What personality type is Stoic | An Analysis of the Myers-Briggs Personality Types and Stoicism

There are lots of talks and discussion about Stoicism and their personality type. You will see people saying this personality type is the most Stoic or that type is the most Stoic. However, I made a different approach. As someone into Stoicism, the only way to judge what personality type fits the Stoics is by analyzing each trait and combining them to see which is the one fit to be Stoic.

The ideal Stoic belongs to the ISTP personality type. This is because they tend to listen more, thus introverted(I), focus on the present moment, therefore observant(S), always think rationally, thus thinking(T), and flexible on different circumstances, thus prospective(P).

Personally, I don’t believe that we can quantify everyone with 16 personalities or 32 if you included the latest one. I think that we are unique in our way. Additionally, I don’t believe that someone is 100% Stoic because this philosophy is something we improve through our lifetime.

What Personality Type is Stoic?

The Stoic personality type is ISTP-A because they don’t expect things from others, focus on their current thoughts and actions, prevent their emotions from influencing their thoughts and actions, easily adjust to the present situation, and are resistant to stress.

In this blog post, what I did is I check which personality type is the ideal Stoic.

We will compare each part of the personality types in the eyes of someone practicing Stoicism.

Are Stoics Introverted or Extroverted?

Stoics tend to be more introverted than extroverted simply because they prefer not expecting things from others. Instead, they take matters into their hands and rely on their abilities. Furthermore, Stoics prefer listening instead of speaking, making them lie on the introvert side.

Let’s start by comparing introverted (I) and extroverted (E) people.

Introverted people are the ones who like to listen more than speak. They are very reflective and focus on having alone time. [1]

This is true because we always see Introverted Stoics that prefer to listen more than speak. Furthermore, many Stoics tend to enjoy some alone time thinking and writing in their journal.

“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”

Epictetus

On the other hand, Extroverts tend to constantly engage in their environment and interact with the people around them.

Furthermore, they enjoy pushing their limits to see what’s the best they can do.

The problem is that extroverts tend to rely on the people around them for validation which is not a Stoic way of handling things.

“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

Marcus Aurelius

The Stoics understand that we can’t control other people and shouldn’t expect from them.

Since extroverts tend to rely on others, this is against one of the core Stoic principles.

So, if we decide on the ideal Stoic personality, they tend to be introverts.

The problem with most people is that they see introverts as bad leaders. However, this is far from the truth.

Introverts are good with leadership and tend to empower people since they let their people decide for themselves.

“We have seen so many highly talented people be overlooked for leadership roles because they didn’t fit the mold. And yet, somewhat ironically, we have also seen that many executive leaders who appear to be extroverts are really introverts in disguise.”

Susan Cain

I’m not bashing extroverts. In fact, I have an ENTJ personality type.

However, when I was younger, I got an INTJ. I don’t know what changed, but that’s my story.

In conclusion, when we see the ideal Stoic, it seems they lean more into the introverted type(I) rather than the extroverted type(E).

Are Stoics Intuitive or Observant?

Stoics are more of the observant type than the Intuitive type since they focus on their present thoughts and actions. They follow Stoicism’s core principle called the dichotomy of control which says that we can’t control what the future holds.

Intuitive people (N) tend to think deeply and imagine possibilities.

They tend to see more than other people since they prefer to imagine deeply while questioning the things around them.

These people tend always to ask “What If” in situations. They allow their imagination to move freely and tend to dive into complicated matters. [2]

While you might see this as the Stoic personality, you’re looking for. There is a problem.

Intuitive individuals tend to expect things in the future. They tend to forget the things they have in the present, which isn’t the Stoic way of handling things.

While it is true that they are deep in their thoughts which fit Stoics, the fact that they are expecting things in the future and overthinking a lot makes it not follow Stoic’s principle of the dichotomy of control.

The dichotomy of control is a core Stoic principle which talks about not minding the things we can’t control and instead focusing on what we can control.

