The World Through The Eyes of an INTJ Personality
Being an INTJ personality can feel weirdĀ at times.
It’s like being in a dream and suddenly realizingĀ that things just aren’t right. Maybe the trees are upside down, or the cars are moving backwards. It feels like there are lots of strange, nonsensical things happening in every direction, no matter where you look.
Then all of a sudden, it hits you. You’re living in a world full of contradictions, and you’re the only one who can see them. My friends, welcome to the daily life of an INTJ personality!
The INTJ personality (Introverted-iNtuitive-Thinking-Judging) is one of the rarest types on the Myers-Briggs quadrant. People who identify with this personality are known for their abilities in the science and engineering fields, however they can excel in a variety of careers. There are many famous INTJs who are proudly members of this exclusive group.
Famous INTJs
- Elon Musk
- Mark Zuckerberg
- Hillary Clinton
- Katie Couric
- Jodie Foster
- Thomas Jefferson
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Julia Stiles
- Jay-Z
- Lance Armstrong
- Stephen Hawking
- Ashley Olsen
- Angela Lansbury
Measuring in at only 4 percent of the population (on a good day), INTJs will feel quite awkward at times, as they try to cope with a world that afflicts their sensitivity to logic and reason.
INTJ Personality: I can make things better, if you get out of my way
I myself have lived through many awkward moments as an INTJ personality. But Iām also aware of my strengths. One of the amazing superpowers that this personality gives you is an unquenchable desire to make the world a better place, in big and small ways.
Like many INTJs, Iām an efficiency geek. I can’t help myself when I see a way to do something faster, cheaper, or more reliably. This has led to some great accomplishments in my life, but also caused some very strange personal habits that only a fellow INTJ would truly understand – refusing to fold my laundry being one of them!
On a more serious note, I really do believe that most INTJs want to use their superpowers to do some good in the world, and make things better for everybody living in it.
Coming up with great ideas is what we do best. We hate seeing a great idea get torn to shreds by the blunt weapon of collective ignorance. Unfortunately, persuasion is not a skill that comes naturally to an INTJ personality.
Our lack of persuasiveness is probably our most common personal struggle. Itās hard for us to accept that other people won’t always agree with us, even when we’re right.
INTJ Personality: Patience is a virtue ā give yourself all the time you need to see that Iām right
Sure, there are times when INTJs are wrong. There are other times, however, where the truth is simply not convenient for other people. This can be torture for an INTJ personality – it certainly was for me!
The love of convenience over correctness was especially frustrating at work. I tried to persuade people with hard facts and evidence, but the more charismatic person in the room won the day.
I remember one particular experience very early in my career, when the company I worked for expanded its operations. Technical people across the country were absorbed into a single team.
At first, I was very much looking forward to collaborating with my new colleagues. I imagined us working together to improve the software systems that I had spent the last two years of my life building and perfecting.
I soon realized that some people feared that their jobs were redundant. I started getting a daily barrage of criticism on how ābadā the company systems were, and how urgently they needed to replace them. Fortunately, my work eventually prevailed, and things settled back into place.
What āI learned is that most human beings will listen to facts, but will only ever respond to hard incentives.
So nowadays, I simply choose not to argue with people to make my point, unless it is absolutely necessary. Instead, I lay out the facts for everybody to see, and just wait for the horses to find the water, even if it takes a very long time. Life is much less stressful when you approach it in this way.
INTJ Personality: The few, the frustrated
Throughout my life, I have experienced great joy, and also incredible frustration, as I walked gingerly through a world where the majority of the population doesn’t share my INTJ personality type.
I have also learned a great many lessons. I hope that you enjoyed reading just a few of them here, because they were a lot more fun to write about than they were to learn – I can assure you!
Along the way, I also realized that the world can be a much better place when people embrace the diversity of personalities out there, instead of using these labels for divisiveness. If we want to live together as one big happy group, the key to making it all work is to understand each other’s strengths, and to try not to judge what we don’t understand.
This might sound like an impossible dream to achieve, but when you feel like you are living in a dream every day, anything is truly possible!
This article was written by the creator of Working Quietly. HeĀ is an ex-employee in the software industry, who āfaced theĀ daily grind of office politics for over a decade before deciding to become his own boss. Visit WorkingQuietly.comĀ for a free eBook, and some instant inspiration on how to tackle your workplace challenges right now!
Fellow INTJ here! Happy to be in a minority if it includes Elon Musk and Arnie š
Can massively relate to the ‘convenience over correctness’ – possibly why I decided to ditch the 9-5 and try this whole entrepreneurial thing myself. Great post – looking forward to the rest of the series too!
Great article. Many Introverts can relate to it and they don’t have to be INTJ’s. š
Great article! I can relate to a lot of this!
INTJ’s are also know as “Masterminds”.One fictional character that i have 100% of sure of being an INTJ himself is Sheldon Cooper from TBBT.
Who else agrees with me? š
He’s more of an INTP.
Thank you for a great article and YES I am an INTJ too and the world is not easy for me when it comes into folding my laundry. But we have to deal with real problems ‘at least from our perspective and by our own methods’
Thank you for a great article. I am an INFJ (I found it recently), everythig about INFJ suits me, defines me. But at some level i think i am also towards INTJ and when i read about INTJ on different sites most of its characteritics suits me. I was confused so i gave personality test on different sites most results were INFJ but some were also that I am an INTJ. I am confused who i am. please help.
Hi Tushar, glad you enjoyed the article! I definitely understand how it can be confusing to take a lot of personality tests and get different results. Sometimes this is because we do not have a dominant left or right-brain, so we can have both INTJ and INFJ traits. This is the same for me. You might want to try taking a left/right brain quiz online (there are lots), and you might enjoy the results!
