of my countrymen.
Fast forward a bit to life in Djibouti. Even for my extremely laid-back nature, Djiboutians continually test the limits of my "P" side. So imagine the difficulties my American "J" colleagues have had as they try to adapt to what seems to be the most laid-back, open-ended culture on earth. Some of them have told me they are amazed and even envious at the way I have adapted to Djiboutian culture. "You're so flexible and adaptable...I wish I were more like you," is something I never thought I would hear from a get-it-done type colleague. Djiboutians have told me they feel just like I'm one of them. When other foreigners ask my secret of adaptation, I don't have much to say except that it's just how I'm made. I couldn't not adapt to whoever I was with and to whatever place I was in. No special recipe--it's just not in my nature to do otherwise.
So the coming to terms part has been realizing that my "P-ness" (as a friend hilariously described it) does not have to be a source of shame and self-torture. In the right situation, it is a gift from God. And I am thankful that He brought me to a part of the world where this personality type is common amongst locals and envied amongst expatriates. It just took a couple years in a different place to realize that I am blessed and not cursed by who I am. (And to learn that I need to be around people different from me so we can balance each other out!)
So if you wonder why I am sometimes lax in communication and getting necessary things done, my Perceiver personality is part of it. I don't say that to excuse myself from necessary tasks or from being a better communicator, merely to give you some insight into why I can be so sporadic in writing these stories and keeping in touch. But knowing myself better means that I can also intentionally try to fill the gaps better. So here's to some more stories in the hopefully near future! And if it takes a little longer than I'd like, it's probably because I'm having a chat with a friend about the meaning of life. :)
