How to Spot an INTJ at School

Hey, everyone.

So, I had my high school reunion about a week and a half ago, and while a part of me wants to say it was great seeing the old gang, another part of me wants to say it wasn't. I unfortunately didn't get to see the people I really wanted to because they weren't there and I had a plan for the evening that due to the way things went, I couldn't execute. I thought I was going to leave an impression on people, show them that there was more to me than what they saw in high school, but that didn't happen. To some extent, it felt like being back at high school all over again.

Which reminds me, I know I've commented before that I thought I was an ISTJ in the past, but by reliving my past for a single night, I think I now have evidence to prove that I was an INTJ earlier in my life than I thought which has prompted me to write a guide on how to spot an INTJ at school. And this should work for any age INTJ, hopefully. However, fair warning, I don't think this particular piece is written all that well.

1. The Silent Revolutionary

INTJs aren't exactly known for their rebellious attitudes, but they are known for acting unilaterally when it suits them or if a rule seems superfluous. If your school has a lot of rules and loves to enforce them, look through those rules and see if you can spot any that just seem to go a little too far. For instance, when I attended my second high school, Bishop Foley, it was a private school and the dress code was really picky and stringent in some ways, and really lax in others. That said, we had to have our sleeves rolled down. I actually wasn't keen on Foley at the time, so every day for two years, I had my sleeves rolled up a little. Yes, it was small and likely went unnoticed by many, but it was a rule I broke. And it wasn't the typical dress code rule you see broken, like not having your shirt tucked in or having a weird haircut. That's something to keep in mind when you look for the silent revolutionary: seek out the one who breaks a rule that others don't, or who breaks it in a way that many would not have thought of.

2. Going Against the Grain

What's popular in the school you're looking at? Is there a movement, song, music genre, or a type of "energy" that is taking the student body by storm? Well, if you want to pick out the INTJ, just look for the one kid who is wholly unaffected by the (new) sensation. Or, say there's an opportunity for the kids at school to ditch their uniforms for some other outfit that isn't daily wear.

Example: at Foley, there were times when we were allowed to ditch the uniform, but we had to follow specific rules on what we could wear in order to ditch it. One time, we were allowed to come to school in Detroit Tigers swag, and another we could come to school in costume for Halloween. Well, being an INTJ, I have no interest in team sports and the uniform wasn't so unbearable that I would rather go to school dressed like a buffoon, so both days I wore my uniform. Course though, on Halloween a girl made fun of me for doing so, and I made fun of her right back for dressing up. So, if you want to pin point that INTJ, just look at that one kid who isn't following the crowd.

3. Value Hard Work Even When Worthless

It isn't uncommon for busy work to sometimes be assigned at school. It's extremely unfortunate especially if people are paying for their children to attend the school, so once in a while, a teacher will run into a student or two who are able to pick up on the latest "scam." I had a friend O'Meara who just copied the answers to the busy work-style homework from another classmate every day. But one day, that other classmate just went ahead and did the homework for him, using her other hand to write with so it looked sloppy (like O'Meara's). The teacher looked at the homework assignment, paused, shook her head, but then proceeded to check it off anyway.

Now, this is something you'll never see an INTJ do. Regardless of how small or pointless the assignment, we're likely to put all of our beings into it even if we know it's busy work. Why? Because it's part of our code. We have a sense of justice and are slaves to it, especially where effort and duty are concerned. Plus, we wouldn't want to take the risk on getting busted for copying or cheating. And, if the other person should get something wrong, it would ruffle our jimmies to also get it wrong just because we were cheating. I can remember doing many homework assignments to the nth degree because I thought there was something in it for me and not letting any one cheat off me. I still take academic honesty very seriously these days.

4. Aversion to Group Projects

INTJs are extremely individualistic and hate relying on others for anything. Even if a project is labor intensive and takes at least four people to complete, an INTJ would rather fulfill the duties of all four people than depend on the others to do their jobs right. I can remember some of my teachers telling us to partner up, and everyone else in the class being like "Yeah!" while I was groaning. Partially because I hated doing it and partially because I could never get the partner I wanted. (More on this in point 5.)

There was one class I had, Marriage and Parenting, where partnering up happened often. Toward the end of the semester, I didn't bother to partner up one day, either because there weren't enough people or my teacher made the concession that we didn't need to, so I didn't. I worked alone and it was bliss. After that one time, I continued to work alone and my teacher never said anything to me, so I secured the course and I thought to myself, "Damn! I should've tried this earlier." Group and partner projects are rubbish.

5. Lone Wolf

INTJs may have friends, and it is possible that they could learn to appreciate some of the people in their class--I know I did--but even after learning that appreciation and even after having my own circle of friends, I was still a huge loner. It wasn't uncommon for me to get "cut out" by my "friends" or even by people who I thought had accepted me into their group. I was once cut out of the fake band I had helped to form just because I didn't seem to fit the mold. So, once in a while, I was alone. Hell, even to today. I often don't hear about things that happen to my friends until six months after the fact.

A better example of my lone wolfishness is this: one time I was having a conversation with my friend Babecki over Instant Messenger and I had had some concerns over who he was hanging out with, not because I thought they were bad influences on him but because I was concerned how many friends he had, or something weird like that. Why was it my business? I don't remember, I may have been concerned about the integrity of our little group and I didn't want "untouchables" having access to it. So, he explained to me how he has many circles of friends and that not all of them were as close to him as others were. For whatever reason, this blew me away. I had no idea you could be at different levels of friends with people or have different circles. Course though, considering the only friends I ever had came from school at that time, it wasn't surprising for me to think like that.

Basically me. Either back then or now.

6. Otherworldly

Until they get to college, students for the most part seem very worldly or caught up in the moment. They tend to live in and for the moment. They're very real, in a sense. INTJs don't have this quality; they're otherworldly. What's going on in the mundane world around them doesn't interest them, so they tend to have the personality of a ghost or a mystic. They're not very lively, and they always seem bored or annoyed that they're forced to live through such a mundane experience or alongside mere mortals. Their minds are elsewhere and the concepts going through their minds aren't the sort of things you'd usually find in a teenager's head. They're disconnected from their peers, and they almost carry themselves like one of the teachers. I know, because I had people, students and teachers alike, who thought I was on a different level in many ways. Someone even wrote so in my yearbook. So, another way to find the INTJ is to look out for that kid who "looks" like he's somewhere else despite his very stimulating surroundings.

Alright, you guys. That's all I have for this week. I know it wasn't much, and I know it isn't like me to make such a mundane post, but this was something that was on my mind and floating around my head since my reunion. I truly do think now I was an INTJ in high school. It would explain some things and feelings I had forgotten. Anyway, don't feel too dissatisfied with this post as I plan on writing more INTJ posts per week from now on. My INTJ posts are usually very popular so I'm going to try to capitalize on them in terms of views, ads, and helping me to write my book The INTJ Mystique. So, that's it for this week.

Keep writing, my friends.

