Proper goal setting translated hopes such as, “I want him to get better” to actual steps that would bring about change.   “I want him to get better” became “I want him to be able to eat at his favorite restaurant. From there, the steps to reach that vision could be constructed.  Perhaps the client needed to be able to get in and out of a car.  Or maybe he had to practice reading a menu so he could successfully order food at the restaurant.  Those activities became the steps toward making the hope a reality.

My new career as a coach draws on some of these same principles of goal setting.  The idea and the vision are always important but the more specific you can be about what you want, the easier it is to get there.   Equally critical is the motivation piece.  The motivation can be intrinsic or extrinsic or a combination of both.  Usually, the more the goal resonates with one’s personal values or internal visions, the more powerful the motivation to reach a goal will be.  That isn’t to say that every task will be a joy but if it can get bundled into the framework of an overall goal that a client owns, the unpleasant nature of certain tasks can be minimized.

One the hardest parts about making a vision a reality is that visions feel so good.  Ideas and dreams are energizing.  Getting specific about the dream and setting forth goals to make the dreams come true can be a bit more difficult.  Where do you start?  Why do you want to do it?  What strategies and activities will lead you to successfully completing the goal?  How will you know you have accomplished the goal successfully?   These are the questions that a coach can help you answer.  The coach is a collaborative partner that helps lead you to greater insight, improved motivation, and ultimately success.

College students were asked to look at this picture for a minute then write a description.

Perception is the lens you use to take in information.  Carl Jung identified two types of perception, sensing and intuition.  To illustrate these differences to college students during a workshop, I used this classic photo of dogs playing poker. I asked the students to study the picture for a minute, then write down what they saw in this picture.  The results were amusing, informative, and an effective way to illustrate the differences in preference.

When an individual has a preference for sensing, they tend to look at the facts and use the 5 senses to gather information. Perceptions tend to be in the moment and a reflection of what is or was present at the time of the observation.  Those that prefer intuition, tend to see patterns and connections and often use one or two details as a springboard for other perceptions that aren’t actually there.

Here are some examples:

One student had an astounding recollection of the factual details of this photo.  He noted that:

“There were 7 dogs at the table playing poker.  The table was green velvet and the walls were bluish grey.  A red lamp hung over the table and the clock on the wall showed just past 2 o’clock.  There was a painting on the wall with a yellowish frame.  One dog was handing another dog a card under the table.”

This student had a preference for sensing and was in fact, an ISTJ.   The dominant function for an ISTJ is introverted sensing.  This type has a real strength in noticing and storing factual details.  It may be details that they have observed or it may be something they have come across in their reading.  All sensing types tend to be naturally adept at noting and working with details.

The individual who prefers intituion, on the other hand, will tend to riff off of what is present into a very different type of description:

“The dogs are playing poker.  One of them is cheating.  Maybe they are going to share the winnings after the game.  I wonder if their wives approve of them gambling and staying out all night?  Do they do this every Saturday night and leave them at home?  I wouldn’t stand for that.”

This student had a preference for ENFP and was in fact, the other student’s type opposite (meaning they had no letters or preferences in common).   This dominant function for this personality type is extraverted intuition. This type has a strength for seeing patterns, brainstorming, and imagining possibilities.  All types that share a preference for intuition tend to be naturally adept at weaving connections together or seeing information in a new way.

So which type is better?  The answer is both.  In certain situations, the sensing types will perform better, on the whole, and in other situations the intuitives will shine.   A good example of this is my mother and I.  Her type is ESFJ so she prefers sensing.   She worked in the operating room for many years measuring blood gasses for open heart surgery.  She needed to be precise and factual with her work.  There was no “it could be this or maybe that.”  It was what it was.

On the other hand, my personality type is ENFP.  My occupational choices have centered around possibilities, particularly surrounding uncovering the personal potential in others.  Individual facts are less important than blending concepts and seeing something that may not be readily apparent.

