SuperLuigi

INTP Advice

19 posts in this topic

Apologies if this has been asked before, but is there a resource for specific personal development advice related to your personality type? (Mine is INTP apparently).

Common obstacles of the INTP is being able to follow through on big ideas, being stuck in thought etc. which is definitely me. So any resources for advice would be great (including any Leo videos).

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INTP -- "The Thinker and Seeker" -- They want to rationally understand the world so they can synthesize and create from that.  Their strengths are they are very imaginative and laid-back people.  But on the other hand, they can be overtly-critical and cold sometimes.

THE FOUR COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS OF INTPs:

Dominant: (The strongest trait)

  • Ti (Introverted Thinking): Has a particular way of thinking that is internally determined and likes to base their thinking on standards that they have set internally.

Auxiliary: (The second strongest trait)

  • Ne (Extroverted Intuition): Interfaces with different things in the outer world that cause intuitions to come up in them.  They end up with a lot of mental material that they just know or have a sense for. 

Tertiary: (The second weakest trait)

  • Si (Introverted Sensing): Has a good memory of facts and things that happened in the environment.  Likes to look at memories of past observable events.

Inferior: (The weakest trait)

  • Fe (Extroverted Feeling) -- Shows feelings and emotions to others.  Looks for ways to create social cohesion in the group.

SOME TRAITS OF INTPs:

  1. INTPs display an insatiable appetite for ideation and theorizing.
  2. Many INTPs take an interest in writing, which provides an excellent forum for expressing themselves more fully and precisely.
  3. INTPs can struggle to find satisfying jobs within the system and are often happier functioning as freelancers or entrepreneurs.
  4. INTPs use Ti (Introverted Thinking) to bring structure and order to their inner world, granting them a strong sense of inner control.
  5. INTPs are constantly digging into the background of their own thoughts in order to better understand their origins and to ensure their thinking is founded on solid reasoning.
  6. The career of Technical Writing can work with INTPs.

MORE TRAITS OF INTPs:

  1. The running theme for INTPs is their desire for solitude, need for intellectual stimulation, and the satisfaction of the final piece of a puzzle clicking into place.
  2. One of the reasons the INTP is a loner and lives a minimalist life is because they desire to reserve as much time as possible for thinking and reflecting.
  3. INTPs believe that the truth is the most important factor, and they expect that to be appreciated and reciprocated.
  4. People with the INTP personality take pride in their knowledge and rationale and enjoy sharing their ideas.
  5. It's as if people with the INTP personality are a conduit for the truths around them, so far as they can be expressed, and they are proud of this role as theoretical mediator.
  6. INTPs loathe rules and guidelines because of their value for autonomy and unconventional creativity.
  7. INTPs are shy and withdrawn individuals, and getting out and meeting new people, risking rejection and making themselves the center of attention in emotionally delicate situations are far from being their strengths.
  8. INTPs are so prone to reassessing their own thoughts and theories, worrying that they've missed some critical piece of the puzzle.
  9. INTPs need to remember that other people have their own independent wants and needs.
  10. INTPs can meet people halfway by communicating on an emotional level.  
  11. For all their analysis and attempts at mutual understanding, INTPs are notoriously bad at picking up on other people's emotional needs.
  12. The one thing that really holds INTPs back is their restless and pervasive fear of failure.  INTPs are so prone to reassessing their own thoughts and theories, worrying that they've missed some critical piece of the puzzle -- that they can stagnate, lost in an intangible world where their thoughts are never really applied.  Overcoming this self-doubt stands as the greatest challenge INTPs are likely to face.
  13. The preference for intuitive perception means that INTPs dislike having their lives planned.  They feel a distinct unease before most fixed appointments and cannot fully relax until the scheduled event is over, or at least in progress.  
  14. INTPs detest facades and particularly dislike people who exhibit them.  Equally, those kinds of people also dislike INTPs and avoid them at all costs, for they know that the INTP will see right through them.  
  15. Because of Ti, many INTPs believe that knowledge is everything and a large gap may exist between knowing and doing for them.  To know is everything, to do is a lower order necessity.  This breeds the potential for laziness and aloofness.  
  16. If an INTP is pushed into doing something, they will automatically resist.  The reason for this resistance is that any action must first be filtered by Ti, guided by Ne.  The INTP must be given a chance to reach an independent decision, approving or rejecting the action.  The best way to get an INTP to do something is to suggest the idea as an option and let them sleep on it.  Ultimately the INTP must always believe that it is their decision.  Once they are satisfied that the decision was independently reached, they are content.  
  17. INTPs put great weight on beling individuals and essentially different from other people, who they view as being too alike and too interdependent.  
  18. INTPs often become bored with anything they have successfully analyzed to the point of understanding it.  Once understood, it has nothing left to offer, once the satisfaction which comes with achieving the goal of understanding diminishes.
  19. Because Fe is INTP's inferior function, they can swing dramatically from friendliness (Fe) and aloofness (Ti).
  20. Ne is the trait that INTPs like to share with others.    
  21. INTPs can be emotionally expressive, but are often emotionally immature and disconnected from their feelings.
  22. INTPs rarely get angry, but when they do, it can be a powder keg of an explosion.  
  23. INTPs can quickly locate the logical inconsistencies in a belief system or argument.  They're always noticing when information doesn't add up.  They can easily poke holes in others' arguments or beliefs.  When an INTP expresses what they see, others may think they're criticizing them, but to the INTP it's not personal because they're simply trying to get at the truth.  The INTP wants accurate information, so they figure others do too.  
  24. INTPs are highly individualized and independent, and would rather go their own way than go with the crowd.  They relish breaking apart conventional ideas that others take for granted.  They don't understand how anyone can hold onto theories or ideology that has been proven illogical.  
  25. INTPs don't care for small talk or discussing the everyday matters of people's lives.  Gossip doesn't interest them.  INTPs struggle to connect with others because they have no desire to play social games.
  26. For INTPs, the Ti tends to assume the role of the controller and organizer of their life, while Ne behaves like a free-spirit, almost childlike in its enthusiasm.  The INTP tends to experience these two forces as an almost continuous tug-of-war, with neither side quite gaining the upper-hand.  If they have been free-spiriting for any length of time, they soon feel duty bound to analyze their behavior and systematize it.  Whereas if they have been in an analytical mode for a while, they will soon decide that they can do what they want freely after all.  It's a yo-yo type of situation.
  27. INTPs can make very good assistants to leaders, provided they and the leader are of one mind, for their perspective analysis can give the leadership useful insights which they may overlook, being too busy with leading.  
  28. If an INTP speaks, they must be listened to, for they believe their spoken opinions to be important.  If not, they withdraw (at least in spirit) and assume that the people who do not listen lack intelligence.  Hence, INTPs make very poor leaders, for they depend too much on the attitudes of others.
Edited by Joseph Maynor