More About Bryan C. Laesch:

My Works:

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INTJs and Politics II: An Insight into Lenin's Mind

Hi, everyone.

I'm sorry about writing about INTJs and politics again rather than doing something developmental like I said I would, but I only just started writing such a post yesterday and I was pretty groggy as I did so, so it wasn't very good, plus I can make the scope of it much bigger. This post however, my ass was on fire when I wrote it, so I think it's better. So what is this post?

Well, on Thanksgiving we had my uncle over and he's always talking politics. Always has some idea on how to make the current situation better; don't we all? Anyway, one of the systems of government he disparaged was theocracy which led to an argument between my Old Man and I because don't disparage theocracies and I don't think they're such a bad idea so long as the right religion is in power. In fact, as I see it, religion already is in power. Let me explain.

See, I don't believe in separation of church and state. Now, when I say that, what I mean is I don't believe in the existence of separation of church and state. Why not? Because if a person votes along the lines of their conscience, and their conscience is based off a particular morality, then the church, by proxy of the power of the people, is involved in the affairs of the state, and ergo, they are not separate. And ergo, we have a theocracy. The church doesn't need to be in "official" control for a theocracy to exist; they only need to "possess" power over the hearts and minds of the people.

This is one of the reasons why I never want to hold public office, and not because of the power of the church, but because all the power of the state is actually in the hands of the people and not in elected office. Some may say that the power of the people, by a majority, put me in office, but that same power can take me out. Presidents, senators, representatives, etc. are a reflection of the attitudes, beliefs, and will of the people; not the power itself. Trump is president because we allow him to be. But no one has to acknowledge him as president. He's only president so long as we say he is.

This reminds me of an argument I had with a friend of mine before the 2008 election. He wanted me to vote for Obama, and I wasn't going to. Nothing could make me. He felt so strongly that voting for Obama was the right thing to do, he pestered and pestered and pestered. And I begged him to stop, to which he said, "No, I beg you to vote for Obama!" That straw broke the camel's back and I unfriended (< autocorrect had nothing to say about that) him from Facebook. He just couldn't get it through his head that I wasn't going to vote along political lines that are contrary to my core beliefs. Thus, so long as theology, of any sort, is the guiding philosophy behind people's voting and political stances, I'll never believe in the existence of separation of church and state. And to ask people to do so is asinine to the highest extent because you're asking people to act contrarily to their consciences, and that's not something people just do.

Getting back to my father and what this has to do with Lenin, my father kept making the argument that all theocracies have failed because corruption eventually seeps in, to which I argued that it wouldn't if you put the right zealots in power and had huge punishments for those who were corrupt. Makes sense to me. To which my Old Man said to me, "Well, in theory, yes. But in theory, communism works." And then I had my ah-ha moment.

Some of you may remember that I wrote a post about INTJs and politics, about how INTJs identify: conservative, liberal, or independent. And for the life of me, I could not fathom how any INTJ can identify as liberal. I still can't. But by looking at the ideals of theocracy and communism, and seeing that in a perfect world, they would both work, I was able to get an insight into Lenin's mind. See, he commented on politics from a perfectionistic ideology, and I've said somewhere, if not on this blog then in my head, that the reason why communism doesn't work is because it doesn't take into account the human element, that is to say that humans are imperfect; they are weak, lazy, tempted, greedy, etc. But the reason why Lenin continued on with his philosophy, and the reason why I maintain mine, is because we're both looking at both forms of government from a perfectionistic angle, which is a very INTJ thing to do--we're obsessed with perfection! If you're not perfect, or you're not striving to be perfect, you're trash! (You may remove yourself from my sight.)

The other force at play here is "what's good for the goose, is good for the gander." If it works for me, there's no reason why it shouldn't work for you. And that's the philosophy that hilariously and sadly drives all sides of the political spectrum: "If you stubborn assh*les just did things our way, there'd be no problems whatsoever!" That's basically the philosophy that my Obama thumping friend believed in. And this is one of the reasons why subjectivity is such a dangerous concept. The idea that you can't judge someone because they're doing what's right by them. No! Of course you can! I don't know if it's because I'm an INTJ or a Catholic, probably both, but I believe in objectivity; I believe in a single, absolute, all-encompassing (catholic) truth that everyone can live by. The scary thing is that someone's right. And we better hope it's someone who is merciful and understanding, otherwise most of us are f*cked.

Anyway, I still maintain that so long as we allow our consciences to guide our voting, we live in a theocracy, regardless of where, how, or by what your conscience was formed. And I still believe that a theocracy, if done right with the right religion in power, is the best form of government. But I will admit that the "done right" condition is a perfect condition and doesn't exist in our world because a lot of people are, unfortunately, inherently flawed and content to be so. "Perfectly imperfect," as the smartasses say. So, there will never be a Catholic theocracy, but we did come close back in Medieval Europe when all the ruling monarchs yielded to the authority of the Pope which, I admit, wasn't always a good thing. (Fun fact: There's a good chance I'm related to Rodrigo Borgia who was pope during the Renaissance and the antagonist of Assassin's Creed II.)

Anyway, that's it for this week. Good news though, I am planning on writing more INTJ posts in the future, probably some time in the new year. I need a break from some of my content, (the RWBY content) which means I'll be able to focus more on other stuff that I think would behoove this blog to focus on (INTJ stuff). And that stuff will help me write more books which puts more of your green in my blue.

Keep writing, my friends.

More About Bryan C. Laesch:

My Works:

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Famous INTJs: The Good, the Bad, and the Surprising

Hey, everyone.

This blog entry is brought to you by my new novels: Remnants of Chaos: Chaotic Omens and Heroes of Majestia: The Company of Flight. You can buy ROCCO here and HOMCOF here.

 

Anyway, I've been teasing this topic for a while now, and I'm finally getting to it. So, let's talk about famous INTJs. Originally, the point of this post was to talk about a couple of "celebrities" that are regarded as INTJs that I can not and absolutely will not recognize as INTJs. Two of those said people: Al Gore and Hillary Clinton (spew!).

However, not everyone in the MBTI culture recognizes Gore and Hillary as INTJs, thankfully. Two others I have difficulty with accepting are Mark Zuckerberg and Stephen Hawking. Now, that probably strikes many of you as weird. Why wouldn't I accept Zuckerberg and Hawking as INTJs? Well, neither one seems open-minded enough to be INTJs. There was a story I heard about Zuckerberg, I've no idea if it's true, but it goes that someone wrote "Black Lives Matter" on a board at the corporate Facebook office. Well, someone erased "Black" and put "All" and Zuckerberg lost his sh*t. Now, if you're going to tout and support a movement like "(X) Lives Matter" then you should support the idea that "All Lives Matter" and an INTJ should know that.

