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people, i.e. more like themselves. Jane's fiery INFJ passion is in many ways the antithesis of Mr.
St. John's cool INTJ self restraint; indeed, Jane sees her inner "fire" as being put out by a man
whose personality she continually compared with marble, metal, stone, and ice.
It was unfortunate that Mr. St. John could not see what he was doing. If he had chosen to work with
Jane's natural strengths rather than cramming her into a box, they could have had a happier
relationship.
An INTJ Pastor
Oswald and Kroeger (1988) have noted that NT pastors may find themselves discontented with their
work if they cannot apply themselves to new projects and new challenges. This is a key part of the
INTJ character. When asked to rank a list of values that included achievement, home/family, health,
autonomy, financial security, friendships, and learning, both INTJs and ENTPs ranked achievement
as their third most important value—which was also the highest rank of any type. 134 Note too that
INTJs were the type least satisfied with their current job's opportunities for promotion. 135 Mr. St.
John's thirst for achievement and accomplishment are clearly visible in the following passage:
“A year ago I was myself intensely miserable, because I thought I had made a mistake in entering the
ministry: its uniform duties wearied me to death. I burnt for the more active life of the world—for the
more exciting toils of a literary career—for the destiny of an artist, author, orator; anything rather than
that of a priest: yes, the heart of a politician, of a soldier, of a votary of glory, a lover of renown, a luster
after power, beat under my curate’s surplice. I considered; my life was so wretched, it must be changed,
or I must die. After a season of darkness and struggling, light broke and relief fell: my cramped existence
all at once spread out to a plain without bounds—my powers heard a call from heaven to rise, gather their
full strength, spread their wings, and mount beyond ken. God had an errand for me; to bear which afar, to
deliver it well, skill and strength, courage and eloquence, the best qualifications of soldier, statesman, and
orator, were all needed: for these all centre in the good missionary.
“A missionary I resolved to be. From that moment my state of mind changed; the fetters dissolved and
dropped from every faculty, leaving nothing of bondage but its galling soreness—which time only can
heal. My father, indeed, imposed the determination, but since his death, I have not a legitimate obstacle
to contend with; some affairs settled, a successor for Morton provided, an entanglement or two of the
feelings broken through or cut asunder—a last conflict with human weakness, in which I know I shall
overcome, because I have vowed that I will overcome—and I leave Europe for the East.”
He said this, in his peculiar, subdued, yet emphatic voice; looking, when he had ceased speaking, not at
me, but at the setting sun, at which I looked too.
Like many a Rational, Mr. St. John was stuck in a stagnant job that would offer him little change or
challenge. Many people learn about the MBTI because they are unhappy in their current career.
Alas, it is often impossible to switch careers, since it would require another college degree, a big dip
in salary at the new job, or other difficulties. Fortunately these problem can sometimes be
circumvented by remaining in the same field, but switching to a different role—from priest to
missionary in St. John's case. To take another example, a bored INTJ high school math teacher
might take on responsibility for converting her math department over to e-books and tablets and
eventually segway into education technology. Essentially the idea is to use one's talents in the same
field, but from a different angle.
The passage also demonstrates Mr. St. John's exemplary Rational willpower and self mastery as he
struggled to carry out the blueprint of his mind regardless of his feelings and longings. For the NT,
the mind is master, the will the taskmaster, and emotions and body the slaves. Or at least that's how
it works in theory. The slaves can sometimes be quite rebellious.
134 Myers, McCaulley, Quenk & Hammer, 1998
135 Myers, McCaulley, Quenk & Hammer, 1998