In answer to mulya’s question, “What’s something about you that we might not know from reading your 43T entries?”, most of us said something like “I’m an open book.” But Wren’s description of INFJ includes “Reserved about expressing their true selves.”

So, are we open books, or do we just like to think we are?

People express surprise about how much I will reveal, especially in writing. So, I think of myself as an open book because I apparently reveal more than others expect. I have several outlets on the Internet and I reveal more on 43T than any of the others. 43T is not quite as findable (googling my name doesn’t bring up my 43T entries) and something about setting goals, struggling with them, and attaining them makes me want to reveal more details than with ordinary activities like blogging.

On the other hand, when I really think about it, there are many, many things that I don’t talk about even on 43 Things. I hint at some spiritual issues, but the actual experiences are for me alone. I still keep a paper journal that has more whining in it than I allow myself to do on 43T. My Midwestern culture taught me to be reticent about sex, money, and politics and so I only discuss them here in the broadest of strokes.

So, the juxtaposition of mulya’s question and wren’s description made me realize that I’m less of an open book than I like to think. Other INFJs, what’s your experience in this area? Are we alike or different here?