Looking at Hawking now, he once said he doesn't believe in God because the universe is running fine without one. My response? "Hey, assh*le. Maybe the reason why the universe is doing just fine is because there is a God." Some of you know I am a practicing Catholic, but I do admit that there is a possibility, an extremely slim one, that I'm wrong and that there is no God or that Catholicism is wrong. I once thought myself a snowflake for those ideals, but I learned the other day that 64.4% of INTJs admit to belief in a higher power (source) which is pretty amusing seeing as how all the MBTI experts say we're the least likely to believe in a higher power. But getting back to my point, because both Zuckerberg and Hawking don't seem to be able to see their own closed-mindedness is the reason I have difficulty accepting them as INTJs. Some would argue that INTJs don't see their biases, but as I tout, INTJs can be anything and do anything they want, and that includes being able to see and recognize their own biases.

Anyway, going to back to Gore and Hillary (gag!), I was looking for sites that supported the claim they're INTJs and sites that didn't. What's interesting is that if you type "INTJ celebrities" into Google, all sorts of people pop up, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, C.S. Lewis, Dan Aykroyd, Angela Lansbury, Maria Shriver, and Rudy Giuliani. And then, if you click on a site like IDRlabs.com, all sorts of interesting people show up. Now, Isaac Newton and Nikola Tesla aren't too surprising, but when you see Marx, Nietzsche, and Ayn Rand all right next to each other, that is surprising. Well, I'm not surprised to see Marx and Nietzsche together, but Rand does surprise me since her philosophies are so different from the two of them. Rand followed in the footsteps of Aristotle and Aquinas (two of the greatest!), and condemned philosophies not all that dissimilar from Marxism and Nietzsche's philosophies that helped to inspire and influence fascism and Nazism. Although I will admit that I can see an INTJ who is in power easily becoming a fascist, but I can't see INTJ thinking processes leading to socialism and communism. Anyway...

As you scroll through the list, there will be other surprises like Martin Luther, but you will eventually get to the "famous" INTJs whose pictures are outlined in black silhouettes demarcating them as evil. To be honest, the only two I've heard of are Lenin and the "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski. But despite their evil, they do say some things I can understand. For instance, Varg Vikernes, murderer and arsonist, said "If you imagine a thing happening in your head, you will make it happen--that is, if your willpower is strong enough." I know exactly how he feels.

But beyond the baddies, you come to the actors and there are quite a few surprising ones in there like Jodie Foster and Ashley Olson--I never in a million years would've thought either of the Olson twins could've been INTJs. One of the ones that really gets me is Jay-Z, but that's mostly because he's married to Beyoncé who according to IDRlabs is an ESFP, the sworn enemy and complete opposite of the INTJ. And then there are those that I'm glad to see like Patrick Stewart and Francis Ford Coppola. But all this insight into who is and who isn't an INTJ raises an interesting question: how can so many different kinds of people be INTJs, from the good, the bad, and surprising?

Well, being an INTJ isn't like being in a band, family, or particular religion--there's no single set of rules or morals we all must follow. Being an INTJ only identifies the way in which we experience the world, think about the world, process our thoughts and experiences, and how we are likely to go about doing in the world. I know that last one sounded off, but think of it this way: there are different ways to go shopping. Some good are good and some are a waste, but an INTJ is likely to go shopping in the most methodical, efficient way possible barring any strange or unique circumstances, like phobias or too many people in an aisle.

I'm not pointing this whole how-it's-strange-that-so-many-different-weirdos-can-be-INTJs because I want to make a point that we're all different or some crapola. It's just a sobering reminder that because you are a certain way or hold a certain belief etc, that doesn't mean everyone who is also that way or has that belief will be just as awesome or as suck-tastic as you. I once saw a show where a guy had a near-death experience where he got to meet Jesus, and he asked the Big J which religion was the right one, and the Big J said, "There are good people in bad religions, and bad people in good religions." So too is it with personalities; there are awesome INTJs out there, and there are INTJs out there that are full of suck.

Another thing to keep in mind, is that without any of these people actually taking a personality test, we can't be sure if they are or are not INTJs. Many of these famous MBTI type websites don't agree with each other--they could be wrong. And I could be wrong about Gore and Hillary, but I really can't express enough how much I don't want either of them being an INTJ.

Anyway, that's it for this week. I apologize for not having this up last week, but it was Halloween. I tend to get lazy around the holidays, even minor ones. For next week, I'm not sure what I'll do. Maybe I'll do the last and least 5 ways I buck the INTJ stereotype, or I'll make a response to another INTJ blog I saw. Either way, we're sure to have a lot of fun.

Keep writing, my friends.

More About Bryan C. Laesch:
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MBTI: Primary and Secondary Personalities Theory

Hey, everyone.

This blog entry is brought to you by my new novels: Remnants of Chaos: Chaotic Omens and Heroes of Majestia: The Company of Flight. You can buy ROCCO here and HOMCOF here. HOMCOF is also available for free download until Sunday.

So as promised, this week I'm going to go over a personal theory of my own. Basically, the theory is that while everyone in the world does have an identifiable personality, this personality is their first or primary personality. But there do come times when a person cannot rely on their primary personality, such as in cases of survival, and it becomes necessary for them to adapt and to adopt a secondary or even lower personality.

What's my proof? Well, until I came across 16Personalities and their absolutely superb personality quiz, I was already slightly acquainted with MBTI, but not well. I had taken a few quizzes elsewhere, such as Facebook, and one time I got ISTJ. Another time, I was taking a different a MBTI test online and again, I was typed as ISTJ. How could this be? Well, besides the fact that those tests were no where near as thorough or as sophisticated as the test on 16Personalities, there are a couple of other possibilities: 1. I wasn't being completely honest or I answered a question wrongly, 2. 16Personalities is wrong, 3. At those times, I was an ISTJ and I developed into an INTJ, or 4. I have a secondary personality and for whatever reason, those tests drew it out better. But, how is it possible that we may have more than one personality?

Well, to some extent, I believe our personalities are changeable. Like I said earlier, I don't think I've always been an INTJ. I'm pretty sure I was an ISTJ as a kid, but it's rather difficult to know for sure as at one time I was quite boisterous and obnoxious. But, I took pride in following the system and being told I was a good or smart boy. I never questioned or bucked the system, and I shunned those who did. I was also quite emotional. At one point, I am embarrassed to say, I was what you would call a "cry baby," and I wasn't an infant at the time. What happened? Well, more of my parents and siblings imprinted on me, I tried not to be annoying when people told me I was being so, I reined in my emotions, and whilst playing video games, I found the silent, mysterious, and stoic characters the coolest--so I became them. At some point during my high school years, I was an ISTJ like Spock, but it was only a matter of time before I became an INTJ as I found myself working the hell out of my imagination and asking questions about everything. Though I will admit that I didn't do it on my own. But anyway, the point is that I believe I was once an ISTJ, and like I said, when put into an unfamiliar situation, I turn to my ISTJ side for survival.

