INTP Success

[Toad]

What do you guys think of these 10 steps for INTP success? I think they are pretty good right? I think step 7 would be the best advice for me.

Ten Rules to Live By to Achieve INTP Success

1. Feed Your Strengths! Realize your gift at mastering logical problems and situations, and give yourself plenty of opportunities to exercise your abilities. Much of your sense of well-being will come from these experiences.

2. Face Your Weaknesses! We all have weaknesses. Recognizing your weaknesses for what they are (without beating yourself up) will give you the power to change your life for the better.

3. Talk About Your Thoughts. Discussing your ideas and perceptions with others will help you to develop your Extraverted INtuition, and thus your understanding of the world. How well you use your auxiliary function is very important to your overall health and happiness.

4. Listen to Everything Try not to dismiss anything immediately. Let it soak in, and then apply judgement. Try not to dismiss things that are alogical - they are not illogical.

5. Be Aware of Others Understand that everyone has their own lives and their own perspectives. Everyone has something to offer. Try to identify people's personality type.

6. Recognize Social Principles. Realize that our society functions around some basic social principles, and that our society would fail unless those principles are recognized and upheld. In a democracy, people vote. At a red stoplight, people stop. If people stopped voting because it wasn't important them, who would be in power? If people stopped stopping at red stop lights because it didn't fit into their plans, how could we drive safely? Your priorities and plans are important, but you must recognize that the external world's agenda is also important. Don't dismiss the importance of principles that don't affect your life directly.

7. Get Out of Your Comfort Zone Understand that the only way to grow is to get outside of your comfort zone. If you're uncomfortable with an idea or situation because you're not sure how to act, that's good! That's an opportunity for growth.

8. Identify and Express Your Feelings You may have a hard time understanding how you feel about someone. It's important that you do figure this out. Don't lead someone on with your ambivalence. If you determine that you value the person, tell them so every time you think of it. This is the best way to make them feel secure in your affections, and so to promote a long-lasting relationship.

9. Be Accountable for Yourself Remember that no one has more control over your life than you have. Don't be a victim.

10. Assume the Best. Don't distress yourself with fear and dark expectations. Remember that a positive attitude often creates positive situations.

 

[Luzian]

I think you need to explain why each of these promote success.

 

[Toad]

LoL, well it's self-explanatory in my opinion. But here's a link you can read if you want: http://www.personalitypage.com/INTP_per.html

 

[preilemus]

i dont think hes the one who came up with these. nevertheless, i would also like to know why

 

[Toad]

I didn't come up with it. It came from http://www.personalitypage.com/INTP_per.html

I would say if you read the whole thing you would agree. Well I agree 100% and so I am going to start working on these traits. I mean they are pretty logical things to consider.

 

[Beat Mango]

What do I think? I think it's pretty low-level stuff, to be honest.

If people stopped stopping at red stop lights because it didn't fit into their plans, how could we drive safely?

OMG I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT! Honestly, that's insulting.

 

[Toad]

This is my favorite quote from that page "Your task, as a person interested in personal growth, is to understand the world in a truly objective fashion, and how you fit into the world, rather than how the world fits into your life. "

I think as INTP's we tend to run away from the world too much. We blame it on being "INTP" but I think if we want to be better people in general regardless of "types" we need to figure out a way to be able to interact or "fit in" with the world. I hate conformity as much as the next guy, but I would say this is more like making the world think we are conforming too get the world to trust us and then we take over and control them.

 

[Razare]

Give SlyGuy a break, he's just trying to figure out his INTP-ness.

But let me trash on some of these "guidelines for success" because I'm in that mood...


1. Feed Your Strengths!

Trash - I'm good at logic, great, but rationally speaking it does very little for me in my life. It may provide me with a secure job, but that's it really. Logic just clutters the world of social relationships and seems to hinder progress in all that I attempt to do. The logical thing never seems to be the right thing.

2. Face Your Weaknesses! .... ehh I guess. I accept every flaw that is me, but I tend to own my flaws like badges of honor. It's who I am, trying to sit there quibbling over becoming a better person by attempting to rectify my flaws seems like it's doomed to failure. Everyone's flawed, just don't let any one flaw control you. Focusing on a flaw is apt to lead to that very behavior which we should avoid.

3. Talk About Your Thoughts.

Trash - I did this when I was young and naive. All the feeling types scratch their heads wondering what escaped my lips, as if it was some ghastly incomprehensible fart emitted from my mouth. The thinking types sometimes understand, but sometimes don't, yet thinking types all have their own point of view and are unlikely just to agree with you on the spot. Unless you're looking for a good debate (which can be fun), speaking your thoughts causes trouble all too often. This is unless you know your company well.

4. Listen to Everything ...

Hmm...... okay advice.

