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Change

King sns

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What's a good catalyst for change for you?

Personally, I need to be pretty unhappy and discontented to want to change anything. (Jobs, residence, friendships, or whatever.) I will always be happier when things have been the same for a while.

I noticed that a lot of people don't think that way though. You Ne people in particular seem to be just always changing for the sake of change. (Or maybe i'm wrong.) Is it that you are unhappy with the way things currently are all the time or is it that you are just happier under uncertain circumstances?

I have an ENFP friend in particular who is always talking about moving, changing jobs, going back to school. (She actually starts some of the plans to and even manages to finish a select few!! Only to move on to something else.) She went through a bunch of relationships within the course of a year. That's so foreign to me. She is a perfectly happy and content person, but continues this kind of behavior.

How do you handle changes when they do need to occur?
I know this is supposed to be an N/S thing but seems like some Se people don't mind it either.
 

stellar renegade

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Keirsey says SPs love change and will change things up just for variety's sake.
 

Nonsensical

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What's a good catalyst for change for you?

Personally, I need to be pretty unhappy and discontented to want to change anything. (Jobs, residence, friendships, or whatever.) I will always be happier when things have been the same for a while.

I noticed that a lot of people don't think that way though. You Ne people in particular seem to be just always changing for the sake of change. (Or maybe i'm wrong.) Is it that you are unhappy with the way things currently are all the time or is it that you are just happier under uncertain circumstances?

I have an ENFP friend in particular who is always talking about moving, changing jobs, going back to school. (She actually starts some of the plans to and even manages to finish a select few!! Only to move on to something else.) She went through a bunch of relationships within the course of a year. That's so foreign to me. She is a perfectly happy and content person, but continues this kind of behavior.

How do you handle changes when they do need to occur?
I know this is supposed to be an N/S thing but seems like some Se people don't mind it either.

Generally, when I am unhappy with how things are going, I stir it up a bit, and try to get off onto a new path.

I wouldn't survive if I didn't have this variation. I just can't deal with the same things for too long. It doesn't always make me unhappy, but sometimes I just need change. For whatever reason it may be. I'll get bored with routines fast and mix it up.

And sometimes, even when I have no logical reason to want a change, I will make it happen anyway. There doesn't always have to be a clear reason, sometimes I just make it happen and am happier with the outcome. It's hard to explain. :(
 

SolitaryPenguin

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When I was in my early to mid 20s, I used to have this need to change things for no apparent reason, almost a kind of self-sabotage. I would screw up a perfectly good situation just to see if I could land on my feet. This would be anything from jobs to relationships to living situations, the bigger the impact, the better.

This made me a pretty unstable person to be around for a while, but I think it was a means of controlling my life, instead of letting other factors control it for me.

I've since adapted that quite a bit, and I am very content with a stable routine. What it gave me, however, is a great ability to adapt when life throws me those curveballs every other couple of months or so.
 

Totenkindly

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I've read this too..
What do you say?
In your own experience?

I've seen ESFPs need to have variety or they get bored. (ExxP's of any sort usually like to mix things up and wander around looking for new things to get into.)

However, it doesn't mean necessarily that responsibilities get abandoned or that certain principles are not adhered to, if they're important to maintain life. I've known some ESFPs who were pretty freewheeling and fun and yet were in charge of maintaining the family and keeping things afloat... and managed to do that just fine.

* * * *

As far as change in general goes, people will continue to do the same things they're used to doing ("stuck in the ruts") until their fear of change is overcome by the pain of remaining as-is. People all have different thresholds here.

* * * *

As for me, I actually like to keep my basic life very stable and then change the more cosmetic things (moving/changing furniture/arrangements; getting new clothes; visiting new places; etc). I do get bored otherwise, I always need something new to explore.

For me, it's just a matter of how much the change impacts the overall stability of my life. I don't like having to worry about money or a constantly changing routine because it distracts from my explorations into other things. If my life is unstable, then I have to divert energy back to it and that means taking it away from my creative and mental endeavors.
 

stellar renegade

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I've read this too..
What do you say?
In your own experience?

I don't know, I imagine I'm more comfortable with things staying the same than a ENXP would be, as I can usually just lose myself in repetition and maybe zone out if I need to. But I do seem to have an attraction to anything new and sparkly and would usually rather go for spontaneous and constant change.

Sadly enough, I'm finding that I do tend to value new friends over relationships I've had awhile. I know this isn't a great trait but I don't exactly know how to reverse it. :unsure:
 

Randomnity

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I like stability with home, friends, relationships etc.

I like change with little things that don't matter like eating, entertainment, music etc. But even that I don't really change that often unless I get bored.