Some of you may think this nutty and you may think that what I'm actually doing in survival situations is turning to my lesser used functions such as introverted feeling and extraverted sensing. Well, there may be some proof for either side of the argument. MBTI commentator Heidi Priebe, who writes all the MBTI articles for Thought Catalog, wrote an interesting one on mistyping the personalities (read it here). Two of the types she says INTJs can be mistyped as are INFJs, because of our strong desire for self-improvement hence we don't leave anything as underdeveloped such as our introverted feeling, and ENTJs because of our strong desire to maintain order in the external world. She does also mention INTJs being mistyped as ISTJs, but she doesn't say why. I think it has something to do with our nature to learn things in a straightforward and simple manner, and catalogue our experiences so we can use that information for later. But getting back to the point, while we all may be turning to our lesser developed functions to help us deal with unfamiliar or uncomfortable situations, I think we can also say that our personalities change in those moments.

Now, I may be completely off base. I'm not an MBTI expert, and I barely pass for an INTJ expert. I may buy into the mystique harder than others, but I'm not sure I could explain what an INTJ is to a person who doesn't already know which is strange because at some point someone explained it to me. But anyway, in the case I am off base, I'm not particularly concerned about it--I just wanted to help expand MBTI theory. And because I'm running out of INTJ ideas to write about. I've got two more before I need to start grabbing at straws. Anyway...

That'll be it for now. I know this was a short one, but I did expect it to take longer. And I apologize for it being released late. I've had a trying couple of days again. So, for next week, I think I will be covering celebrities/famous people that are considered INTJs that I can't consider as INTJs. Don't miss it. And also please consider buying my books.

Keep writing, my friends.

More About Bryan C. Laesch:
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Five More Ways I Buck The INTJ Stereotype

Hey, everyone.

Honestly, I don't remember what I promised to write for this week's INTJ article, but I think I said I'd be doing...

If you'd like to read the original, you can find it here. But to be honest, some of these were really hard to come up with. I was really scraping the bottom of the barrel for ways I buck the INTJ stereotype, but I did manage to come up with ten altogether. However, I decided to save five of the least ways I buck the stereotype for the last one of these I'm going to write. So, let's take a look at these.

1. I Understand Social Interactions

The INTJ stereotype says we're all socially awkward as f*ck and don't know how to act in front of people. For me, this isn't true. While people may feel awkward in my presence or around me, that doesn't me I do. In fact, I don't allow awkward silences to occur in my life anymore, or rather I don't allow a silence to make me feel awkward. But, going back to social interactions, events, or functions, I totally understand how to act in them appropriately. This comes from the fact that my parents, while not socialites by any stretch of the imagination, were well bred and know well the formalities of social events and passed on their knowledge to me. Plus, in watching how others interact and being able to read people fairly well, my knowledge and intuition was further extended.

Having said all that, however, this does not mean that I am the smoothest mother f*cker in the room. It all depends on my mood at the time. If I'm tired, run down, disappointed, or feeling unhappy in any way, I won't care what's expected of me. And, there have been times when I've bucked the social conventions of the day to critical acclaim--some of my antics bring forth honest chuckles because of their direct commentary on the situation. So when I'm not feeling it, not only do I not care, but people also encourage me.

2. I Love Hugs

Another part of the stereotype is that INTJs really like their personal space and hate being touched. I can relate especially since I'm a germaphobe and OCD, but I do enjoy hugs. In fact, I take them quite seriously. I've observed them and have examined the best ways to give them and how they should feel. I have even come up with a system for the giving what I call the World's Perfect Hug. However, there is a caveat to this: I only hug attractive women meaning should I join the Free Hugs Campaign, only hotties can hug me. I don't hug dudes and I don't give hope to the hopeless. So, I'm not going around hugging people like an ENFP, but if one of my female friends wants a hug, I'm going to give it to her and I will do so willingly. Now, there are some hugs you can't escape like from family or members in your church who only wish you the best, but for everyone else, there is a standard. If you don't meet it, I'm sorry. But if you do, prepare to meet the world's best hugger.

3. I Don't Play Devil's Advocate

INTJs challenge things; often the older, traditional systems and ways of thinking. Hell, they challenge other people's thinking. There's an image on Pinterest that says something to the effect of "If you hang out with me long enough, I just might convince you to think for yourself." And so, because of this reputation as well as the fact that INTJs are outsiders and sometimes find it amusing to experiment with certain taboos, we have a reputation for debating everything and anything, even if we belong to the opposing side. For me, this is certainly not true. I hate debate because when I come against stern confrontation, I get flustered, angry, and jittery, and I end up forgetting some of my points or the reasons why I believe or think something. And there are some things out there that I find so repulsive, i.e. abortion, porn, drug use, communism, etc, that I won't even mock debate them. I mean, I can, and I would probably win, but I won't.

4. I Don't Hate Talking on the Phone

INTJs keep to themselves. And due to the stereotype that we're socially awkward, we've also somehow developed the stereotype for not answering the phone when people call. And, it's believed that we prefer texting. Again, for me this isn't true. In fact, let me tell you a story: A few years ago when I was still at Wayne State, I needed to see a counselor and I remember thinking, "Why should I schedule an appointment to see a counselor on the computer when I'm going to be on campus tomorrow and I can just do it in person? Plus, there's no way in hell it can be messed up." Well, imagine my befuddlement when I got to the counseling office and the students working there told me I had to schedule an appointment online. I couldn't even do it through them right there. What kind of sh*t is that? If I can get something done in person, it should be done in person. And if not, it should be over the phone. Why are we trusting computers to do it when they are known to occasionally screw up and we can do it ourselves?

The main reason why I have this angle is because I don't want anything to go wrong. As a result, I've begun to hate texting in recent years. I mean, I'm not very popular to begin with, so most of the time, it's a superfluous option on my cell phone plan. The other problem is that meaning can be lost in text and it can take so much time to type a message And! I could be trying to get something else done at the time. I used to have whole conversations through text, but these days I try to avoid them because I don't have the patience and if I really need/want to talk to you, it's just easier to call. Pick up the phone!

5. No One Asks Me For Advice

This is one of those INTJ stereotypical behaviors that I had a real hard time coming up with by myself. But basically, the stereotype is that people are always coming to INTJs for advice. (And then usually the people don't follow that advice only to have it all blow up in their face.) I mean, I have had people ask for my advice, but it's not something I'm known for. No one calls me an advisor or seeks me out to hear what I think. Now, this could be because most of the people I know have their sh*t together and so they don't need advice, or it's because I don't offer advice. In fact, I don't give advice unless directly asked because unasked for advice is one of the most annoying things in the world and the last time someone really asked for my advice, I told her to do whatever she really wanted because I knew which way she wanted to go, I knew that that was the way she was going to go, and she wasn't really listening to what I was telling her anyway. So, if people aren't going to listen anyway, why bother telling them in first place?

