Wow, I wish I'd access to all the INTJ info that's available now. When Ijoied the workplace back in the early 80s I learned that I was much differen than most people, especially the other women I worked with. I looked down on gabby, emotional people. I enjoyed the men's company much more. I wondered what was wrong with me that I was so out of place. I labored under the conclusion that I was deficient in the emotional arena until my mid-thirties when I found out about MBTI. It was a complete paradigm shift. I finally knew that I was OK... just very different. I even started understand Fs. I eventually realized that I would need to create a personality to use when I was outside my head. It seemed like a sell out, dishonest and a rejection of my true self. But if I wanted to function at work, ouside of work and have any kind of relationship with my family, I had to do it. In the last 30 years, I learned to work with people, guessing their type and communication appropriately. I found that the personality I projected became somewhat true. I was exercising my non-preferred characteristics. It wasn't a false me, but a real me that needed to be worked out. While I still hate interruptions, talking on the phone, and gabby people, I've honed my intuition about people. I've learned that if I don't feel like talking to someone, I'll ask about them. Most Es and Fs love to talk about themselves. That way I don't have to talk. All I have to do is wait until they run out of steam. I've learned to paste that plastic smile, use "happy eyes", and nod at the right time. It was difficult and tiring but with practice it gets easier. And I have developed some pleasant relationships. Making their life easier makes my life easier.
Marcia Reisz (not verified)says...
Wow, I wish I'd access to all the INTJ info that's available now. When Ijoied the workplace back in the early 80s I learned that I was much differen than most people, especially the other women I worked with. I looked down on gabby, emotional people. I enjoyed the men's company much more. I wondered what was wrong with me that I was so out of place. I labored under the conclusion that I was deficient in the emotional arena until my mid-thirties when I found out about MBTI. It was a complete paradigm shift. I finally knew that I was OK... just very different. I even started understand Fs. I eventually realized that I would need to create a personality to use when I was outside my head. It seemed like a sell out, dishonest and a rejection of my true self. But if I wanted to function at work, ouside of work and have any kind of relationship with my family, I had to do it. In the last 30 years, I learned to work with people, guessing their type and communication appropriately. I found that the personality I projected became somewhat true. I was exercising my non-preferred characteristics. It wasn't a false me, but a real me that needed to be worked out. While I still hate interruptions, talking on the phone, and gabby people, I've honed my intuition about people. I've learned that if I don't feel like talking to someone, I'll ask about them. Most Es and Fs love to talk about themselves. That way I don't have to talk. All I have to do is wait until they run out of steam. I've learned to paste that plastic smile, use "happy eyes", and nod at the right time. It was difficult and tiring but with practice it gets easier. And I have developed some pleasant relationships. Making their life easier makes my life easier.