Finally, it must be noted that every individual can and does use both of these preferences.  However you tend to prefer one style over the other.  When you know your preference, it can be a powerful tool in assessing career choices and understanding communication between others.  It can inform all kinds of life choices and define how you tend to approach problem solving.  Last but certainly not least, it can help you appreciate the contributions of others who see the world very differently than you do.

“The APA’s proposed definition of introversion is: “Withdrawal from other people, ranging from intimate relationships to the world at large; restricted affective experience and expression; limited hedonic capacity.” The definition also includes “deficit in the capacity to feel pleasure or take interest in things.”

No wonder introverts are fighting back!

Introverts all over the world are applauding the work of Susan Cain in setting the record straight on introversion. Introversion is a preference for focusing one’s energy and attention inward.  Thus, introverts are at their best when they can be in their heads to solve problems, formulate thoughts, and recharge their psyches.   They are simply prefer this style to an extraverted style where energy and attention is focused outwardly.

However, this is not a new concept.   Identifying introversion as a normal state equal in validity to extraversion was first popularized by psychologist Carl Jung in 1923.   Later,  Katherine Briggs and and Isabel Briggs Myers applied Jungian theory to what was ultimately known as  the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator , a widely used personality assessment.  For decades, the psychological type community has been trying to set the record straight on the beauty of introversion.

While I am pleased to see that the general public is beginning to appreciate the qualities of introversion, Jung and later, Myers and Briggs, identified other psychological preferences that are also very important.  There are also preferences for how one likes to take in information.   Do you prefer facts, what is present right now, and sequential thought?  Then you prefer sensing.  It’s opposite is intuition, a preference for patterns, concepts, and theories.  How many times have people misunderstood each other because of opposing styles of perception?

There is also a clear dichotomy for thinking versus feeling.  Do you prefer logic or value-based judgments? These are equally valid ways to evaluate information.

Finally there is a preference for order, closer and routine that is opposite to a preference for keeping things more open-ended and less routine or scheduled.  I predict this is going to be the next normal difference that people will learn to appreciate.   There is a definite cultural bias toward being organized and scheduled that makes the flexible, more go with the flow types seem like they are disorganized and unreliable.  That bias has to change too because the strength of the latter type is the ability to flex in the moment, accept multiple eventualities, and appreciate spontaneity.

The book Gifts Differing by Isabel Briggs Myers and Peter B. Myers, further advanced the need to honor individual differences and strengths.  It isn’t just the unique advantages of extraversion versus introversion that require widespread understanding, it’s all of the Jungian preferences.  For it is true that when you use your strengths, there is a tendency to  feel energized and be the most effective.  The most fertile environment for this to happen is when you are valued and appreciated for who you are.  It is therefore very important that psychological type enthusiasts use this unique opportunity created by Susan Cain to further the understanding of all of the type preferences.

Meditation isn’t about expections, I started to explain. It’s like, like a …maybe think of it as an adult time out! At the time, I blurted it out in jest but when I started thinking about it, it isn’t a bad comparison.

Many of us who have had children know about the all-powerful time-out when a child is behaving badly. It’s a actually too bad that time-outs are often used as a punishment rather than an important time to settle down before returning to the scene with a clearer mind.  In our house, it was called “The Thinking Chair” but it was almost always used when I had had enough of their antics.   If I known then what I knew now, I could have expanded the Thinking Chair into an opportunity to teach early self-regulation.   The Thinking Chair would be a wholly positive experience.  Oh well.. lost opportunity. They are all grown up now.

Anyway, one of the many benefits of meditation is to train your mind to notice when you are off track, or when you are relying on unhelpful cognitive patterns of the past to respond to the present.  Certainly it always helps to step away from a stressful situation to gather your thoughts in the moment.  However, most of us don’t notice when we are in that chaotic or rigid state of mind in the first place so we just keep going.  Meditation prepares the brain to notice those situations unfolding so we can take a step back and achieve clarity.  Another good analogy to describe meditation is that it is like going to the gym to lift weights so you can lift something for real later.

