That’s an acronym for one of the sixteen personality types from the Myers-Briggs Type Test. What it means is: introversion, intuition, thinking, judgment. That would be me, at least according to the test I took about thirty years ago. And get this, INTJs are one of the rarest of the sixteen personality types, and account for about 1–4% of the population.  Scary.

The Myers-Briggs Type Test assessment was developed from the work of prominent psychiatrist Carl G. Jung in his book Psychological Types. Jung proposed a psychological typology based on the theories of cognitive functions that he developed through his clinical observations. So this is what he came up with. I’ve added comments in italics when I think the quality doesn’t apply to me. And let me just say right now. Mastermind? Me? Seriously? Hey, I didn’t lie on the test, you know.

• I – Introversion preferred to extraversion: INTJs tend to be  quiet and reserved. (NOPE) They generally prefer interacting with a few close friends rather than a wide circle of acquaintances, and they expend energy in social situations (whereas extraverts gain energy) (SO TRUE)
  

• N – Intuition preferred to sensing: INTJs tend to be more abstract than concrete. They focus their attention on the big picture rather than the details and on future possibilities rather than immediate realities.
• T – Thinking preferred to feeling: INTJs tend to value objective criteria above personal preference. When making decisions they generally give more weight to logic than to social considerations (OR OTHER’S OPINIONS)
• J – Judgment preferred to perception: INTJs tend to plan their activities and make decisions early. They derive a sense of control through predictability, which to perceptive types may seem limiting.  (SO WHERE DOES MY WILDASS IMPETUOSITY FIT IN?)

Michael W. Roberts has a great blog titled “Are Extroverts or Introverts More Likely to Face FOMO  (fear of missing out)”–to which I responded “I used to have a bad case of FOMO, not so much anymore (older and um wiser?) and I’m an introvert. But I can only take so much of being “out there” interacting and then I need to retreat to be alone in order to regenerate, otherwise it takes a real toll on me.” 

I was going to post this mini test to help you decide your type, but it was very limited and not helpful at all.  Besides, in this day and age, hasn’t everybody taken the Myers-Briggs? So, since you took the test have you changed in any way?