Need some career advice

[flare]

Hey guys! I am 24 years old and I found out 2 weeks ago that I am a INTP 100%. When I first read the INTP book from Personality Junkie, I couldn't believe how well it represented me. It was like all my jumbled thoughts were ordered and written.

All this made me realize a lot of my career elections. It was clear that took a lot of decisions because of my inferior function (getting away from computers, dreaming of being a business man/sales person, etc.). I was very depressed for some years, because I could not find anything to put my efforts on, something that I was really passionate about.

Nevertheless, I kind of found a right path one and a half year ago: Internet Marketing. I thought that it wasn't the best thing on the world but that if I worked hard enough it would let me become financially independent and free my time to do whatever I want.
After a few failed projects, I managed to enter in one of the top SEO (search engine optimization) agencies in LATAM (I am from Argentina). SEO was always presented like something mysterious, and I thought that if I could reveal its truth I could manage to earn o 5-10k and living the dream (in my country, a salary of 5000 dollars its huge).

I started this work in April. After a few months in this agency and already cracked out the SEO mystery, I am bored to death. The job is "great", I manage the campaigns for some of the biggest companies in the world and I already been ascended and coordinate a team. BUT I really don’t like at all my day to day tasks. I only like the brainstorming meetings where we have to come to an original idea or resolve a problem.

All this got me thinking if I should try a career change. I think (after a lot of experience) that the IT world would be suited better to my personality, although I am not sure if it not another “flash interest”. The only thing I keep wondering if it is the right choice to start a programming/SD career from scratch at the age of 24/25 or would it be better to stay in the marketing world and try to do a financial difference and get some freedom. The other thing is, I am not sure If I would be successful in the marketing world, since I am not interested in it anymore and I tent to do a mediocre (in my view at least) work.

So, what would you do in my position?

Follow a new and promising career path (low income, at least at first) OR maintaining my actual job and trying to achieve some financial freedom?

Thanks in advance!
I am glad I found this forum

P.D.: Sorry for my bad english

 

[Inquisitor]

Hey guys! I am 24 years old and I found out 2 weeks ago that I am a INTP 100%. When I first read the INTP book from Personality Junkie, I couldn't believe how well it represented me. It was like all my jumbled thoughts were ordered and written.

All this made me realize a lot of my career elections. It was clear that took a lot of decisions because of my inferior function (getting away from computers, dreaming of being a business man/sales person, etc.). I was very depressed for some years, because I could not find anything to put my efforts on, something that I was really passionate about.

Nevertheless, I kind of found a right path one and a half year ago: Internet Marketing. I thought that it wasn't the best thing on the world but that if I worked hard enough it would let me become financially independent and free my time to do whatever I want.
After a few failed projects, I managed to enter in one of the top SEO (search engine optimization) agencies in LATAM (I am from Argentina). SEO was always presented like something mysterious, and I thought that if I could reveal its truth I could manage to earn o 5-10k and living the dream (in my country, a salary of 5000 dollars its huge).

I started this work in April. After a few months in this agency and already cracked out the SEO mystery, I am bored to death. The job is "great", I manage the campaigns for some of the biggest companies in the world and I already been ascended and coordinate a team. BUT I really don’t like at all my day to day tasks. I only like the brainstorming meetings where we have to come to an original idea or resolve a problem.

All this got me thinking if I should try a career change. I think (after a lot of experience) that the IT world would be suited better to my personality, although I am not sure if it not another “flash interest”. The only thing I keep wondering if it is the right choice to start a programming/SD career from scratch at the age of 24/25 or would it be better to stay in the marketing world and try to do a financial difference and get some freedom. The other thing is, I am not sure If I would be successful in the marketing world, since I am not interested in it anymore and I tent to do a mediocre (in my view at least) work.

So, what would you do in my position?

Follow a new and promising career path (low income, at least at first) OR maintaining my actual job and trying to achieve some financial freedom?

Thanks in advance!
I am glad I found this forum

P.D.: Sorry for my bad english

Your English is quite good. I'm 30 and going back to school to get a second bachelor's in computer science. It's not too late. I was an ESL teacher for many years before this.

