Typology and Writing

The typology test that I took says I have an ISTJ personality, and from what I have read about it I find the typology indicators to be true. I felt that the majority of the traits that defines an ISTJ coincide with my traits. An example would be the not feeling comfortable in large groups but rather being sociable when they know their role within a group of people. My wife has told me that when I am with a small group of people that I am familiar with, I am more outgoing than when I am with a large group of people. I am not necessarily a perfectionist but I would say I have pretty high standards for myself and others around me. This may cause ISTJ types, including me, to procrastinate because they have difficulty feeling their work is as good as it should be. The typology indicators also say that an ISTJ type personality might have issues with being overwhelmed by data and details when writing. ISTJs may also prefer to write about factual data. I think these things would describe my writing because many times writing assignments overwhelm me until I am able to organize my thoughts. I also have issues with feeling good about what I write and feeling as if it is up to par. However, there are some things that I don’t feel describe me, such as an ISTJ’s need for a quiet environment to work in. This is not how I feel, I was born into a big family so seldom did I have any quiet time. I feel that I work better with background noise and things going on around me, even though I do tend to lose track of all my thoughts when someone talks to me directly. This generally causes me to feel the need to start whatever I was writing over again. All in all, I would have to say this is an accurate depiction of me.

          I think that knowing these things about how I learn can help me with writing by giving me some insight into what it is that is making me feel overwhelmed. I feel that sometimes I do need to step back and look at the bigger picture rather than feeling overwhelmed by focusing on one thing. I think that with my personality type I will excel at writing if I can clarify the objectives of the writing. Another thing that may help me would be to make sure that I do not waste too much time trying to reach perfection. If I am trying to write and do not get anything written, then I have nothing to work with. If I go ahead and write something and do not like how it is worded I can change it later. This may be the best lesson I can learn from this typology test.