Back when I first stumbled upon the theory, I had looked at it as a way to better understand myself. I had been struggling to climb out of a crippling pit of depression. The ordeal left me broken and at the time, I felt like I was learning to be human again, re-teaching myself how to connect to myself and others. I thought if I knew what made me 'tick,' something would eventually click and I'd be myself again.
I then stumbled upon this community, which, as a whole, was especially preoccupied with self-discovery and analysis; a lot of the discussions I ended participating in were therapeutic and opportunities to help others with their problems also helped solidify my own beliefs and ideas about myself. There was a huge emphasis on type as well, so I endeavored to learn more about the theory. However, as time went on, I discovered that I became more caught up in the mechanics rather than its application (I was never satisfied; it was like I never knew enough about it) and the more I learned about it, the more disillusioned I became with the way that people used the theory. I found that the people who seemed to have the most information about the theory would twist it to suit their own biases and to satisfy their preferences for their type, as if type somehow defined rather than described them. This prompted me to take a good look at myself and my own understanding of my type and to what end I was doing all this research for. In the end, I realized that knowing my type wasn't what was important; it was the journey of self-questioning and analysis to get where I was that ultimately helped me heal.
At this point, I don't care about my type. It's arbitrary. I've reached the conclusion that there comes a time when you have to stop questioning and redefining yourself and just live, otherwise, you'll constantly be caught at the drawing board. Identity is developed through experience, not perpetual introspecting.
As for helping me understand other people, it's only acknowledged what I already, intuitively knew; people are different because their perspectives are different. I do better connecting with people on instinct, rather than theoretical basis, because it's already a natural ability of mine. There is no need to over-think it.
