ISTJs Put Simply

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Guest post by Sylver, ISTP

In my project to make known the good and bad sides of every MBTI type, it’s been suggested that I start with ISTJs. A lot of people, even if they don’t say negative things outright, will ignore or turn up their noses at ISTJs online. Also, as it’s been pointed out, many ISTJs will take and retake the test until they get something other than ISTJ, just because of the stigmas attached to ISTJ-ness.

Part of this has to do with the (mis)conceptions about their type that I will debunk here. Please note, of course, that some of the things I will say may not ring true for every single ISTJ out there. Most are based on knowledge of their functions and personal experience. So do feel free to correct me if I’m wrong; most of this is just stuff that I have observed/experienced when dealing with ISTJs.

ISTJs (USUALLY) are:

  • rooted in the past
  • down to earth
  • planers
  • possessed with incredible follow-through
  • caring
  • dutiful

ISTJs are NOT (usually):

  • stubborn for no reason
  • whiny
  • OCD
  • rule-obsessed
  • socially awkward (any more than other types can be)
  • Or, of course…evil

So without further ado, let me expand on how ISTJs work function-wise. My personal favourite thing about them, for a start, is their rich and vivid memories. I experience life through my Ti and Se (Dom and aux respectively), and though I can often remember things I’ve learned for a long time afterwards I have great difficulty remembering the actual experience because I’m instinctively keyed into the present moment. Always moving on, as it were. As Si-doms, ISTJs often have incredible recall of past events. My Mother, for example, is most likely an ISTJ, and whenever I have trouble recalling an old event I’ll call her up and she’ll readily remind me about what happened.

Si-doms are typically great sources of do’s and don’ts, especially the older ones. Any artist/writer/screenwriter/painter should be able to appreciate the opportunities that come with all those memories and stories. Provided, of course, you’re respectful and the ISTJ in question is willing to chat about things that may or may not bring back intense memories.

The ISTJ’s auxiliary function is, of course, Te. This gives them a natural edge when it comes to managing and coordinating, which I appreciate a lot. When it comes to larger projects ISTJs are pro at making sure they (fairly) divvy up the workload. They also––sorry, Arvid––tend to have an advantage, even over INTJs, when it comes to making sure that no details get overlooked. That’s not to say that INTJs don’t also do everything they can to make sure that their project turns out just the way they visualize it. ISTJs are just more naturally detail-oriented.

Fi is a function that…well, it doesn’t seem to get the right type of love in the MBTI community. By that, I mean that people––especially on tumblr––tend to value/admire Fi for the rebelliousness that ALL Fi users exhibit. /sarcasm/

I really like mature Fi users, don’t get me wrong. They know what they’re feeling and, especially in the case of Fi users who also use Te, will do their best to communicate what they need. That’s a genuinely valuable ability. I always appreciate my Mom’s way of telling me things, for example. I’m not hugely touchy-feely, and she isn’t either, so when she needed alone time she would just say something along the lines of, ‘I’m getting a beer, then I’m going upstairs to read. You need anything?’

That right there is the heart of how an ISTJ cares for their people. Making sure they’re okay by doing what they need to do to help. As an action-oriented person I sure as hell appreciate that.

Finally, there’s that inferior Ne. It bears talking about, as does any other type’s inferior function. We all need to know our weaknesses or we’d all crumble from clay feet, a friend of mine once put it.

An ISTJ’s Ne isn’t going to be all that plain. As with INTJs and Se or ISTPs and Fe, it’ll sorta be in the background, still utilized but typically unnoticed. When it does come to the forefront (so to speak) due to stress, it often trips up the ISTJ in question. They begin to catastrophize and freak out about all the things that could happen; during times like these, they focus almost exclusively on the negative outcomes and need a helping hand/mind to get back on track.

Like any instance where an inferior function crops up in this way, an ISTJ’s inferior Ne can be extremely annoying for both them and for others. Part of the package, though.

Besides, a healthy and mature ISTJ can make the most of their Ne’s idiosyncrasies. My dear friend, for example, will usually be the first person to get on my tuchus about things I’ve been unable to get to (read: procrastinated), yet she’ll also be perfectly willing to tag along with me to get lunch out or go to Half-Price Books together. Provided we’ve got ourselves in order, of course.

Overall, ISTJs can be a little stubborn, but they can also be the wisest, fairest, and most trustworthy people you’ve ever met. They may not be the most popular or ‘romantic’ or ‘trendsetting’ of the MBTI types, yet that’s nothing to be ashamed of. If the entire human race were daredevil ISTPs like me, we wouldn’t have survived till now, I guarantee it.

