Does knowing one's true type really matter?

It really doesn't.  In fact, it may not make any difference at all. 

I've heard it said that Margaret Wheatley claimed her type is DKDC -- which stands for "Don't Know Don't Care."  And she hasn't been struck by lightning.  ...Yet.

Then there are people who use psychological type as if it were a magazine horoscope, a tea leaf reading, or a parlor game.  So it's fun, ya know?  And that's enough.

You can be as superficial as you like with this theory.

Or as deep.

Some people think the MBTI is the theory.  They will say, "What's your MBTI?" as if they're one and the same.  They've missed the boat, but they don't know.  And they may not care. 

Internet surfers often take the freebie online junk tests and share their results with their friends as they play a Type-lite version of "Truth or Dare."  They boast how they "have no S," or they're a "strong F" or insist they're two types or an "X."  Sure, okay.  That can be silly fun, even if they're making every type mistake in the book.

Some people use their newfound knowledge of type as "a big stick," taking angry whacks at everyone around them.  "Aha!  I can't stand S's!" they say.  Or -- "That's the problem!  My mother is a T!"  Suddenly, Type becomes a tool to persecute those who have injured them.  These folks overlook investigating their own eye in favor of finding fault with the motes in others' eyes.

Then there are the people who hungrily read all the available descriptions of their type, weep briefly with the joy of understanding, and then get back to "real life."  It was a momentary cathartic diversion, soon forgotten.  

It's all too easy for type to get reduced to this four-letter "brand" that people stick on themselves and forget about.  It's just a meaningless label they don't even understand, nothing more.

Freud said:  "The trouble with most people's self-analysis is it stops too soon.  They are too easily satisfied."

I guess the question you can ask yourself is whether you are "easily satisfied."  Are you?

If you are, then knowing your Type won't really matter.

But if you are not easily satisfied and hunger to learn more about yourself, you can use Type to find many of the answers you seek -- sometimes to questions you didn't know you had!  It'll take a little more effort is all.

If you're in the mood to delve deep and want to know more, I've tried to provide useful information on this website for doing so.  The only thing is, you have to put up with me as you wander around.

So put your thinking cap on!  And enjoy your Type journey -- whether 'tis a lark, or a quest for the Holy Grail.

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