We’re living in the era of the introvert. The introspective professional is reaching paramount success over and over again.
Have you ever tried to explain something that your conversation partner simply could not understand? Chances are, you were speaking to someone at the opposite end of the Sensing-Intuition spectrum. The two terms describe how a person creates meaning from the information they receive from the world.
As a quick reminder, let’s take a look at the way Sensors and Intuitives process information.
Not long ago, I was trying to think of fictional female INTJs, because that’s what one does when one is a nonfictional female INTJ with too much time to think. It’s a glamorous life.
I then realized that I could not think of a single fictional counterpart for myself. A friend helpfully pointed out that both main characters in Silence of the Lambs—Hannibal Lecter (male) and Clarice Starling (female)—are INTJ personality types.
So my list increased from zero to one.
There are certainly some folks out there who like operating from only rigid guidelines. Though it’s important to know what is expected of you in the workplace, many people stress over strict requirements. For that majority, Perceivers could impart wisdom on better handling such stress.
Even though it may appear that the Perceiving type is a little loose in dealing with work priorities, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes. Unless taken to the extreme, their open-ended approach to the world is simply a direct focus on process, not product.
As an INTP your world is nearly entirely based on your finely tuned, logically constructed framework of the world.
You understand how most things work, and you are confident in your abilities. Through trial and error, you have built a real understanding of most things in life.
Unfortunately, at some point in your life you realize, "Hey, I got feelings, and logic isn't helping anymore."
On more than one occasion I’ve been asked how I’ve managed to stay married for as long as I have. “Y’all are SO different,” my southern friends will exclaim, stretching the “so” into five syllables. And, we are exactly that – quite different. The last time we took a personality test together our data analyst winced. “You two are – married?" he asked in a confused tone, part disbelief, part pity. “Oh, my.”
When asked to describe a great leader, which type of person springs to mind? The all-guns-blazing, exuberant networker? Or how about the dominant visionary who flips tradition on its head? Certainly not the understated loner who listens more than they speak, right?
“No.” It may be an easy word to pronounce, but it sure can be a difficult one to say aloud. No.
Chances are you’ve been in a situation where someone asked something of you and you didn’t know what to say. You felt like the proverbial deer in headlights – caught off guard – wanting to say no and not knowing how to do so gracefully.
Online dating is a lot like selecting a flavor of ice cream—there are lots of choices, but one isn’t necessarily as good as the next.
We all know the guy who has a million business ideas. At parties, he’s cornering someone with an energetic demonstration of his latest invention. On Facebook, he’s spewing a constant stream of Tim Ferriss quotes. If you don’t consider yourself entrepreneurial, or even if you do, you may wonder: what makes some people motivated to start their own business? Do you have to be a certain personality type to strike out on your own, or do all of us have the potential to transform ourselves into successful business owners?
