ENTP Survey: 5 Things ENTPs Wish They Had Known as Teens

Few things are as satisfying to an ENTP as blazing new trails. They are masters at the art of re-inventing the wheel and will often refuse to do a task the same way twice.

They question standardized norms and, if given a choice, will ignore them altogether. For ENTPs, rules are made to be broken.

ENTPs make up only 3% of the world’s population, with men outnumbering women 2 to 1.

ENTPs are commonly found in careers in science, technology, management, and the arts. Yet they are among the most dissatisfied in their careers, despite being among the highest wage earners of all the types.

They are overrepresented among those demonstrating Type A behavior, in spite of the the fact that they, as a group, report low levels of stress.

ENTPs are one of only two types who are reported as frequently violating college alcohol policies.

Famous ENTPs are Jon Stewart, Benjamin Franklin and Richard Feynman.

In a recent survey of ENTPs we asked four questions:

• What are the top 3 challenges you face as an ENTP?
• What 3 things do you wish others knew about you as an ENTP?
• What 3 books/movies/courses/events have most impacted your life?
• What do you wish you could have told your 15 year old self
?

In this article, I would like to focus on the last of the four survey questions –What do you wish you could have told your 15 year old self
?

Many of the answers shared some common themes. So, I have broken them all down to 5 items ENTPs wish they had known when they were 15 years old, in order of frequency.

#1 Take Charge of Your Life

The only ENTP I know personally, spent a large portion of her life in cognitive dissonance. She did this because she was trying to force herself into a box that others had created for her. ENTPs don’t do boxes, or confinement. Freedom is the lifeblood of the ENTP.

27% of ENTPs who responded to our survey would like their younger selves to take charge of their life and stop letting others call the shots.

Direct Quotes:

• “You are more than what you came from. You have the immense power to influence, so start understanding that now and embody that.”
• “Life is full of paradoxes when you look without. Look within, meditate, and live in the paradoxes that exist without. You have complete control of your reality. The answer lies within.”
• “Anything is possible if you believe it is. Your mind creates your reality based on your beliefs. Examine what you believe and be open to changing your mind. Always.”
• “Aw, honey, you are amazing. You are not like anyone else (srsly, female Christian genius-level ENTP–ain’t many of those out there) so acknowledge your uniqueness and work hard to figure out how to leverage those unique strengths while addressing those unique weaknesses. Also, it’s okay that you get along better with men than with women, but please be careful about leading them on. You’re gonna be sorry someday for the hearts you break. ”
• “Don’t beat yourself up, the rest of the world has you covered for that. Don’t sweat what everyone is trying to get you to do and not do. Take a deep breath and think about something you’re grateful for. Understand what every moment calls for, and become what it calls for.”

#2 Work Harder

ENTPs dominant mental process is Extraverted Intuition (“Exploration” in the Genius System). This is an optimistic cognitive function that sees possibilities everywhere. It enjoys playing with new ideas and engaging in battles of wit with other people. ENTPs can be charming, charismatic, and fun-loving.

Apparently, this approach to life can lack focus, however. 13% of ENTPs surveyed said they would tell their younger selves to work harder.

Direct Quotes:

• “Dear 15 year old self, Doing drugs and being promiscuous will not make you feel more beautiful. You will go on to have a much better life than you can imagine, but because of the way you are acting, it will take you longer than your peers to see success. Please focus more on school and less on partying. Yours truly, your 30 year old self.”
• “Rather than take the route of least resistance, challenge yourself to take the hardest, most obstacle filled route. Don’t fear failure.”
• “Be more hard working. But if you don’t want to, you will figure things out. You are a survivor!”
• “Work harder, just a little bit…. And focus! Party afterwards.”

#3 You Still Have A Lot to Learn

The auxiliary function of the ENTP personality type is Introverted Thinking (“Accuracy”). This cognitive function creates tremendous focus around subjects and can become incredibly knowledgeable about such things. In its less developed form, it can become myopic and rest into the belief that it has gained all the knowledge there is.

There’s always something new to be learned. 12% of ENTPs would tell their 15 year old selves that they still have a lot to learn.

Direct Quotes:

• “Oh, little ENTP, have more patience with other people. Not everyone is like you. I recommend that you put yourself in their shoes. Learn what kind of person they are and how they think in order to better understand where they are coming from in their mentality. Just because they are not wired the way you are, does not mean that they don’t have a lot to offer. You could learn a lot from people who are different from you.”
• “You are not the smartest creature out there.”
• “Take life a little more seriously. Get a job. Just do what you have to do to acquire discipline. Whatever it takes, because none of your ambitions will be possible without it. You are often wrong. In conflicts, most of the time both people are wrong to some extent so don’t spend all your time telling the other person how they’re wrong. It will be much more profitable to look at yourself first so you can improve yourself. And stop being so lazy!”

#4 You Are Smarter Than You Realize

As an interesting contrast to the previous statistic, 9% of ENTPs would tell their younger selves that they are smarter than they realize.

Direct Quotes:

• “You are smart. Your skills are valuable. You aren’t a nut. You’re just different. ”
• “Some rules do make sense. Apply yourself. You are smarter than you realize.”
• “The Internet really is all you think it is. Act on your instincts! Go to UNC, not Duke. You’re not going to be a lawyer anyway. Be more trusting of your intuition.”

#5 Keep Your Options Open

ENTPs love the idea of unfettered freedom. They become bored when the newness of something wears off and it becomes mundane.

Therefore it is important for ENTPs to feel that their life continues to have exciting new horizons. 7% of ENTPs would like their younger selves to keep their options open.

Direct Quotes:

• “Keep your options open. Don’t get locked into one way of thinking. You have many choices to make. God won’t be mad at you if you don’t do everything just right.”
• “It’s okay to not be certain of what you want to be when you grow up (doctor, lawyer, etc.) The career will naturally find you (and entrepreneurship naturally did).”
• “Don’t force yourself into the best classes because you think that’s the best way to success. You’ll have an amazing high school experience if you take classes you’re interested in and interact with people who aren’t traditionally smart!”
• “Don’t bow to the pressure to ‘do’ something because that’s ‘just the way the world works.’ Do what makes you excited – and when you’re done, move on! Don’t let the world’s ‘practicality’ tie you down. But be aware of the risks you take. ”

We would love to hear more about the advice ENTPs would give to their teenage selves. Please share them in the comments below.

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