I'm often afraid to try new things because of social fear rather than a fear of change so that might skew things.
 

jenocyde

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If I am not constantly stimulated, I get bored... Boredom is a fate worse than death for me. I can't be happy unless I have something to look forward to. The feeling of boredom - it's such a depressing, heavy feeling like someone is sitting on my chest and I can't breathe. I need things to change or I will wilt away and die.
 

King sns

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If I am not constantly stimulated, I get bored... Boredom is a fate worse than death for me. I can't be happy unless I have something to look forward to. The feeling of boredom - it's such a depressing, heavy feeling like someone is sitting on my chest and I can't breathe. I need things to change or I will wilt away and die.

Wow tell me what ya really think ;)
 

Poki

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I'm often afraid to try new things because of social fear rather than a fear of change so that might skew things.

Social fear is my only fear of change really. When it comes to personal things I like change or I get bored. I am not a sit and relax kind of person. I have even got to the point of multi tasking while I am napping.
 

King sns

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Well... sure,
new hair, new clothes, new restaurants, (although I am kind of a same restaurant same plate person) new little things. And constantly keeping busy. That's my style too..

How about big changes, though?
 

Mole

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What's a good catalyst for change for you?

Personally, I need to be pretty unhappy and discontented to want to change anything. (Jobs, residence, friendships, or whatever.) I will always be happier when things have been the same for a while.

I noticed that a lot of people don't think that way though. You Ne people in particular seem to be just always changing for the sake of change. (Or maybe i'm wrong.) Is it that you are unhappy with the way things currently are all the time or is it that you are just happier under uncertain circumstances?

I have an ENFP friend in particular who is always talking about moving, changing jobs, going back to school. (She actually starts some of the plans to and even manages to finish a select few!! Only to move on to something else.) She went through a bunch of relationships within the course of a year. That's so foreign to me. She is a perfectly happy and content person, but continues this kind of behavior.

How do you handle changes when they do need to occur?
I know this is supposed to be an N/S thing but seems like some Se people don't mind it either.

Changing your diet is more difficult than changing your religion.

In fact all change is very difficult and those who tell you they thrive on change are those most resistant to change.

And those who embark on a change don't know where they are going or how to get there and so usually don't arrive.

Just think of all those women's magazines devoted to diets and astrology. If either worked, the magazines would be out of business. But women remain the same and keep buying the magazines.

Change is difficult because once you initiate a change you also initiate the homeostatic response.

So it looks like change is self defeating. But if you give the devil his due, small slow changes are possible.

So if you make a change on day one, then you rest on day two and pay your respects to homeostasis.

This is surprisingly difficult to do in a literate culture as we are all trained in special institutions with specially trained staff to think lineally and sequentially. And so quite naturally we think change proceeds lineally and sequentially, one step after another. And when it doesn't, we think we have failed. And thinking makes it so.

Rather change follows a circular pattern but we are linear and literate.

However the noosphere is cutting out a circular pattern for us right now.

And where changing our diet or religion may be difficult now, will seem far more natural in the noosphere.

How rigid, how stiff, how armoured we will think the literate are as we dance into the noosphere.

So changing our diet is more difficult than giving up our religion, but not quite as difficult as giving up literacy which is happening quietly, unobtrusively while we are under the anaesthetic of the threads.
 

Laurie

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Everytime I have a baby my whole life and what I'm doing changes. I pick up a new hobby after every child. I need to have another one, I'm a little over the computer hobby this time. I seriously have no idea how I change my hobby/work so drastically every time I have a baby.
 

INTJ123

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Well... sure,
new hair, new clothes, new restaurants, (although I am kind of a same restaurant same plate person) new little things. And constantly keeping busy. That's my style too..

How about big changes, though?

I can't speak for all intuitives but I have a very high standard of what would make me content, hopefully this answers why you might think we always seem to want change, because things havn't changed enough to make us/me content. I welcome the big changes and it's what I strive for, perhaps one day I'll be able to lie on my deathbed, looking back at my past and be content with the changes I've facilitated in the world.
 

King sns

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Nice, interesting responses!!
 

FDG

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As for me, I actually like to keep my basic life very stable and then change the more cosmetic things (moving/changing furniture/arrangements; getting new clothes; visiting new places; etc). I do get bored otherwise, I always need something new to explore.

For me, it's just a matter of how much the change impacts the overall stability of my life. I don't like having to worry about money or a constantly changing routine because it distracts from my explorations into other things. If my life is unstable, then I have to divert energy back to it and that means taking it away from my creative and mental endeavors.

Yeah, same. There's a part of my life that as long as it's okay I dislike to change (jobs, apartment, etc.), because it's a kind of safe haven for doing what I like doing during my free time.
 

Saslou

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I don't mind change as long as i am in control of it.

If change is brought about by someone in my life, i struggle and tread water for a while till i get my plan of action in order.
 
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