I meditate but do not I head into the woods to contemplate the sound of one clapping hand.  I use that phrase as a caricature to describe what meditation is not, especially for the average participant who might feel that they aren’t “the meditating type.”   There are enormous benefits to the regular practice of meditation and one should not judge themselves to be a poor candidate to do it due to misconceptions about what it actually is.

Oftentimes people who seek out meditation are expecting relaxation or even a transcendent experience. You can become more relaxed as an overall benefit or perhaps experience transcendence as you learn to take a step back from a situation that might otherwise mire you in needless suffering or unfocused thinking. However meditation is not for relaxation or transcendence per se.

The lecturer describes meditation as cultivating positive habits of the mind, much like you would tend a garden. The act of meditating allows you to provide a fertile ground for positive thoughts while mindfully weeding out what inhibits growth.

One of the critical steps in preparing oneself to maximize the benefits of mediation was the notion of taking a “moral inventory” of one’s thoughts and behaviors.   What might be standing in the way of your personal growth? I hadn’t heard this notion of moral inventory connected with maximizing the benefits of mediation. It certainly made sense when the lecturer laid out the rationale:

“Mindfulness must be practiced within the wider context of one’s life…personal ethics…a disordered ethical life will disrupt our efforts to practice meditation much like weeds in a garden.”

So he suggested taking a personal moral inventory in light of these five ethical aspiration:

1.  I will endeavor not to harm others.

2. I will endeavor not to steal.

3. I will endeavor not to misuse sexuality.

4. I will endeavor not to use false speech.

5. I will endeavor not to consume toxins.

The first 4 are in many ways obvious. You certainly can cause harm to yourself and others directly.  You can harm others by stealing their possessions or ideas. Misuse of sexuality can cause significant suffering. Bending  the truth is also quite harmful.  The 5th ethical aspiration was very interesting though  for it went beyond overeating, overuse of alcohol, smoking and drugs.   The lecturer states:

“Today guarding our minds against intoxication would necessarily include the type of information we take in. Like other stupefying substances, we can become addicted to media stimulation.”

We certainly can lose ourselves in TV, the internet, and social media.  If there is anything that can lure one into the trap of mindlessness, it’s media stimulation.  Yes. Yes and hmmmm.

So today is Fat Tuesday followed by a period of 40 days of reflection and ethical self-appraisal.  This period corresponds with the spring preparation theme, the idea of preparing the ground for a bountiful garden. What better time to prepare oneself for personal growth?   As for me, ethical aspiration #5 is probably a great place to start.

1. An individual might think his job calls for a particular behavior so his responses favor that demand.

2. Cultural ideals might make an individual respond in a certain way.  An example would be “Men are thinkers.  Women are feelers.”

3. An individual might be working to develop a certain phase of his or her personality.

4. Severe stress known in psychological type parlance as “The Grip” might skew results.

5. An individual’s upbringing may not value a certain preference so it is denied.

6. An individual might falsify their responses attempting to “choose their type.”

Also note, that as individuals mature, they develop personality overlays known as facets enhance and add new dimensions to the personality.  Therefore while type can be thought of an individual’s inborn temperament, it is a dynamic model in which the personality takes on new dimensions.   Type is not a static.  It becomes richer and more individualized over time, given the right mindset and opportunity to learn and adapt.

This whole brain pattern comes from transcontextual thinking where seemingly unrelated thoughts and concepts are quickly blended and related in the brain, often resulting in extremely creative and often vastly entertaining output.  Those who are most likely to show this pattern have psychological preferences for extraverted intuition namely ENFPs and ENTPs and to a lesser extent, INTPs and INFPs.  Apart from any neuro data,  it is well-accepted that ENFP/ENTP types are adept at connecting elements that normally don’t go together and are energized by this.   They can also be major procrastinators with poor follow-through when the exciting suddenly becomes routine.

