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Intentional living can be powerful for an INTP. It simplifies and streamlines your life. And it demands you answer the why behind everything you do.
If you’re an INTP, all that probably sounds pretty appealing.
If you’re unfamiliar, intentional living refers to focusing on meaning and purpose in your everyday life.
Philosophies like minimalism and essentialism – which I also write about often – support intentional living. The idea behind all of these is to actively choose your life – the things you do, people you interact with, and things you pay attention to. Instead of passively letting life “happen,” you actively consider the value of everything you give your time, attention, and resources. Often, this involves cutting away low-value pursuits in favor of those most meaningful to you.
As I explained in my Enneagram series, I see personality typology as a tool for designing a more intentional life. That’s because personality frameworks like the Enneagram and Myers Briggs offer a system for understanding yourself and what’s most important to you personally.
And what INTP doesn’t love a logical system?
If you don’t know much about the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) or the corresponding personality typology system, you can read a summary at Simply Psychology. It’s based on a theory of cognitive functions (we’ll get into those below) developed by Swiss psychologist Carl Jung.
To help you find your type in this system, free online tests are available. That being said, I recommend that you take a quiz result as a suggestion. Explore your result, see if it resonates, and then look at some similar types as well.
Another method is to read about all the 16 personalities in this system and determine which fits you best. I recommend online sources like the Myers and Briggs Foundation or 16 Personalities.
Who is the INTP?
In the Myers Briggs personality typology system, each four-letter “type” primarily uses four cognitive functions. The INTP’s first and strongest function is Introverted Thinking.
Introverted Thinking, in a word, is focused on logic. Being an introverted function, this is an inner logic. It’s not something defined by external standards or procedures. The INTP is concerned with what makes sense to them. They build logical frameworks and understand the world through them.
It is also an excellent problem-solving function. And INTPs have immense skill in the area of applying themselves to a problem and quickly finding a solution. This could be a practical, real-life problem or a philosophical problem.
Introverted Thinking naturally strips concepts down to their very essence in order to understand them. That’s why the INTP is interested in foundational truths. They are adept at filtering out extraneous and subjective details to get to the core of an issue.
The second strongest function of the INTP is Extraverted Intuition. This function’s superpower is thinking outside the box, exploring new ideas, and forming connections between them. Combined with Introverted Thinking, this often gives the INTP an “ingenious” quality. And this type is known for being quite intelligent.
Their weakest function, on the other hand, is Extraverted Feeling. Extraverted Feeling is concerned with group harmony and meeting other’s needs. Because it’s at the bottom of the “function” stack for them, the INTP tends to undervalue these things.
INTPs are extremely independent and generally unconcerned with social norms. This allows them to say what is true regardless of whether others like it. But the lack of focus in this area can leave them isolated, lonely, and with a sense of being misunderstood.
Why You Need Intentional Living as an INTP Personality Type
In my opinion, all MBTI types can benefit from intentional living. But there are a few reasons it’s valuable for the INTP in particular.
1. The INTP values logic – but not everything in life is logical.
You want things to make sense, and you likely filter things in your life down to what is most logical. But not everything your soul desires is what your mind would consider logical. I know, I know – I’m losing the INTP crowd here.
But intentional living offers a slightly different perspective by focusing on meaning. What is most meaningful and fulfilling to you? What makes you feel satisfied with your life and proud of your accomplishments? Ultimately, those are the factors you need to take into account in order to make decisions that make sense for your life.
Instead of using common INTP values like frugality and practicality to determine what should be included in your life, intentional living allows you to tailor your life to what you value most as an individual.
2. Intentional living offers a logical framework for designing your life.
Everything in #1 above being said, it’s not as though intentional living is not logical. Sure, you may make decisions that aren’t strictly logical or practical. After all, when you think about it, being in a relationship, having children, working in a lower-paying field you’re passionate about, or spending money on a hobby that excites you aren’t strictly “logical” decisions. All of them have downsides that you could argue make them illogical choices.
The “logic” of intentional living is slightly different. The important thing is that your decisions make sense to you. And that you have answer as to why you do everything you do. The INTP has a strong need to understand how and why things work. And it’s important to point that keen perceptive skill towards your own life.