Hi WorkingQuietly, Elon Musk is an INTP. See “how to type, Elon Musk edition”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oacwR48KBvA
I’m also an INTP, which is why I want to correct inaccurate information and spread accurate information š
INTJ peoples are mastermind peoples. I was confused so i gave personality test on different sites most results were INFJ but some were also that I am an INTJ. I am confused who i am. please help.
I’m quite the INTJ, transitioned from a false ENTJ when I was younger.
It’s good to know that there are others out there like me, because as an introvert, you don’t see much of it, when you’re forced to go outside your comfort zone.
Also, really awesome to see HRC on this list! <3
I like your article..It’s very intersting to know more about INTJ personlaity. Recently i have gave a INTJ personlaity test
I’m an INTP and I can think of a better way.
INTJās are also know as āMastermindsā.One fictional character that i have 100% of sure of being an INTJ himself is Sheldon Cooper from TBBT.
The INTJ personality (Introverted-iNtuitive-Thinking-Judging) is one of the rarest types on the Myers-Briggs quadrant. People who identify with this personality are known for their abilities in the science and engineering fields, however they can excel in a variety of careers. There are many famous INTJs who are proudly members of this exclusive group.
I have experienced great joy, and also incredible frustration, as I walked gingerly through a world where the majority of the population doesnāt share my INTJ personality type.I have also learned a great many lessons. I hope that you enjoyed reading just a few of them here, because they were a lot more fun to write about than they were to learn ā I can assure you.Along the way, I also realized that the world can be a much better place when people embrace the diversity of personalities out there, instead of using these labels for divisiveness. If we want to live together as one big happy group, the key to making it all work is to understand each otherās strengths, and to try not to judge what we donāt understand.
Being an INTJ personality can feel weird at times.Itās like being in a dream and suddenly realizing that things just arenāt right. Maybe the trees are upside down, or the cars are moving backwards. It feels like there are lots of strange, nonsensical things happening in every direction, no matter where you look.Then all of a sudden, it hits you. Youāre living in a world full of contradictions, and youāre the only one who can see them. My friends, welcome to the daily life of an INTJ personality.
The best analogy Iāve come up with for myself is that INTJs canāt help but see the world as a constant chessboard. Strategic thinking can benefit you in some ways but hold you back in others. As you can guess, emptying my head and stopping the chatter is key to my sanity.
Many INTJs, Iām an efficiency geek. I canāt help myself when I see a way to do something faster, cheaper, or more reliably. This has led to some great accomplishments in my life, but also caused some very strange personal habits that only a fellow INTJ would truly understand ā refusing to fold my laundry being one of them!On a more serious note, I really do believe that most INTJs want to use their superpowers to do some good in the world, and make things better for everybody living in it.
refusing to fold laundry all the way here man, that one really hit home. once you start calculating (like a maniac) how many hours, days of your life you will spend folding and unfolding those things..
The INTJ personality (Introverted-iNtuitive-Thinking-Judging) is one of the rarest types on the Myers-Briggs quadrant. People who identify known for their abilities in the science and engineering fields, however they can excel in a variety of careers. There are many famous INTJs who are proudly members of this exclusive group.
I myself have lived through many awkward moments as an INTJ personality. But Iām also aware of my strengths. One of the amazing superpowers that this personality gives you is an unquenchable desire to make the world a better place, in big and small ways.Like many INTJs, Iām an efficiency geek. I canāt help myself when I see a way to do something faster, cheaper, or more reliably.
The INTJ personality type have also learned a great many lessons. I hope that you enjoyed reading just a few of them here, because they were a lot more fun to write about than they were to learner.
Yes I Like the Articles in intj personality Development.
The INTJ personality type is one of the rares personalities.The intj has traveled across the Americas with nothing but a bicycle.He writes about heroism, spirituality, and exploring the world as an introvert.
The INTJ personality type,I have also learned a great many lessons. I hope that you enjoyed reading just a few of them here, because they were a lot more fun to write about than they were to learn ā I can assure you.
I like the article. INTJ’s are hero’s and heroins of there own life. Thanks for the support.
Great article all together! It was also great reading through the comments and actually relating to people for a change. I suppose I’ve been doing a bit of soul searching via internet and therapy, and this kind of helped point out a glaring hole that I’ve been trying to fill without truly knowing about it. This definitely helped. Thanks!
I totally get the laundry thing…as I stare at the ottoman dedicated for Mt. Laundry š
I am an Intj, 33 Y/o. So far as i can tell I’ve been this way all my life. Suffering from PTSD depression, not extreme depression. I’m desperately looking from my place in civilian society. I’ve gone from busing tables as a young kid (Learned:Music: rhythm guitar, Alto Sax Barry Sax, French Horn, Piano, vocals) , to a military police officer along with martial arts mastering, to caregiver, to auto mechanic, to maintenance. My ability to learn is only getting better, I’ve only just started learning to code in Python, survivalist tactics in forest settings, writing a fiction, game design. I’m so all over the place and I am desperately trying to figure out what door my intellect is scratching at. I need advice, but i don’t even know the questions I should be asking. I don’t fit.
I am not commenting to brag, This is me literally asking for help. Somewhere I lost something. Is there a Legitimate INTJ out there who can tell me whats wrong with me. I know I said that my learning curve Is only getting better, but its making things so much worse.
I’m an older INTJ, and I can do anything, too. I had a big deal job, and was miserable. I packed the car & moved out west. Work online and analyzed the way I needed everything: not much contact with people, very low stress, artsy community (your list would be different). I don’t have an obligation to do everything I’m capable of. You don’t have an obligation to live up to your potential. For what it’s worth, that’s how I’ve found peace and something interesting every day, and a life worth living. Oh, and get a dog.