In the past, my inferior Fe has led me to apply to medical school, dream of working for the World Bank to help poor people in third world countries, and see myself working as an MSF/Doctors without Borders physician. Every time I thought of these possibilities, I would get caught "in the grip" of Fe and basically feel emotionally paralyzed.

I'm re-reading Jung's Psychological Types now, and the best way I know to manage Fe is like someone else on here mentioned (Architect): keep it in a cage and feed it scraps of meat once in awhile. What does that mean? Make sure you do enough socializing and engage in activities that appeal to Fe.

As for your job situation. Go get another degree in something related to computers. Forget the "financial freedom" for now. You're too young. Job satisfaction >> money.

Good luck.

 

[Architect]

I'm re-reading Jung's Psychological Types now, and the best way I know to manage Fe is like someone else on here mentioned (Architect): keep it in a cage and feed it scraps of meat once in awhile. What does that mean? Make sure you do enough socializing and engage in activities that appeal to Fe.

Hmm, not quite. Using your analogy I think it would turn your inferior into some kind of caged beast; by controlling it you give it opportunity to break out and take over. Maybe you didn't really mean it, but some kind of an adversarial relationship isn't the optimal approach.

A better way is to integrate it into your work in a small, distant way. For example you're taking an excellent path with CS. Your top three functions will fully engage with this work; analyzing systems (Ti), developing new ideas (Ne) and using the vast knowledge of the field (Si). Additionally make sure to have a developed sense of who you are doing it for - namely other people. Due to fierce independence INTP's tend to work "by, for and ultimately to please" themselves, but working with the goal of helping (distant) other people supports and brings your inferior into your main program.

Small example, my day job work is used to help planes land safely (among many other applications). I don't think about that a lot, but it warms me a bit to recall that I'm helping the greater human condition in this way. And as I do my work I constantly remind myself that ultimately the goal is for this to get into the hands of somebody else.

 

[Analyzer]

In the past, my inferior Fe .... dream of working for the World Bank to help poor people in third world countries,

LOL. Glad to hear that didn't go through.

 

[Inquisitor]

Hmm, not quite. Using your analogy I think it would turn your inferior into some kind of caged beast; by controlling it you give it opportunity to break out and take over. Maybe you didn't really mean it, but some kind of an adversarial relationship isn't the optimal approach.

This is not really what I meant. The metaphor here is basically just a way to describe a primitive animal that needs occasional feeding. The cage might be more like a "habitat" if you will but it is in a psychic enclosure of sorts because we both know from past experience that if we indulge it too much, it can lead us to engage in activities/roles that we are not really suited for ---> stress/exhaustion (among other things). I'm not advocating an adversarial relationship with Fe by any means, but the enclosure itself can simply be the recognition that it is an important part of us that must neither be repressed nor indulged to any great extent. What "any great extent" means will vary for each of us.

A better way is to integrate it into your work in a small, distant way. For example you're taking an excellent path with CS. Your top three functions will fully engage with this work; analyzing systems (Ti), developing new ideas (Ne) and using the vast knowledge of the field (Si). Additionally make sure to have a developed sense of who you are doing it for - namely other people. Due to fierce independence INTP's tend to work "by, for and ultimately to please" themselves, but working with the goal of helping (distant) other people supports and brings your inferior into your main program.

Yes this is true, and it does seem to work.

Small example, my day job work is used to help planes land safely (among many other applications). I don't think about that a lot, but it warms me a bit to recall that I'm helping the greater human condition in this way. And as I do my work I constantly remind myself that ultimately the goal is for this to get into the hands of somebody else.

I can totally see this.

One thing I would say though is that if I have not gotten enough socializing, it seems Fe tends to act out more. The specific manifestation is I have more difficulty concentrating on/valuing the technical stuff. It's also more difficult in school sometimes to see how studying something ultra-technical is helping humanity as a whole. I know that down the line, what I'm studying now will allow me to engage in projects that hopefully benefit other people, but the directness is somehow lacking if that makes sense.