It may come as no surprise that many comedians, talk show hosts, journalists prefer extraverted intuition. Some of these types might be Dr. Suess,  Robin Willians, or Conan O’Brien.   Experiencing the creative output of one of these types can be both exhilarating and tiring.  Seriously, who doesn’t want Robin Williams to tone it down a notch sometimes?

While this brain state can be a decided  advantage in many areas of life, it can also lead to peaks and valleys in creative energy because the proverbial switch is either firing on all cylinders or it’s off because it is waiting for the next spark to set off new energy.  It can also be a  liability if no one is able to follow your line of thinking.  As an ENFP myself, I have experienced the benefits of this:  incredible creative energy, clever turn of phrase, and  spontaneously turning a mundane activity into an event.  I have also seen the glazed over look in people’s eyes when they don’t get what the hell I am saying or I can’t get inspired to do anything and procrastinate looking for that spark.

Fortunately, there are many strategies that one can use to ameliorate the downside to Christmas Tree Brain.  One of them is meditation.  Meditation is not a relaxation exercise.  It is training the brain to be aware of what it is doing and make gently make corrections.  If one is rigid in his thinking, meditative practice can make those patterns easy to detect in the moment.  Likewise, a mind that is distracted or wildly off topic can also be gently reigned in if it is trained to do so.

Meditation won’t change an individual’s personality, it will only enhance it giving a larger array of ways to behave given a particular situation.  If you have the gift of transcontextual thinking, at times, you have to know when to stop riffing and get to the point.  Or let someone else talk.  Or know when you haven’t been understood so you can circle back and clarify.  You have to know when you are distracted and not following through.  You won’t lose your yuletide mojo but you will know when it’s overdone.  Meditation leads to an enhanced state of awareness, something we all can use to maximize our strengths while managing our blind spots.

To try a sample 11-minute meditation led by Dr. Daniel Siegel, follow this link.

Certain occupations in life involve an element of physical risk.  Policemen get shot. Roofers fall off of roofs. Those in the military face risks constantly. Apparently, commercial fishing is  quite dangerous too. The people who do these jobs know what the risk is and they decide to do the job anyway.   It makes no sense to try to cover up the potential risks associated with any occupation, including athletics.   Jobs that have a higher incidence of concussions and blows to the head put an individual at risk for CTE.  CTE is the equivalent of environmentally caused dementia.

Apparently, the NHL is not convinced that there is a link between CTE and hockey. I am not sure what they are looking for as far as proof.  Would they go as far as to agree that concussions happen relatively often in contact sports?  Would they accept the fact that CTE is caused  by repeated blows to the head? Give these athletes the facts and let them decide if they want to take on the risk of playing the sport.   So many times an organization will try to underplay what might damage their immediate interests, and it results in a  worse problem down the line!

It’s never easy to take a proactive stance on anything. This isn’t the first time I have struggled with trying to make peace with the idea that I love to watch hockey and football and yet I know there are very significant  risks to the brain.  Decades of working with brain injured clients has created this dilemma for me.  In some ways, it seems hypocritical to be a fan of these sports and at the same time, point out what I see as a huge risk to people who play these sports. I can only imagine how difficult it would be if my life was and my livelihood was completely tied to these sports or promotion of these sports.  Derek Boogaard’s brother still plays hockey because in his words, “What else would I do?”

It isn’t an easy problem to solve. Still, it would behoove the NHL and NFL to become actively cooperative in trying to discover what risks are involved in playing a sport especially revealing the worst of these consequences. Don’t hold anything back and let the players, their families and their health care providers make informed decisions about what to do.  Also make necessary changes as a league  to improve conditions and have policies in place to minimize risk where possible.   However, the only way to arrive at a solution is to agree that there’s a problem.  How much more evidence will be required before professional sports acknowledge significant link between potentially compromised brain function and contact sports?  As the Minnesota Brain Injury Society stated in their 2010 Walk for Thought campaign: Play hard but play smart.

