Profile of the NT, Spiritual Directors and Mind Reading

So what is an NT you ask? Well its one of the four “temperaments” according to the Myers Briggs personality scale. There is Extrovert vs. Introvert, iNtrovert vs. Sensing, Thinking vs. Feeling and Judging vs. Perceiving. The four temperaments are NF, NT, SP, and SJ. NF’s are those people in the world who care about people and emotions. The are concerned about meaning and the process of becoming. SP’s are the carefree ones who just want to let loose and have a good time. The SJ’s are the responsible ones who want to ensure order amidst the chaos. NT’s are the ones who want to know everything and be able to do everything, and do it well.

So according to Myers Briggs I am an ENTP. And according to the psychologist who took my test, I am fully iNtuitive and fully thinking. He had never seen someone like this before. Anyways, all of this is to set up where my mind has been going lately.

As an NT, the world and all its possibilities opens itself up to me whether I want it to or not. In most situations, I usually have a dialogue going on inside my head where I am determining how where I have been will affect where I am going. In many conversations I often can guess quite accurately at how someone is thinking. No, I am not talking about “mind reading” in that kind of way. Its not like I know word for word what others are thinking, but I often get to the end of an idea before the person expressing that idea does. And I have moved on to other possibilities by the time that person thought through their own idea.

The difference here is the S and N, the dominant pair of the four preferences. N’s are the sort who will have complex systems and ideas just come to them, often unable to explain how they ended up at a certain conclusion. S’s gather all the pieces of the puzzle together and come to a conclusion. In other words, an N will look at a puzzle and know what the picture is before its put together. An S will take the time to put the pieces together in order to know what the picture is. The downfall is that the N never learns how to put the puzzle together very well, and doesn’t pay attention to the details. The S on the other hand will know the puzzle quite well and see the details that the N misses. However, the S is so concerned with the details that they never quite see, as the N does, that all puzzles are the same and can be figured out without putting them together.

So what does all this personality and psychoanalysis theory have to do with anything? Well, because I am an NT, I am obsessed with figuring the world out. And personality theory is one way of doing that for me. So now that I have been reading up on this, every time I am with people I am constantly aware of their personality type. Its not like I am guessing, rather its like I just know.

For example, the other day I was out with some friends and the topic of spiritual directors came up. They all agreed that spiritually directors were great things, and that every pastor should have one. They even went as far to say that all the good pastors have them. It was in this moment that I became deeply aware of the fact that I was generally surrounded by S’s. S’s who that seeing all the pieces come together came to the conclusion that must be right. And where they wrong? No, of course not.

The Sensing preference occurs in 75% of the population, while iNtuitive in 25%. Which means all else being equal, only 12% of the population is an NT. According to the book, which holds eerily true to my experience of life, NTs experience the world as if surrounded by aliens while S’s are generally surrounded by people like themselves.

So then in this conversation, I just clamed up. Was I really up to taking on a group of mostly S’s in their agreement? Not at that moment in time, perhaps at another. I have never thought that spiritual directors were a good idea. And after reading up on my personality type I have figured out why. NT’s are obsessed with being competent. They are harsh self-critics, constantly measuring themselves against their own exacting standards. I think the line from the book was something like, “Tell an NT he is a cheat, liar and dishonest and he might agree with you. Tell him he is foolish, stupid and unwise and he will tell you exactly what value he places on your right to make such pronouncements”. NT don’t take criticism of their abilities well, they hate being redundant and they don’t see others as authoritative unless they have proven themselves.

So again, all this to get around to talking about why a spiritual director wouldn’t be good for me. I am going to be a pastor. So someone to tell me how my spiritual abilities are lacking would only serve to make me angry or could even be psychologically scarring if I trusted the person. The NT already believe he is on the verge of failure and is constantly doubting his own abilities Spirituality and religion are things that I work hard to be good at and know well, not because I want to be a good pastor, but because theology is one of my self-declared areas of competency. The last thing I need is even more critical analysis of spirituality.

And so there I was, surrounded by my S friends, knowing why they were thinking and why they thought the way they did. S’s love validation. SJ’s in particular need to have those in authority above them to be continually telling them they are doing a good job, and also correcting them when they aren’t. So a spiritual director for an SJ would be a wonderful thing and extremely helpful.

*****

A note about the picture: Its a picture of Henri Nouwen, perhaps one of the greatest spiritual directors of all time. His book Reaching Out has been a great insight into my own spirituality and existence of life. His views on loneliness and simply being comfortable with one’s self helped me out a lot at time when I didn’t even know I was needing help and was my first dip into theological thinking on spirituality.

*****

All of this is a glimpse into how my mind works I guess. Lately, its been something that’s on my mind… Ok, bad joke. But its true, I have thinking about this a fair bit lately, and I doubt I will stop anytime soon. Just be aware that the next conversation I have with, I might know what you are thinking before you do. But this is how an NT survives in a world full of S’s. By reading their minds.