Bonus: I Get Angry

That's right; I thought I would include a bonus way I buck the INTJ stereotype and that is that I do get angry. INTJs are known for being very cool and generally unaffected by stressful events. Supposedly we have a long, long fuse until our bombs go off. And this is true for me to an extent, but when something really pisses me off, like city councils helping to organize ANTIFA demonstrations and telling the police to stand down when things get violent, I can get hopping mad and I imagine punching in the faces of all the piss ants who've pissed me off. The chances of me actually exploding out in public are pretty slim, but that doesn't mean I'm not angry. Of the seven deadly sins, I struggle with gluttony, lust, avarice, and vanity, but the only one I really fear is wrath because it has such a hold on me. Sometimes I enjoy imagining all the violent scenarios that go through my head. And to some extent, I do worry what could happen if I ever got so angry, in public, that I would find myself in a colossal brawl because I'm sure it would not go as well as daydreams portray.

Okay, that's enough for now. For next week, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I could do a bit on a theory I had about MBTI primary and secondary personalities. Yes, you read that right, personalities, not functions. In fact, screw all that function crap, it's too complicated. But basically the post would be about how while I am primarily an INTJ, I can become an ISTJ for the sake of survival. That's the theory. So, we'll see. Until next week...

Keep writing, my friends.

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How INTJs Can Ace Social Interactions and Romance

Hey, everyone.

So, continuing with the theme as to why and how INTJs are the best at everything, this week, I'm going to cover...

That's right. Some of you may be calling me a filthy liar stating, "INTJs are terrible at social interactions and completely clueless when it comes to romance! You gotta be sh*ttin' me!" Well, I'm not sh*ttin' you in the least. Believe it or not, some of us are quite skilled with romance and social functions. It's like I keep saying, there's nothing an INTJ can't do. But this of course raises the question how are we able to beat our stereotype and actually be good with such things? And how come the stereotype exists in the first place? The answer to the first one is quite simple; perhaps you picked up on it in the title.

Ace Is High, INTJs Are Wild

Ante up, ladies! We do it through gambling! Wait, no; that's not quite right. But, it does have something to do with acing things. What sort of things? Things like tests and classes. It's no mystery that INTJs are smart and good in school. We're life-long students, constantly absorbing information about every little thing on the planet. In fact, according to the analysis on 16Personalities, they say that if a subject can be taught, an INTJ can learn it.

Now, some may argue that you can't learn romance and how to act properly in a social engagement. To which I say, oh yeah? Then how is it we know which fork to use for salad and which spoon is for soup? How come people don't fart when meeting someone new? How is it that relationships often get better with time rather than worse? Could it be that all these things are learned behavior, or in the case of a relationship, we learn how to deal with our significant other?

All of the above are learned. No one knows that stuff right off the bat. And, there are even books and classes on this stuff. There are etiquette classes one can take, you can buy a book called The Psychology of Likability, and there are tons of books and classes out there on how to pick up chicks and date them successfully. Hell, there are YouTube vids and entire channels devoted to this kind of stuff. It's because of a YouTube channel called Marni Your Personal Wing Girl that I discovered that I was actually afraid to talk to women (sometimes). So, if it can be learned, an INTJ can master it.

But, there's more proof than this. I, for instance, can be quite the charming fellow. Really. But you have to catch me in the right mood. Like a lot of guys, I suffer from that mind-cock blocker where when talking to a girl you really like, you screw up, but when talking to a girl you know you have no chance with or when talking to a girl you don't want to date, you're the smoothest mother f*cker in the land. One time, I was in a flirtationship with an older woman. Well, it's actually happened to me more than once, but in this particular flirtationship, I didn't know the woman was married. I assumed she was because she had children, but I went ahead and flirted with her. Not big flirts with sexual innuendos, but the kind of flirting that is fun and approachable. What happened? Well, she of course blushed from the attention and quite enjoyed it, and once she even called me a "bad boy." I've never been called a bad boy before or since. I'm pretty sure no INTJ has. That might be a world's first.

I have also had real romantic relationships. And they were quite romantic indeed. I dated like four or five girls in 2012, don't ask me how as I've never been able to duplicate that success, but I did. And three of those girls, I cuddled with, two of which happened on the first date. Two of them I even made out with, one of which happened on the first date. And you don't get girls to make out with you when you're weird and anti-social. But, I'm not here to brag, I'm trying to argue that INTJs can dominate romance just as easily as they dominate the ethereal and theoretical. How did I get those girls to make out with me? I was suave and calculating which is very INTJ, but I learned to be that way from observing romantic situations in real life, movies, TV shows, my rare personal experiences, and following my intuition. It's as simple as "I'm going to turn my face toward her when she kisses my cheek so she'll actually kiss my lips," or "I know I'm pretty good with massage, what would happen if I massaged her neck while I kissed her?"

Another source, an article from Thought Catalog, even suggests that INTJs can be great in bed because we see it as another opportunity to prove how exceptional we are. But! All this proof begs an important question: how is it that INTJs got their socially awkward stereotype if they're the coolest people in the world?

Old Habits Die Hard

For starters, INTJs aren't naturally suave. Sure, we can learn how to be suave and how to leverage a situation to our favor, but it's not in our comfort zone. INTJs prefer to be direct. You've probably heard that everyone wears a mask in public, that no one really shows who they are. For INTJs, this isn't true--we do show who we really are out in public, or at the least, we have the thinnest masks. What you see is pretty damn close to what you get. And while we can be suave, we'd rather just tell you what we're really thinking. We can maneuver, but the fastest way to any destination is a straight line. So, we're not prone to "playing the game" regardless of whether it's in romance or at social functions.

Add to this, we spend a lot of time by ourselves. Being in the company of other people does get annoying after a while and we just prefer to be alone. So, there are times when we find ourselves at a social function, and we're just not in the mood. This is probably where people get the idea that we're jerks or douchebags; we're not, we just don't have the patience or energy to pretend otherwise.

For my part, it's not so much that I'm socially awkward, it's more that I don't care or that I prefer to lurk in the background/shadows and observe. And depending on the function, it can be difficult to get a word in edgewise, so it's just easier not to bother and let someone else start the conversation. And when some people do engage me, it's typically in the minutia or the flotsam and jetsam of life, like how I'm doing. Social protocol dictates I don't answer this 100% honestly because I shouldn't burden other people with my problems, but because there are no pertinent follow-up questions to what I say, I don't volunteer any information besides. It's amazing how some conversations just flow when I watch others interact, but when they involve me, it quickly ends. Some people would describe this is as socially awkward. I don't because I don't feel awkward in these situations. If you feel awkward, that's your problem--you deal with it.

Conclusion

And that's really about it. To be honest, I just can't think of anything else to say on this topic. I maintain my stance that INTJs can do anything so long as we can study it and even test it out in a safe environment like a classroom. But, we have to be in the mood to put up with such things. Now, with really close friends, family, and even romantic interests, our patience and effort does go a little further, as is true for everyone, but generally, we're very much into our own ways of doing things.

