I don't know if I've ever uttered the words "I'm bored" when not at work. Perhaps when I was little I might have tried to use it on my Mother with specific results in mind. (A trip to get ice cream or a new She-Ra toy? Heck yeah!) Aside from that though, I don't think I can recall a single time when I've actually been bored in my entire life... unless I was at work.
At home, this way of finding something to do results in "hobbies" that are on a never-ending rotation with no real results or mastery. I play guitar (horribly), I paint (even more horribly), I sing, write, organize, build, fix, bake, swim, practice Kung Fu... each with varying degrees of success. They rise and fall from my attention and lay dormant until I decide that I need to use one of them for an outlet, almost obsessively, for a short period of time. I pounce with intensity and enthusiasm, knowing that this time I will master it... finish it... excel at it. For a while I am free from my mind, indulging in sensory related activities, eagerly pulling everything I can from life's experiences. The sensory overload invigorates my creativity and curiosity. It's a blast. I have always equated it to what my dog must feel like when she escapes from the back yard to run amok around the neighborhood. She knows she'll have to come back home... but damn it she's going to have fun while it lasts. External things will all be forgotten again when that time to "go back home" arrives but until then, my mind is on a free-for-all.
Then, that shiny new mental playground I was waiting for presents itself, like a beacon... like a favorite drug. Hopefully this new idea is work-related, because if it isn't, a whole other side of me appears.
Nothing is worse for me than workplace boredom. From "9-5" I am expected to do something productive. I can't spend all day reading or writing or playing an instrument. I have a job to do, and when that job becomes boring, easy or tedious, things get weird.
When I don't have a complex problem to dedicate my mind to, my brain creates complex problems... simply because it wants to. I start analyzing people, motives, weather patterns, fictional characters, traffic, natural disasters, cereal ingredients... the list goes on forever. At the end of it all there is this overwhelming need to take action and so I plant seeds. Who knows which random idea will sprout into my next big problem to solve? I seem to have plenty of mental space to perform whatever routine work task I am assigned to and still daydream about all of these crazy ideas at the same time. This is the controlled version of my boredom where I provide strict rules about what is available for contemplation, and what isn't.
When I was younger this type of boredom did all kinds of bad things to me and had a way of spurring a whirlwind of mischief. I didn't have any rules in place; there were no boundaries of what could be acted upon. Before I learned my lesson, things could unravel very quickly as I started sticking my nose into areas that weren't mine to know about. I would start making recommendations that were never asked for when I found flaws. I mentally tallied whether or not we (the company) were making progress and how... and why. I quietly resented those who had important things to work on that I was not involved in.
As I became more aware of this tendency, I realized how detrimental it was to my career and even possibly to the company itself. My curiosity could derail a project or goal in a heartbeat if I started tearing it apart, fault by fault. The process of dismantling an idea, one that I find entertaining and valuable in all situations, others see as negativity... as meddlesome. Plenty of times, a single, pointed question that has lurked in my mind for days as I watched things unfolding has thrown a wrench in others' well-laid plans. I had no concept of weighing whether or not my input was even needed... of course it was needed! Something was wrong! Wouldn't they want to know as soon as possible about this problem so they could address it?
It took me a long time to realize that even imperfect plans could still turn out well. Projects with a few blips and bumps along the way were not doomed to failure. My way is not always the best way. While others might not lay out the full plan ahead of time, they are still very likely to make it to the end. My husband is an enigma to me in this way. The man is brilliant, and can fly by the seat of his pants with startling success. His form of interacting with the world is much more reactive, but no less valid. He is just as nimble at changing direction if something isn't working, but he doesn't know until that moment of discovery that he needs a new plan, or what it will be! To me, that mentality is mind-boggling. It almost gives me anxiety to think of living like that (hahaha!... no really).
Experience has shown me that I should use my talents for good and not for evil. There is a fine line between offering helpful, timely advise and being destructive. I can't lie... something perverse in me really loves knowing that one single sentence can inflict mortal wounds to brilliant ideas, like a sledgehammer aimed at the minuscule crack in a beautiful, marble statue. One good whack and the whole thing will crumble. It is a sick mind of the INTJ that sees nothing but possibility and fun in the splintered pieces laying all about when the dust settles because it means everything can be reassembled "correctly". This tendency horrifies and angers others and if I'm quite honest, it isn't usually necessary to that extent.
Since I'm not usually surrounded by others with this same mental sickness (heh) I have had to learn how to offer helpful information and restrain myself from being overly critical. Sometimes it is terribly hard to do but I've made progress in this area.
I'm not entirely sure, but I would bet a hefty sum that a lot of INTJ's have had experiences similar to what I describe. Perhaps you figured it out sooner than I did, and if so you have my admiration. The desire to point out flaws seems so ingrained in who I am that it takes a lot of effort and self-control just to keep my mouth shut. I've developed a sort of mental checklist that helps me decide whether or not I should get involved:
1. "Will this information be well received?"
If the answer is no, then I ask another...
2. "Will this information make the difference between success and failure?"
If the answer is no then one more is required...
3. "Will they discover this information on their own with time to resolve it?"
If the answer isn't a resounding yes, then I decide that I should at least mention it to someone who can weigh it into existing plans.
In this way, I have learned how to direct and control the results of my mental boredom. Sometimes I'm sure I still slip and put in my two cents where it isn't needed, but these are hopefully small things, done in passing and if others choose to hear them and take notice (or not) then it isn't very important.
End Note: If you managed to get through this entire post without thinking "What an arrogant ass" then you must be another INTJ or an ENTJ. Even I think I sound like a jerk when I re-read it, but it's all accurate in how I work and live so I suppose it can't be sugar-coated. After all... isn't providing accurate information my ultimate end-goal in life? lol Once I get the world figured out and have the cosmos properly organized perhaps we can have a BBQ and discuss how right we always are about things. Maybe you can live on the Island of Rational Thinkers with us when we conquer it. It will be a splendid place, teeming with book stores and rum. On my island... the rum will never be gone. Join us.
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