I'm not a family man like you, but I'm not sure if the need for small amounts of social contact can be ascribed to Fe or not. It may be more fundamental than that and relate to extraversion as a whole.

The other thing I found interesting is that you mentioned that playing music was at one point your passion, and you ascribed that to Fe. You also said that listening to music somehow feeds your Fe. I never really related to that (maybe it's because I was forced to play piano from age 6-12).

I don't really enjoy listening to music that much. Sometimes I would listen to a song that reminds me of something that happened long ago, and I would use the music as a channel for nostalgic sentiments. That has diminished though too. So that's why I said that there are likely to be differences in terms of which activities appeal to Fe for each of us. For instance, I wanted to go into medicine, work in development economics (microfinance/poverty alleviation), and pursue a career related to saving the environment among other things. In fact, I still get these sentiments sometimes! But at heart, I'm convinced it's just Fe.

Notice that Jung also said in one of his descriptions of introverts:

In every case there is only a meagre participation in external life and a distinct tendency to solitude and fear of other people, often compensated by a special love of animals and plants.

So Fe would seem to relate not only to humanity as a whole but to the environment and animals as well.

 

[EditorOne]

Flare: I'm generalizing here, but one of the things that INTPs experience is just what you fear, you're passionately interested in something until you figure it out and then you're bored. Sometimes the cycle is short, sometimes long.

Don't fear it, embrace it. You're also kind of hard-wired to enjoy learning how things work.

Another perhaps comforting generalization: Nobody much stays in one job, or even one field, forever these days. That's how it was for our parents and grandparents, but I read something in the last couple of years that college graduates today can expect to have five job changes, at least, over their 40 or so years of work. Other personality types have a lot more difficulty with that kind of challenge than we do; we're like "Bring it on!"

 

[Architect]

This is not really what I meant. The metaphor here is basically just a way to describe a primitive animal that needs occasional feeding. The cage might be more like a "habitat" if you will but it is in a psychic enclosure of sorts because we both know from past experience that if we indulge it too much, it can lead us to engage in activities/roles that we are not really suited for ---> stress/exhaustion (among other things). I'm not advocating an adversarial relationship with Fe by any means, but the enclosure itself can simply be the recognition that it is an important part of us that must neither be repressed nor indulged to any great extent. What "any great extent" means will vary for each of us.

Ok makes sense. But I think I have a different relationship with it, it's more a part of me, although a small part. Probably has to do with being older

The other thing I found interesting is that you mentioned that playing music was at one point your passion, and you ascribed that to Fe. You also said that listening to music somehow feeds your Fe. I never really related to that (maybe it's because I was forced to play piano from age 6-12).

Yeah a music teacher told me that once it gets into your soul it never leaves, which is true

Notice that Jung also said in one of his descriptions of introverts:

Don't know what to make of that

 

[Architect]

Flare: I'm generalizing here, but one of the things that INTPs experience is just what you fear, you're passionately interested in something until you figure it out and then you're bored. Sometimes the cycle is short, sometimes long.

Don't fear it, embrace it. You're also kind of hard-wired to enjoy learning how things work.

Ah, but what do you do if you've explored it all, or at least everything worth exploring?

Another perhaps comforting generalization: Nobody much stays in one job, or even one field, forever these days. That's how it was for our parents and grandparents, but I read something in the last couple of years that college graduates today can expect to have five job changes, at least, over their 40 or so years of work. Other personality types have a lot more difficulty with that kind of challenge than we do; we're like "Bring it on!"

I think the idea that people change careers frequently is less common than imagined

 

[flare]

Thanks for the responses!

My deepest fear is to start a new career in the IT field and to become bored again after a couple of years (if not less). My biggest concern is that I love to be outdoors (not all day, but I need a couple of hours doing some outdoor activity) and I fell that with a programming career this would be impossible.

On the other hand, I understand that I could be a scanner person (from the book "Refuse to chose!"). A person who has very wide interests but is unlikely to specialize in any of them (I really like music, economics, sociology, philosophy, statistic, spiritual stuff, etc. and I LOVE sports) but I dont manage to see how can a I make a decent living (yes, $$$) without specializing in any of those subjects.