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I'm an INTP as well. I used to get caught up in all of this nonsense. An INTP behaves this way, an INTP behaves that way. An INTP has these strengths, an INTP has these weaknesses. If you continue down this path, you will get stuck inside an echo chamber and self fulfilling prophecy of who or how you are supposed to be. 

I don't recommend it. Especially considering you already know you have a tendency to get stuck in thought. You're just adding more thoughts to get stuck in, and these are the worst kind, because they seek to define you.

Meditate, become directly aware of your individual processes and transcend them. 

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1 hour ago, hundreth said:

I'm an INTP as well. I used to get caught up in all of this nonsense. An INTP behaves this way, an INTP behaves that way. An INTP has these strengths, an INTP has these weaknesses. If you continue down this path, you will get stuck inside an echo chamber and self fulfilling prophecy of who or how you are supposed to be. 

I don't recommend it. Especially considering you already know you have a tendency to get stuck in thought. You're just adding more thoughts to get stuck in, and these are the worst kind, because they seek to define you.

Meditate, become directly aware of your individual processes and transcend them. 

I agree with this.  But I gotta say I am damn surprised at how friggin accurate some of this stuff describes my personality patterns. I think everyone should deep-dive their MBTI type and learn the theory as I have demonstrated.  This is part of your overall project of knowing thyself.  Another point I want to add is I was thinking yesterday how much my dominant introverted thinking trait (Ti) is both a great asset to me and a great liability to me in this work.  My task now is to become aware of that paradox fully and to see how it applies in various situations.

Edited by Joseph Maynor

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@Joseph Maynor Good stuff. Described me perfectly. I guess I'm not as special as I like to believe ;)


You are God. You are Truth. You are Love. You are Infinity.

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@SuperLuigi You're in the right place. Actualized.org is made by INTPs for INTPs. Which means it will make you even more stuck in thought ;)


You are God. You are Truth. You are Love. You are Infinity.

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@Joseph Maynor It's insane how accurate that list of traits is.

I never thought about this stuff too much, but now I noticed that I've mostly been developing my weakest traits (Feeling and sensing). Do you think we should focus on developing our weaknesses as much as using our strengths?


