Killing Distraction Potential

 So, I've decided to do an experiment.  What has spawned this experiment is an idea.  I'm frequently that person who will inevitably find himself watching YouTube as I am going to sleep.  However, I want to be clear that 90% of what is on my watch list is intrinsically informational or educational.  This is just a habit I've had with variances in intensity over the course of my adult life.

It's true, there's a lot of good information available on the internet.  There is a lot of good information on things ranging from how to cook the perfect fillet mignon and perform basic maintenance on a vehicle to video series covering a breadth of cerebral topics meticulously broken down into 10 minute easy to understand chunks.  I'm not going to be escaping the world of information any time soon.

I am going to disable the YouTube app on my phone.  I intend for this to prove something that I've been saying for years.  Namely that what seems like an insignificant action can really make a huge difference in the long game.  Disabling or removing an app, while keeping a subscription to an online service has the potential of improving what others critically say is our "relationship" with technology.

If we consider how the word relationship is used in our modern society I think it can't be used to describe our interaction with technology.  I assert that it is a lack of temperance or self control that impacts how much or little we interact with computer based systems.  This lack seems to manifest itself in the modern tendency to prefer escapism and be combined with a careless thrust of ourselves into less cerebral and purely frivolous activities.  What ever happened to occupying our "down time" with taking a walk or reading a book?

So, I am going to do three things:

1. Disable the YouTube app on my phone for the remainder of the month.
2. At times when I would watch YouTube (before bed, breaks at work, performing research) I will instead read a book or take a walk.
3. If I want to watch YouTube I will need to use a computer or the Chromecast device on my TV.

I'm not going to cut YouTube completely out of my life.  What I'm doing is better directing where I watch YouTube.  My hypothesis is that if I'm already in bed, why would I pull myself out of bed, walk to my office, boot up my computer, and launch my web browser?  I already know that I'll see this as a bunch of extra steps that I won't want to deal with.  So, also I'm banking on my preference to do things in the most effort and time inexpensive way.

Wish the best for me.  I'm sure this will require that I come back to write about this again.

Intuition is Good for the Brain

As someone with the Myers-Briggs (MBTI) personality type INTJ my dominate function is introverted intuition (hereafter Ni).  In MBTI typology intuition is a high level perception of patterns.  Simply put it is all about pattern recognition.  In fact it is not just that there are patterns, but there are patterns to the patterns.  Even the patterns to the patterns have patterns.

According to Personality Hacker, 25% (1/4) of the population uses some form of intuition.  Intuition comes in two forms - extroverted intuition (Ne) and introverted intuition (Ni).  These similar but different types of intuition are perceiving functions that are the pathways by which someone learns about the world around them.  For INTJs the perceiving function (Ni) is introverted, therefore external observations are plugged into the internal wiring and structure of the mind and is concerned with reconciling and  the patterns of the "outside" world with the model that exists in the mind.  These patterns are used to speculate about the future.

Those like myself who use intuition are interested in patterns.  Even the patterns have patterns.  There are patterns to patterns to patterns to patterns.  The simple observation of two people walking down the street holding coffee cups in the their hands to many casual onlookers might conjure up the idea that they are just two people walking down the street enjoying a cup of coffee.  This may well be the case, however to the intuitive its more than that.

The pair walking down the street likely came from the coffee shop on the corner.  If they are walking side by side not speaking to each other, they could be looking for a place to sit down.  If they are holding hands, perhaps they are on a date.  What are the expressions on their faces?  Maybe one is giving emotional support in the other's time of need.  Or maybe it turns out to be just one person.  What are they thinking about?

A friend and I sat outside of a Starbucks observing people.  As people walked by we would make up stories about them.  We speculated about where they were going after visiting and getting their coffee.  The fictional tales were mostly absurd, and I enjoyed a good laugh over some of the stuff we came up with, but were a good exercise in intuition.

