Has Myers-Briggs been my crutch all these years? Like a gazillion other people (something like two million every year) I have taken MBTI. They told me, "You're an ISTJ." I said, "Okay."

I haven't thought much about the S, T, or J. I've thought a lot about the "I". That's where I landed on the Introversion-Extroversion scale. In fact, I think they had to extend the introversion scale out another inch so they would have a place to put the x. So I've walked around with this big "I" on my forehead for the past 20 years or so. Maybe you've seen it there. It never bothered me. I just saw it as a description of my pesonality, and I figured it was pretty accurate. After all, I'm not the noisey one in the room, I have to process all my words in my head before they come out my mouth, and I enjoy solitude (at least some of the time). That's all typical "I" stuff.

The problem, of course, is that I can sometimes hide behind the "I". "You can't expect me to do that, there will be a bunch of people there." "I prefer to work alone." Or even worse, "I don't need other people, because I'm an "I"."

But the other day the SIMA people said, "Your motivation is oriented toward group involvements. You want to be part of a team or group, to participate in its activities, and to contribute in some way to its success. You enjoy being involved in efforts in which people work together for a common purpose."

You know what? They're right. As I look back, it's a pattern I can see running through my life. I've been most effective and most fulfilled when I've been part of a team working together toward a clear goal. I could list a dozen examples.

I love knowing this about myself. I can't change the way God put my personality together, and I don't really want to. But no more hiding behind the "I".