Regarding to your discussions about feeding the inferior Fe, I think I do that through music and sports. I really get very emotional with music (thing like the auditions from the reality music shows) and with the sacrifice in sports (sport motivational videos also get me very emotional). I love to feel that I have no energy left and still pushing harder to achieve my goal (only in sports, I cant translate that to other aspects of my life).

It would be my third career change (first finance, then marketing now IT) but I really cant stand doing something I am not interesete about.

 

[EditorOne]

"Ah, but what do you do if you've explored it all, or at least everything worth exploring?" - Architect

I haven't run out of things yet.

 

[Sixup]

OP if you're making good money, be smart with it and you can have financial freedom relatively quickly. I don't know the specifics of income and investing in Argentina, but if you can save and invest 65-80% of your income you can live off your investment in 7-12 years.

So if what you're making is really a good amount, you can probably very easily live off 25% of it, bank the rest, and be 'retired' in 10 years or less. 34 and no need to work, sounds good to me.

Anyway, that's what I'd do if I had a good paying job and was bored. Financially anyway. Check out mrmoneymustache.com for more on this stuff.

Now to address the boredom...you can study or play around with whatever topic really interests you on the side. Why are you bored with SEO? You must have had some interest in it before. What happened? How can you re-spark that interest. Can you go deeper into learning it? There's always more you can learn. Get creative. Can you move to a different team? Can you work a different angle? Can you add other elements?

Worst case: just wait till Google changes it's algorithms again and you'll have more stuff to 'crack'.

It sounds more like you have a case of grass-is-greener syndrome. You're stuck in an office so you want to go outside, be physical. Tip: Do that on your off time. If you're an INTP you probably won't enjoy something physical as a job that you -have- to do to survive. Then you'll wish you were back in your cushy office making good money again and retiring soon.

 

[flare]

OP if you're making good money, be smart with it and you can have financial freedom relatively quickly. I don't know the specifics of income and investing in Argentina, but if you can save and invest 65-80% of your income you can live off your investment in 7-12 years.

So if what you're making is really a good amount, you can probably very easily live off 25% of it, bank the rest, and be 'retired' in 10 years or less. 34 and no need to work, sounds good to me.

I am not making good money right now. In fact, my salary relatively low. But I know that if I work hard enough making some good connections I could manage to do some good money working as a independent consultant. The problem: I don´t like networking, and more important and I wouldn't like the job either.

Why are you bored with SEO? You must have had some interest in it before. What happened? How can you re-spark that interest. Can you go deeper into learning it? There's always more you can learn. Get creative. Can you move to a different team? Can you work a different angle? Can you add other elements?

Worst case: just wait till Google changes it's algorithms again and you'll have more stuff to 'crack'.

The things I hate about SEO:

- It is impossible to find a truth (Ti?). There are more than 200+ ranking factor, all interconnected with each other, and it is impossible to get some good conclusions.

- The only way to make some assumptions of what works and whats not is to experiment through making changes to lots of sites and wait 1-2 week to see what happen. I hate conducting this experiments and the results are often inconclusive because of the previous reason.

- I have to interact with clients ALL the time. Moreover, I have to lie most of the time to clients, saying what is gonna work, when I dont really now really whats is gonna happen. When we are no delivering results, I also have to lie to them.

- Nowadays SEO is more like a normal marketing campaign. Google has become so intelligent that there are no long term ways to cheat him. I kind of like to plan the marketing strategy, but implementing it? I really hate that.

- Since I dont really like the job, I am doing a mediocre (everyone else thing is good) job, and I hate working like that.

It sounds more like you have a case of grass-is-greener syndrome. You're stuck in an office so you want to go outside, be physical. Tip: Do that on your off time. If you're an INTP you probably won't enjoy something physical as a job that you -have- to do to survive. Then you'll wish you were back in your cushy office making good money again and retiring soon.

I am not sure about that. Doing sports is really a need to me. I really feel a little depressed when I haven't done any type of outdoor activity in the whole day.