Next week, I think I'll go over five more ways I buck the INTJ stereotype. The first one I did was quite popular. It's become the most popular article on my blog. What's supposed to be a blog about writing might evolve into a blog all about INTJ junk because, to be honest, ain't no one reading my writing blogs. But anyway, until next week.

Keep writing, my friends.

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The INTJ Mystique

Hey, everyone.

So, like I said last week, this week I'll be focusing on...

Doubtlessly, some of you are quite curious as to what I mean by the "INTJ Mystique." Basically, this post is all about why INTJ's are so damn cool. Sure, we could break down the letters and talk about introversion and intuition, but that doesn't really explain what an INTJ is. It doesn't give an idea of how the letters I, N, T, and J come together and affect each other. So, let me tell you all about INTJ's.

An INTJ is one of the most difficult things to understand. It is a mass of complexes and sometimes paradoxes. They're cold on the outside, but are driven by the hottest of fires on the inside. They live for logic, but possess a strong intuition capable of knowing something without actually knowing anything about it. We hate irrationality and bad grammar, but we also hate feeling like we're being boxed in or that we're bound by rules that don't need to exist.

We abhor the simple, mundane world seeking instead occult knowledge, looking for something  someone may have missed. We even take already well-known knowledge and subject it to our scrutiny just to make sure it is solid. And then, rather than throwing that knowledge away, we store it in our minds and find another use for it, or we uncover how it connects to something else.

INTJ's are outsiders. We're outsiders to the systems that other people live in; systems for how they live, act, work, love or believe. We can see them at work and how they work. We can predict how they affect people and how to use the system to affect people. People don't understand why we don't, can't, or won't live within their systems, but that is precisely why we are needed by society because only we know how to alter the systems or even control the people within them.

INTJ's are unlimited in their abilities. Some will accuse us of being socially awkward and being clueless in love, but this isn't true. Social and romantic interactions can be studied and predicted. And if it can be studied, INTJ's can master it. There are no limits to what we can learn and how to utilize our knowledge. Plus, it would be a great waste of our intuition, the otherworldly quality that grants us a priori knowledge, if we didn't try to master friendships, relationships, and religion. This is what our intuition was designed for. If we can master the ethereal, then we can master the physical.

By being unlimited, we allow ourselves the room to pursue perfection and to always be better than we were. It's why we have immutable principles and ethics, it's why we're so loyal as friends, and it's why we make the best spouses. INTJ's are determined, powerful prodigies. The universe is one big puzzle for us to solve and we will solve it, or die trying. But even that type of death is more rewarding than a life lived chasing the Joneses. "A story is only as epic as you allow it to be." The same is true for INTJ's; we are epic because we allow ourselves to be. We are a whole gaggle of Neo's from The Matrix allowing ourselves to live beyond the rules of what normal humans think is possible.

This is the INTJ Mystique. We are the greatest personality type in MBTI. You won't hear us roar, and you may pass us out on the street and not realize it, but in a subtle, metaphysical way, we will affect you in the greatest way possible.

Well, there's definitely more I can say about the INTJ Mystique, but I will end it there. In fact, I think I will turn this into a book and go into more detail about why we're so damn awesome. For next week, I'm not sure what I will do yet. Maybe I'll expound on how INTJ's can be the greatest friends, lovers, and actors. Or, I'll go into five more ways I buck the INTJ stereotype. But, until next week...

Keep writing, my friends.

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INTJ's and Politics

Hey, everyone.

I know I was supposed to write something this week about the INTJ mystique, but I had a weird week that threw my mystique off. As a result, I'm not feeling it, and INTJ's don't like feeling things. Maybe I'll save it for next week, but I think I may have just given myself a great book idea instead. We'll see.

So, instead of the INTJ mystique, this week I'll be covering...

That's right; INTJ's and politics, specifically political alignments and why INTJ's have the political alignments they do. This post was inspired by our country's current turbulent political atmosphere and this image I found on Pinterest:

As you can tell from the image, INTJ's tend to align themselves with either Republicans or independently. To be honest, I'm shocked there are any INTJ's out there who affiliate themselves with the Democratic party, but I can think of a couple of reasons why. For now though, let's start at the top and work our way down.

INTJ's As Independents

If you know anything about INTJ's, you're probably well aware of their very individualistic and independent nature. INTJ's don't like being someone else and they don't like being told to be like someone else because most people kind of suck and INTJ's think themselves the best people in the world. They also don't like to rely on others because it isn't unusual for people to let them down. Not to mention, the more people there are in a situation, the more things there are that can go wrong. As a result, INTJ's prefer not to get involved in politics. The only reason they do is because if they didn't, someone else would try to tell them what they need and what they don't need, and INTJ's don't like that at all.

So, an INTJ is loyal first and foremost to himself. No one knows his business better than him, and no one is as interested in his business as him. As a result, INTJ's aren't likely to align themselves with a political party because they can easily be let down by the people in the party, and the political ideals that make up the party may be too limiting for some INTJ's. INTJ's have an overwhelming desire for freedom from just about everything, so they don't like being nailed down so long as they can avoid it. And, because their loyalty is to themselves, they do have a knack for acting unilaterally or going "rogue" when they think their freedoms, sensibilities, or ideals are being violated. Hence, it makes the most sense for INTJ's to belong to a one-man party of themselves.

Sort of like a one-man band.

INTJ's As Republicans

Now, wait a second, I just said INTJ's are huge individuals and hugely independent. Why is there only a 1% between INTJ's as Independents and INTJ's as Republicans? Well, there is a very good explanation for this.

While INTJ's are indeed very independent, maverick, and iconoclast, they don't actively seek rebellion. They just want to be left alone. In doing so, INTJ's leave everyone else alone. And with they're high ideals and immutable principles, they're some of the very few people in the world who can act according to righteousness for the sake of righteousness. In theory, this means INTJ's can live in anarchy, but something that INTJ's realize is that not everyone can live in anarchy. They don't possess the maturity, character, or moral fiber to live in a system without rules. INTJ's may always have their heads in the clouds, but they can be very practical when necessary, and in difficult situations, they may even morph into ISTJ's to ensure their survival.

INTJ's soak up all kinds of knowledge like a sponge.
They can amaze you with what they know and about what.
Just don't expect them to drink their own piss.

But, looking specifically at the Republican party, why would INTJ's join them instead of say the Democrats who actually call themselves "liberals" when they get far enough to the left? Well, because the Republican platform tends to follow the ideals that this country were built on: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Plus, Republicans believe in a smaller government that looks after the big issues and doesn't try to get involved in the lives of citizens. Republicans believe in a laissez-faire system where citizens look after their own interests. And this is very appealing to INTJ's because it means as long as Republicans are in control, they'll stay out of the business of INTJ's. And the fact that Republicans believe in money and indisputably beating the rat race also helps because INTJ's despise the rat race and the constant need to have money talk so bullsh*t walks. Not to mention, Republicans don't get tied down with feelings. Something's either right or wrong, works or doesn't. And once it's right and fixed, who gives a crap who it might hurt? If you're being hurt by a system that is right and works well, you were probably doing something wrong or lazy to begin with in which case INTJ's have no sympathy for you.

