I'm an INTp.

Highly ironic, but that's what I originally thought I was before gaining an interest in Socionics.

At the time I accepted being an ENTj, it was a sort of "ok if you say so" acceptance because I still had a lot of reservations and skepticism. But I did identify strongly with ENTj profiles, my pattern did seem to suggest ENTj, and I did seem very similar to the other ENTjs on these forums such as Expat, Eidos, "Steve" (the other one, is he still around?), and a few others, so it was a safe bet. Over time though, I realized from both comparison to these guys and to other real life ENTjs that I know that my thinking pattern while very similar, just wasn't quite the same.

It's a very fine line, but what it comes down to is just being a product of my EJ environment I guess. On one hand I'm just not an aggressive and highly motivated "doer" like a typical ENTj is, but on the other hand I'm not exactly an unmotivated and procrastinating INTp either. I'm "flexible" I guess and can be whatever I need to be with little stress, but my EJ traits are more what I would call learned behaivor rather than natural behavior. After comparing some notes with Expat along with some "thought process dumps" just looking at how we think, I'm definitely more IP than EJ. I'm comfortable and relaxed "doing" nothing, favoring perception, and not taking action on anything, whereas Expat stated he would be more likely to be restless or perhaps mildly depressed if he's "doing nothing." I realized this recently after switching jobs and a bit of a career jump into a different industry. My last job was very stressful because it needed a lot of quick decision making and quick solutions also. That would cause anybody stress, but some handle it more naturally than others, and I was pretty damn stressed. My new job is a lot slower paced, there is time to think about things, a rush is not needed in finding solutions and making decisions either. And low and behold, I find myself a whole lot more comfortable. If I'm looking at a problem, there is time to use my favored perception a lot more before acting on something, whereas before it was the other way around and I was less comfortable.

Beyond that, just looking at these two profiles [INTp & ENTj] right on the front page here, I clearly fit a lot better with INTp than ENTj. Not all of it fits for either, and in some cases I'll still indentify with ENTj traits better, but the overall alignment with INTp is still better. The essence of the INTp/Critic is "me" moreso than an ENTj/Entrepreneur. The Jack London ENTj profile I read before I did indentify very strongly with, but back when I was in much more of an EJ mood and environment, where I looked and acted much more like an ENTj. I don't think the other INTp profile I looked at at the time was all that well written, so that didn't help either.

I'm still thinking through it more, but even the functional alignment with the hidden agenda, PoLR, Role, etc all seem to fit more with INTp than ENTj. I could never ever really identify with the ENTj hidden agenda "to be powerful". And even though my test results showed as a PoLR, I don't think that's true. If somebody criticizes me for looks, attire, health, etc I really don't care. It doesn't "hit me hard" or anything. / as a 4th & 6th function make far more sense, and there are many examples of that. Si types do annoy me, but much less so than Fe types who really annoy me.

http://the16types.no-ip.info/forums/...=5676&start=30

Quote Originally Posted by Expat
An INTp wants to hang around with an ESFp who will pursue him/her. An INTj can't stand ESFps.

An INTj wants to relax and be put into a happy mood by an emotional-overflowing ESFj. This thought makes the INTp sick.
Totally! Fe just "bothers" me. Way more than Si ever has.

My wife is a pretty solid ISFj, so that would make the two of us something between Duality and Activity. Honestly, I can see either, but knowing that she was an ISFj for sure was what helped me to realize I was an ENTj. But time passes, you gain new perspective, and I can just as easily see Activity as well. We can start something up, have a ton of fun together, but then get sort of over-activated and need a break from each other. Either way I don't care, though. I am who I am and my wife and I have always had a very solid relationship, and when problems arise we work them out and come to an understanding like everybody else does (or should). She likes it when I'm an assertive take-charge ENTj, but also likes it when I'm a flexible and adaptive INTp to go out and have a lot of fun with. So no complaints or any real conflict there. Some activity style over-activation recently did help tip me off that maybe I wasn't "really" an ENTj, though. :wink:


So that's that. I'm an INTp.