What do you think I am? Potentially INTJ

[keer]

Hi All

I'm a 19 year old who suspects she's an INTJ but honestly suspicious of the result because a) I do not have a master plan for life or any kind of 'strategic genius' quality and b) everyone seems to either think they're an INTJ or INFJ at first.

I really doubt I'm an F type - I'm quite selfish and inconsiderate, though I'm working on it. I see myself as the protagonist of my own story, and I'm both very competitive and have this war going on in my mind where I'm never good enough but also have the potential to be the best. I'm very image conscious and fear of judgment or even just other people having opinions on my life that I can't control has held me back from expressing myself at times. I have a strong perfectionist streak and my self-criticism often carries over into criticism of other people. This self-criticism makes me fairly timid compared to other ambitious people I know. I'm also very quiet with acquaintances, to the point where people point it out to me regularly. I love planning (I have 2 planners right now) but I don't have a life plan and I'm incredibly indecisive. I'm happiest when I plan the whole day out the night before, but with bigger plans the magnitude of planning involved often makes me nervous and avoid doing it, leaving me to improvise. I'm cautious and quite traditional in my career goals. I don't want children. I'm argumentative when it comes to ideas I'm completely certain about - when I know I'm right, I don't let things go.

I'm also a lover of literature and very supportive as a friend. I love reading so much I briefly majored in English. I love writing essays. I value self-awareness very highly and I often feel like I'm oblivious or clueless, particularly socially. I would be perfectly happy not seeing anyone face-to-face for a week but I also love parties and social outings. When I was a little younger, I was the very giggly, ditzy and inordinately happy girl who had a ton of nerdy and alternative friends, and was a high achiever. I cherish my friends and I could not live without them. I'm quite hedonistic and my ambition is only held back by my lazy love of comfort. I don't hold traditional values and socially I am very very left - hand out birth control in schools, vote for Bernie Sanders style. I'm interested in history, geopolitics, and more practical skillsets like networking and how to make it in a corporate setting.

I've tested as INTP, ESTJ, ENTJ and INTJ. For what it's worth my lovely mum thinks I'm an INTJ.

 

[ugghh]

Have you considered ENTP? I relate to a lot of what you write, but ofc that doesn't mean that we're necessarily the same type.

 

[keer]

Interesting! I'm not sure about that one - I'm not a particularly vivacious person. Maybe it's because we have a similar enneagram type - mine is 3w4

Thanks for the reply!

 

[Alice in Blunderland]

Well, the following things you said make me think introvert:

"This self-criticism makes me fairly timid compared to other ambitious people I know. I'm also very quiet with acquaintances, to the point where people point it out to me regularly."

"I would be perfectly happy not seeing anyone face-to-face for a week but I also love parties and social outings."

Introverts can enjoy social events, by the way, but they generally need alone time afterwards to recharge.

"I really doubt I'm an F type - I'm quite selfish and inconsiderate, though I'm working on it."

^This doesn't necessarily mean you're not a feeler. Feelers can be selfish and inconsiderate. However, "I often feel like I'm oblivious or clueless, particularly socially" strikes me as something a thinker would be more likely to say.

Have you looked into ISTJ at all? If so, how did that resonate with you as opposed to INTJ?

 

[k9a4b]

everyone seems to either think they're an INTJ or INFJ at first

Projection - you're probably one of those two types. I guess INFJ

 

[keer]

Alice - ISTJ fits fairly well - I don't really mesh with the emphasis on duty and order though. I'm also not a very practical person.

k9a4b - that's definitely possible! A lot of it fits well. I don't relate to the descriptions of amazing empathy and insight into people though. I'm a fairly good judge of character but the subtleties of social interaction are lost on me - for example, I called out 'hey *insert name*!!' to this guy I'd met once before to say hello, and my friend said 'you know he'll think you're a little weird now'. Totally did not realise until she said it. I'm also limited in my creativity and originality - definitely more analytical.

I dug up an old functions test I did last year!

Te 85%
TI 60%
Ne 50%
Ni 60%
Se 25%
Si 40%
Fe 75%
Fi 55%

entj according to this, but I don't really know what to make of the high Fe and Te.

 

[Alice in Blunderland]

Truthfully, I don't put much faith in those tests that try to break down use of each function by percentage. I think they have poor construct validity (i.e., don't measure what they purport to measure).

If the only thing about the INTJ description that doesn't resonate with you is the "master strategist" stuff, then let me just say that none of the NTJs I've known had their lives all mapped out when they were young, and they all tried a couple of different things before they decided what they wanted to do with themselves professionally. In fact, I think this idea that all NTJs know exactly where they want to be in twenty years is a myth, though once they do know where they want to be, they seem more capable than your average NTP of figuring out the steps they need to take to get there and then following through with those steps. Also, what I've noticed to be consistently true of NTJs even at a young age is that they always appear confident in their own opinions and in their assessment of what's going to happen in a given situation. Do you find that you have a strong sense of how actions are going to pan out or how events are going to unfold?

Finally, you talked about being "hedonistic" at times and having a "lazy love of comfort." This, to me, sounds like a good indicator of inferior Se, which would be consistent with the INTJ type.

Hope that helps a little bit!