3. The INTP values simplicity.
While I write about the virtues of minimalism and simple living on this blog, the INTPs I know come to a minimalist lifestyle much more naturally than others, including myself. They like to get to the core of everything and eliminate extraneous details. They don’t have much patience for extras and frills.
Given that orientation, I’ve seen many an INTP get overwhelmed with the complexities of modern life and pare down their own worlds only to what is necessary. However, when they determine what is “necessary,” that list doesn’t always overlap with what is fulfilling.
The intentional living framework similarly emphasizes simplicity and eliminating low-value extraneous things from your life. But it changes the question. Instead of, “What are the basics I need to survive?” You’ll ask, “What is most valuable and meaningful to me personally?”
Why INTPs Can Struggle with Intentional Living – And How to Cope
While intentional living is immensely valuable to INTPs for all the reasons stated above, there are a few pitfalls that will make it challenging to implement for this type.
1. Difficulty Narrowing Down Goals
You’ll see below that the first step I recommend when embarking on an intentional living journey is to make a list of you main priorities in life.
Like all Perceivers (types with a “P” in their name), the INTP may struggle to narrow down their goals and list of what is most meaningful to them. These types prefer to keep their options open.
This part is hard for everyone, but INTPs will especially reject the idea of “closing doors.” My suggestion is to think of it as an evolving list. It’s not set forever. It’s just what’s true for you right now. You can always update it later.
2. The INTP Wants All Decisions to Make Sense
Like we said above, the INTP values logic. They’re not going to do something if it doesn’t make sense to them. But some of the things you discover in your intentional living journey may not be all that logical.
For example, going through your same routine every day makes a lot of sense on the surface. Traveling internationally for a month isn’t frugal or sensible, necessarily. But it could get you out of your comfort zone and lead you to discover new perspectives and ideas that would bring more meaning and joy into your life.
At times in your intentional living journey, it will be better to set aside what makes sense in favor of what is meaningful.
3. Getting Stuck in Thinking Mode
Like all introverts, the INTP tends to enjoy thinking, reflecting, and planning more than acting. They may enjoy the process of brainstorming ideas for a more fulfilling life and thinking through the pros and cons of each. But then there may not be a lot of motivation put those ideas into action.
First, because acting generally requires you to choose just one path. And second, because it simply takes more energy for an introvert. While contemplation is effortless, taking action in the real world is tiring.
While reflection is a key part of intentional living, it’s meaningless if you don’t follow it up with actions to change your life.
Intentional Living Superpowers of the INTP Personality Type
While every type has some struggles when it comes to intentional living, each type also has it’s superpowers. The way the INTP’s mind works can be a huge advantage in an intentional living journey. Here are some of their superpowers.
1. Creative Brainstorming
The INTP thrives in a brainstorming situation. Because of their strong Extraverted Intuition, they’re able to think outside the box and brainstorm unconventional possibilities.
This is a huge advantage for intentional living, because it allows the INTP to see past their current reality and imagine a different kind of life.
2. The Ultimate INTP Superpower: Research
If there’s one thing the INTP excels at, it’s research. They can quickly and accurately skim through swaths of information to glean the most important concepts.
Once you’ve brainstormed ideas for how your life might be more fulfilling, it’s usually necessary to learn more. How would you go about pursuing that path? What are the pros and cons?
INTPs shouldn’t undervalue the power of their research skills when it comes to making a practical plan for changing their lives.
3. Not Worrying About What Anyone Else Thinks
Above, we discussed how a weak Extraverted Feeling function can lead an INTP to undervalue harmony, relationships, and social norms. However, this lack of attunement to the social environment can be a superpower at times.
Some types may be constrained in their intentional living journeys wondering, “I couldn’t possibly pursue that passion – what would other people think!” INTPs, on the other hand, will not worry nearly as much about social feedback.
You can use your “weak” fourth function to your advantage to craft a life that is authentic to you – ignoring what is considered “normal” for your peer group.
4. A Naturally Minimalist Mindset
As I mentioned in another post about the MBTI types, INTPs often have a naturally minimalist mindset. Just as they strip down concepts to their most foundational elements, they tend to eliminate extraneous and frivolous things from their lives.
