Cognition is the result of where you naturally focus your attention, your desires, and your interests. Regardless of what your momentary desires or interests may be, each of us has certain deep, secret hopes that mean more to us than anything. While moods and opinions may change, these deepest desires are such a pure reflection of who we really are. In a world where there is so much to do, so much to experience, so much need and so many discoveries waiting to be found, we each inadvertently focus the most on some things over others. The things that we focus on most of all reflect what we want most out of life, deep down. This comes out through cognition, as the unique specialization of your cognitive type.
As the INTJ Dragon, perhaps nothing is more important to you than learning what works and what doesn’t, and living accordingly in order to have the most beneficial impact on the world. Cognitively, you focus on the potential use (NT) that you can have on a worldwide scale (IJ). This causes you to think of everything in terms of how it applies to theoretical people, to the lives of the human race overall. What matters most to you, deep down, is comprehending the principles of everything the world can be, and doing whatever it takes to get it there.
This is what gives Dragons their fierce fire, their drive to improve the world according to its full potential. With a profound love for conceptual principles, Dragons naturally think according to what makes life work well and what doesn’t, giving them a practicality and a passion for straightforward, no-nonsense decisiveness. The universal rules of existence don’t change because we find them inconvenient, and Dragons don’t expect them to; rather, they seek to change the world to better benefit by working in line with those universal principles.
INTJs are all too frequently stereotyped as villains, but just because our culture tends to fear the idea of worldwide change, doesn’t negate the fact that Dragons can be truly selfless, noble, and heroic in their determined pursuit of making life better. As a Dragon, you’re fully prepared to improve yourself and the world according to its full potential, even when that requires change, defiance of the established order, or fierce defense of unpopular ideas. Acting with resolute poise and majestic precision, you know what steps to take in order to bring the world in line with the principles that make life work better.
None of this means that your specialization of learning, seeking, and applying useful principles comes easy for you. You have to work at it, just as much as anyone else would. The difference between you and other types is that you care to work at this, above all else. Some may say that it’s just easier for you to be determined, strategic, or focused, but that’s not true; you simply care enough about plotting a course to make life work better, that you’re willing to work much harder at it.
No cognitive type has it easy; every type has to work just as hard at their specialization as anyone else would have to. And every type has to deal with social pressure that tries to make them feel ashamed or embarrassed of their unique specialization. This pressure results in unhappiness and deep, internal conflict, as people feel tempted to ignore their specialization in an effort to not stand out, rock the boat, or look foolish or make anyone else uncomfortable. When we try to ignore our own deepest desires, the reflection of who we really are and really can be, we feel torn, frustrated, and unfulfilled.
This is why understanding our own cognition is so important! As we come to understand what we already wanted in the first place, we learn how to get out of our own way. We learn to let ourselves shine, rather than hiding our light. The world needs what each of us can uniquely offer. We need all the strengths of all the types; each is special at the same time, because each is special in a different way. You don’t do anyone any good when you hide your unique strength, even if you’re afraid it will make others feel uncomfortable. Let yourself be the Dragon you are, spread your wings and burn a path to your objectives, and do it in your own personal way. As you do, you’ll implicitly encourage others to live according to the universal principles of reality, so they can see for themselves how powerful, effective, and fulfilling it is.
Recent Comments