Personal Navel Gazing


Just for fun, I took this test to find out what my personality type is. Turns out I am an Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging sort of person, or INTJ for short.

It was rather funny reading through it because so much of what the results had to say really does tend to be true of me:

INTJs are perfectionists, with a seemingly endless capacity for improving upon anything that takes their interest. What prevents them from becoming chronically bogged down in this pursuit of perfection is the pragmatism so characteristic of the type: INTJs apply (often ruthlessly) the criterion "Does it work?" to everything from their own research efforts to the prevailing social norms. This in turn produces an unusual independence of mind, freeing the INTJ from the constraints of authority, convention, or sentiment for its own sake.

INTJs are known as the "Systems Builders" of the types, perhaps in part because they possess the unusual trait combination of imagination and reliability. Whatever system an INTJ happens to be working on is for them the equivalent of a moral cause to an INFJ; both perfectionism and disregard for authority may come into play, as INTJs can be unsparing of both themselves and the others on the project. Anyone considered to be "slacking," including superiors, will lose their respect -- and will generally be made aware of this; INTJs have also been known to take it upon themselves to implement critical decisions without consulting their supervisors or co-workers. On the other hand, they do tend to be scrupulous and even-handed about recognizing the individual contributions that have gone into a project, and have a gift for seizing opportunities which others might not even notice.

In the broadest terms, what INTJs "do" tends to be what they "know". Typical INTJ career choices are in the sciences and engineering, but they can be found wherever a combination of intellect and incisiveness are required (e.g., law, some areas of academia). INTJs can rise to management positions when they are willing to invest time in marketing their abilities as well as enhancing them, and (whether for the sake of ambition or the desire for privacy) many also find it useful to learn to simulate some degree of surface conformism in order to mask their inherent
unconventionality.

Personal relationships, particularly romantic ones, can be the INTJ's Achilles heel. While they are capable of caring deeply for others (usually a select few), and are willing to spend a great deal of time and effort on a relationship, the knowledge and self-confidence that make them so successful in other areas can suddenly abandon or mislead them in interpersonal situations.

This happens in part because many INTJs do not readily grasp the
social rituals; for instance, they tend to have little patience and less
understanding of such things as small talk and flirtation (which most types
consider half the fun of a relationship). To complicate matters, INTJs are
usually extremely private people, and can often be naturally impassive as well,
which makes them easy to misread and misunderstand.

Perhaps the most fundamental problem, however, is that INTJs really want people to make sense. :-) This sometimes results in a peculiar naivete', paralleling that of many Fs -- only instead of expecting inexhaustible affection and empathy from a romantic relationship, the INTJ will expect inexhaustible reasonability and directness.

Probably the strongest INTJ assets in the interpersonal area are their
intuitive abilities and their willingness to "work at" a relationship. Although
as Ts they do not always have the kind of natural empathy that many Fs do, the
Intuitive function can often act as a good substitute by synthesizing the
probable meanings behind such things as tone of voice, turn of phrase, and
facial expression. This ability can then be honed and directed by consistent,
repeated efforts to understand and support those they care about, and those
relationships which ultimately do become established with an INTJ tend to be
characterized by their robustness, stability, and good communications.

I have to tell ya, I think that this is a pretty good assessment of me. I can be a dunderhead about relationships unless I work at it. I frequently read books about human behaviour to enable me to figure out what is going on with people, rather than just "knowing" how to do it. I also am not good at making small talk -- a skill I need to work on.

The fact that I am in alternative healthcare, especially that which deals with meridian based therapies is also a testimony to the fact that I tend to approach things in an unconventional manner. I want to know why things work, and if they can be made to work in other ways. This has lead to some interesting discoveries with application as to how I treat people with problems. Makes life interesting and fun.

This probably is of no interest to anyone outside of me, but I thought it was kind of cool.

Sorry for the mess ups on the formatting. I can't seem to fix it.