One of the first and most valuable lessons one learns in applying knowledge of typology to relationships with others is forgiveness.  You will probably feel yourself compelled to forgive a person with whom you are having difficulty, both for not being the way you are, and for being the way he is.  Forgiveness of the sort that will help the relationship cannot come from simply conceding that "people are different," for everyone pretty much "knows" that; forgiveness of a useful, constructive sort can come only from understanding how the other person differs from yourself.

In addition to being a certain type, each of us has certain roles to play.  These roles are absolutely unique.  They can never be reproduced or re-created.  Roles are marvelous inventions that enable us to get on with one another.  We cannot live without roles.  But we must not allow ourselves to be oppressed by them, either.

Individual humans can do miraculous and extraordinary things.  We are all inheritors of millions of years of human evolution.  At the core of each of us is a unique set of lifelong relationships and a unique configuration of experience.  There is no one else who can ever fill your role in the same way.

-Excerpted from Predicting the Past: Memos on the Enticing Universe of Possibility, by Humphry Osmond

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Until we take how we see ourselves (and how we see others) into account, we will be unable to understand how others see and feel about themselves and their world. Unaware, we will project our intentions on their behavior and call ourselves objective.
          -Stephen Covey

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It is a fact, which is constantly and overwhelmingly apparent in my practical work, that people are virtually incapable of understanding and accepting any point of view other than their own. In small things a general superficiality of outlook, combined with a none too common forbearance and tolerance and an equally rare goodwill, may help to build a bridge over the chasm which lack of understanding opens between man and man. But in important matters, and especially those concerned with ideals, an understanding seems, as a rule, to be beyond the bounds of possibility.
                                                                        -Carl Gustav Jung

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"Most people are so thoroughly immersed in their personalized version of reality that it is invisible to them, much as fish are the last creatures on the planet likely to discover water."

-The Mythic Path

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SOME GUIDELINES

• Type preferences are best used to understand oneself first and then to understand others.

• Resist stereotyping or pigeonholing individuals based on their MBTI type. Keep in mind that within each MBTI type you will find a wide range of human behavior.

• Remember that type indicates preferences, not behavior. People often use behaviors that are not based on their actual preferences to adapt to specific situations.

• Avoid using the MBTI alone as the basis of selection for team membership or team task assignments. Remember that the MBTI sorts preferences; it doesn't measure abilities.

• Use type as a starting point for discussion and understanding, not as an end in itself. The purpose of type is to help people recognize their own gifts and to value those of others. It can prompt valuable discussions among team members and lead to more effective working relationships.

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