About Me

Let’s get this one out of the way first. Hi, I’m the writer of this blog, aka the Extrovert in the Woods.

I have many, many hobbies, one of them being writing. The rest are drawing, making comics (though currently I have not made any for this blog yet! Arg!), composing on the piano, spontaneously breaking out into song (my life is a musical), freestyling to my favorite music, saying I want to learn to animate and then getting halfway through a storyboard before getting distracted, learning and speaking the Japanese language (sporadically), saying random things in weird voices, chilling with my crazy kit-kat, Penny, playing video games, and sometimes obsessing over personality theory.

I know, it’s a long list. (Someone once called me the Swiss Army knife of hobbies. Pretty dang accurate, I’d say.)

Hmm… I’m trying to think if there’s other helpful things for me to mention… I guess I’ll just share a few random facts real quick:

    • I mention this in some of my articles already, but it might be helpful to know that I’m an ENFP. (For those of you who aren’t familiar with personality theory already—or should I say yet, hehe—that stands for Extraverted/iNtuitive/Feeling/Perceiving. If you want to learn more, I’ll drop a list of books in another part of this article for you to look at that I think are extremely helpful.)

    • I’m an extrovert that grew up in a family of introverts. My dad (INFP) is also a writer (and a very good one too!), and helped me build this website. My mom (INFJ) is the reason I got into personality theory. Both my parents have been extremely supportive and encouraging in this project and I’m incredibly grateful for all that they do. Thanks Mom and Dad!

About the Blog

Oh gee, I wonder what this blog is all about. Extroverts and forests, looks like.

Well, if that was your initial guess, you’re not wrong… but to get really specific (and I’m gonna try to boil it down to one sentence) here’s what it’s really about:

This blog is about my journey towards rediscovering my extroverted nature, and embracing it.
That’s it. The rest is you getting to take a peek into the colorful, zany contents of my ENFP brain. Oh yeah, and me obsessing over personality theory and ranting about stereotypes. (Okay so it varies, but it’s all part of the journey guys.)

You, my dear readers, are a giant inspiration to me on my journey, because it’s always more meaningful when it’s about more than just me and my own stuff. So thank you, for giving me motivation to keep writing, even though I may never know your name.

My hopes and desires for this blog center around not only finding answers for myself, but hopefully also helping you with your own personal struggles. Even if this blog is just something that opens your mind to new possibilities, or, at least, brightens your day somehow, it’s worth it.
Other side notes about the blog for ya:

    • I’m not a certified anything whatsoever, I will tell you right now that I do not have any formal training or a piece of paper to tell you that anything that I write on this blog is 100% accurate. I’m not a therapist or counselor either (not even close). I do, however, reference several books on personality theory that are written by people who (most likely) do have certifications, as well as loads of knowledge on the subject. The rest of my references are from my own experience, observations, and discussions I’ve had with other people. If you’re the kind of person who is looking for the data to back what I share on here (which, if you are, then you’re the sort of person who is actually doing their critical thinking, and I applaud you), that is the data I can point you to.

    • Personality theory is not discussed lightly here. (It’s not necessarily always discussed heavily either, but I digress.) If you’re looking for a fun, shallow blog that you can consume like a bag of potato chips (or a box of Cheez-Its, I love those), this ain’t it. I’m challenging the stereotypes, not promoting them as a reality. Think of this blog as more like a nice slice of homemade carrot cake or banana bread, if you will. (Maybe also with a warm cup of herbal tea on the side.) Enjoyed at a slower pace, but still pleasant, and probably still not too difficult to consume for the most part. Something a little gentler on the brain and a lot less addictive than most of social media (yes, I admit I’ve gone to Reddit and Pinterest many times to find MBTI-related stuff, and let me tell you, endless rabbit hole), and hopefully also made with much more care and thought.

    • Absolutely no AI content will be on this blog (I know I’m getting sick of running into fake blogs full of generated garbage!). All of my posts on here are written and edited by actual human beings. Same goes for all the photos and media (unless I’m literally talking about AI, then you might see an AI photo as an example, but it’s not likely).

