The Perennial Sam

Like many people, when I was younger I felt as if I didn’t quite fit in anywhere.  Every once in a while some really observant kid at school would get the urge to bring clarity to my life and tell me, “You’re weird.”

A few years ago I had the opportunity to take the official Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality test through my psychologist.  There are many personality quizzes available online with varying credibility, but in order for the results to be considered official, such tests must be administered by a psychologist or psychiatrist.  I took the test to give my psychologist a better idea of my dominant traits and characteristics for treatment purposes.  What came back was the designation of a four part personality type that seemed highly accurate, as well as some insight with regard as to why I feel like a stranger in my own land much of the time.

It turns out that certain personality types are more prevalent than others within the population.  My type in particular - which is INTP (Introverted, iNtuitive, Thinking, Perceiving) - happens to be one of the least common.  INTPs are estimated as forming only 1% of the world’s population.  

So it’s no wonder that I don’t share other people’s logic.  In fact, it’s only natural, given that 99% of the population is of a different mindset than me.  I’m generally content with not knowing what drives other people, or if I do know, satisfied that we hold different views and comfortable with leaving it at that. 

Of course there are still those people who insist on berating me when they realize that we’re not of the same opinion - that kid from elementary school who is now in possession of a larger vocabulary, and better equipped to tell me just what they think is wrong with me.  We’ve all met people like this, who think not being a part of the majority is a character flaw.  

I have learned that understanding yourself is far more important than whether or not other people feel they can understand you.  I still value being a good communicator - it’s possible to relate an idea to someone without it being necessary for them to understand how you came up with it. 

If you find that you’re always the purple banana in the bunch, it could just be natural selection.  There’s no need to feel down about it.  As one of my friends told me when I stated that I felt a little odd compared to everyone else, “You are.  And that’s okay.”

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