When at its best intuition analyzes patterns and makes sense of where those patterns will eventually lead to.  It is a perceiving process that is not concerned with the goings on of the present moment, but with the future.  As its focus is entirely future oriented it uses real time and past data to assess what is going to happen.  This is sort of like a skeet shooter at a gun range.  In order to successfully shoot the clay target as it is moving through the air, the shooter must watch the target and aim ahead of the target.  This method is similar to the intuitive cognitive process analyzing the future.  Intuition users are naturally curious about what the future holds and are willing to forge into the unknown.

This process of seeing into the future makes those who use intuition difficult to understand.

Sometimes, the high level of pattern recognition is worrisome to others.  The 75% of people who are not intuitive (sensors) may view intuition users as odd, strange, hard to understand, and even arrogant at times.  We must understand that users of intuition are not the lofty, cognitive vagabonds that they often times appear to be.  The different wiring has given them a different set of gifts and skills that have their niches.

Often we may find those with intuition working in technology and various scientific disciplines.  They are likely book worms and some have attention spans that can enable them to discuss complex topics for many hours until every stone and pebble has been thoroughly examined.  Among the intuitive book worms are your INFPs, INTPs, INFJs, and INTJs.

Unfortunately intuition users can be seen as arrogant.  This could not be further from the truth!  It is much too simplistic, and unfair, to say that they are arrogant (although INTJs and INTPs have been known to be easily tempted into a superiority complex.)  Much more accurately intuitives who have developed and regularly tap into their intuition have also developed a healthy self esteem and confidence.  This should not be punished or misinterpreted as arrogance - as odd as it can be to see an intuitive in their "zone."  Instead we ought to value the insights and perspectives that intuitives bring to the table whether they are our coworkers, family members, or friends.

Here is the best part about intuition.  We all have it to a degree.

In MBTI it is easy to get stuck in the dichotomies of introvert vs extravert, intuitive vs sensing, thinking vs feeling, judging vs perceiving.  In order to have a healthy psyche we need to have both extraverted and introverted cognitive functions.  To be a complete introvert or a complete extravert would be for one to be a neurotic mess at best or a psychopath at worse.  So each person has perceiving functions (intuition and sension) and judging functions (thinking and feeling), and during late childhood into adolescence (my observation: age 12-18) these functions develop into their dominant, auxiliary, tertiary, and inferior positions.  INTJs lead with a dominant Ni, then have auxiliary Te (extraverted thinking), tertiary Fi (introverted feeling), and inferior Se (extraverted sensing).

Did you notice the pattern?  The cognitive functions for INTJ are Ni, Te, Fi, Se.  Note that what is introverted and extraverted seem to alternate to make sure the psyche is well balanced.  If you label dominant, auxiliary, tertiary, inferior positions as 1, 2, 3, 4 respectively you will notice that what is introverted in position 1 will be extraverted in position 2.  If your dominant function is extraverted, then position 1 will be extraverted and position 2 will be introverted.  The high level of pattern recognition of Ni is guided by the logical analysis of Te.  Te is a safeguard to make sure the INTJ is not completely stuck in their head (even if we just want to live in abstract land!)

There is much more that can and has already been written about intuition, but this will serve a primer to hopefully grow the seed of interest to take the plunge and discover not only more about intuition, but to learn about your own internal wiring.

Surrounded By Hypocrites

As humans we are capable of amazing feats.  It was not that long ago when we were putting our first steps on the moon.  We have made innovations throughout history that have taken us from dwelling in caves to now populating the Earth.  We have gone from drawing stick figures on the faces of rock to writing blogs and connecting through social media.  From hunter gatherers on the plain to sitting in Athens discussing goodness and truth, indeed humanity is capable of so much positive and good in this world.  In a sense we should be compelled to congratulate ourselves for all of our accomplishments thus far.

