[PursuitofVikings]

***Sorry if it seems like I am trolling. I promise you I have better things to do than troll PerC forum. I am just telling you how I am seeing it and if you disagree with my opinions, I am up for some heated debate.***

Is this what we really are? I read the type descriptions and it sounds like, if in fact I am an ESTJ, that I am a boring average Joe that is destined for mediocrity, likes to boss people around, and has no creativity or charm.

Why would I want to be associated with someone like this? MBTI is obviously a tool that uses stereotypes to gauge peoples' personalities and help people find themselves. So what am I supposed to get out of my knowledge that I am an ESTJ? How do I create uniqueness in my personality as well as creativity and charm now that I project the image of (what sounds like) a complete tool?

[Near]

You've drawn your conclusion from the wrong starting point.
MBTI is not supposed to tell you what you are, it's supposed to tell you why you are this way.
Heck I don't even think it can do that properly, but it may clear up some confusions.

You can be a tool whatever your type is, that's not the point.
Are you a decent guy? good. What's MBTI gonna change about that.
Are you a tool? fantastic. just fantastic.

And if your impression is shared among the public, we'd all be saying that ESTJ's are messed up people.
The only stereotype that I've heard of about ESTJ's is "bossy", that ain't so bad compared to "opinionated jurk with god complex" which is associated with my type.

[Kito]

Sounds like you read a Keirsey description. You'll come to learn soon enough that some people in the typology world are seriously biased against SJs, especially ESJs, probably because the most common types to find around here are INPs. That's why we need more of your type here, to disprove the dumb stereotypes.

[Murnando]

There are a lot of stereotypes surrounding MBTI, but just like @josef_eden said, MBTI is designed to explain behaviour rather than flat out tell you who you are. Any type can be creative, any type can be intelligent, any type can be funny and any type can have charm. MBTI is an explanation of why you behave and operate in certain ways, not a description of exactly who you are, contrary to the many pages you'll find on google searches.

It really sucks that MBTI gets misused like this. One of the reasons I used to feel slightly ashamed of identifying as an INFP was because I hated being one of the numerous (and some of whom obviously mistyped) intuitives so widely regarded by idiots as being "better" than sensors. Don't listen to those google pages, you are a person before you are a series of letters, and don't let stereotypes constrict and distort your self image.

[Worriedfunction]

Yeah I wouldn't read too much into descriptions. I dont want to write an essay here but I find the cognitive functions themselves to be more helpful, read up on those.

Besides im fairly sure my dad is an ESTJ and I wouldn't even remotely be embarassed to admit that he is far more interesting and awesome than I am.

[PursuitofVikings]

I think you all bring up good points. I definitely wasn't grasping the whole concept of what mbti was about, but I knew you guys would be able to clarify.