“Man’s faith in God is measured by his confidence in himself... Your faith in God is measured by your confidence in yourself, because your true self is God.”  - Neville Goddard

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I have a question for all INTPs here: How do you deal with your over active mind?


I have a lot of difficulties to concentrate and it's really killing all my productivity. It's actually easier for me to work when I'm under surveillance and feel less free, but when I'm alone I go in thousands directions and ends completly unproductive.

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On 1/12/2018 at 1:32 PM, hundreth said:

 An INTP behaves this way, an INTP behaves that way. An INTP has these strengths, an INTP has these weaknesses. If you continue down this path, you will get stuck inside an echo chamber and self fulfilling prophecy of who or how you are supposed to be.

Not for me. I was this way before I read it and Ive been this way after I read it. 

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20 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

@SuperLuigi You're in the right place. Actualized.org is made by INTPs for INTPs. Which means it will make you even more stuck in thought ;)

Damn Leo, no wonder I like this place. Championing truth, reflection and solitude, coupled with all the philosophical ways of personal development, and you get yourself an INTP magnet. ;)

 

11 hours ago, Raphael said:

I have a question for all INTPs here: How do you deal with your over active mind?


I have a lot of difficulties to concentrate and it's really killing all my productivity. It's actually easier for me to work when I'm under surveillance and feel less free, but when I'm alone I go in thousands directions and ends completly unproductive.

Ne — the second cognitive function we have — is usually what’s to blame with the lack of focus. It’s what causes our minds to flip from one related idea to another unrelated idea. It seeks novelty, Usually what balances out is the third function of Si — which focuses on experiences from the past and a larger emphasis on repetition.

How to develop Si though? Here are some suggestions.

1. Be more specific. You can want something like, “How to look for truth”, but if you can’t visualize the steps of how to do it with any of your 5 senses, you’re doing it wrong.

2. Practice focusing on what has happened, then only on what could happen. You could go long range and review how your entire past life affects you today and/or have a regular review of what has happened recently. Use your Ti to figure out the cause of why mistakes happened or figure out new practical ideas on what to do next.

3. Practice sticking around with projects a little bit more. Not to levels of perfection — that’s too much for your level, but when your boredom is wavering, try holding on for a little more and more over time.

4. Whenever you’re introduced to an abstract idea such as some psychological theory about humanity or philosophical concept, try to write down examples of this you see in your own life or other’s lives you know.

5. Practice making repetitive healthy habits — even small ones — to train your discipline in some way. Such as having a short exercise or at least a few minutes working on some life purpose project. See https://jamesclear.com/ for more discipline advice.


“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” 
― Socrates

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18 hours ago, Antonius said:

@Joseph Maynor It's insane how accurate that list of traits is.

I never thought about this stuff too much, but now I noticed that I've mostly been developing my weakest traits (Feeling and sensing). Do you think we should focus on developing our weaknesses as much as using our strengths?

Not Joseph Maynor, but I’ve been using mbti for a few years as an INTP myself. So I can suggest something here.

Developing your strengths is actually essential to developing your weaknesses well in mbti. If you don’t develop your strengths, your weaknesses will be used in an unhealthy way. What do I mean by that?

If you skip learning sensing before intuition or use SI before Ne, you risk being too stuck in your own past. Ti’s function requires new ideas with Ne, and Si is needed to further review those ideas in detail in how it’s used over time practically, and to have more experimental point of views on ideas rather than just theoretical. If there’s no Ne stage, all you’re doing is reviewing old experiences over and over again with no insight.

Even worse, if you skip to Fe too soon, it often means using Fe to unhealthily look for “the one true love”, “gain fame and fortune”, “Fix the entire world (which is impossible)”. get overemotional or something else. Without Si developed first, there’s not much enough practical experience with other people to ground us to not do something unhelpful with our own feeling side.  

Not that you shouldn’t develop weaknesses at all — at some amount you can as we ideally need a level of well roundedness to work at our highest, but the basics are better off mastered first. Even I still have trouble with Fe well, so good luck on that.

Edited by WaterfallMachine

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” 
― Socrates

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Guys as an INTP I have one precious recommendation for the fellow INTPs: Travel as much as you can! And read books! It will grow you the most! It will broaden your big picture understanding.

Edited by egoless

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Moreover this is my theory. I don’t have any solid argumentations for this but I consider INTP types as rge most “gifted” out of all to seek and become Enlightened. The desire for Truth is inherent in us.

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