Intentional living overlaps with minimalism in that it asks us to identify what isn’t fully authentic and let it go. This way, we can have the energy and resources for what really matters.
INTPs can use this superpower to peel away things in their lives that are not meaningful. And craft a life made up of only what is most important to them.
5. Self-Honesty
Intentional living requires you to be brutally honest with yourself at times.
Why do you work the job you do, keep certain friendships, and spend money on the things you do? Are all those things truly authentic to you as an individual?
For many people, this kind of self-examination is painful and challenging. An INTP is much better suited to this kind of endeavor, though. Because they value facts over feelings, they have the potential to be quite objective in their self-examinations.
Practical Tips for Intentional Living as an INTP Personality Type
At this point, maybe you’re convinced to try out the whole “intentional living” thing. But how do you do that? Where do you start? These are the first steps I recommend for an INTP.
1. Determine Your Primary Goals
I recommend the same first step to all personality types: identify your priorities.
This sounds basic. But in many ways it’s the most challenging part of the journey. It’s hard to narrow down what really matters and let go of all the “would be nice” things you’re tempted to pursue.
For INTPs, who don’t love narrowing options, I suggest making a list of only 5 main priorities. If that idea gives you hives, remember that it’s not set in stone. These are the things you think matter most right now. Next year, you may feel differently.
You can always edit your list if you need to. But it’s important to have a starting place.
2. Brainstorm Possibilities
Next, leverage your creative thinking superpower to brainstorm possibilities for how you could adapt your lifestyle to put your best energy into what really matters to you.
What pursuits could you eliminate to free up your time and resources? What things would you want to do more of?
3. Explore Perspectives You Might Initially Reject
While INTPs have a strong Extraverted Intuition function, it is tempting for them to ignore it in favor of their first function – Introverted Thinking. What that means in plain language is that they tend to quickly reject things that seem illogical to them. Introverted Thinking quickly applies logical frameworks and filters out things that don’t “make sense.”
But remember that your life isn’t going to change if you keep the same perspectives and reject many ideas at face value. That’s why I recommend that INTPs interested in personal improvement explore perspectives they normally wouldn’t as part of their brainstorming process.
You can approach this as a thought experiment. You certainly don’t need to take action on any of the ideas you encounter. But you may be surprised by an idea that has a lot more merit than you thought it would.
4. Do Some Research
If brainstorming is fun for an INTP, research is perhaps even more enjoyable. INTPs love to gather the facts and never stop learning.
Your list of priorities and brainstorming session should give you a good list of things to research. Now you can go gather the data.
For example, maybe you’re unhappy in your job. You’d feel more fulfilled if you worked in a field you were more passionate about. What requirement are there for entering that field? What steps would you need to take to make it happen?
Or maybe you want to spend more time on a hobby that’s meaningful to you. What groups are there in your area that bring together people with a similar passion? All that information is at your fingertips for you to explore.
5. Consider Your Feelings
Above, we talked about how INTPs have a unique ability to ignore feelings and see things objectively. While that is a superpower, it doesn’t mean you should always ignore your feelings. Not every decision in life is or should be logical.
Sure, maybe certain aspects of your lifestyle make a lot of sense. That may be in terms of efficiency, frugality, practicality, or convenience. But…do they make you happy? Are they fulfilling? That’s an entirely different question.
6. Practice Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone
A focus on what makes sense and a flare for setting up systems based in logic can sometimes drive an INTP into a rut. It’s not uncommon for people of this type to wear the same “uniform,” eat the same food, and go through the same motions every day.
Similar to #3 above, it’s beneficial for an INTP to get out and get some new experiences. Doing new things and meeting new people provides fuel that “feeds” your Introverted Thinking. When you’re stuck in one way of thinking, however valid it is, life can start to feel stale. And you’ll be blind to ideas that could benefit you.
Don’t stop at brainstorming and researching ideas for how you might change your life. Make sure you’re also getting out, trying new things, and talking to people.
Not all the time, of course! That would be exhausting. But push yourself to do it more often than you normally would.
These experiences will expand your worldview and give you enough information to truly design your best life.
What Do You Think?
Are you an INTP? What has helped you live a more fulfilling life? What have you struggled with? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
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