 

[Inquisitor]

I am not sure about that. Doing sports is really a need to me. I really feel a little depressed when I haven't done any type of outdoor activity in the whole day.

My personal experience is that I have never met an INTP that loves sports/exercise (myself included). This raises some question marks for me about your type...I'm not saying your are definitely not an INTP, it just makes this type seem less likely...

Would you mind describing your physical appearance in terms of endomorphic, mesomorphic, ectomorphic?

Also see my post at the bottom of this page. Where is your ear located on the side of your head?

I know it's a strange question, but I believe physical constitution is a fairly accurate way to help predict type.

 

[Sixup]

Oh I see, I thought you were already at this level:

and I thought that if I could reveal its truth I could manage to earn o 5-10k and living the dream (in my country, a salary of 5000 dollars its huge).

So my advice was based on already making huge money.

So if that's not the case, and you really hate what you do, then it makes sense to try to move into something you moderately like that pays better.

 

[flare]

My personal experience is that I have never met an INTP that loves sports/exercise (myself included). This raises some question marks for me about your type...I'm not saying your are definitely not an INTP, it just makes this type seem less likely...

Would you mind describing your physical appearance in terms of endomorphic, mesomorphic, ectomorphic?

Also see my post at the bottom of this page. Where is your ear located on the side of your head?

I know it's a strange question, but I believe physical constitution is a fairly accurate way to help predict type.

I am pretty sure I am an INTP. Except for the sport part, I match 100% with the INTP description. As I said in my original post, it was amazing to read the INTP book from PJ and feel myself perfect described.

 

[Inquisitor]

I am pretty sure I am an INTP. Except for the sport part, I match 100% with the INTP description. As I said in my original post, it was amazing to read the INTP book from PJ and feel myself perfect described.

Which physical category do you fall into? Ectomorph, Mesomorph, or Endomorph? See my previous post.

 

[Haim]

My personal experience is that I have never met an INTP that loves sports/exercise (myself included). This raises some question marks for me about your type...I'm not saying your are definitely not an INTP, it just makes this type seem less likely...

Would you mind describing your physical appearance in terms of endomorphic, mesomorphic, ectomorphic?

Also see my post at the bottom of this page. Where is your ear located on the side of your head?

I know it's a strange question, but I believe physical constitution is a fairly accurate way to help predict type.

Do intp really hate sport or group sport?
What about:martial art,ping pong,running,hiking,swimming,tennis.
I think body shape have nothing to do with mtbi,nor what you do.
I think MTBI is your way of thinking.

 

[Architect]

Do intp really hate sport or group sport?
What about:martial art,ping pong,running,hiking,swimming,tennis.
I think body shape have nothing to do with mtbi,nor what you do.
I think MTBI is your way of thinking.

No MBTI describes fundamental motivations in the human psyche. It couldn't be easier to verify; some people get energized by being around lots of people (E), others get drained (I). If you're a student of human observational behavior you see everybody following these low level motivations.

Theoretically INTP's would have zero motivation for group sports, or sports in general which involve Se which is way off in the trickster position. This shows up in a certain physical deviancy you can observe with INFP's and INTP's, I can supply examples. Additionally INTP's, due to independence minded Ti/Ne, abhor groups generally, so you wouldn't expect to see an interest in sports, except possible some solo sports such as running or cycling.*

Experimentally I've observed exactly this, INTP's either do as little as possible, or at most take up running and cycling. The former usually if they want to get the physical and health benefits of exercise, and they also use the time to think which running is excellent for. The latter INTP's who get into cycling usually approach it from an independence standpoint, using it as a way be independent of car culture, etc. There's also a thinking aspect to cycling.

I suppose an INTP could get into martial arts perhaps, I and a few other INTP's I know tried it and dropped out due to the excessive need to practice. But general sports? There's many reasons why an INTP would have little interest in it.

As for the profiles - those can fit INTJ's and ISTP's pretty well too. The best way to see your type is to examine the functions.

