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INTJIntrovertediNtuitiveThinkingJudging

INTJ
IntrovertediNtuitiveThinkingJudging
Tooutsiders,INTJsmayappeartoprojectanauraof"definiteness",ofselfconfidence.This
selfconfidence,sometimesmistakenforsimplearrogancebythelessdecisive,isactually
ofaveryspecificratherthanageneralnatureitssourceliesinthespecializedknowledge
systemsthatmostINTJsstartbuildingatanearlyage.Whenitcomestotheirownareasof
expertiseandINTJscanhaveseveraltheywillbeabletotellyoualmostimmediately
whetherornottheycanhelpyou,andifso,how.INTJsknowwhattheyknow,andperhaps
stillmoreimportantly,theyknowwhattheydon'tknow.
INTJsareperfectionists,withaseeminglyendlesscapacityforimprovinguponanything
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thattakestheirinterest.Whatpreventsthemfrombecomingchronicallyboggeddownin
thispursuitofperfectionisthepragmatismsocharacteristicofthetype:INTJsapply(often
ruthlessly)thecriterion"Doesitwork?"toeverythingfromtheirownresearcheffortstothe
prevailingsocialnorms.Thisinturnproducesanunusualindependenceofmind,freeing
theINTJfromtheconstraintsofauthority,convention,orsentimentforitsownsake.
INTJsareknownasthe"SystemsBuilders"ofthetypes,perhapsinpartbecausethey
possesstheunusualtraitcombinationofimaginationandreliability.Whateversysteman
INTJhappenstobeworkingonisforthemtheequivalentofamoralcausetoanINFJboth
perfectionismanddisregardforauthoritymaycomeintoplay,asINTJscanbeunsparingof
boththemselvesandtheothersontheproject.Anyoneconsideredtobe"slacking,"
includingsuperiors,willlosetheirrespectandwillgenerallybemadeawareofthisINTJs
havealsobeenknowntotakeituponthemselvestoimplementcriticaldecisionswithout
consultingtheirsupervisorsorcoworkers.Ontheotherhand,theydotendtobe
scrupulousandevenhandedaboutrecognizingtheindividualcontributionsthathavegone
intoaproject,andhaveagiftforseizingopportunitieswhichothersmightnotevennotice.
Inthebroadestterms,whatINTJs"do"tendstobewhatthey"know".TypicalINTJcareer
choicesareinthesciencesandengineering,buttheycanbefoundwherevera
combinationofintellectandincisivenessarerequired(e.g.,law,someareasofacademia).
INTJscanrisetomanagementpositionswhentheyarewillingtoinvesttimeinmarketing
theirabilitiesaswellasenhancingthem,and(whetherforthesakeofambitionorthe
desireforprivacy)manyalsofinditusefultolearntosimulatesomedegreeofsurface
conformisminordertomasktheirinherentunconventionality.
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INTJIntrovertediNtuitiveThinkingJudging

Personalrelationships,particularlyromanticones,canbetheINTJ'sAchillesheel.While
theyarecapableofcaringdeeplyforothers(usuallyaselectfew),andarewillingtospend
agreatdealoftimeandeffortonarelationship,theknowledgeandselfconfidencethat
makethemsosuccessfulinotherareascansuddenlyabandonormisleadthemin
interpersonalsituations.
ThishappensinpartbecausemanyINTJsdonotreadilygraspthesocialritualsfor
instance,theytendtohavelittlepatienceandlessunderstandingofsuchthingsassmall
talkandflirtation(whichmosttypesconsiderhalfthefunofarelationship).Tocomplicate
matters,INTJsareusuallyextremelyprivatepeople,andcanoftenbenaturallyimpassive
aswell,whichmakesthemeasytomisreadandmisunderstand.Perhapsthemost
fundamentalproblem,however,isthatINTJsreallywantpeopletomakesense.:)This
sometimesresultsinapeculiarnaivete',parallelingthatofmanyFsonlyinsteadof
expectinginexhaustibleaffectionandempathyfromaromanticrelationship,theINTJwill
expectinexhaustiblereasonabilityanddirectness.
ProbablythestrongestINTJassetsintheinterpersonalareaaretheirintuitiveabilitiesand
theirwillingnessto"workat"arelationship.AlthoughasTstheydonotalwayshavethekind
ofnaturalempathythatmanyFsdo,theIntuitivefunctioncanoftenactasagoodsubstitute
bysynthesizingtheprobablemeaningsbehindsuchthingsastoneofvoice,turnofphrase,
andfacialexpression.Thisabilitycanthenbehonedanddirectedbyconsistent,repeated
effortstounderstandandsupportthosetheycareabout,andthoserelationshipswhich
ultimatelydobecomeestablishedwithanINTJtendtobecharacterizedbytheir
robustness,stability,andgoodcommunications.
(INTJstandsforIntrovert,iNtuitive,Thinking,Judgingandrepresentsindividual's
preferencesinfourdimensionscharacterisingpersonalitytype,accordingtoJung'sand
BriggsMyers'theoriesofpersonalitytype.)

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