intj-hacks

5 INTJ Hacks

 

1. Use your intellect and observational skills to improve your daily social interactions.

One of the most common difficulties for INTJs is feeling like they don’t fit into society. Usually, INTJs don’t really understand where other people are coming from. To compound the situation, other people don’t understand the INTJ, either.

There’s an easy way you can improve this for yourself. As an INTJ, you have the intellectual ability and keen observational skills to quickly identify other people’s personality types. If you study the 16 personality types, even briefly, you’ll quickly start to understand much more about how and why people are the way they are. You might even be able to figure out their type on the spot.

Once you can identify a person’s personality type, you’ll immediately be able to modify your approach to that person. For example, let’s say you have a design client and you realize that it’s impossible for her to visualize a design concept (a typical limitation of S types). You can save a lot of energy by sketching out your idea to show her a physical representation of it.
This can be a fun exercise, and the more you learn about personality type, the easier it will be to identify the best way to get through to people. It doesn’t even require that you change anything about yourself. It’s all about observing others and using their personality traits.

 

2. This may seem counter-intuitive, but attempt to be less clingy in relationships.

Severely introverted types who spend a lot of time alone also love having a few close, intimate relationships, especially with those one or two people that they can really count on. These relationships can be family members, close friends, or romantic in nature.

INTJs and other introverts might find themselves intensely clinging to a close relationship. They usually pride themselves on their cool detachment, but will come to realize that they secretly need this close relationship in their lives. This is especially true for those who feel like they usually can’t find solid connections with other people. When a connection is made, they worry about losing it. That can lead to co-dependence or smothering behavior.
If you identify this in one of your relationships, step back and apply your usual logic and detachment to the situation.

 

3. If you have trouble with networking, narrow your focus.

INTJs usually experience difficulty with meeting new people or interacting in a large group, such as a party or networking event. You might wonder how you can ever learn to thrive in this kind of situation when it’s goes against all your natural instincts.
The trick is to play to your strengths. Don’t expect yourself to wow the entire crowd with charisma and a compelling story. Leave that to the extraverts. Instead, choose one or two people to focus on. If you can identify a few people who you’d really like to speak with, put your focus on them. INTJs perform just fine in one-on-one conversations.

 

4. If something has captured your interest, stick with it.

INTJs are curious about the world, but they have a tendency to jump from one project to another. After they become interested in a topic, they learn just enough to satisfy their curiosity and then dump it for the next interesting thing. If you’ve followed this pattern, you might have picked up a lot of surface-level knowledge about a variety of topics, but not much in-depth understanding about them.

Many studies and anecdotal evidence has shown that the most successful businesses and entrepreneurs are those that stuck with their idea. It seems that long-term persistence is a better indicator of success than factors like intelligence or education (See our GRIT post about how to develop you persistence!). You can apply this to anything in your life, not just business—your relationships, hobbies, or fitness, as examples.

5-intj-hacks

 

5. Recognize your weaknesses, but don’t let anyone tell you to change yourself.

Every personality type has strengths and weaknesses, and it’s useful to understand these as a way to improve yourself. However, if you read a lot of material about the INTJ personality type, you’ll probably feel like there’s a lot of time spent telling INTJs to “fix” themselves, or mold themselves to better fit into society.

For example, one of the most typically-cited INTJ weakness is a lack of understanding of how they come across to others. Have you ever been told that you lack tact, or that you’re too blunt? If you’re an INTJ, you’ve probably heard something like that quite a few times.
You can use your judgement to decide when to lay out the truth and when to hold back, but don’t feel like you should change your personality just because you’re more direct than other people. In many circumstances, you certainly should monitor yourself and attempt to be polite. But sometimes, the people in your life will greatly benefit from your direct, no-nonsense approach.

 

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