Jackie Danicki

When we were waiting to board our ferry in Calais on Sunday, Antoine and I took this quiz. I was dismissive of it before we did so, since I thought some of the questions could be interpreted in more than one way (an issue I frequently have with all quizzes), but the results were astonishingly spot-on in describing who each of us is and what our behavior and mindsets are.

I am an Explorer:

An Explorer might look up from the newspaper on Sunday and say, “Want to go to Warsaw?”—and by Wednesday you’re in Poland. [Antoine scoffed at this: “We’d be there by Sunday evening at the latest!”] Champions of “never a dull moment,” these adventurers live to discover new people, places, things, or ideas, often on the spur of the moment. Friends, family, and colleagues frequently regard them as highly independent and autonomous.

Explorers have more energy than most people; they tend to be restless, sometimes fast-paced. And they are highly curious—”For always roaming with a hungry heart,” as Tennyson put it. Constantly generating new ideas or creative insights, they easily shift their attention from one thing to another…

People quickly like most Explorers. Generous and sunny, they tend to be playful, sensual, sometimes hedonistic, often unpredictable, and regularly amusing. But they can be difficult to take—especially in a marriage. They do not tolerate boredom well. So they are generally not interested in routine social or business events. In fact, Explorers try to avoid routine of almost any kind, and can trample on another person’s cherished beliefs and habits—not to mention be impatient.

Far from being disappointed that I can be pigeonholed into this category, I find it sort of amusing and comforting that I’m so much more predictable and ordinary than I often feel. Maybe I’m not such a freak of nature.

I won’t say which type Antoine is, but those who know him will guess easily. In any case, you have to buy the magazine to find out how the dynamics of different pairings (Explorers with Directors, Negotiators with Builders, Builders with Builders, etc) work out according to research. It’s worth the price.

Filed under: Life