Simon Dillon
2 min readAug 24, 2023

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In my experience, MBTI types break down as follows:

ENFP - Inexplicably think I'm hilarious, mysterious, and "cuddly" (the latter is particularly baffling). The more scathing and sarcastic I am, the more this seems to encourage them, until I wind up bludgeoned into submission. I freely confess I love ENFPs as they are truly indomitable.

ENTP/ENFJ/INTP/INFP/INFJ - Generally like me, without treating me as an addictive drug the way ENFPs are wont to do.

ISFP - The only sensor type to be drawn to me, and for some reason they like me (even though they can also find me offensive at times). I actually get on surprisingly well with them, especially if the "S" is close to "N" in the percentages.

ISTP - They tolerate me, just about.

ISTJ - Too rigid and bureaucratic to get on with me. They don't like my attitude to rules (ie rules should only be followed if they are logical or strategically advantageous, otherwise they should be discarded with extreme prejudice). To an ISTJ, rules should be followed unquestioningly "because they are the rules", no matter how idiotic they might be. This is the kind of attitude that allowed places like Nazi Germany to thrive (how often was "we were just following orders" heard at Nuremberg?), and that's why I struggle with this type of individual. It is also why ISTJ types should never hold positions of power, in my not remotely humble opinion.

ISFJ - Almost always loathe me, but in fairness, I've met one that does like me (a rare exception).

ESFP - Generally dislike and ignore me, which is fine as they tend to do my head in.

ESFJ - They loathe me more than any other MTBI type. In general, I find them deeply superficial, vanilla, people-pleasing types, who lack self-awareness and fawn to authority structures, however corrupt. I am quite happy to let them be and give them a wide berth, but for some reason, ESFJ types feel threatened by me, and constantly try to insert themselves into my life to make me conform to their narrow outlook. When I refuse to conform, they become angry, emotional, illogical, and things get ugly.

Let me put it this way: If you were to call me weird, I'd take it as a compliment. If an ESFJ calls me weird, it definitely isn't a compliment.

I daresay one of these days I'll meet an ESFJ I can get on with, but the only "healthy" ESFJ I can think of is fictional: Molly Weasley in Harry Potter.

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Simon Dillon
Simon Dillon

Written by Simon Dillon

Novelist and Short Story-ist. Film and Book Lover. If you cut me, I bleed celluloid and paper pulp. Blog: www.simondillonbooks.wordpress.com

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