Flipping MBTI on Its Head

[ReflecTcelfeR]

The relief function is supposed to be exactly what it means. What if it's providing relief from the dominant, instead of a situation? The dominant is creating the pressure, it is something you are focusing on and trying to solve and enact, but are unable to. Perhaps the goal is to understand the dominant through your other functions. Maybe the dominant is not something you are good at, but more like a puzzle you've personally singled out to solve and now you use the other functions in an attempt to decipher the purpose of the dominant and when you're auxiliary function does not work you use your relief. Maybe we are the problem and we're trying to solve ourselves.

It's late, I apologize for the lofty language. Thoughts?

 

[Xyk]

I think perhaps you've misunderstood the functions themselves (or I have). Functions as I understand them are the ways we naturally do things. They're the means, not the ends. My dominant function is not dominant because I'm best at it, but because it's the function I turn to first, without conscious effort. The relief function as I understand it, having just seen that term in your post, is something that relieves the dominant function when it becomes too overloaded. I'm gonna make a guess here and say that Fe is my relief function. It's my inferior function, and just yesterday (er...monday), it relieved my dominant function when I was under enormous stress. I had made an appointment for a tattoo which I had wanted to be a surprise for my mother, and she was bugging me about paying tuition (which was understandable, given it's due date of tuesday). We fought with yelling for a little bit (first time that's happened in my memory) about something completely stupid because I was so stressed about the tattoo and Fe came out of it's dungeon where I usually keep it. When the dominant function is unable to perform it's regular duties, the inferior function steps in to take it's place. Of course, people aren't usually proficient with that function, so it doesn't typically go well.

 

[Lily flower]

I don't understand the functions well, but I like the idea of us saving ourselves.

 

[ReflecTcelfeR]

I think perhaps you've misunderstood the functions themselves (or I have). Functions as I understand them are the ways we naturally do things. They're the means, not the ends. My dominant function is not dominant because I'm best at it, but because it's the function I turn to first, without conscious effort. The relief function as I understand it, having just seen that term in your post, is something that relieves the dominant function when it becomes too overloaded. I'm gonna make a guess here and say that Fe is my relief function. It's my inferior function, and just yesterday (er...monday), it relieved my dominant function when I was under enormous stress. I had made an appointment for a tattoo which I had wanted to be a surprise for my mother, and she was bugging me about paying tuition (which was understandable, given it's due date of tuesday). We fought with yelling for a little bit (first time that's happened in my memory) about something completely stupid because I was so stressed about the tattoo and Fe came out of it's dungeon where I usually keep it. When the dominant function is unable to perform it's regular duties, the inferior function steps in to take it's place. Of course, people aren't usually proficient with that function, so it doesn't typically go well.

I'm not really saying that it isn't a way we perceive the world, more that we chose a way to look at the world and we don't necessarily understand how we view the world and so the other functions we choose are all relief functions from trying to understand or describe the world in a certain way (i.e. the dominant).

It throws away the fact that in order for a function to be dominant it doesn't have to be used well. Instead it's born out of curiosity.

Does this make a little more sense?

 

[rav3n]

Se's my tert and most definitely it's a relief function. It kicked in during my early twenties and was like nothing else since now it was so much easier to put thought to action. Imagine the difference between a naturally aspirated 4 cyclinder engine and one with a Garrett T28!

 

[JocktheMotie]

It throws away the fact that in order for a function to be dominant it doesn't have to be used well.

This has never been a fact.

 

[ReflecTcelfeR]

This has never been a fact.

Assumption then.

 

[JocktheMotie]

*Cue the sound of falling cards*

 

[ReflecTcelfeR]

*Cue the sound of falling cards*

Not really. It's in the effort of disillusioning peoples concept of this system. So, instead of flipping the system, I'm flipping the idea of the system.

 

[INTP]

its not dominant that creating pressure, its inferior that is creating pressure to dominant

read this post:
http://www.typologycentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49668&p=1635587&viewfull=1#post1635587

 

[ReflecTcelfeR]

That's why it's different. The perspective was changed to the fact that the dominant was creating the pressure. It's not how well you use the dominant function, it's the curiosity of trying to understand the function. Like a puzzle. The inferior is just the last option you use to try and figure out the dominant.

In this idea.

