A couple of simple mental models:

• Introverts: People who protect existing boundaries
• Extraverts: People who expand existing boundaries

And:

• Introverted Processes for Extraverts: Urgently Protect Newly Expanded Boundaries by Providing Structure and Resources
• Extraverted Processes for Introverts: Capitalize on Consolidated Structure and Resources to Expand into New Boundaries

Questions:

Where are there firm boundaries and high walls in your:

(Examples)

• Work schedule
• Work politics
• Job description
• Creative life
• Planning process

…and where are there loose boundaries or completely free and open territories in the same? In which way do you share those boundaries with others, and how can you expand into them and enforce your own boundaries around them?

How do you rank those territories, in terms of interest to you? Imagine if you were building solid walls next to thousands of square miles of unclaimed territory, simply because no one has charted it yet. What process would serve you best there?

Some of this will sound aggressive, or political, or forceful, or even treacherous, to your intuition.

But the intuition in “resist-new-ideas mode” is also at high risk of overuse as an INTJ’s assessment process…again it’s about protection of what we already have.

Metaphor should assist here. What and where and who are the walls, fences, and castles? The villages? The villagers? What tools does an explorer need?

Filed in: Careers /40/ | Productivity /119/ | Goals /52/