I don't know why I bothered censoring it.

INTJ's As Democrats

So, why wouldn't INTJ's be Democrats when the political left believes in a liberal society? Well, according to the chart, 19% of INTJ's do consider themselves Democrats, and it may have something to do the liberal perspective of everyone is free to do what they want so long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. It may also go back to what I was talking on how INTJ's recognize that they can take care of themselves, but other people need a system of rules or a structure. Some people need a very firm structure, and some INTJ's see this in the light of that since some people aren't as independent as them, they need someone to take care of them, so INTJ's vote Democrat so these people are looked after. While that does seem noble and caring, but only 19% of INTJ's call themselves Democratic whereas 40%+ call themselves Republican and Independent. Why is that?

Well, while some Democrats may call themselves liberal, which should mean they believe in liberty for all, many liberals' actions are actually quite contradictory or they believe in selective liberty. Take ANTIFA for example, they're all apart of the political left and don't believe in the freedom of speech, and anyone who doesn't agree with them instantly becomes a target for a beatdown. Looking further into the liberal stance, they believe that Muslims shouldn't be judged by the actions of a few, but they're willing to persecute all Christians and prevent them from worshipping in peace. Add to that, Democrats believe in big governments that do get involved in the lives of the people like a parent handling children. None of this is appealing to INTJ's, a group of people who believe in "live and let live," and who don't want people butting into their business. And as if that weren't all bad enough, it's left wing politics that gave rise to socialism and communism, two systems where the root words are "social" and "commune," meaning a system where everyone is dependent on everyone else. And don't even get me started on their objections to unions.

Like I said, knowing what I know about INTJ's and knowing what I know about the Democratic platform, I don't know why any INTJ vote Democrat. At its best, it forces people to be dependent on each other, and at its worst, it's highly contradictory and hypocritical, two things that are sure to immediately burn any INTJ's ass.

What really burns my ass is a fire about 3' tall.

So, that was a brief look at the political views of INTJ's. Hopefully, it gave a little insight into their actions and political beliefs. Next week, I hope to write a small piece of the INTJ mystique. It'll sort of be a freehand essay on why INTJ's are awesome and why everyone needs an INTJ in their life. Or, I could look over a list of people who are considered INTJ's and talk about why they are or are not actually INTJ's based on the perspective of a true INTJ, moi. Basically, I'm just trying to put some room between my next ten ways I'm totally an INTJ and five more ways I buck the INTJ stereotype. Read the originals here and here. Writing those two articles made me think of a few things I forgot to mention.

Anyway, that's it from me this week. If you'd like to know more about INTJ's you can look us up the website 16Personalities.com or you can check out the book The True INTJ on Amazon. See you later.

Keep writing, my friends.

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Ten Ways I'm Totally An INTJ

Hey, everyone.

So, my blog post last week on the Five Ways I Buck the INTJ Stereotype was quite popular. It got 245 views which I wasn't expecting. Unfortunately, I don't know if it was liked because no left a comment. Anyway, for this week's post, I've decided to go over ten ways that I am totally the stereotypical INTJ. Let's get to it.

1. Surprisingly Rebellious

I'm not very outgoing. Of course I'm not, I'm an INTJ. But, sometimes, I do take on the role of a rebel without a cause. When someone tells me something like "everyone's doing it," I tend to get fired up because 1. I don't care, and 2. I am not everyone. Once upon a time, I cared what the group was doing, but through my formative years as a teenager, I learned how much of an outcast I really was. Hell, even in my own circle of friends I'm the damn outsider. It's easy not to give a damn about the Joneses when they cut you out. And so, as a result, sometimes you just need to rebel to be a smartass.

Well, it's actually a control thing. INTJ's get very irritated when people try to manipulate them or tell them what they need. Really? You know what I need better than myself? Ergo, to show you can't be controlled, you rebel. Just don't make a habit of it because some people are smart enough to pick up on the pattern and will use it to control you.

2. Superiority Complex

"Some men think they're God--this one just happens to be right."

That's a quote from the 2001 remake of the comedy Bedazzled. (The original was better.) But, it does illustrate a good point about INTJ's. We may not think we're God, but we do definitely think ourselves generally "better" or more highly evolved than other people. I once had a conversation with a female friend of mine, a Sensing sort of girl, sometime before I discovered I was an INTJ. I confessed I didn't feel like a normal man, that I was something "higher." She accused me of thinking I was an angel. Now, of course, I don't think that. Growing up in the Catholic Church, I have a very strict definition of what an angel should be, and since I didn't know anything about MBTI at the time, I didn't know how to respond to her. Another time, I looked in the mirror one day and asked her if she thought I had a big head; she asked for clarification. I was kind of hurt by that because I generally don't think of myself as arrogant, but I do still think of myself as being "higher" than the average person.

3. Immutable Principles

Whether it comes from the Catholic background or because I don't like change, I definitely have immutable principles. On the one hand, it keeps my nose clean. On the other hand, it makes life kind of difficult or even annoying. There are times when it would be easier to say, "Aw, f*ck it. I don't feel like doing that." But then my sense of justice and ethics goes, "You were raised better than this. You know the difference between good and bad, moral and immoral, virtuous and complacent. You have no other choice, unless you want to look like the other vulgar scum walking the streets." And it's like, damn! Guilted into following my own rigid code of ethics by my own superiority complex. That's the problem with having a conscience.

But, like I said, having good, clean morals and strong ethics has kept my nose clean, and as I result, I don't have a lot of the problems some people my age do. I may give off a 1950's nerdy, straight laced feeling, but you can't complain about the fact that there's nothing to complain about.

4. Constant Improvement

In my last post, I talked about how I don't give a sh*t about the relentless improvement of technology. But, one thing I can't stand is mediocrity in myself, especially since I started working out. My whole perspective on the world and people has changed somewhat, especially when it comes to looking for a suitable mate. At one time, I accepted girls with a few extra pounds and girls who weren't necessarily virgins, you know, because being 28 in this modern world, you can't dependably expect to find a girl who is still a virgin at that age.

But, after working out regularly for the past three-and-a-half months, being on a diet, losing 23 lbs, and holding onto my maiden virtue all this time, I don't accept chubby girls anymore, and I've renewed my intentions of finding a virgin. If I'm going to hold myself to a higher standard, why should I accept someone who doesn't? Because it's judgmental? Oh, boo-f*cking-hoo. You don't want to be judged negatively, don't be a piece of sh*t.

5. Connections

I have OCD. Specifically, germ-a-phobia. I was always OCD to some extent as a child, but when I got into high school, I started noticing things. I started paying attention to what people touched and then what they touched after. As a result, I became very OCD in a short amount of time, and it pit me against my family which was very difficult for my mother and sister, two people I never used to recoil from and avoid all physical contact with.

