Why I like the Myers-Briggs, part 2

(If you haven’t taken the Myers-Briggs, you can take it here.)

I was having an impromptu dinner with my roommate Cory last Friday when we invariably started talking about J’s vs P’s on the Myers-Briggs — which, if you recall from the original post — I’m a J (structured / planned) and Cory’s a P (adaptable / flexible).

“I’ve noticed that J’s tend to become more like P’s as they get older,” Cory started. “It’s nice because I get along with them better.”

I paused before responding, “But don’t P’s also become more like J’s as they get older?”

“No, I don’t think so…I mean, P’s have always had to figure out how to work with J’s because otherwise J’s just make life impossible. On the other hand, P’s are more spirit-filled because they just trust that things will work out. J’s demonstrate this as they age because they’ll say things like, ‘God is teaching me to let go of things that I can’t control.'”

“So what you’re saying is, P’s are just holier people.”

“Exactly,” Cory smiled.

While I had strong objections to Cory’s characterization of P’s as God’s chosen ones, I opted to let it go on account of it being his birthday weekend. In addition, I could relate to those J’s who become more flexible as they get older. As a frequent planner and organizer of get-togethers, I feel like I’ve been on a long journey of learning to go with the flow, being okay with uncertainty (e.g., those maybe RSVPs…), and not having every detail planned out.

The next morning, my friend Claire reached out to me and asked, “Want to get drinks or dinner later today?” (Read: Can you get some people together for dinner later? 😂). I said sure, but since I was busy most of the day we didn’t connect to figure out the details until about 6 pm.

So, I texted a few friends then to see if they were free, made a reservation, and four of us got together for some delicious Korean BBQ an hour and a half later. Jason (who is also a J) remarked at dinner, “You usually plan more in advance, what’s up with these recent last minute invites?”

I didn’t have an answer for him then, but reflecting on his question afterwards, I guess I have been trending towards planning less this past year. Yes, that’s largely attributable to Covid and the California wildfires over the summer, but maybe it’s also an acknowledgement that there’s only so much you can plan for, pandemic or not.

Don’t get me wrong — I’m still a J and will be planning things until my dying breath…but there’s no denying that spontaneous get-togethers like that Korean BBQ dinner bring me a lot of joy. I don’t think that means God loves P’s any more than He loves J’s, but I suppose it’s okay not to plan every once in a while, because it will just work out.