INFPs, is that you?

[Chris_in_Orbit]

Originally Posted by runvardh

Sometimes I wish I could just be the sin and darkness I've been seen as. Why not? Might as well get blamed for things you do rather than what you don't do...

Well you don't have to commit. Try it for a day and see if you like it.

[nolla]

Originally Posted by Tayshaun

What do you think about these statements?

Originally Posted by Tayshaun

"Healers find it difficult to believe in themselves and to trust themselves. Deeply committed to the positive and the good, yet taught to believe there is evil in them, they can come to develop a certain fascination with the problem of good and evil, sacred and profane. They are drawn toward purity, but can become engrossed with sin, continuously on the lookout for the wickedness that lurks within them. Then, when they believe they have yielded to an impure temptation, they may be given to acts of self-sacrifice in atonement. Others seldom detect this inner turmoil, however, for the struggle between good and evil is within the INFP, who does not feel compelled to make the issue public."

In a way I am fascinated by this, as a psychological idea, not like light vs dark kind of thing. The way I have figured it, I can get to the point when there is no "evil" in me. The evil is repressed stuff in the sub-consciousness so by being as spontaneous and open and true as possible I can repress less and so be more "in control" of my sub-consciousness. As the time goes by the spontaneity becomes more "clean" of the bad reactions so the longer I do this the more I will be on the light side.

Originally Posted by Tayshaun

"INFPs cling to their dreams, and often find it difficult to reconcile a romantic, idealized concept of conjugal life with the realities of everyday living with another person. Even at the best of times, they seem fearful of too much marital bliss, afraid that current happiness may have to be paid for with later sacrifices. The devil is sure to get his due if one experiences too freely of happiness, or, for that matter, of success, or beauty, or wealth, or knowledge."

No. This is not me. I do feel awkward if the happiness feels unreal or fake, though..

Originally Posted by Tayshaun

After a break-up do you often feel like you deserve to suffer?

I used to. This all is part of my first answer really... I have my morals pretty damn solid by now and they are usually like a second nature (something that comes reactively with no thinking at all) so I don't often create situations that cause regret later.

[Anja]

I spent a lot of time worrying about my potential for both good and evil and what it could possibly mean for my life. It's now pretty well integrated for me.

I still maintain that there is little worse than an INFP gone bad. Spectacular self-destruction on wheels!

[nolla]

Originally Posted by Anja

I still maintain that there is little worse than an INFP gone bad. Spectacular self-destruction on wheels!

[speculative]

Originally Posted by Anja

I still maintain that there is little worse than an INFP gone bad. Spectacular self-destruction on wheels!

/checks for wheels under self...

"Oh snap!"

[runvardh]

Originally Posted by Chris_in_Orbit

Well you don't have to commit. Try it for a day and see if you like it.

Been there, done that, doesn't attract the chicks.

[jtanSis1]

It's always about the chicks, period. Yeah, living in light might be harder, but at least I can say it's their fault for not wanting the true life of bliss. Besides, being evil requires too much maintenance and I can't focus for that long.

[runvardh]

I think evil would be an interesting challenge... Besides, if you can contort it right you can talk yourself into believing it's for the greater good in the end. It would become a crusade worthy of the striving needed.

[speculative]

Originally Posted by runvardh

Besides, if you can contort it right you can talk yourself into believing it's for the greater good in the end. It would become a crusade worthy of the striving needed.

= every great super villain. The ones who do it for the money or whatever are boring. Give me a good 'ole "ends justify the twisted means" type villain any day...

[neptunesnet]

Originally Posted by Tayshaun

Keirsey, in PUMII, in his paragraphs describing Healers [INFP], says the following:

"Healers find it difficult to believe in themselves and to trust themselves. Deeply committed to the positive and the good, yet taught to believe there is evil in them, they can come to develop a certain fascination with the problem of good and evil, sacred and profane. They are drawn toward purity, but can become engrossed with sin, continuously on the lookout for the wickedness that lurks within them. Then, when they believe they have yielded to an impure temptation, they may be given to acts of self-sacrifice in atonement. Others seldom detect this inner turmoil, however, for the struggle between good and evil is within the INFP, who does not feel compelled to make the issue public."

a little further, about mating, conveying the same idea:

"INFPs cling to their dreams, and often find it difficult to reconcile a romantic, idealized concept of conjugal life with the realities of everyday living with another person. Even at the best of times, they seem fearful of too much marital bliss, afraid that current happiness may have to be paid for with later sacrifices. The devil is sure to get his due if one experiences too freely of happiness, or, for that matter, of success, or beauty, or wealth, or knowledge."

yesyesyesyes
I love the Keirsey description of the INFP.
When I was first learning about typology, I would take cognitive functions tests to figure out my type and would get both INFJ and INFP; however, when I read this description of the Idealistic Healers, I knew there was nothing else I could possibly be.

Originally Posted by FineLine

I think INFPs can sometimes experience a lot of anxiety.

For example, INFPs want to excel and please the people around them, so they tend to overestimate what they can do and they overcommit themselves. But at the same time they are also procrastinators and can be wildly lazy. So with a cloud of pressing commitments, missed deadlines, and disappointed teachers/bosses/friends hanging over their heads much of the time, they can routinely be feeling a lot of pressure and anxiety.

Good events like a promotion at work or a high score on a test can actually increase the anxiety. Already overcommitted, something like a promotion just means more commitments. It just sets them up for a bigger fall. Same thing with marriage. For INFPs, marriage can be blissful in the abstract and stressful in the flesh. It brings added responsibilities and obligations, and failure isn't an option.

Here's another quote from "Type Talk" by Kroeger & Thuesen that describes this kind of pressure INFPs might find themselves under:

"The potential for self-doubt and self-criticism is always close to the surface. Even when told they have done a “good job,” INFPs know the only true judge is themselves, and may punish themselves for work they consider less than perfect. In general, while INFPs love to learn, grow, excel, and please others, they are always their own worst critics; they often remind themselves that they could have done better. It is a lifelong struggle between self-approbation and self-depreciation. In the end, INFPs almost always tend to sell themselves short."

This is especially true for me.
Obligations weigh me down.
If a teacher I care about and trust, for example, comments on what a wonderful student I am, I stress over remaining a good student. I don't want to disappoint him/her.

This is trickier. INFPs do like to consider themselves as amateur philosophers, psychologists, and even priests. So they do like to play around with debates about good versus evil on a purely intellectual or philosophical basis. And the more you try to parse what constitutes good or evil, the more you tend to explore both concepts and the paradoxes connected with them, and maybe even try to morph them into each other.
On a more personal basis, concerns about good and evil may have a direct influence on stress levels in an anxiety-ridden INFP. To use a very mundane example: Taking a short-cut on a big work project may make the work project more manageable in size but may increase overall anxiety connected with the project at the thought that the shortcut may be discovered later and held against the INFP. By extension, you can imagine how anxious some religious INFPs may get about even very minor issues of good vs. evil (masturbation, whether it's okay to dislike someone or if we have to love everyone at all times, etc.)

Thus the issue of stress and anxiety may perhaps feed into an INFP's personal fascination with good and evil. If good behavior reduces ambient stress and bad behavior increases it, then that becomes a strong incentive for getting caught up in a constant examination of one's own actions and motives and constantly questioning oneself about issues of good vs. evil.

Wow.
*Applause*