I thought my ability to make connections and notice patterns was a side effect of my OCD because neither my mother nor sister seemed capable of noticing such things. However, I know my father notices patterns almost as fast as I do, and my brother does too, but to a much lesser extent. Also, I am able to make connections between two seemingly unrelated things, like art and science. I see the science in the art, and the art in the science. In my latter years of high school and starting out at college, I came to appreciate every school subject regardless of what it was because I knew it could be useful to me in some way, shape, or form. At the time, I thought it was because I was pursuing writing as a career, and you never know what you'll end up using or how. But these days, I see how the areas of study affect each other. I see the symbiotic relationship between them. Everything is connected to everything else.

6. Life Bores Me

Remember my Sensing friend? She's very grounded. She loves going outside, she does things, she's a nurse, and for whatever reason, she thinks I'm smarter than her. I maintain that I'm not; she just has a different sort of intelligence. For example: she can spank me good at Scrabble which may sound funny because I'm a writer with a huge vocabulary. But when I play Scrabble, instead of looking at what I can do, I focus on what I could do... if conditions were right. I have the same problem playing Chess and Magic: The Gathering. Magic is especially the tricky one, because instead of building a deck that wins, I build decks that I think would make epic wins. You'd think the conditions would be the same, but strangely they're not. And that's why I don't like regular, everyday life. It's so mundane. Where's the magic? Where's the fantasy? Why can't dragons exist? Although, on a serious note, if dragons did exist, things probably would super suck. Playing Skyrim enlightened me to that perspective.

But, because life is so boring, that's one of the reasons why I became a writer. If I can't have a wondrous life, I'll live a wondrous life vicariously through a fictional story. Some people may argue that if I stopped being an INTJ and became something like an ENFP or ESFP, I could have an exciting and entertaining life. But at those times when I consider having such a life, I realize that sometimes I just prefer to sit alone in the shade and be alone with my thoughts rather than doing something crazy. Besides, why would I want to meet super models or go skydiving when in my mind I could meet super hot, vampire chicks or explore ancient castles? Plus, some people just suck, and in my imagination, I can give them their comeuppance.

7. Cool Outside, Hot Inside

INTJ's have a reputation for being cool and calm on the outside, but being very passionate on the inside. I'm no exception unless I get into an argument with a close friend. Then I can become hopping mad.

"That's the raging volcano?"
"Maybe he gets hopping mad."

But, it's true. Stress doesn't really get to me, and even when in stressful situations, I do have an outwardly calm appearance. It can give off the impression that I'm apathetic, but have a look inside my mind, and things are quite different. Once I was talking to a girl that I thought would become my girlfriend. Well, somehow I tripped her insecurities, and she went from being a possible girlfriend to talking about being just friends. It was an instant switch. At first, I was confused, but then I was angry for the next two to three hours by the sudden upset. While my mind was raging, all I did was pace the kitchen back and forth. Another example is just like how I mentioned that regular life bores me. You see me going for a leisurely stroll down the street or sitting somewhere off by myself, but the whole time, an epic story is playing out inside my mind the likes of which rivals Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.

It's been said that while INTJ's are very placid on the outside, we're actually super passionate on the inside, and that we don't really do anything we don't enjoy. That's quite true. People may associate the color blue with my personality, but my favorite color is red because it is the color of passion. And it goes well with black.

8. Jack of All Trades

You ever see that quote or meme that lists off all the things a person should be capable of doing, and then saying that specialization for insects? Or, if you're a writer or a blogger, you've probably heard that in order to be successful as a writer, but especially as a blogger, you need to pick a niche and stick to it. I say that's crapola.

While I may think myself a master writer, I have many wide and varied interests. I believe in being a Renaissance man. I have an interest in science, math, philosophy, history, and art. I prefer to shoot archery, but I will also play basketball. I'd like to know how to sew, and I'd love to be able to make my own quilts, but I do have the makings of a petrol head. And while I may be introverted, I do have an interest in dancing.

My shuffling ain't so bad.

See, the way I get around the whole niche thing is that I say "My niche is that I'm Bryan C. Laesch. Anything that has to do with me is my niche." But, really, I don't have a niche. Hell, when I hopped onto Twitter, I took the user name BryanofAllTrade in reference to the fact that I am a jack of all trades. (I didn't put an "S" at the end because I ran out of spaces.) My three most marketable skills are writing and editing, dog training, and tutoring foreign language. True, foreign language and writing are related, and dog training and tutoring are related, but they are unique enough to cause people to stop and wonder how the hell I got such talents.

And, of course, it all goes back to writing. While my magnum opus may be a modern Gothic Epic, I have written a fantasy novel. I've written a Shakespearean play. I'm going to write a sci-fi novel, and in a bid to expand my audience, I'm going to self-publish a book of poetry and a compilation of romance stories. Not simply because I want to expand my audience, but because I have a genuine interest in these genres. Hell, I even had an idea for a series of children's books. The point is, through writing, I am able to explore all these different subjects and interests. And if they bring me a few dollars, why the f*ck not?!

9. Pointless Secrets

Despite how forthright I am in my writing, I'm a very private person at home. I don't like divulging what it is that I'm doing. Somebody asks me what I'm up to, and I'll deflect the question or lie just because I'm mildly embarrassed about watching an rom-com anime. I could just say I'm watching anime, but then that leads to questions. Questions like what's it called, what's it about, who are the characters, etc. And some of these things just aren't worth going over. They're pointless and nobody needs to know them. So, if someone catches me doing something mildly embarrassing, I tend to deflect the situation even though it would just be easier to come clean. But, like I said, people don't need to know.

10. Death Glare

If you look at INTJ's in media, they tend to be depicted as being bored out of their minds. Not me. I have a resting bitch face. My mother has even told me I scowl, and my cousin's girlfriend told me I always look pissed off. I'm not; it's just my face. Besides, if I'm not happy, why the hell should I smile? Don't people smile to show they're happy?

But besides that, I do have the dreaded INTJ death glare. Irritate me or piss me off, and my eyes burn a whole right through soul and fill you with such an intense feeling of dread, I've actually made people retreat. When I was in the eighth grade, a girl in my class said something stupid, I gave her a mild form of the death glare, and she responded with, "Bryan, you always look like you want to kill me." At the time I thought she was being harsh, but I'm glad the death glare is in my repertoire. You never know when you might need it.

And so, that concludes the Ten Ways I'm Totally An INTJ. While writing this piece, I had a few ah-ha moments and realized several more ways I'm the typical INTJ and untypical INTJ. I intend to write those eventually, but next week, I'm going to cover the INTJ mystique. I'm not a hundred percent sure what I mean by that, but it will be a sort of breakdown of what it means to be an INTJ in a bid to help younger or newer INTJ's realize why they're so special. If you don't want to miss it, follow me on Facebook or subscribe to this blog. And, if you want more info on INTJ's, get the book The True INTJ by Truity. Until then...

Keep writing, my friends.

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