Joking, of course. I’d like to think that ISTPs do have some modicum of self-control! :P

Lady Jessica – Dune: INFP

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Delirium: ENFP

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Guest Post by Emily, INFP

Sandman, Neil Gaiman / Sam Kieth

Dominant Extroverted Intuition (Ne): Delirium is scatterbrained and gets distracted in the middle of her own sentences. She uses creativity to escape boredom, like when she makes fish and, eventually, sings a song about one of them. On her quest to bring Destruction back, she keeps looking for people who might have seen him instead of giving up hope. Although she was afraid of Dream in the past, she asks him to help her find Destruction.

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William Murdoch: ISTJ

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Guest Post by Fanta, INTJ

Murdock Mysteries

Dominant Introverted Sensing (Si): Detective William Murdoch is a very serious, by-the-book, conventional man who is deeply attached to his Catholic religious upbringing. He has a strong sense of duty guiding him when he has to make difficult and personal choices: he chooses justice over stopping the marriage of the woman he loves. He upholds the law to a tee, always tells the truth (even when it leads to freeing a guilty criminal), and minutely follows criminal and scientific procedures. From very early on, Murdoch has developed a keen interest in scientific knowledge, spending so much personal time absorbing all kinds of information through this hobby that he became an expert without consciously wanting to.

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Cilan – Pokémon: ENFP

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Guest Post by Andrew, ENTJ

Pokémon Anime Franchise

Dominant Extroverted Intuition (Ne): Cilan’s interests are many and varied. He is a Pokemon Connoisseur, a science connoisseur, a fishing connoisseur, a railroad connoisseur, etc. Cilan likes to explore connections between trainers and their Pokemon, and, seemingly at random times, he will put forth his analysis of such relationships (he even interrupts battles to do this). Cilan decides to travel with Ash on the spur of the moment, all because Ash shows him (by example) new possibilities in trainers relating to and working with their Pokemon. He doesn’t count his chickens before they hatch, either in battles or in anything else, and he tends to clash with people who have pre-ordained and/or narrow views on anything.

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A Guide to Why Real INFPs Cry

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Guest Post by Key Lime Pi, INFP

A while ago, I read Help! My INTJ Is Crying! and it caused me to think more about how different types have different approaches to crying, much less any sort of emotion. As an INFP, one of the popular stereotypes I find most irritating is that INFPs are always crying. Some INFPs (especially female ones) might cry more frequently than less dominantly emotional types, but that does not mean we are fragile butterflies whose wings will instantly crumple when touched. To set the record straight for all of you who are less dominated by emotion, here is a brief guide to help you understand your emotion-oriented INFP friends.

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Smeagol (Gollum): INFP

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Guest Post by E. J., INTJ

Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien

Dominant Introverted Feeling (Fi): Smeagol is primarily motivated by self-interest. He does think about some moral concepts, such as fairness and kindness, but mainly when they apply to himself in some way. If he breaks some aspect of this moral code, he finds a way of justifying it (e.g., claiming the Ring was his birthday present and that he is therefore the rightful owner). Smeagol, unlike his alter-ego Gollum, can feel personally responsible to people who have helped him (although not to people in general). Gollum does not even care about people who have helped him, reacting viciously toward anyone who stands in his way. Smeagol cannot empathize with other people unless they have had similar experiences–specifically in relation to the Ring. While he understands something of how Bilbo and Sam think because he is a Hobbit himself, he has little sympathy for either of them. On the other hand, he knows that Frodo has experienced something like his own struggle while staying wiser and retaining a strong moral code. Smeagol admires Frodo, but he betrays Frodo anyway because he cannot be loyal to Frodo while fulfilling his own desires.

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Iris – Pokémon: ISTP

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Guest Post by Andrew, ENTJ

Pokémon Anime Franchise

Dominant Introverted Thinking (Ti): Iris hates rules and boundaries, especially the stifling ones she experienced at school. She is always brutally honest, even when her honesty is neither needed nor appreciated, especially when it comes to Pokemon battles. Iris has a disdain for book learning (indeed, she often gets textbook facts wrong) and apathy for being taught by others, preferring instead to figure things out on her own. She prefers a logical approach to problem-solving and doesn’t generally respect people who make emotional decisions. When Iris first meets Ash, she doesn’t know or care about his many past accomplishments; his battle style makes little sense to her and he gets caught up in his emotions, earning him permanent “little kid” status in her book.

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INTJs and Objective Judging

Arvid Walton 2 Comments

Catgyrl asked: ENFP here! I feel guilty for judging other people and it seems like INTJs don’t feel that way. You probably have some long thought process about this and I’d love to hear it. Sorry if that’s not really a question :)

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First of all, judgement is a necessary action for those of us who have any of intentions of helping or getting to know our friends. It also serves to protect us against people who would hurt or use us, but judgement is more than people make it out to be. The type of judgement that popular culture and religious organizations encourage us to refrain from is what I would like to call unrighteous judgement. And it’s true that type of judgement can be extremely hurtful, so it’s not only wise but important for our ethical well-being.