But we have one of the most invasive pests in our midst.  A pest so clever that even after hundreds and thousands of years we have not be able to shake loose from its luxurious accommodations.  Hypocrisy is a disease, and unfortunately there is no cure or vaccination for this.  It seems as though we are stuck in a continuous cycle of great achievements followed by some of the most embarrassing follies we can devise!  What is more astonishing is that we take more pleasure in performing our hypocrisies than we do in those things we do well.  Rewarding and intellectual pursuits such as science, philosophy, and theology seem to take the back seat to our hypocritical pursuits.  For an unknown reason we much enjoy playing the hypocrite more than those things that make us reach higher than ourselves.

But, why?  Why is it easier for us to give in to hypocrisy time after time?

The short answer is because we are human.  It is an intrinsic property of our natural state of being.  However, I think we like the simple answers because humans are prone with ready heart and mind to accept overly simplistic answers and solutions.  We do not like long winded explanations, or dissertations.  We have not the patience for those things which may require a bit more effort, and yet we repeatedly implore others to have more patience with us than we are ready to render to them.  How is that morally correct?  It is not.

Use of reason vs. our ego

It is interesting to note that we are the only known species that we are aware of that has the amazing ability to reason.  We use the neurons in our brain to form words and attribute meaning to them.  We call this language.  We use it to communicate, but only as we will.  When we are angry or have some sort of grievance against another we find very clever passive aggressive ways of coping with our perceived feeling of being rejected, offended, or forgotten.  In our self complacent pride we endeavor to be at the very top of those around us.  It is subjectively desirable to be perceived by others as morally and virtuously superior.  None can dare upset the equilibrium of our egos.

We are unknowingly as gods unto ourselves, and anyone who so much as threatens our self complacency and confirmation bias are as devils proudly exclaiming "Non serviam!" (I will not serve!)  Ergo, our response to the disgusting parasitical demon that is our fellow man is the same as is attributed to St. Michael the Archangel: "Who is like unto God?"  The irony is that what we really think with our subconscious inundated by our ego is: who is like unto me?  This is where any basic form of communication truly becomes void and impossible.

The conspiracy theorist

Then we have the conspiracy theorist.  Ironic we use theorist, a word used to indicate someone of scientific intelligence, to describe the nonsensical rubbish that oozes from the mouths of the self obsessed.  It is hypocritical to be a conspiracy theorist because it goes completely against reason.  Let us examine a likely position he may take.

As much befits the attributed stereotype this man has a vendetta against technology.  Technology is some evil force that is responsible for Original Sin and therefore is used against society as the weapon of choice for the government--who is a tyrant--which has allowed the erection of all the "big box stores" and "big tech" corporations to exist entirely to spy on him, and take away his freedom.  It is not inaccurate to say that the man here in our example takes to social media--that is to use technology--to announce his "great" discovery that only a 30 pack of cheap beer can inspire.  Of course let us not dismiss his use of social media to share political sound bites and articles written by fellow conspiracy theorists.

We see the flaw in his argument (and in the method he chooses to deliver his argument) in that it is the utmost of absurdity.  It is absurd because it can be very quickly deduced by reason that the government is not spying on him, and quite frankly has no care for who he is.  However, this man will be the subject of his own self fulfilling prophecy when he accidentally says something with the intention of arousing the interest of the authorities.  The man is a lunatic and consequently cannot be trusted, and yet he is somehow able to inspire trust by others.

The reason the conspiracy theorist is able to inspire trust in others is of course due to the propensity of man to be gullible, as well as experience periods of mental dullness.  The details in his conspiracy theory are so incredible, vague, and yet are subjective enough that disproving his claims would appear to take more effort and dedication than is warranted.  Therefore, to the gullible his claims are true.  However, to those who are willing to set aside the temptation to be hypocritical and dishonest the reward is a very well done refutation that brings light to the darkness that the conspiracy theorist brings.

Conspiracy "theories" do not just have to be about technology either.  Any range of topics can be used for conspiracy theories.  Climate change, politics, education, religion, vaccines, university fraternities and sororities, among many other controversial and "hot button" topics can easily fall victim to the undermining efforts of conspiracy theorists.

The emotionally reactive

Imagine if you will someone of reasonable wealth and affluence who will never be able to be bothered to help one of the many homeless in their city and is always ready to profane and demolish anything and everything that does not digest well with their personal fantasy of how the world should work.  Enter the emotionally reactive.