Sadly, since people with intuitive personalities think a lot about their future, which is out of their control, they are not a Stoic type.

Instead, Stoics tend to focus on what they can do in the present moment since they believe what they can control are their current thoughts and actions.

This fits better on the observant type of personality.

The observant personality tends to see the “real-time” or the current moment.

They are the people who always try to live in the present and enjoy what’s in front of them.

Observers tend to be the doers since they see the current problem while focusing on what they can do in the present moment.

Thus, the Stoic personality tends to lie more on the observant (S) personality.

Again, I’m not an observant type of person. When I took the Myers-Briggs personality test, I got ENTJ which is the opposite of what we analyzed.

As of now, we can see that ISxx is the ideal Stoic personality.

The whole future lies in uncertainty: live immediately.”

Seneca

Are Stoics Thinking or Feeling?

Stoics tend to be of the thinking type rather than the feeling type because they trained themselves not to let emotions influence their actions. This means Stoics try their best to be logical in their thoughts and actions.

Thinking individuals tend to handle things objectively and away from emotions.

This means they try to handle the things around them logically and not let emotions prevent them from making mistakes.

If we think about Stoicism, it is a philosophy discussing how we can stay logical and not let emotions influence our actions.

Thus, we can say that Stoics are the Thinking personality type (T) rather than the Feeling personality type (F).

Finally, somewhere my personality type belongs to.

While Stoics tend to prevent emotions from influencing their thoughts and actions, this doesn’t mean that Stoics are emotionless. Instead, Stoics only know how to deal with emotions. You can find more information about it here: Do Stoics feel emotion?

Are Stoics Judging or Prospecting?

Stoics belong to the prospecting trait because they believe in determinism and fate. The prospecting type of individual tends to adjust depending on the situation, which fits the Stoic’s understanding of focusing on our current thoughts and actions.

Now, let’s talk about judging (J) and prospecting (P).

People with the Judging personality type tend to be comfortable when things are going their way. They tend to be rigid in their plans and handle things with a well-calculated strategy.

These individuals also tend to prefer clarity and closure. They stick with their plans rather than letting fate decide.

People with the prospecting personality type, on the other hand, then be the people who figure things as they go. [3]

These people tend to react to their environment instead of challenging it.

They are very flexible and see opportunities in the present.

As someone in the ENTJ personality, sad to say but based on the data, we can say that Stoics fall more into the prospecting category.

Stoics are deterministic. They believe in fate. However, since they also believe they can’t change fate, they adjust to what the present presents, making them fall more into the prospecting personality type.

I talked more about this in my blog post about what Stoics think of nature. You can find it here: What is nature according to Stoics?

But the quick answer is Stoics believe in fate. So instead of trying to change it, they adjust it by focusing on the present moment.

As of now, we completed the 16 personalities. Based on our analysis, we can see that the ideal Stoic tends to fall into the ISTP personality type.

“Fate leads the willing, and drags along the reluctant.”

Seneca

Are Stoics Assertive or Turbulent?

Stoics tend to have an Assertive personality trait since they are less prone to stress because they understand that there are things in life they can’t control. Furthermore, Stoics aren’t perfectionists since they believe in determinism and accepting one’s fate.

Finally, last on the personality traits are Assertive (-A) and Turbulent (-T).

The simplest explanation between the two traits is that Assertive individuals are resistant to stress and self-assured.

People with the Assertive trait don’t worry too much.

On the other hand, Turbulent individuals are more prone to stress and are somewhat perfectionists.[4]

However, while Turbulent individuals are more prone to stress, they tend to achieve more and push themselves to be better.

When we talk about Stoicism, Assertive fits Stoics more since Stoics are less prone to stress due to understanding that there are things in life they can’t control.

However, the turbulent trait also applies to Stoics since they pushed themselves to be better.

Which personality type is most Stoic Infographic
What Personality Type is Stoic Infographic

Which personality type is most Stoic?

Generally speaking, the most Stoic personality type is the ISTP personality which means introverted, observant, thinking, and prospecting. These character traits tend to fit a Stoic personality more than other types.

