Keirsey - more accurate than Mystic Meg.

When I first took the Keirsey Temperament Sorter test a few years ago, in the days when I still had delusions of being a career woman, my results outed me as an INTJ.

These four letters are pretty good ones to have after your name if you're looking for a job at Nissan. Allegedly, these Japanese car makers look for this personality profile when employing new staff. Don't ask me why. Sales companies, however, prefer the E (extrovert) personalities to the I (introvert) types like me. My acronym was as different to my colleagues' as my sales technique. I felt quite silly sitting there, in the training room, a lonely I drowning in a sea of Es. Maybe that's when I began to question my vocation.

I managed to avoid making any decisions on the career front when Nature deemed that I was to indulge my maternal instincts for a while. After a break of 12 months from the pressure and money driven world of sales, I realised that I didn't miss it. Since making the decision not to go back, I've tried my hand at a few things.

The last 10 years have provided me with a number of firsts and new experiences. My body has been stretched out of shape by babies and kept supple with yoga, it's balanced on skis, danced around (and fallen off) a pole, scaled a climbing wall and parascended over the Mediterranean but other than a few more lines and the occasional grey hair, I don't really look that different on the outside.

I've suspected for some time that things are different on the inside. I'd always assumed that by my late 20s, I had become who I was going to be. Not what........WHO. I thought I knew myself and that I wouldn't change, but the results of my most recent Keirsey test seem to suggest otherwise. Thirteen years of marriage, two children, a miscarriage, a period of self-employment and one of depression, have turned me into an INFJ.

INFJs are gentle, caring, complex and highly intuitive individuals. Artistic and creative, they live in a world of hidden meanings and possibilities. Only one percent of the population has an INFJ Personality Type, making it the
most rare of all the types ........They know things intuitively, without
being able to pinpoint why, and without detailed knowledge of the subject at
hand. They are usually right, and they usually know it. Consequently, INFJs put
a tremendous amount of faith into their instincts and intuitions.....This may
result in an INFJ stubbornness and tendency to ignore other people's
opinions. (ref: http://www.personalitypage.com/INFJ.html)

Usually self-expression comes more easily to INFJs on paper, as they tend to have strong writing skills. Since in addition they often possess a strong personal charisma, INFJs are generally well-suited to the "inspirational" professions such as teaching (especially in higher education) and religious leadership. Psychology and counseling are other obvious choices (ref: http://typelogic.com/infj.html )

Seeing myself defined in this way is quite spooky, but explains a lot of things, not least my internet activity over the last 3 years. Being told I was conducting an inappropriate relationship wasn't going to stop me. Instead, I was driven to resolve differences in a cooperative and creative manner, exercising my influence behind the scenes in true INFJ style.

I typically crave a high degree of intimacy and emotional engagement, and am happiest when I'm sharing my innermost thoughts and feelings with my other half. He's happy to share, particularly if it's in the exchange of bodily fluids, but he just doesn't get it. Intellectually or sexually. The lever which cranks my sex drive into gear, IS NOT located in my knickers, so stroke, lick and nibble as much as you like, it won't get the engine going until the switch in my brain has been activated. Perhaps I need some WD-40 in my veins to stop me rusting up.

I think I may, judging by my change of career path over the last 3 years, be en- route to happiness in the work area of my life at least. I love my job for so many reasons. When I'm there I'm too busy with other people's problems and conflicts to give my own any headspace. I'm learning new things every day. Best of all though I get to 'champion the oppressed and downtrodden'. It's easier to teach adolescents new tricks than a 37 year old dog.

Watch this space. I have plenty more tricks up my sleeve!