The emotionally reactive is a hypocrite in much the same way as the conspiracy theorist.  Both are more satisfied with their own ego and confirmation bias than they are with actually having experienced any form of civility or rational thought.  They thrive on their buzz words such as "tolerance," "equality," "racism," "shaming," "gaslighting," and other words that ignite a passionate reaction to protest the littlest inconvenience or distressing moment some person, somewhere in the world, God forbid, might experience.  In fact they may even genuinely feel like something has to be done because of reasons A, B, and C.  If formulated in an otherwise rational state of mind in a calm, introspective demeanor it could be argued that perhaps some thing should be done about this or that situation.

However, on the contrary we find that everything is reactive.  Their coffee is a degree hotter than expected.  Bring on the lawyers and blame the employee for discriminating against their veganism!  The level of absurdity flirts with the boundary where most psychologists would agree delusion begins and a healthy mind ends.  This is serious.  It is serious because the many, many individuals who experience this type of hypocrisy may never become fully aware of it.  The reason for this is because self preservation and even herd mentality not only go hand in hand but magnify a perceived threat to be bigger than just something that is noticed.

Similar to the conspiracy theorist, the emotionally reactive have the flaw of absurdity in their argument.  This happens when we make an argument based on emotion rather than reason.  It could actually be argued that the source of all disagreements in the colorful history of humanity that have either escalated to total war or long term animosity is precisely the human temptation to let emotions take the lead on decision making.  This tendency needs to be tempered otherwise the great ambition of humanity of living among the stars may never come to fruition.

How hypocrisy is resolved

Let it be revealed to our minds that there is no easy remedy or solution to hypocrisy.  Hypocrisy is going to continue to infect the human condition as the bubonic plague infected millions in Europe during the 14th century.  It is a most unfortunate Achilles heel to the foot steps of the human species that if left uncontrolled will mean the slow, progressive destruction of everything that we possess any affection for.  Your trip to Starbucks.  The freedom to worship Almighty God.  The ability to acquire an education or provide for your family.  All of these things which every day we take for granted could be snuffed out like a candle or left to rot like road kill if hypocrisy is allowed to persist.

Indeed hypocrisy is an integral part of human nature, and as such demands our attention and respect.  Respect for the destruction it can bring to our own lives and to our society and culture.  Attention to its symptoms will help us to recognize how we too are in need of introspection and self examination.  When do we say what we think is right, but when given the opportunity do anything but what is right, and then give our selves every excuse?  When do we give in to false information, become enraptured in the hype of a news story, or allow our passions to become inflamed over some trifling thing?  Ah yes, hypocrisy is like an unattended fire in the wilderness.  All that is required is for one action to spark a reaction that destroys hundreds of acres of beautiful landscape, and thus this is what hypocrisy does to the soul of every person who has ever traversed the world.

How Can I Socialize as an INTJ?

You're not an introvert, you're too social.  This is a misunderstanding that I get from time to time.  It is a misconception that demonstrates a lack of understanding of what introversion really is.  So what does it mean to be an introvert?  How do I find it possible to get out and socialize?  Well, for starters it is not easy.  Welcome to the puzzle of my mind.

What is introversion?

In order to unpack what introversion is, let us start by examining what it is not.

In common parlance we would say that such and such a person is an introvert, because they are shy.  Many introverts exhibit varying degrees of shyness.  Shyness is not a good indicator of introversion, and is the opposite of what we would describe as an outgoing persona.  There is also what can be accurately called social phobia which I once thought was type of shyness, however as it turns out social phobia is more closely similar to social anxiety disorder.  None of these describes what introversion is.

To say it simply, introversion is way by which the mind internalizes and processes information.  One of the main outcomes of this internalization is introspection.  Introspection is the way by which someone examines themselves vis a vis the external world.

