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Is Introspection All About You?

INTP

Active member
Joined
Jul 31, 2009
Messages
7,803
MBTI Type
intp
Enneagram
5w4
Instinctual Variant
sx
Yes kinda. It can ofc include how you relate to something, but the external thing in this is just a referense point, not the actual thing you are thinking about, you think all about you in relation to something else.
 

nanook

a scream in a vortex
Joined
Jul 22, 2007
Messages
1,361
worldview and selfconcept are tightly interwoven. you can hardly reflect on starving kids without it being introspection, because of this mirror effect. oh yeah you could blame monsanto [whatever] for starving kids and get all technical for a moment. but if you just look at how you live like you are not responsible, while your being is aware that you might as well be one of them (hard to ignore, i would think), then that's already introspection, in my book. you would have to ask yourself: why do i support this system, then? how am i depended, what holds me back?

im not an expert on introspection, but i would say what slows it down the most are fixed self concepts that imply fixed questions, for instance the idea 'i am social phobic, as described by the DSM V' might lead to the question 'how can i become someone without social phobia' (see how that includes a comparison, looking at you through outside eyes, you haven't invented either the concept of a social phobic nor the concept of someone outgoing, but you assume that it's relevant to your internal life and that's a distraction) when the question should really be: what do i really want, what motivation is it, that makes me act the way i act (ie avoidant) and what views cause this motivation? notice how the views may very well be unreflected worldview issues. not saying the worldview is wrong. maybe i just don't want to become part of a system that is evil. but i would like to be outgoing and have one night stands. but i have made a choice. and then dissociated the choice again. confused much? i have to differentiate my worldview to become clear about my motivations. maybe one nights stands don't imply support for the system, maybe they do.

self and world can't be separated, they are one, in your mind. the self organizing priciple (the self) isn't attached to your internal representation of the physical body. your self concept / your identity eventually extends to include family, friends, your species, all sentient beings. i am human. i am humanity! as such i introspect. not only as such. the self is like an onion. each of the layers (nanook < human < sentient being) are equally real, they functionally co-produce how i operate in the world. atheistically speaking, your true self is your whole brain and that includes the world.
 
A

Anew Leaf

Guest
For me, it is and isn't. Usually I am being introspective to figure out what's going on with me emotionally and mentally. When I am in tune with myself, I feel more comfortable and confident. Which means I am happier and more friendly and whomever I am spending time with, reaps the benefits of me in a good mood.
 

Crescent Fresh

Diving into Ni-space
Joined
Mar 17, 2011
Messages
802
MBTI Type
INFJ
Enneagram
4w5
Yes, it's all about me. It's like a self-evaluating trip to judge myself and perhaps the only moment when I can really become self-critical about my past actions and examine my motives repeatedly.

Whenever I experienced conflict with a person, I usually need some time off to tame my anger. Once that's over, that's when introspection immediately follows. I would start questioning other's motives but eventually it will drift to reflecting upon myself. In order to understand the other person more, I need to apply introspection to see if there are any similarities between us. I couldn't empathize a person just based on one identical experience and it has to be multiplied as I get to know this person deeper.

I also think that sometimes, the sign of being clingy among INFJs has to do with how much they empathize someone and that the force can be so strong that you consider this person as being part of you. In this case, I would say my introspection is all about me and maintaining a close bond with others.

Uumlau mentioned in a recent thread that when Fe users have a tendency to seek for sympathy for playing the role of martyr through manipulation. When it comes to me, being in a martyr state is clearly a sign when I'm lost in introspect. At such stage, I'm usually trying hard to deal with a sense of helplessness (usually an unresolved conflicts or among other personal things which I'm struggling with).

Eventually, this automatically brought me back to the past to re-examine the "what-if" scenarios or imagining the future of how to handle a situation better from a learned lesson. That's when I tend to zone out in the present through introspection just by looking outside of the window and started to get lost in my own endless train-of-thoughts.

I usually consider my introspection as a medium to improve myself so I would say it is all about me, even if it stemmed off from thinking about others.
 
G

Ginkgo

Guest
I don't think you would learn anything through introspection if you fixated on nothing but yourself.
 

highlander

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Dec 23, 2009
Messages
26,562
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
6w5
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp

Mostly, i would say yes. Trying to undrestand how I feel about something and why, motivations, why I have done something or am planning to or just sorting out my thinking about something. It may be a definitional question on what introspection is but I also spend a lot of time thinking about the exact things in others - what is going on in their head.
 

redacted

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 28, 2007
Messages
4,223
I usually introspect by pretending I'm in someone else who is making conclusions about me. So actually the more other people I think about, the better my introspection is, since I'm viewing myself from more perspectives.

Sometimes this is easier by actually talking to other people, too, since my intuition focuses on how they're viewing me by default.
 
R

Riva

Guest
I usually introspect by pretending I'm in someone else who is making conclusions about me. So actually the more other people I think about, the better my introspection is, since I'm viewing myself from more perspectives.

Isn't this what Schizophrenics do? You should start your own fight club.

Just teasing, just teasing ;).

I do something similar. I talk to myself in my head (not out loud).
 

Such Irony

Honor Thy Inferior
Joined
Jul 23, 2010
Messages
5,059
MBTI Type
INtp
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
Yes, I can't imagine being introspective and not thinking about myself.
 
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