5. Be Aware of Others Understand that everyone has their own lives...

*thumbs up*

6. Recognize Social Principles. Stop lights, ect. ect...

Trash - I love this example because for a time, I did in fact stop stopping at red stop lights. It was great to no longer to be confined by those silly lights in the sky, that attempted to dominate my behavior. I looked in all directions and made sure it was safe, and then went. How does this machine know when I should stop and go? What if there's someone who is going to run the red light, but because I rely upon the light, I don't see this person not slowing down? We should just all blindly follow the light, like little bugs in an ant colony?

Basically I stopped doing it because the cops will pull me over one day and give me an insane fine and I'd rather avoid that. It was fun while it lasted, though!

Screw social principles, I find them to be insulting. They exists so those insecure Sensing / Judging types that dominate society can feel better about themselves. I don't play their little game and never will.

I will only follow a social principle if I know a person I care about values it. I do it for them, while recognizing the principle is part of some little ideal world constructed in their mind. Violating it is like tossing cold water on their face, wakes them up, but doesn't mean they like you for it.

7. Get Out of Your Comfort Zone...

If you're interested in doing something, I don't see what holds you back? People convincing me I should be doing things I wont enjoy is silly, but they try. If you're not doing things you want to do, then yes, take this advice to heart. Yet if you're invited to a party, and really... you just don't want to go, then don't go! (Unless you're upholding principle #6 above.)

8. Identify and Express Your Feelings You may have a hard time understanding how you feel about someone.

Pass.

9. Be Accountable for Yourself Remember that no one has more control over your life than you have. Don't be a victim.

I believe in absolute destiny down to the subatomic particle level and beyond, we are all victims of the beginning of time.

10. Assume the Best. Don't distress yourself with fear and dark expectations. Remember that a positive attitude often creates positive situations.

Trash - Psychologists analyze what is a "healthy mind". Part of this analysis produces interesting results, as my psychology teacher in high school once said, "People who blame others for their problems often have less stress and feel better about themselves, according to some study." (I paraphrased.)

Statements like that make me want to pursue the furthest thing from a healthy mind. A mature mind involves some level of pain and torment to reach that maturity. It doesn't happen when you live some fairy-tale existence in which you assume good things happen and they sometimes happen. They usually don't happen, so why not begin planning ahead of it all, accepting successes and failures?

I love to invest and trade. This mentality of assume the best would be so detrimental to investing that I would tell anyone who possessed this trait to never trade stocks. Assuming the best wont make your stock go higher, just like it doesn't bring a lot of other hopes into fruition.

Instead, what it sets you up for is consistent and repeated disappointment. As an INTP, you have an excellent imagination of what "could be" which is something the person who wrote this "advice" probably does not possess. What a Sensing / Judging type fathoms to be possible and hopes for is different than what a Intuition / Perceiving type fathoms and hopes for. Reality can never live up to my imagination, especially when I go around expecting it to. Figure out what is most probable in a situation and assume that is what will happen, you will be pleasantly surprised when it turns out better. You'll also be more prepared and less disappointed when it turns out worse.

 

[Prof_Pointless]

I would summarize this all into one rule that I think accurately conveys the gist of it:

1. Try to be successful

 

[Toad]

I would summarize this all into one rule that I think accurately conveys the gist of it:

1. Try to be successful

But the problem, you see, is that INTP's aren't naturally prone to what society defines as "successful" traits. So if we want to be successful in the world we have to try to conform to their standards?

Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

[truthseeker72]

A lot of INTP's underestimate how much their qualities are actually valued. In other words, we sell ourselves short. Nobody represents the "total package." E's have trouble performing sustained tasks by themselves; S's don't see patterns or deeper meanings; F's make irrational, impulsive decisions, J's can be closed-minded and impatient (the belief that J's "get things done" is simplistic and misleading). My advice to INTP's is to take pride in our strengths, and stop dwelling so much on our shortcomings.

 

[Ermine]

There's more than one "successful" that the world will recognize. For example, Jesus. If you think about it, he was poor, virtually homeless when he grew older, didn't have a wife and kids, didn't care much about money, didn't conform, etc. Conventionally very unsuccessful, but he is recognized as very successful all the same.

I say you should just do what you do best while trying to strengthen your weaknesses.

 

[Auburn]

There's more than one "successful" that the world will recognize. For example, Jesus. If you think about it, he was poor, virtually homeless when he grew older, didn't have a wife and kids, didn't care much about money, didn't conform, etc. Conventionally very unsuccessful, but he is recognized as very successful all the same.

I say you should just do what you do best while trying to strengthen your weaknesses.

Agree 100%!

I think one doesn't need to strive for society's definition of success, but their own. This may translate into the complete opposite of what is conventionally considered successful. If success is defined as achieving your goal, then what "success" is varies radically from person to person.

I think a successful INTP (or any type) is one who achieves their own personal goals, whatever that may be. This is why making a list of what success means seems inaccurate to me...

 

[Toad]

But shouldn't we look at our weaknesses to try to improve them and become the whole package?

Ideally if each type could build up their weaknesses we could make a super type with every single letter. EINSTFJP!!!

LoL...well that's a little silly, but I do think that we should develop our weaknesses.