INTJs and You: A Guide
To Understanding The INTJ In Your Life
By Rob Lowrance
Note: To any INTJs reading
this. If these things don’t describe you, take it as a challenge to write your
own guide to give to the important people in your life.
Why would you care about
what INTJs are like? Well, you are currently involved with one. And since you
haven’t run screaming into the hills, perhaps you would like to know what to
expect from your INTJ and how the two of you can make it work out.
What do those pesky letters
mean?
If you are not familiar
with the personality types, you may be wondering what INTJ actually means. The
letters themselves mean Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Judging. However,
this doesn’t really explain what it means.
Effectively, personality
type can be determined by answering four questions. (This is not to be confused
with a personality test, which may use many questions to answer these four.)
The four questions are:
1.
How do you tend
to obtain your energy?
2.
How do you prefer
to perceive information?
3.
How do you prefer
to make decisions?
4.
How do you tend
to organize your world?
The first question
determines whether you are an Introvert (I) or an Extravert (E). Introverts tend
to recharge by turning inward and not interacting with others. Conversely,
Extraverts tend to recharge by turning outward and interacting with others.
The second question
determines whether you are Intuitive (N) or Sensing (S). Sensors prefer to perceive
information primarily through their senses. i.e. They perceive the here and
now. Conversely, Intuitives prefer to perceive things abstractly or how they
could be. i.e. They perceive what can be or what will be.
The third question
determines whether you are Thinking (T) or Feeling (F). The Thinker tends to be
more objective in decisions. i.e. Thinkers are analytical and tend to not allow
emotions to affect decisions. The Feeler is more subjective in decisions. i.e.
Feelers tend to be sensitive to how decisions will affect self and others.
The fourth question
determines whether you are Judging (J) or Perceiving (P). The Judger tends to
have a plan. The Perceiver tends to be more spontaneous.
Just because someone is
categorized a particular way does not mean that they cannot work outside of
this category. So, an Introvert can enjoy being around people. It is just that
in general, an Introvert will not be energized by situations and will probably
need some time alone. Likewise, an Extravert is generally recharged by being
around people, but that Extravert also has moments when he or she needs to be
alone.
