INTP Advice

[SuperLuigi]

Apologies if this has been asked before, but is there a resource for specific personal development advice related to your personality type? (Mine is INTP apparently).

Common obstacles of the INTP is being able to follow through on big ideas, being stuck in thought etc. which is definitely me. So any resources for advice would be great (including any Leo videos).

[Leo-Tzu]

 

[SuperLuigi]

Thanks, but I have seen that one

[SuperLuigi]

Thanks @Joseph Maynor

 

Nice of you to put that together.

 

Hmm... What is 'nice' though? I guess, you just did it

[hundreth]

I'm an INTP as well. I used to get caught up in all of this nonsense. An INTP behaves this way, an INTP behaves that way. An INTP has these strengths, an INTP has these weaknesses. If you continue down this path, you will get stuck inside an echo chamber and self fulfilling prophecy of who or how you are supposed to be. 

I don't recommend it. Especially considering you already know you have a tendency to get stuck in thought. You're just adding more thoughts to get stuck in, and these are the worst kind, because they seek to define you.

Meditate, become directly aware of your individual processes and transcend them. 

[Leo Gura]

@Joseph Maynor Good stuff. Described me perfectly. I guess I'm not as special as I like to believe

[Leo Gura]

@SuperLuigi You're in the right place. Actualized.org is made by INTPs for INTPs. Which means it will make you even more stuck in thought

[Antonius]

@Joseph Maynor It's insane how accurate that list of traits is.

I never thought about this stuff too much, but now I noticed that I've mostly been developing my weakest traits (Feeling and sensing). Do you think we should focus on developing our weaknesses as much as using our strengths?

[Raphael]

I have a question for all INTPs here: How do you deal with your over active mind?

I have a lot of difficulties to concentrate and it's really killing all my productivity. It's actually easier for me to work when I'm under surveillance and feel less free, but when I'm alone I go in thousands directions and ends completly unproductive.

[DnoReally]

INTJ masterrace reporting in

[Joseph Maynor]

Damn, this wiki article on INTP is pretty good:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/INTP

[Forestluv]

On 1/12/2018 at 1:32 PM, hundreth said:

 An INTP behaves this way, an INTP behaves that way. An INTP has these strengths, an INTP has these weaknesses. If you continue down this path, you will get stuck inside an echo chamber and self fulfilling prophecy of who or how you are supposed to be.

Not for me. I was this way before I read it and Ive been this way after I read it. 

[WaterfallMachine]

20 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

@SuperLuigi You're in the right place. Actualized.org is made by INTPs for INTPs. Which means it will make you even more stuck in thought

Damn Leo, no wonder I like this place. Championing truth, reflection and solitude, coupled with all the philosophical ways of personal development, and you get yourself an INTP magnet. 

 

11 hours ago, Raphael said:

I have a question for all INTPs here: How do you deal with your over active mind?

I have a lot of difficulties to concentrate and it's really killing all my productivity. It's actually easier for me to work when I'm under surveillance and feel less free, but when I'm alone I go in thousands directions and ends completly unproductive.

Ne — the second cognitive function we have — is usually what’s to blame with the lack of focus. It’s what causes our minds to flip from one related idea to another unrelated idea. It seeks novelty, Usually what balances out is the third function of Si — which focuses on experiences from the past and a larger emphasis on repetition.

How to develop Si though? Here are some suggestions.

1. Be more specific. You can want something like, “How to look for truth”, but if you can’t visualize the steps of how to do it with any of your 5 senses, you’re doing it wrong.

2. Practice focusing on what has happened, then only on what could happen. You could go long range and review how your entire past life affects you today and/or have a regular review of what has happened recently. Use your Ti to figure out the cause of why mistakes happened or figure out new practical ideas on what to do next.

3. Practice sticking around with projects a little bit more. Not to levels of perfection — that’s too much for your level, but when your boredom is wavering, try holding on for a little more and more over time.

4. Whenever you’re introduced to an abstract idea such as some psychological theory about humanity or philosophical concept, try to write down examples of this you see in your own life or other’s lives you know.

5. Practice making repetitive healthy habits — even small ones — to train your discipline in some way. Such as having a short exercise or at least a few minutes working on some life purpose project. See https://jamesclear.com/ for more discipline advice.

[WaterfallMachine]

18 hours ago, Antonius said:

@Joseph Maynor It's insane how accurate that list of traits is.

I never thought about this stuff too much, but now I noticed that I've mostly been developing my weakest traits (Feeling and sensing). Do you think we should focus on developing our weaknesses as much as using our strengths?

Not Joseph Maynor, but I’ve been using mbti for a few years as an INTP myself. So I can suggest something here.

Developing your strengths is actually essential to developing your weaknesses well in mbti. If you don’t develop your strengths, your weaknesses will be used in an unhealthy way. What do I mean by that?

If you skip learning sensing before intuition or use SI before Ne, you risk being too stuck in your own past. Ti’s function requires new ideas with Ne, and Si is needed to further review those ideas in detail in how it’s used over time practically, and to have more experimental point of views on ideas rather than just theoretical. If there’s no Ne stage, all you’re doing is reviewing old experiences over and over again with no insight.

Even worse, if you skip to Fe too soon, it often means using Fe to unhealthily look for “the one true love”, “gain fame and fortune”, “Fix the entire world (which is impossible)”. get overemotional or something else. Without Si developed first, there’s not much enough practical experience with other people to ground us to not do something unhelpful with our own feeling side.  

Not that you shouldn’t develop weaknesses at all — at some amount you can as we ideally need a level of well roundedness to work at our highest, but the basics are better off mastered first. Even I still have trouble with Fe well, so good luck on that.

Edited January 14, 2018 by WaterfallMachine

[egoless]

Guys as an INTP I have one precious recommendation for the fellow INTPs: Travel as much as you can! And read books! It will grow you the most! It will broaden your big picture understanding.

Edited January 14, 2018 by egoless

[egoless]

Moreover this is my theory. I don’t have any solid argumentations for this but I consider INTP types as rge most “gifted” out of all to seek and become Enlightened. The desire for Truth is inherent in us.