My name is Bryan C. Laesch, and I am an INTJ. I know I am because16Personalities told me so. (I also used to write for them.) And, almost every pin on Pinterest is incredibly accurate when describing me.
But, the thing we have to remember about MBTI is that it isn't 100% accurate. That is to say, MBTI gives us the stereotypes or averages of each personality even if a particular personality isn't average in the least, like INTJ. In fact, I saw an article where a bunch of INTJs were interviewed on how they buck the INTJ stereotype, and I thought I might take the opportunity to add my own tuppence to the topic. So, these are the five ways I buck the INTJ stereotype. Let's get into it.
1. Religion
Yes, I am religious. Well, I don't like calling myself religious because to me only a Bible or a priest can be religious, but, aye, I practice a religion. The particular religion I practice is Roman Catholicism. Some people may find that hard to believe because the Catholic Church seems to have a lot of rules and restrictions, and INTJs are fiercely independent. Surely an INTJ would prefer something a lot less nailed down. I disagree. I think Catholicism is perfect for the following reasons: 1. It hasn't changed in almost two thousand years (J), 2. It has an extensive theology that was built by Aquinas, a man who was more philosopher than theologian (in fact, he was probably an INTJ himself) (NT), and 3. Despite the fact it's called Mass, all religion is deeply personal; it's a relationship between an individual and the divine (that's what Communion is all about) (I).
In fact, I'm not the only one to clue in to this. I found a pin on Pinterest that listed all the possible careers for INTJs, and one of them was Catholic theologian. So, suck on that INTJ atheistic stereotype! (Unfortunately, I can no longer find that pin.)
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| St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church Wrote the Summa Theologica which contains the Five Arguments for the Existence of God I would bet good money he was an INTJ. |
2. I Don't Care About Advances in Technology
According to MBTI, INTJs believe in the relentless development of technology. But me, I don't give a sh*t. To be honest, I hate most new fangled gadgets. Some of them are often more finicky or less user-friendly than the last generation's gadgets, updates are constantly being made to programs that don't need them, often times new tech is released full of bugs and overpriced, so it's tactically advantageous not to buy it until the next generation comes out, and I don't give a rat's ass about being trendy. (I had to get a new pair of glasses once, and the saleswoman kept trying to get me to buy one pair over another because the frames were more popular. It also didn't help that she was wearing those frames so I felt like she was trying to subtly manipulate me.) So, I tend to have the perspective of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Now, I should mention that I am always looking to make things as efficient as possible in my own day-to-day life which is sort of what the "relentless development of technology" thing is all about--finding the best way to do something, and then improving on top of that. It's entirely possible that the reason why I don't care about the advancement of technology is because I don't know what it could be, or I don't see the inefficiencies in the tech that the designers see. But, you know what they say, ignorance is bliss. Speaking of which...
3. Ignorance Is Bliss
Typically, you'll never hear an INTJ say this. INTJs have an insatiable appetite for knowledge. We take everything we learn and add it to our database where we can break it down and try to connect it to other things in a maddening pursuit of trying to solve the universe. But, there are some things that shouldn't be known, and a wizened INTJ almost assuredly knows a few things he wish he didn't. There are things I wish I could forget, and there are things I'd be happier not knowing, like who Kim Kardashian is. I don't need that in my life. As a result, ignorance can be bliss. My mother once told me that I didn't know what I was missing in regards to how delicious a salad was (I don't eat salad). And to her, I responded, "If I don't know what I'm missing, I can't miss it."
4. I Prefer My Work to Be Something Creative Rather Than Technical
Going back to the list of jobs perfect for INTJs, most of them tend to be technical like computer programming. Now, the reason why these are so popular among INTJs is because they're lonely jobs; you only need one person doing them. And while I think I would be very good at such a job, hell, I was a window cleaner for several months and I enjoyed the solitude of it, but I don't think I could do something technical for the rest of my life. I think my N trait may be stronger than some INTJs as I prefer to do something creative with my life. I want to create and show off the beautiful complexity of a spider web of connections--hence, I write. And since I can do it alone, it helps my Introversion as well.
In fact, someone has speculated on there being four different kinds of INTJs. On the blog, The Way of the INTJ, the blog writer mentioned how there are "subtypes" of each MBTI personality based on Enneagram personality theory and the different "wing" types. Basically, the way it works is that Enneagram splits personalities into 9 basic personalities, but a person can "wing" in a second personality. Think of it like a college major and minor. According to the blog writer, Tess Ellation, the four INTJ subtypes are the Purist (1w9), the Diplomat (1w2), the Arcanist (5w4), and the Genius (5w6). I'm not going to go into them here, but according the descriptions, I'm obviously the Arcanist. But when I took my Enneagram test, I also did really well in category 1. Unfortunately, I can't be a 5-wing-1 because 5 and 1 are not next to each other. Perhaps that's another Enneagram theory that needs to be explored.
Anyway...
5. I Ask Someone If They Really Want My Honest Opinion
One of the most popular cornerstones of the INTJ personality is brutal honesty. Now, I am brutally honest, but I didn't know how brutal my honesty was until I asked a friend why she enjoyed spending time with me (a very INTJ thing to do). One of the reasons she gave was that I tell the truth regardless of whether it hurts someone's feelings or not. This was news to me--I had never heard this, and honestly, I felt bad about it. I wasn't trying to hurt my friend's feelings; she asked for my opinion so I gave it to her.
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| Are you sure you want to know what I think about that, cupcake? |
After that exchange, I'm more careful now about how honest I am with someone. I still have a desire to tell the truth, but I don't want to hurt people. It's tough being criticized, and in my position as a writer, I know that there's a good way and a bad way to do it. You can tell someone the truth without hurting them. And for those times when I know for sure it'll hurt their feelings, I always ask if they really want to know or not. Although, I wonder if part of my aversion to doing so is because I don't want to get wrapped up in another's feelings or emotional sh*t storm. Sometimes it's just not worth disturbing the peace, you know. I've got sh*t to do, and your butthurt could get in the way of my work.
So, those are the top 5 ways I buck the INTJ stereotype. I'm sure there are more, but for the love of me, I can't think of what they are. But, anyway, next time I'll be going over the 10 ways I fit perfectly into the INTJ stereotype. There are more than 10, but I didn't want to overload you guys. If you want more information on INTJs, you can check out the book The True INTJ here on Amazon. According to Amazon, I own it, but I don't remember reading it. Probably because it's only really useful for people who don't know squat about INTJs. Anyway, see you guys next time.
Keep writing, my friends.
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