* There was some big sports guy here a few months back claiming to be an INTP. Said he wrote a multi page document proving why sports mixes well with INTP's. I was interested in seeing it, but he ... disappeared. I can only expect that he wasn't able to prove his case, and perhaps figured out a few things about himself, like perhaps he wasn't an INTP after all.

 

[flare]

I find really interesting to have this debate about sports, because since reading a lot of articles, books, etc. the only aspect I don't feel related with this one.

I will try to express what I think about sports and moreover what I FEEL, maybe this way we can drag some conclusions.

First of all, I think sports generates a lot of chemical reactions in the body and brain (for example dopamine) which makes one feel good after the activity. IMO this hasn't to do with personality types, but to the way our body works. This will explain (at least in my case) why I feel so good, relaxed after engaging any kind of sport activity.

On the other hand, I think we have to take in account that although we all can be INTPs, we all also have a different "combination" of functions. In my case is the following:

Introverted: 50%
Intuitive: 94%
Thinking: 37%
Prospecting: 50%
Turbulent: 60%

(from 16personalities.com)

The third and last point I would like to analyze is how sports affect our inferior function Fe. As I wrote above, I get really motivated with any kind of videos or documentaries which show the sacrifice and the work one has to do your dreams. That really moves me. I still dont like to play a team sport where I dont know the majority of the participants, but I also fell good playing with a team of friends.

I think the combination of "happiness chemicals" + "Fe feeding" + "socializing with known people" = Love for sports

At least, this is the explanation I could find to my love for sports, since I really am related with the rest of the INTPs characteristics.

 

[Architect]

I think the combination of "happiness chemicals" + "Fe feeding" + "socializing with known people" = Love for sports

ISTP.

INTP's usually aren't that much into the 'body good feeling' stuff. My INTP son could care less. I exercise because it's good for me and let's met sit at the computer longer. If it wasn't for that I wouldn't do it, the 'runners high' isn't that interesting. I don't experience it, so much as say "oh, there's the runners high, that's what it feels like" from the outside a bit.

Socializing is similiar. My observations is that INTP's generally prefer to socialize in small bites over common interests. LIke gaming together, taking classes together, or at work. Especially once INTP's get home they very frequently closet themselves and don't want to socialize much, rather intermixing it with the daytime activities I outlined. I tried to take my INTP friend out to a concert for his 50th birtday and utterly failed (and perhaps damaged the relationship for even trying). For him socializing has to be entirely spontaneous (INTP's always dread events that are set at a given time). I'm a bit more relaxed about it due to my upbringing where he's more a canonical INTP.

Finally love for sports - what's there to love with sports for an INTP? The rules and game could be studied and understood in a short time. After that its just practice and tedious repetition, seeing more or less the same thing over and over. You have to be in the moment (Se/Si) and can't be a bystander, which is the INTP natural mode of being.

I'm around many ISTP's and many INTP's, they're very similiar. Brothers actually, and my brother happens to be an ISTP too. The sports/physical thing is the easiest way to see it, the INTP's are never into sports (especially team) and the ISTP's are.*

I suspect the numbers for INTP's (about 3% of the population) are a bit overstated, as I think other types too frequently identify as one. For contrast, I came to figure out I was an INTP (and my reaction was "oh damn") by way of INFJ and INTJ. People usually type themselves in their inferior at first (why I typed as INFJ) and so many ISTP's type themselves as their intuitive tertiary.


* There is a variant however, the chubby Trekker ISTP. Usually ISTP females tend to take this route.

 

[RaBind]

My own experience of frequently playing football casually with friends leads me to disagree that intps avoid taking part in group sports or see it in a negative light. I'll make points to justify my argument in the spoiler below.

Spoiler

+ I think group sports are a very good way of relieving the urge to utilize Fe (socialize) in an intp's everyday life.

Should INTPs Even Bother with Relationships?

Because of their Fe inferior, INTPs can enjoy being around people. Even if not directly engaging with them, they can feel enlivened by the background presence of others (assuming they are not perceived as obnoxious or intrusive). However, because of their dominant function’s penchant for inner control and autonomy (Ti), INTPs can be leery of making Fe commitments, which carry the potential to shackle their independence.

