Years ago, when I was a young lawyer, I took a personality test and learned that I am an INFJ. That stands for Introvert, Intuition, Feeling and Judging. At the time, the results resonated with me.

Today, they still resonate with me, but I decided to take a free online test to see if I have changed. After all, a lot has happened in the past decade. The free test confirmed what my gut already knew: I’m an INFJ.

But what exactly does that mean? In the past, I was content with knowing that I get my energy from spending time alone, in solitary pursuits; but now, I am curious and want to learn more. The better I understand myself, the more easily I can feel like my authentic self, and in the process, be the sort of mom I want to be for my kids. (And I could write a book about that, but essentially, I want to be a calm mom who doesn’t yell at her kids and gives them the space they need to thrive and pursue their passions.)

Right now, I’m reading Quiet: The Power of Introverts In A World That Can’t Stop Talking, by Susan Cain. It’s giving me a lot of food for thought. But next, I want to dig deeper into my personality type (which is the rarest of the 16 personality types) and learn more about my INFJ self and figure out how it affects my mothering.