The driving force for the INTJ is at the top of their function stack: introverted intuition (Ni).  INTJs are considered to be an Ni dominate personality type.  Because the intuition, the recognition of patterns, is introverted this means that INTJs spend a lot of their mental energy observing and internalizing the patterns they see in the external world.  This introverted intuition is aided by their auxiliary extroverted thinking function (Te) which helps them to apply the patterns they see into solutions.  Many times this earns the INTJ the reputation of being blunt, cold, abrasive, cynical, and seemingly aloof, an over simplification that leads to misunderstanding.

It is not that INTJs do not seem to care or give notice to what is going on around them.  They are actually quite attuned to their environment, however the big picture of their observations is keeping their mind busy processing and analyzing the patterns they are observing.  This is what the INTJ does at their best.  They observe and make sense of the world.

How can INTJs be social?

Due to the introspective nature of INTJs it can be confusing when we see one in a social situation.  Take my job, for instance: I work as a technical support analyst for an internet service provider.  It is an integral part of my job to talk to people and because of how the floor plan is designed, I am in rather close proximity to my coworkers.  This often makes for returning home at the end of the day exhausted and emotionally checked out.  In fact more often than not I enthusiastically anticipate watching a video on YouTube and tuning out the world after a long day interacting with people at the office and on the phone that eating dinner becomes an afterthought.  The problem is, I am too exhausted to actually make myself a decent meal.

Alright, so how can I be social, have friends, and accidentally come off like I am completely at ease in a social situation.  What is the method to my madness that enables me to bravely take on maneuvering throughout society and the external world without losing my mind periodically?

Sleep!

If I have a social activity planned, I do my best to make sure I am well rested.  Nothing drains my mental reserves and patience for people than by not having enough sleep.  That extra 30 minutes of sleep is pretty much making it possible for me to store up the energy needed to deal with people as long as I have to.

Coffee!!

This is will be a no brainer to my fellow coffee lovers, addicts, and snobs out there.  A cup or two (or three or four) of coffee really makes the difference between approaching the day or social event with my usual INTJ "death stare" and at very least feigning some form of social graces.  Probably the easiest way to my heart (and good side) is a dose of trimethylxanthine (commonly known as caffeine).

Keeping a schedule

Scheduling out my day/week and sticking to it is essential.  Not that if anything out of the ordinary happens I have an aneurysm, but it helps to know I have some stability of what to expect.  This ensures that things get done when they need to.  One of the things as an INTJ that my mind craves is structure.  I cannot get enough structure.  Even something as meaningless to the outside world as "alone time" is actually quite structured.  I structure everything from color coding my calendar, my cubicle at work to ensure the most efficient workflow, to even what coffee cup I use on what day of the week.  (My wife thinks I am a little OCD about it, and I might be a little excessive here, but I cannot stress enough how important structure is.)

So that's my secret!  Plenty of sleep, drinking coffee, and keeping a schedule all go a long way to ensuring that yours truly can get out and experience life and even socialize.  As long as I get enough time to feed my Ni (introverted intuition) by exploring my thoughts and synthesizing them with the patterns I observe in society, I am usually pretty content.

Review: Personality Hacker: Harness the Power of Your Personality Type to Transform Your Work, Relationships, and Life

Personality Hacker: Harness the Power of Your Personality Type to Transform Your Work, Relationships, and Life by Joel Mark Witt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Personality Hacker is an absolutely phenomenal book on Cognitive Function and the Myers-Briggs (MBTI) concepts. The book begins in a similar manner to other Myers-Briggs texts I've read on the topic by discussing the dichotomies of the MBTI and then relating the various cognitive functions with seamless precision. Joel Witt and Antonia Dodge clearly outline with each of the MBTI personality types how the different cognitive functions operate using their "car model" which is easily explained.

The concepts covered in the book itself are easy to understand and not watered down like some other books I've read on personality theory. Witt and Dodge use an engaging style and presentation that eases the reader into a conversation about how to be yourself to the full, understand and be comfortable with how you are mentally wired, and opening the path to better self awareness and improvement. It was a difficult book to put down and it has earned pride of place among books I recommend as well as a useful reference.