The question/title "Should INTPs Even Bother with Relationships?" isn't really relevant as it specifically addresses relationships. The answer however more generally addresses how intp's relate to other people in their lives.

Their Fe beckons them to seek some form of socialization, however the actual act of actively engaging in small talk, which is what the bulk of casual socialization consists of is seen as a trivial formality which is a nuisance. This often leads intps to take on the role of an observer, who occasionally bothers to contribute to the parts of the conversation they deem as being more interesting or important, sort of like an eavesdropper but one who is actually considered to be partaking in the group conversation.

In fact this role also suits the average forum user/simi-lurker near perfectly, and is perhaps why intps are more willing to partake and value forum interactions relatively highly.

+ The high that is achieved from taking part in sports is not a primary motivator, but it certainly is a positive contributor.

+ The dynamics of team sports are a bit more complex than how much credit it's been given. Sure the general rules are pretty straightforward, but as a participant of the game you become more interested in understanding it and it's principles, which fluctuate in terms of their importance, situationally. Being aware of your surroundings utilizes Se and is a huge part of the game, but I also find myself heavily using Ti (weigh different approaches to any given situation) and Ne (predict movements of players based on current trajectory, aiding ability to keep track of players in the field) to discern what is a good move and what isn't for any given individual given their circumstances.

A similar scenario is the general understanding of how the economy works as a whole vs understanding of the situation you are in as an individual player/actor and what is a good move and what isn't given the circumstances.

+ Sports is exercise and is a healthy thing to integrate into your everyday life

+ I lack the motivation to exercise regularly independently

+ I disregard any notion of taking on a sport as more than a casual hobby hence progress in terms of skill in itself is of little importance

+ I see no purpose in solitary sports as the goals are arbitrary, as in you set your own goals and have to self regulate

+ Not only is there no outside element that sets goals for you, but there is also no positive reinforcement for doing well as there is in competitive team sports, having a sense of being percieved as a good player, which the Fe craves. This goes along side the above point as reaching goals set by others as opposed to reaching those set by yourself have different significance especially to intps who are sensitive to doing well socially due to inferior Fe.

These are all points that can lead intps to develop an appreciation for competitive team sports. Therefore I don't think sports should be given so much weight in terms of personality type, especially not more so than just generally being well read on the cognitive functions. In this case in particular Ne-Si vs Se-Ni should be very easy for people to differentiate between if they do just a little bit of research on the cognitive functions in question.

 

[Inquisitor]

So flare, you didn't want to answer my question regarding your physical constitution...so I'll just tell you why I asked that.

INTP's fall firmly in the ectomorphic category. The ear is located fairly high up on the side of the head, as I referenced in a previous post. Some might say INTPs lie between ectomorphy and mesomorphy, but I would contend that they definitely are more on the ectomorphic side, but it is true they are not 100% ectomorph. Again, the ear placement is what you need to look at.

ISTPs on the other hand, are firmly in the mesomorphic category and tend to have more well-developed musculature (not because of exercise, but naturally). The other thing to consider is that ISTPs are highly practical individuals, meaning they are really good at (and usually interested in) taking things apart with their hands and putting them back together. High levels of dexterity and clear sense impression of objects make them excellent mechanics among other occupations. So if you have ever had an interest in tinkering with physical objects of any kind, I would say that is highly indicative of ISTP due to the Se.

In other news, as I was researching my response to this post, I found this very interesting little article related to computer vision: Recognition of Psychological Characteristics from Face

 

[flare]

One thing I forget to mention and find importante is that I am good at sports in general. I am also a very competitive person, so when you mix this two components I thing they are a great food for my Fe.

I really hate doing things with my hands, it would never cross my mind to disarm an electronic device. I hate doing any kind of fixes at home (call it plumbery, electricity, etc.).
Also, and paying tribute to my Ne, I have practiced lots of sports. Tennis, soccer, volleyball, handball, basketball, MMA, weight lifting, only to name a few.

Regarding my physical constitution, I would be a mix of meso and ectomorph.