Personality- being INTJ

Have you done any personality test? Well, I did and based on the analysis from my answers, I am an INTJ. So what is it INTJ?

Basically, in psychology there are two main personality model being used widely, which is Big Five Personality Model and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).

Big five personality model consist of five main category of personality trait; extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness to experience, and conscientiousness.

Meanwhile, The MBTI is a psychometric questionnaire designed based on "psychological types" book (published in 1921) by Carl Jung that stated that our personality can be divided to 4 principals of psychological function; intuitive, sensation, thinking and feeling. The questionnaire is mean to test our way of perceiving the world and making decisions.

I did my MBTI from http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp. If you interested in doing this test, I recommend this website because it provides a very good explanation which include the strength percentage on each psychological function. As for me, my personality type is INTJ.

What is INTJ? INTJ stands for Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging. Some websites mentioned INTJ as The Masterminds while others call it The Scientist. Moreover, according to the research, INTJ type is the rarest in 16 types of MBTI and only represents 1-4% of populations. What is INTJ and what so rare about them.



INTJs are well known to be perfectionist and have high self-confidence. They easily mistaken to be arrogant for some people. Their self confidence due to their huge archive of knowledge in many different topics and area in which they build in early childhood and they usually given a nickname - bookworm. Their thirst of knowledge in any topics that spark their interest will make them a very difficult person to argue with as they done a lot of research, reading and thinking on the topic and very confidence on their knowledge. However what really unique about INTJ is they know what they know and know what they DONT know. When they master knowledge in their chosen topic, they can quickly and honestly say whether they know the answer or not. If they know, they will answer confidently. They are very decisive, insightful and original thus make people to accept their ideas simply because of sheer willpower and self-confidence. However, they not keen to fame and attention so they always keep opinion to themselves if the topic does not interest them that much.

INTJs are usually curious in many things but limited by their cold-blooded filter called "does it going to work". This produce an unusual independence minds freeing them from the constraint of authority, convention, sentiment and remain in rational territory.

In term of leadership, INTJ personalities also often shoulder the burden of making important decisions without consulting their peers. They are natural leaders and excellent strategists, but willingly give way to others vying for a leadership position, usually people with Extroverted personalities (E personality type). However, such action can be deceptive and maybe even calculated. An INTJ will retreat into the shadows, maintaining their grip on the most important decisions – but as soon as the leader fails and there is a need to take the steering wheel, the INTJ will not hesitate to act, maybe even while staying in the background. The INTJ personality is the ultimate “Man behind the curtain”.

Every personality type has many weak spots and INTJs are not an exception. There is one area where their brilliant mind often becomes completely useless and may even hinder their efforts – INTJs find it very difficult to handle romantic relationships, especially in their earliest stages. People with this personality type are more than capable of loving and taking care of the people close to them, but they are likely to be completely clueless when it comes to attracting a partner. The emotions of an INTJ are hard to read, and neither male nor female INTJs are apt to express emotional reactions. At times, INTJs seem cold, reserved, and unresponsive, while in fact they are almost hypersensitive to signals of rejection from those they care for.

Harlan Ellison

The main reason behind this is that INTJ personalities are both private and incredibly rational – they find it very difficult to understand the complex social rituals that are considered part of the dating game, especially in Western societies. Things like flirting or small talk are unnatural to them; furthermore, INTJs (especially females) tend to see typical attraction tactics (such as feigning disinterest) as incredibly stupid and irrational. Ironically, INTJs are most likely to attract a partner when they stop looking for them – this is when their self-confidence starts shining again. There are few things that are more attractive than the unrelenting self-confidence that INTJs are known for.

To get a clear view of INTJ, there are few characters that possess INTJ traits such as Sherlock Holmes, Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, Gregory House from House M.D and more.

 

I have to admit that the analysis of INTJs was taken from few websites as I am not the expert on the subject. However, I can absolutely relate to every traits of INTJ. Besides, I took the test few times in different conditions just to be sure.

It is not easy to be INTJ. Many people that barely know me thought I am arrogant but the truth is I don't know what to say to them and I don't like to engage to a seemingly no purpose conversation. People always mistaken me as a heartless person and cold but I am not. Since I was a kid, I had learned to hide my emotions or to ignore sentiments that prove to be irrelevant. "bookworm" is definitely me! I really love reading book and i rather choose reading book than socializing with other people. For me, books are a window to a broader world and it always gives me satisfaction in knowing something new. As for leadership section, it is true I like having a power but that does not mean I like being a leader. Power means to have influence on decision making. When I involve in a group or a team for a mission or a program, at first, I will be very low profile and do less talking. I will observe every group member especially the group leader and if I find that the leader is capable on doing his or her work, I will let his or her do it. However, if they are not very good in steering the group to meet the purpose, I will take charge (but its all depends on my mood). There is one time that the leader is not capable but I every group member is very good in doing their work, so I just do mine without interfering the leader's role.

To conclude, I believe that every person in this world is unique. Even though, personality test can give a good insight in our self but we cannot rely on them. every personality model has its weakness because it is a theory that created by human and it all depends on psychologist way of thinking, personality and environment. So where can we find a perfect personality model that really fit every individual? We cannot! what important is to always be true to ourselves and try to improve our behavior everyday. Remember, we are the best creation created by our creator, Allah so we should behave like one!