Judgement is not so narrow a field, however, that it does not also include a spectrum of righteous judgement, and as someone with an INTJ personality, this just so happens to be somewhat of a strong point for me. I shall endeavour my best to explain the concept in such a way as to make it understandable and doable. Continue reading →

Recognizing Unhealthy/Healthy Types

Arvid Walton

Grahamcracker asked: How would you identify when someone is unhealthy for their personality type?

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The tell-tale sign of an unhealthy type is that they will embody the stereotypes.

Well-developed thinking types will make decisions based on both logic and emotion and vice versa for feeling types. A healthy individual is well balanced between their four functions, relying on all of them interacting between one another to live their life.

Another classic tell is whether or not the person manipulates people. Unhealthy thinking types often disregard other people’s feelings and use “logic” or “just being honest” as an excuse for bad behaviour. Unfortunately, this means that thinking types can also be extremely good at gaslighting. Meanwhile, unhealthy feeling types often have a tendency to rely on emotional appeals such as guilting, projection, and triangulation, as a way to control other people’s behaviour. This is all stuff that any therapist will tell you is toxic (both for you and for other people).

Grahamcracker asked: And how would you know if someone was well-developed in all four?

Want to know how to find yourself a keeper? While I can’t guarantee you’ll cross paths or have success connecting with said keeper, I’ll offer a modicum of advice on how to identify healthy MBTI types.

First and foremost––this person does not manipulate people, especially not intentionally. Second, you’ll see them making decisions based on more than just logic, or emotion alone. They’ll use a balance of both. You see their better self, a healthy person who knows what is important, plays well with others, and is neither overly insecure or overly self-important. To be balanced, to make good decisions, and to be a good partner in a relationship, you need to be as emotionally healthy as possible, and that means using all your functions.

I’m tired so I will not go into these in-depth, but you can get the general gist by combining the cognitive functions that make up your type.

Healthy Fe-Ti: caring about other people’s feelings and preservation, while also being able to step back and analyze something objectively, to learn how it works so that you can improve your relationships.

Healthy Te-Fi: being motivated to organize things and adhere to logical principles, while being aware that politeness is a useful tool in life and that not everything needs to be said, while holding to a strong set of moral principles.

Healthy Ti-Fe: staying focused on logical objectives, but also softening one’s words to avoid hurting other people’s feelings or alienating others in attempt to work toward a greater purpose that benefits everyone.

Healthy Fi-Te: championing causes and inspiring others to follow your lead, while remaining true to your beliefs but also enabling others to have different values systems from your own, and organizing your time and space effectively to accomplish your goals.

Healthy Si-Ne: bring valuable information to the table through things you have learned and your own experiences, but accept that your memories are subjective interpretations of events and that considering new avenues of possibilities is not a threat to your usual routines.

Healthy Se-Ni: staying open to both participating in new experiences and helping others to see opportunities around them, while realizing that there is more to life than just this moment, and all actions in the present have future consequences.

Healthy Ne-Si: entertaining many possibilities but also remembering past experience, learning from the mistakes of others, and seeking out extensive details, so as to make wise decisions.

Healthy Ni-Se: visualizing goals and discerning how to reach them, while also being unafraid to take opportunities as they appear, thus avoiding staying too much inside the mind and seeing their ideas implemented in the real world.

Kate Sutton: INTJ

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Guest Post by E.J., INTJ

The Perilous Gard, Elizabeth Marie Pope

Dominant Introverted Intuition (Ni): As a young woman in Tudor England, Kate’s ability to shape her future is somewhat limited. Her role as a royal maid of honour means that she has to follow orders, regardless of her personal opinions. Kate does, however, have a strong future orientation. To prevent Christopher Herron from becoming unhealthily detached from reality during their imprisonment by the Fairy Folk, Kate forces him to plan ways to rebuild the deteriorating manor he has been longing to buy. She also refuses the Lady’s initial reward offer because she recognizes that its ultimate effects would be damaging. Kate is unusually good at putting together big-picture ideas. While Cecily’s relatives have accepted Cecily’s supposed death, only Kate—a newcomer to the area—is able to piece together what actually happened.

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Emilia Stożek: ISFJ

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Guest Post by Justice, INFJ, Justice and Writeousness

Salt to the Sea, Ruta Sepetys

Dominant Introverted Sensing (Si): Emilia constantly relives the details of happier times to calm herself, from the smell of fresh pencils to her parents’ words, and names her baby after her mother’s nickname. When nervous, she sings her childhood duckie’s song. Encouraged by her mother, Emilia pays attention to her loved ones’ little preferences, like what part of a rabbit they prefer. She views Florian as one of Poland’s knights woken to defend her- Si detached from reality.

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