As you can see, based on our analysis, we’ve seen that Stoics tend to have an ISTP Personality type. However, we can also see that it doesn’t matter.

Our personality type doesn’t matter when it comes to practicing Stoicism.

For example, I am an ENTJ, and based on my analysis, I don’t fit the ideal Stoic personality.

Thus, all personalities can adopt the Stoic mindset and reap its benefits.

Practicing Stoicism is a lifelong journey where we learn and apply Stoic principles in our daily lives.

Furthermore, I don’t believe that personality type should define a person because we are all different.

As I said, there are billions of people worldwide, and I don’t think we can quantify them based on 16 personalities.

So, even if you fell into another personality type, as long as you’re committed to improving your life, then you can try Stoicism.

What’s next? Now that you know the Stoic personality type, how about learning about the Stoic mindset? You can find it here: What is the Stoic Mindset?

Only the things I love.

ongjason.com is reader-supported. When you buy through links on the site, I earn an affiliate commission.

If you’re following me, you’ll know that I believe it is essential to have some tools, whether it’s for personal development or lifestyle in general.

So, here are the things I love.

YouTube

If you want to learn things for free, I recommend watching my YouTube Channel. Click the Button Below to go straight into my Channel. 🙂

Okay, let me first explain my Channel.

I believe that I really can’t explain everything too well on my blog. That’s why I created a YouTube Channel so I can easily explain a lot of things. Plus, I believe that Video Sharing is the future.

Recommended Books

The next thing is books. Books are, for me, one of the cheapest ways to get invaluable information. We can learn personal development, finance, career, relationships, and many more from books.

Here, I will be listing my favorite books in different categories.

  1. For Beginners7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey – Personal development has a lot of concepts and ideas to learn. Thus it can be really hard for beginners to know where to start. Thus, I recommend this book since all the basic concepts of personal development are here(except finance, check what I recommended for that)
  2. ProductivityThe One Thing by Gary Keller – This book teaches us the power of focusing on one thing which is the ultimate source of productivity. The concepts taught are what I am using to constantly publish YouTube videos while maintaining this website.
  3. Busy?Make Time by Jack Knapp – This book teaches us how to make time for the things we love. The concept is really simple but I think that makes it a book worth reading.
  4. HealthLifespan by Dr.Sinclair – This Book teaches about the latest scientific research on lifespan. In his book, he has shared numerous things he is doing to slow down his aging process. This can be as easy as eating less which he recommends.
  5. FinanceThe Richest Man in Babylon by George Clason – Perhaps one of the first books I’ve read about Finance, this book for me is the best if we are talking about learning basic finance such as basic saving and investing. The concepts are very simple but effective.

Audiobooks

Take this advice as a grain of salt.

I don’t recommend buying Audiobooks one by one. I mean, audiobooks can be quickly finished by listening while working out or doing some mindless tasks.

So here is to save you some money. Just go for a monthly subscription to Audible. I believe that you will save a lot of money with that plus, they usually give freebies to anyone starting.

My Audiobook Recommendation will always be the same as my book recommendations, but I personally like The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins. I like how she is so casual while reading her book.

Sources:

  1. —. “Mind: Introverted vs. Extraverted.NERIS Analytics Limited, 28 Nov. 2015, www.16personalities.com/articles/mind-introverted-vs-extraverted.
  2. NERIS Analytics Limited. “Energy: Intuitive vs. Observant.NERIS Analytics Limited, 28 Nov. 2015, www.16personalities.com/articles/energy-intuitive-vs-observant.
  3. —. “Tactics: Judging vs. Prospecting.NERIS Analytics Limited, 28 Nov. 2015, www.16personalities.com/articles/tactics-judging-vs-prospecting.
  4. —. “Identity: Assertive vs. Turbulent.NERIS Analytics Limited, 28 Nov. 2015, www.16personalities.com/articles/identity-assertive-vs-turbulent.

Similar Posts