Sort of MBTI of Problem Solving
This is the idea, that I am toying around with, and I am trying it out from time to time. Not sure, how successful it is practically, but it might help with some people. What it basically does, is to try and see on the problem from different perspectives, in this case, perspectives of different functions.
MBTI was designed based on the Jung's function theory. So Jung's said that we have four functions: Thinking, Feeling, Intuiting and Sensing, and each can be oriented inside or outside. I have to admit, I understand a lot more about inside and outside orientation, since I took first person research. Before, they would sometimes get mixed. For example, I could not understand introverted intuition, but if I think about it like an extroverted intuition oriented in the inside, it makes sense. But it did not make sense, until I started to observe myself.
And each function wants something. The thinking wants order, the sensing wants information, the intuition wants creativity and the feeling wants humanity. And then each one is turned in one side, the thinking wants order, but introverted thinking wants order in the thinking, and the extroverted thinking wants order in the external world. The same with sensing, the extroverted sensing gets the information from the world, and the introverted sensing gets the information from the inside us. The extroverted feeling wants to express humanity toward other people, so that we are more human to each other, the introverted feeling wants to express inner humanity, which is why it is connected to the values a lot of times. And so on and so on.
Penelope Trunk actually summarized what makes each type (not function) makes one happy and refuel them. I copied the information in the table below:
Type | Activity |
---|---|
INTJ | Needs to create order and structure from theoretical abstraction. |
ENTJ | Needs to visualize where an organization is headed. |
INTP | Needs to generate new theories or to prove or disprove existing theories. |
ENTP | Needs to understand the world they live in. |
ISTP | Needs to understand the way things work. |
ESTP | Needs to take action and get the job done. |
ISFP | Needs to feel immersed in the world of senses. |
ESFP | Needs to feel excitement and drama. |
ISTJ | Needs to fulfill their duty. |
ESTJ | Needs to enforce rules and/or traditions. |
ISFJ | Needs to create harmony and cooperation. |
ESFJ | Needs to make people feel good about themselves. |
INFJ | Needs to see the world of hidden meanings and possibilities. |
ENFJ | Needs to bring out the best in others. |
INFP | Needs to make the world a better place. |
ENFP | Needs to inspire and motivate others. |
(As the unrelated note, this can also be used to help type people :) )
So, going from that tangent (but this approach can also work with the needs above), how to use thins to solve problems? Well, when we have a problem, we can think about, how each function would approach this. How can be bring order and use this to solve problems? When can be get more information? Is there something else we did not consider? How do we bring fourth our humanity.