Can INTJ's live exciting lives?

Yes

You shouldn't worry about this at all.

Obligatory references on the subject of the unvalidated Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-leadership/myers-b...

"Now, 50 years after the first time anyone paid money for the test, the Myers-Briggs legacy is reaching the end of the family line. The youngest heirs don’t want it. And it’s not clear whether organizations should, either.

. . . .

"Yet despite its widespread use and vast financial success, and although it was derived from the work of Carl Jung, one of the most famous psychologists of the 20th century, the test is highly questioned by the scientific community."

http://www.skepdic.com/myersb.html

http://www.psychometric-success.com/personality-tests/person...

"Overall, the review committee concluded that the MBTI has not demonstrated adequate validity although its popularity and use has been steadily increasing. The National Academy of Sciences review committee concluded that: 'at this time, there is not sufficient, well-designed research to justify the use of the MBTI in career counseling programs,' the very thing that it is most often used for."

http://www.indiana.edu/~jobtalk/HRMWebsite/hrm/articles/deve...

http://www.amazon.com/Cult-Personality-Testing-Annie-Murphy/...

I wouldn't worry as much about the validity (or not) of Myers-Brigs as long as the OP recognises himself/herself sincerely in that INTJ profile.

INTJ or not, what is interesting is that the question comes from a powerless position as if being (self?) qualified as INTJ (or whatnot) was a card the OP was dealt with at birth and that would poison their life forever after.

I answered the laconic "Yes" initially as way to trigger a line of questioning in the OP's mind:

"May I be happy in life regardless of what Myers-Brigs tells me I am?"

And my answer is a resounding: Yes.

No matter how (in)accurate Myers-Brigs, your happiness is in your own hands, and whatever you decide to do about it, you decide to about it.

Take responsibility for who you are, don't hide behind INTJ as "the fate that has been imposed on you".

You could be blind, autistic and any number of other conditions that are hampering life. Feel the luck you have in being an INTJ.

Take it as the glass half-full rather than "twice as big as needed" :-)

Let's ignore the egregious question of internal and external validity of MBTI for a moment. I've been tested by one of Australia's spy agencies [we have about six] using MBTI, and came out as an INTJ, with extreme 'I' characteristics. One way to put that would be to say that I have almost no external locus of control. That doesn't mean I am immune to reasoned argument, quite the reverse; the only way to change my mind is by reasoned argument. I cannot and will not be browbeaten or blackmailed by anyone.

So what is this guy like in the workplace? Surely that Himalayan ego is a serious problem? Surely those Asperger-like symptoms are an impediment to corporate success? Can he work with, like, real people? In fact, I have led several teams to great success, because my ego is unthreatened by the brilliance and skill of the people who work for me. If someone has a better idea than mine, I don't feel the need to stomp on it. Quite the reverse; I'm proud to have the best and brightest working for me, I'm not scared of occasional failure, and I have a reputation as a great 'people person', a description that my secret self considers utterly bogus. I dislike physical contact, for example, and sometimes have trouble reading people, but I compensate for that because I am almost impossible to offend, unconcerned with personalities, and often barely aware of the people aspects when I wade into 'difficult' office situations.

So MBTI is a bit like horoscopes, or phenotypes and genotypes. It's not deterministic, it's indicative. Just because you and I have INTJ stamped on our foreheads, it doesn't mean that we can't be effective in situations thought to be more suited to the touchy-feely types; as an INTJ, I never play favourites, focusing instead on solving the problem rather than playing to the audience. Sometimes the INTJ's highly analytic approach to everything can be more effective in managing people than emoting all over them and wanting everyone to be your friend.

If you want to go to Europe and see stuff, do it. You might want to do it INTJ-style, preparing a detailed dossier on everything, mapping out locations, travel dates and times, selecting odd things aligned with your interests [Vesalius's dissecting room at Padua is still there, for example, and surely the LHC would be on your list], but hey, what's wrong with that?