View all my reviews

New Goal: Wake Up Early

So, recently I saw a video on YouTube about the benefits of waking up at 5 am every day.  Now, I haven't woken up before 6:30 am since the time I was in seminary.  Most of the time I spent going to college was spent with my alarm sounding at 6:30 am and actually getting out of bed and beginning my day around 7:30.  Some days I slept in until almost 10 or 11 am, especially if I was out with friends the previous night, or needed to catch up on sleep.

A couple of moves later and living in a new state, the current work/life balance has yielded an ever changing sleep schedule.  This biorhythm has begun to introduce a chaos, stress, and fatigue into a cycle that functioned well and previously provided me with a healthy lifestyle where I was able to get things done.  At current, it seems like I don't get anything done, and my routine clothes itself in appearance of disorder and slothfulness.  Sometimes, when I begin winding down before bed I find myself thinking to myself, "I didn't get anything done today and now I have to push my tasks to the next day."  Needless to say I rarely find within myself a sense of accomplishment at the end of my day.

Well, I've decided to change that!

So beginning tomorrow morning I will be beginning an experiment to restore what was stereotype to my biorhythm.  This experiment will cover the better part of the month to resurrect the habit of a regular bed time and wake time.  The process will not yield perfection overnight.  Any sort of change in habit - especially when a bad habit has developed - takes time.  It is said that to develop a new habit takes at least 27 days, or on average one month.

It'll take some altering of a few bad habits I have developed.  Some important things that I've already been working on with some success, which have greatly helped me prepare for the experiment:

• No phone use for at least 30 minutes before bed
• Establish a procedural pre-bedtime sequence so that the body eventually learns that it's time to get to sleep.
• When the alarm sounds in the morning hitting the snooze < 5 times (still bad at this!)
• Establishing an unalterable sequential morning routine

It's been hard as a parent establishing a consistent routine for myself, but I think it needs to happen.  I remind myself that there will come a time when I will expect a routine from my daughter, and any other children I may have, thus it's important that I establish a routine so that the example is already set and ready to be imitated.

The best benefit to redeveloping a routine is that I will have more time for those things I want to do that aren't important.  Things like reading, blogging, catching up with friends will become much less difficult and more things that I just have time to do.  I think that's the ultimate and best benefit of all!

An INTJ Overview

Sort of related to my post on life as an INTJ:  Here's an overview of the INTJ personality from a very well done video.  Of the many videos on my personality type, this one is a fantastic beginning to understand one of the most misunderstood personality types.

My Life As An INTJ

So, I'm pretty big on personality theory.  It's one of several things that still makes a lot of sense to me ever since I took the required, and very cerebral and fascinating, Introduction to Psychology course during my time spent in college.

Although we only received a short lesson - as part of our section on Karl Jung - the ideas on personality theory stuck around, like glue, to the neural pathways of my brain.  I discovered after taking a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment[1] (hereafter MBTI) that I scored as INTJ.  After learning what those four letters meant (Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging), and reading a description of that personality type, I discovered that there's a clear and concise logic to how I think and perceive the world. In a way I became a sort of convert to studying personality theory in my spare time - enough that I've been able to get scary close to figuring out someone's personality.

So, what does this have to do with my life?

Everything!

Run a Google search for "INTJ personality"[2] and you'll find a plethora of search results and information to look at.  As an INTJ I tend to be enthusiastic about a massive amount of information, because that is what I need for decision making and to make sense of what is going on.  Don't worry if you're not big on a lot of information to sift through though.  However, I would definitely ask that for the sake of INTJs all over the world (estimated ~2.5%) to read up on what makes us tick (and why do we always seem have a death stare going on?).

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[1]  The MBTI assessment I took three times per week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) over a period of four weeks and scored INTJ.  I only had to take it once for class, the rest of the attempts were entirely of my own initiative (I just had to eliminate any subjective bias).

[2]  Went ahead and did the search for you so all you have to do is click on the link to the search results.  You're welcome!