Despite being a highly accurate and validated tool, there are still some cases where individuals will have reported types that differ from their actual type. Or they may have different results each time they take the MBTI. Therefore, they may  require extra dialogue to arrive at a verified type.  Others  may have an accurate reported type but want to understand their type more thoroughly without having to spend too much time reading.   In other instances, particularly when trying to apply type to communication and relationships, an easy way to compare different types might be helpful.

Enter the Personality Puzzle, a multiple use card system to assist in all of the above tasks and more!  I became acquainted with Sue Blair, the developer of the cards, at the Association for Psychological Type International Conference in San Francisco in August 2011.   I was talking to another convention goer about her book The Eight Colors of Fitness , a book that uses psychological type to plan a fitness program.  After all, we are not all motivated by the same forces.  I had mentioned that psychological type might be a useful tool for planning effective rehab plans for brain injured people.  The problem was, that the standard MBTI might be too complicated for these individuals.

I was taken to Sue Blair’s table and introduced to her card system.  It was thorough yet simple in it’s design.  As I started to work with the cards, I began to see the enormous possibilities in using these cards in multiple situations. I also purchased a set for my daughter who is MBTI certified and a teacher.  She also saw the many possibilities for the Personality Puzzle.

So what are these cards?  They actually have 2 steps:

1.  There are pairs of cards representing each of the MBTI dichotomies (introversion v. extraversion, sensing v. intuition, thinking v. feeling and judging v. perceiving).  The client chooses which card of the two mostly fits their preference.  With this exercise, you can arrive at a possible type.

2. Next,  there are 16 cards that represent each of the MBTI types.  You can verify your type based on the above exercise or you can learn more about your type if you are fairly certain about what it is.  You can also compare several types either to clarify your own or to see how you might be different than another type.  You can also see your major strengths and blind spots on these cards.   If you are working with a certified type practitioner, these cards make it easy to clarify major points for the client during a dialogue.

Pretty elegant, eh?

Since that time, I have arranged to distribute these cards in the United States – my idea, because I was so impressed with their usefulness.  You may also like to know that Sue has other projects in the works using some of the same principles as her original product.  Stay tuned for that!

Meanwhile, if you would like more information about these cards or would like to purchase a set, please contact me  or email me at annholm@annholm.net

What do these macro brain states look like on EEG ? They are are either asynchronous one example being the Christmas Tree Brain (while engaged in transcontextual thinking), or synchronous where all regions of the brain are working in harmony and at maximum amplitude.  Nardi reports  6 colors that can appear on the EEG read out.  For example, a red macro state occurs when the neocortex is hyperstimulated, such as when we have  a moment of insight or see an attractive person.

Another such synchronized state features a blue colored EEG read-out and is associated with being alert and calm or performing an activity in which we have creative expertise. While technically not called The Blue Zen Brain,  it does capture the essence of a calm mind.  Dominant introverted intuitive personality types, specifically the INFJ and INTJ are the most likely to achieve this state.  Not only do they achieve this state when they engage in an area of expertise, they also show this pattern when tackling an unfamiliar, novel problem and or envisioning the future.  All areas of the neocortex are called to action to realize an answer.  The answer is often complex and difficult to explain.

Indeed, omplexity and perfectionism are often byproducts of  this elegant and visionary style of problem solving. However, seeing a material world that often does not match what the mind can see can be a source of stress for INTJ and INFJ  types.  There will always be an ideal that lies just out of reach when the mind is capable of conceiving such a thing.   Still, knowing the general tendencies of one’s mind as well as realizing that those tendencies represent one perspective out of many, is a useful point of personal insight. In this case, it can lead to strategies to accept  a less than perfect outcome when the ideal is not possible.

In the coming months, look for more articles on the neuroscience of personality.  I will report the findings then offer a practical application of these concepts.  As always, I appreciate questions, comments, and feedback on what I have written.