“You do not see things as they are. You see things as you are.” -The Talmud

Sensing and intuition are two different techniques of perception – how you see things. When you take in information one of these preferences dictates what you notice, what you think about, and what’s important from the information available to you.

This preference pair, the second in the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, is a kind of filtering system. What information do you trust and believe most when taking in something new? Is it your five senses (sensing) or insight and imagination (intuition)? What do you pay attention to - pattern and possibility (intuition) or facts (sensing)?

Here are some words and phrases often associated with the two types. What’s the type that you prefer more often? If you’re having trouble deciding, it’s sometimes easier to use the process of elimination method by recognizing yourself in what you don’t like. Ask yourself, “Which of these descriptions isn’t me – which one would I loathe if I did this most of the day?”

When people who prefer intuition take in new information, they often look for different patterns. “How does this idea relate to other ideas?” is a common intuition question. People who prefer the sensing function are often seen as being ‘down to earth’. And people who prefer the intuition function are often seen as having their ‘heads in the clouds’. The intuition function gets excited and says, “We can do this, this, this, and this!” The sensing function provides the reality check and says, “Yes, but how are we going to do it?”

People who prefer intuition will see possibilities, patterns, ideas when given new information. They’ll ask, “What are some ways that we can use this down the road?” People who prefer sensing will say, “This is all interesting theory, but how is it going to make me a better______?” They’re more interested in a specific application of new information. “Who has done this before? How can I make this work?” are two other questions the sensing function may ask. Memory for specific detail is more of a sensing function attribute. Memory of larger concepts is an intuition function attribute.

When taking a walk sensing people may notice the physical features of the forest – buds, opening leaves, specific plants, sunlight on rain drops, and the path they took to get there. They’re deeply immersed in the present moment, enjoying all the wonderful things their five senses are feeding them.

A person preferring intuition may see one of those things, a leaf for example, which makes them think of fall, which reminds them of hikes on their parents’ farm with the family dog, which makes them wonder if they should get a dog, but how would the cats deal with that and there are all kinds of cats in the world, and how is a lion related to a house cat and then they wonder if they’ll ever get to Africa, which makes them think of the Blood Diamonds movie, and then they wonder what Leonardo Di Caprio would be like to hang out with, and on and on. The same walk in the woods provides two very different journeys.

The leaps of imagination that bring you from an everyday object to something new and wonderful are examples of your intuition at work. Intuition was at play when Swiss engineer, George de Mestral came up with the idea of Velcro while on a summer walk with his dog in 1945 Examining the burrs of burdock that kept sticking to his clothes and his dog's fur caused a leap of intuition. Art Clokey was inspired to create Gumby after viewing his father’s stubborn cowlick in his high school picture.

Thomas Edison said, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” Intuition supplies the inspiration and sensing supplies the perspiration. You need both. Without intuition, there are no ideas. Without sensing, ideas cannot become reality. Without the sensing function, two major boons to the world – Velcro and Gumby – would still only be ‘good ideas’.

If a person who prefers the sensing function and one who prefers the intuition function encounter the same situation, they will notice and remember different things. That’s why it’s so important to include people with the sensing function and people with the intuitive function on a team. Together, they provide a complete picture of a scenario. With only one of those in play, the team misses out on half of the important information.

Would you like to know what you have in common with every other person on earth? We all use all personality types all day, every day. For example, regardless of your preference for extraversion or introversion, every day you get and give energy to external people and events (extraversion) as well as the inner world of thoughts and reflections (introversion).

You may have noticed this when you read the descriptions of the different types. Perhaps you said to yourself, “Yes, but I do what the one type description says some of the time, and some of the time I do what the other type description says.” You may even have been hard-pressed to decide which one you preferred. “But I do both!”

And that is exactly true. You do indeed do both every day. The important piece is to try to discern which type you prefer. Even though you use both of your hands throughout the day, you probably prefer to use one hand to the other. Either your left or right hand feels more comfortable and natural. And you get better results. To illustrate this, try writing your name with your non-dominant hand. This holds true for your type - you use both, but one feels more comfortable. And you’re more efficient and productive if your preferred type is in play.

Jungian type theory is a tool to give you options, not to put yourself or someone else in a box. All types are good – there are no bad or wrong types. Your type is your gift either to be utilized for a more successful life or to be squandered by not using it. Your type is a gift, not an excuse. It’s not a free pass to be used to avoid assigned tasks or performance issues that need to be addressed.

Look at the people around you, whether co-workers, friends, or family members. Get curious about their unique gifts. Encourage these gifts to blossom and be leveraged to best do the work at hand so that everyone can have more successful lives.

“It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.” – Mr. Rogers

Consider the neighborhood analogy. Within each town or city there are different neighborhoods. You live in your neighborhood for a reason, and if you like where you are, you probably share many of the values of others in your neighborhood. You are most comfortable in your neighborhood. Like most of us, you probably enjoy exploring, but as the song says, “It’s nice to go traveling, but it’s nice to come home again.” You are most comfortable in your own neighborhood.

Deciding what your preferred type is accesses a common language that you can use to discuss your differences with others – a language of ‘neighborhoods’. How common is this language of types? The MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator), which uses Jungian type theory as its basis, is the world’s most widely used personality inventory. When you use this language with others in discussing differences and how to leverage them, chances are pretty good that many will already have some understanding of what you’re talking about. And it focuses your search for your ‘home’ into a more efficient process. After all, now you know what neighborhood to look at.

You’re more than your preference. Some of the descriptor words and phrases may ring true, others won’t. Just as your home in your neighborhood is unique, so you occupy a unique position within a type description. What it does do though, is to focus your quest on a particular area, which makes your search much more efficient. If you can clearly articulate your unique home within a type of neighborhood you will be able to be at your best more of the time.

Below are some examples of movie characters, writings and quotes that exhibit many of the traits of the two different types. These are examples only, and they’re all guesses. We can only guess at what people’s types may be, or characters may be by their words or actions. It’s dangerous and ignorant to presume to know what someone else’s type is unless they’ve told you. Jungian type is completely self-determined.

So be careful with real people – avoid stereotyping. However it’s fun to speculate with famous people. For example, Gandhi’s two hours a day quietly using a spinning wheel alone, his numerous anecdotes in his Autobiography of his shyness, and even his solutions to his country’s problems – fasting, non-violence, walking to the ocean – all point to him probably preferring introversion.

So enjoy these guesses. Take them with a grain of salt, and feel free to agree or disagree with our guesses as you deepen your understanding of type.