Are you a Bert or an Ernie?

Often times, I get lost in bouts of nostalgia. A scent here, a noise there and I am taken back to a time where things were simpler. Growing up, I watched a lot of TV. The normal amount, of course. The memory of coming back from school in the afternoon to a bowl of hot Maggi and watching Toonami on Cartoon Network was a ritual. In the midst of it all I discovered Sesame Street and the silly world of Muppets. While I do not recall how I stumbled upon this world, I still remember the eclectic characters and what they represented.

Now years later, I catch myself thinking about those silly little characters that made me laugh and how we can identify ourselves in each of them. The 2 of my favourite ones, of course, were the unbreakable duo of Bert and Ernie. Somewhere in an apartment on 123 Sesame Street, 2 roommates taught me valuable lessons on Emotional Intelligence and Social Styles.

The wonderful thing about Bert and Ernie's friendship was that they accepted each others' differences and embraced it rather than letting it affect them. Yes, a lot of the skits on Sesame Street made for a few laughs at the expense of either Bert of Ernie, but at the same time it solidified the argument that you can come together despite the differences and challenges.

While we look around at the workplace, we see a lot of Berts and Ernies running about. We see ourselves in Bert, in Ernie and possibly a combination of the two. Let's take a look at what it means to be a Bert or an Ernie.

Berts are thorough individuals. Berts do not tolerate chaos and will try to be as organized as possible. A Bert will be someone that is reliable till the end of time and will be loyal to you throughout. Give a Bert a task and watch them flourish. Berts are often quiet and keep to themselves. They do not enjoy slacking off or wasting time in silly pursuits. They, however, on occasion, indulge themselves in fun activities. Their constant need to improve themselves and learn new things will put them on top of everyone's list. A strong introvert, Berts know when and where to draw the line and do not shy away from expressing themselves.

An Ernie, on the other side of spectrum, is someone that is fun-loving and goofy. Ernies are the life of the party and love to be the center of attention. Ernies are simple minded and do not intend to cause harm to anyone. An Ernie will do anything in their power to lighten the mood, make everyone happy and fill the awkward pauses. Their people pleasing attitude might get them in trouble sometimes and they do cross a lot of boundaries without intending to. Ernies are empathetic individuals and will offer authentic/genuine advices.

I was googling some of the personality types and found out that someone had mentioned the MBTI personality types of the Sesame Street characters. Oddly enough, it was as expected.

Bert's personality type was ISTJ - Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, Judging. While Ernie's personality type was ESFP - Extroverted, Sensing, Feeling, Perceiving. Whether we love playing with rubber ducks or reading stories about Pigeons, we have a bit of Bert and Ernie in each of us. What do you think? Are you a Bert or an Ernie - or perhaps a BERNIE? 😄

I leave you with this gif of how I see these characters. And me - well - I'm a Bert 🤭