Li'l INTP could really use some help getting his feet back on the ground

[slonzor]

Hey guys, i'm 16 and i'm an INTP i think. Type tests have always seemed a bit difficult tbh, but after reading the INTP profile i'm pretty sure about it.

Anyway, i've only just gotten into personality typing - i read a couple of books on it so i now have a pretty good idea of how it works. I started because i was just getting frustrated with how i really don't understand people. Even with my closest friends, it's just started to occur to me that i really don't know what's going through their mind, and basically that scares me.

So yeah, this is part of a large project to try and get myself to understand people better in general so i have a better idea of what to say to them, how they're likely to (re)act, etc.

It's dawning on me that personality typing might not be the best way to do this though. It seems like it's much better for quickly getting an approximation of what strangers are like, rather than getting a stronger idea of how the people you're closest to work. Really I started reading about personality typing because I had nowhere else to go. How does one quickly develop the skill of understanding people? If only there were man pages. (BADUM-KSSH! Oh NT wit, how i adore you)

In a nutshell, I've been having some serious identity issues for a long time now, and i've finally realised that it all pretty much comes from not having a good grip on what makes people tick. So really i'm looking for advice on where to go from here. Is becoming very adept at personality typing going to be worth my while, or would there be more merit in developing skills in a not-quite-so-rigid fashion?

Any wise-words to guide me a little would be great. I'm just feeling pretty lost at the moment, and a nudge in the right direction would be very, very appreciated.

Thanks Guys,
Luke

[Jeffster]

Yo Luke. I think learning about this personality type stuff has been tremendously helpful to me. I feel like I've been communicating with people so much better, opening up to people easier, and seeing opportunities for sharing the whole concept and the practical applications of it with people I might not otherwise have said a whole lot to. I know that very soon my activities won't revolve around this stuff or this forum, but I hope I will retain enough of the information that I've learned for it to still be useful in my everyday life. Good luck with your studies and everything else, and have fun!

[Mencken]

Luke,

To answer your question, yes, it's worthwhile studying and applying MBTI. That said, types don't gel until people are a few years older than 16. You can think of MBTI types as comfort zones, and people your age are experimenting with ways of being and what feels right. You may be an INTP now, but that may change if you find something that fits better. People change all through their lives, so types aren't permanent at any age. If they change, they just change less often the older we get.

It's always a good idea to understand people! Instead of feeling scared when you don't understand someone, feel CURIOUS instead. REALLY CURIOUS!!! That will serve you much, much better. Curiosity didn't kill the cat, CURIOSITY KILLED THE FEAR!

Since you're a reader, study up on Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP). It's not the total answer to what makes people tick, but it's pretty damn close. People don't come with a user manual, but NLP provides one, even if there are a few chapters missing. The good thing is that the body of work available about NLP keeps growing. The NLP articles on Wikipedia are sometimes vandalized, so also check out Using Your Brain For A Change by Richard Bandler. It's out of print, but you can usually find a copy on Amazon or Ebay, or order it through PureNLP. It's a serious mind f*ck, and reading it will give you a great start toward mastering yourself and understanding others.

Be well.

H.S. Mencken

[disregard]

Originally Posted by slonzor

Any wise-words to guide me a little would be great. I'm just feeling pretty lost at the moment, and a nudge in the right direction would be very, very appreciated.

Hey.

Study up on the cognitive functions.

See you around.~

[AllAboutSoul]

Hi Welcome aboard.