Polar Opposites

I was avoiding the laundry recently when I saw a friend posted one of those Myers-Briggs personality quizzes. I took it, and got the same result I’ve gotten every other time I’ve taken one: ENFP. No shocker there. But when I read the description, I had to laugh:

Because ENFPs live in the world of exciting possibilities, the details of everyday life are seen as trivial drudgery. They place no importance on detailed, maintenance-type tasks, and will frequently remain oblivious to these types of concerns. When they do have to perform these tasks, they do not enjoy themselves. This is a challenging area of life for most ENFPs, and can be frustrating for ENFP's family members.

ENFP’s place no importance on detailed, maintenance-type tasks? That’s me. The best part, though, is the last line: “…can be frustrating for the ENFP’s family members.” Especially if one of those family members is an ISTJ…

Oh yes. I married my polar opposite.

ISTJs are the logical, methodical types: “With their straightforward logic and orientation to detail, ISTJs work systematically to bring order to their own small parts of the world.” 
   

That is all Sean.

I’m not sure you can change an ISTJ – they do love their structure and order. But over the past 22 years, my ISTJ has gotten used to baskets of laundry that either a) need to be washed or b) need to be folded, a counter full of clean dishes and dust. Lots of dust. And so far, his need for structure and order have not caused him to run for the hills. So maybe you can’t change an ISTJ but you can reorient them. And perhaps all my unfinished everything all over the house has caused him to think this is the structure and order of our home.

I may not able to follow through with a to-do list, but apparently I am a wizard of mind control. I’ll take that.

A picture of clean dishes on my kitchen counter this very morning. Oddly enough, I don’t have trouble with the washing, but the putting away poses problems.