 

[INTP]

That's why it's different. The perspective was changed to the fact that the dominant was creating the pressure. It's not how well you use the dominant function, it's the curiosity of trying to understand the function. Like a puzzle. The inferior is just the last option you use to try and figure out the dominant.

In this idea.

you need to think dominant, dominating your ego, inferior dominating your shadow(unconscious you), aux and tert something in between. its the collision of ego and shadow which creates the pressure, because ego wants to reject the shadow(thats why its in the shadow in the first place, its repressed by the ego, because it goes against it since its the opposite). the relieving function of tert is relieving the collision between ego and shadow, because it creates new perspective for you and from this perspective you are able to sort of link your shadow to your ego, without them conflicting. -> its not the dominant that creates the pressure, its the unconscious contents trying to force themselves to consciousness, but ego doesent like that

 

[rav3n]

From an ENTJ perspective which appears to be the type you've adopted ReflecT, some of us wished we'd smothered Fi at birth.

 

[ReflecTcelfeR]

From an ENTJ perspective which appears to be the type you've adopted ReflecT, some of us wished we'd smothered Fi at birth.

The conscience is restraining, but it is so for a reason. I think when Te can find the purpose through the introverted perceiving function of choice it can accept it, or at least consider it.

 

[Mal12345]

The relief function is supposed to be exactly what it means. What if it's providing relief from the dominant, instead of a situation? The dominant is creating the pressure, it is something you are focusing on and trying to solve and enact, but are unable to. Perhaps the goal is to understand the dominant through your other functions. Maybe the dominant is not something you are good at, but more like a puzzle you've personally singled out to solve and now you use the other functions in an attempt to decipher the purpose of the dominant and when you're auxiliary function does not work you use your relief. Maybe we are the problem and we're trying to solve ourselves.

It's late, I apologize for the lofty language. Thoughts?

I read that post thinking "relief function" was just another word for "tertiary function." But then Xyk was talking about his inferior function. So I don't know what you're referring to.

 

[ReflecTcelfeR]

I read that post thinking "relief function" was just another word for "tertiary function." But then Xyk was talking about his inferior function. So I don't know what you're referring to.

The main point of my idea is to understand why some who have a dominant function are unable to use it properly. My thought is that perhaps the choice they picked peaked their curiosity and that's why it is their dominant, not so much that they're good at using it. So they picked this view of thinking and then using other functions are trying to figure out how to utilize the dominant function to it's full potential. If by chance they are unable to use their dominant effectively with their auxiliary they use their tertiary or inferior to do so.

My feeling is that there is no predisposition towards a dominant and when you decide to use, or consider something dominant you don't understand it. As such you're trying to solve yourself. We talk about auxiliary and tertiary functions and strengthening them, but rarely do we try to better the dominant, because we assume that we already know how to use it. I'm saying we don't. So even the dominant function you've chosen to view the world by could cause stress.

 

[Mal12345]

Ok, thanks. My theory of personality is completely different from yours.

 

[ReflecTcelfeR]

My theory of personality changes daily.

 

[Mal12345]

My theory of personality changes daily.

That's nice!

 

[INTP]

The main point of my idea is to understand why some who have a dominant function are unable to use it properly. My thought is that perhaps the choice they picked peaked their curiosity and that's why it is their dominant, not so much that they're good at using it. So they picked this view of thinking and then using other functions are trying to figure out how to utilize the dominant function to it's full potential. If by chance they are unable to use their dominant effectively with their auxiliary they use their tertiary or inferior to do so.

My feeling is that there is no predisposition towards a dominant and when you decide to use, or consider something dominant you don't understand it. As such you're trying to solve yourself. We talk about auxiliary and tertiary functions and strengthening them, but rarely do we try to better the dominant, because we assume that we already know how to use it. I'm saying we don't. So even the dominant function you've chosen to view the world by could cause stress.

its not that people are unable to use their dom properly, its that it doesent fit to all situations. but even tho it might not fit to the situation, you might try to use it anyway, because its so strong in your ego and ego wants to be in control. in some cases you might be able to handle the situation with aux, but in other times you need to use your inferior. in these cases inferior shows itself in impulses coming from unconscious(if you have learned to control it with tert), and this causes the conflict between dom and inferior that i was talking about. ego wants to use dom, but it doesent fit the situation, shadow tries to brake the ego and put inferior into use(as it fits the situation better), but ego fights back, and there you need tert to relieve this conflict.