    • Introverts, you are absolutely welcome here. I have a deep love and respect for you and your strengths and insight. However, as you know, this is a blog specifically about extroverts/extroversion. You may or may not find the contents of this blog helpful or relatable to you, but if you do, feel free to stay and enjoy the Woods!

Personality Theory Booklist

Lastly, I will leave you with the promised list of books whose information I so often refer to in my posts. They are all very useful resources and, while imperfect (like any other writings authored by us humans), are well-written and fascinating to read and study.

I will eventually add more books to this list later but here’s something to start with:

    1. Building Blocks of Personality Type (A Guide to Discovering the Hidden Secrets of the Personality Type Code), by Leona Haas & Mark Hunziker (Copyright ©2006, 2011, 2014)

This book dives into all eight functions (Se, Si, Ne, Ni, Te, Ti, Fe, and Fi) in detail, and really helps you to develop an eye for spotting those functions at work in other people and yourself, and even in systems and culture as well. It also helps you see how each of the 16 personality types really think, from a core basis. The only thing I would note is that Ni may not be explained as well (although that is a difficult function to explain accurately).

    2. Understanding Yourself And Others® - An Introduction to the Personality Type Code, by Linda V. Berens & Dario Nardi (Copyright ©2004)

Understanding Yourself And Others® is a series of books focusing on several different components of personalty theory, and broadens the discussion beyond just the eight functions. I personally think that their books greatly enhance the usefulness of MBTI and other related personality tools. These books also promote finding your type by self-discovery, rather than taking an MBTI test. I agree with this process and find that the results are much more accurate. They also explain Nature vs. Nurture in this series and how we can adapt and develop any and all of the eight cognitive processes.

This book specifically goes into the eight functions and the breakdown of the lettering for each type (why it’s ENFP, INTJ, ISTP, ESFJ, etc.).

    3. Understanding Yourself And Others® - An Introduction to Temperament, by Linda V. Berens (Copyright ©2000)

Part of the Understanding Yourself And Others® series, this book goes into the Temperaments, a four-quadrant division of the sixteen personalities similar to the ones on 16personalities.com (i.e. the Analysts, Diplomats, Sentinels, and Explorers). I personally think they go a little deeper into it and explain why the types fall into these four categories and how those in each quadrant are similar at their core. Their names for the four quadrants in this book are the Idealists (same as Diplomats), the Guardians (Sentinels), the Rationals (Analysts), and the Artisans (Explorers).

    4. Understanding Yourself And Others® - An Introduction to Interaction Styles, by Linda V. Berens (Copyright ©2001)

This book covers the four Interaction Styles and also lists what style each of the sixteen types fall into. This book, along with the book on temperaments, adds another layer to personality and, in my opinion, makes it even easier to pinpoint a person’s true type. It’s also valuable on its own, even without type, especially in the workplace, teams, or group projects. It’s not as vast and abstract as personality theory, in my opinion, but it works great when used parallel to it.

    5. The Sixteen Personality Types – Descriptions For Self-Discovery, by Linda V. Berens & Dario Nardi (Copyright ©1999)

No description perfectly fits everyone, but these type descriptions are really good and can be extremely helpful if you’re struggling to find your specific type. The author promotes finding one’s “best-fit type” rather than trying to box people into one-size-fits all categories. I’ve read these books over and over and I still haven’t absorbed everything. There’s a lot to unpack, even though they’re not long, and not hard to understand. I strongly recommend this along with the other books for study if you’re looking to enhance and expand your knowledge of personality theory.

(Shortened list with just the book titles and authors for easier searching:)

    • Building Blocks of Personality Type (A Guide to Discovering the Hidden Secrets of the Personality Type Code), by Leona Haas & Mark Hunziker (Copyright ©2006, 2011, 2014)
    • Understanding Yourself And Others® - An Introduction to the Personality Type Code, by Linda V. Berens & Dario Nardi (Copyright ©2004)
    • Understanding Yourself And Others® - An Introduction to Interaction Styles, by Linda V. Berens (Copyright ©2001)
    • Understanding Yourself And Others® - An Introduction to Temperament, by Linda V. Berens (Copyright ©2000)
    • The Sixteen Personality Types – Descriptions For Self-Discovery, by Linda V. Berens & Dario Nardi (Copyright ©1999)

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