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[NF] How often do you wonder if you're being yourself?

thinkinjazz

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May 18, 2009
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247
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ENFP
Also, how do you create a poll? (So I can turn this into one)
 

Timeless

Playnerd
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Sep 7, 2009
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In the past, a lot.

Nowadays, not so much.

:)
 

Liminality

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Aug 29, 2009
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I'm more inclined to wonder what my self is, than whether I'm being it...Maybe they're sort've the same thing...

Though...that's a tricky one, actually...

Which self is the truest? What selves are there? Which is the most valid, the most important, the best, even if that doesn't mean the truest? Am I my feelings? My thoughts? My thoughts and feelings have always been hopelessly intertwined, interlinked.

I thinkfeel I must put my whole self into being as good a person as I can. I feelthink there's not much there when I really try and...feel.

Far too little or much too much.

I guess it's about belife....maybe...

And even when there's much too much there's still a kind of emptiness I've never been able to put into words past 'sense of self'.
 

INTP

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Also, how do you create a poll? (So I can turn this into one)

Do you wonder if you really are that much of happy extravert as you make other people see?
 

thinkinjazz

New member
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May 18, 2009
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247
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ENFP
No I tend to be a very happy person,but I am always wondering if I am on center (something very typical of ENFP's)
 

Oom

Your time is gonna come.
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510
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Most of the time, yes. But sometimes I have those epic moments where I'm not under 3 feet of blankets in my mind. I'm out in the open doing things as I instinctively want to. It feels great when I'm out of my head, and I can feel like myself.

Thus this only happens once every 3 months or so.
 

Wonkavision

Retired Member
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7w8
I don't really wonder about it, but sometimes I know I'm not.

I often realize, when I'm doing something I will regret, that I am not really being "true" to myself.

I define my "true self" as my greatest potential--not perfection, but myself at my best.

I'm "betraying" my true self when I am cold, uncompassionate, or narrow-minded.

These things come from me, from what you might call my "Shadow," so in that sense, they are all a part of my self.

But as I learn to resist the temptation of reacting purely on instinct, I am more able to stay true to my greatest potential--my "true self",


I realize this will not make sense to at least half of the people here, but I'm fairly confident that the other half can relate.


Also, how do you create a poll? (So I can turn this into one)

From the FAQ section of TypoC:

Creating a new poll

When you post a new thread, you may have the option to also create a poll.

This function allows you to ask a question and specify a number of possible responses. Other members will then be able to vote for the response they wish, and the results of the voting will be displayed in the thread.

An example poll might be:

What is your favorite color?

Red
Blue
Yellow
Green
Sky-blue pink with yellow spots
To create a poll when you post a new thread, simply click the 'Yes! post a poll' checkbox at the bottom of the page, and set the number of possible responses you want to include.

When you click the submit button, you will be taken to the poll creation page, where you can specify the question and the list of responses you want to include.

You may also want to specify a time limit for the poll, so that (for example) it only stays open for voting for a week.

Voting in and viewing a poll
To vote in a poll, simply select which option you want to vote for, and click the [Vote!] button. You may view the current results for a poll before you vote by clicking the 'View Results' link. Voting in a poll is entirely optional. You may vote for any of the available options, or cast no vote at all.

Generally, once you have voted in a poll, you will not be able to change your vote later, so place your vote carefully!
 

Cimarron

IRL is not real
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In recent years, it was a main concern and confusion in my head. As Liminality said up there, the big question was/is trying to figure out who is "the real me." Still thinking, building an identity...

NFs, please continue. I would be glad to hear more from this thread.

Edit: I don't know if there was actually any fundamental confusion. I know who I am, except when I start to doubt it. But my "basic self" was/is hard to define, and separate from the other parts. I guess I mean it's hard to analyze head-on, and easier to get as a fuzzy concept.
 
Last edited:

nomadic

mountain surfing
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Jul 15, 2008
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1,709
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enfp
not any more

nowadays, i have the hardest time trying to remember what i did more than two days ago.
 

BerberElla

12 and a half weeks
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Sep 25, 2008
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infp
I'm more inclined to wonder what my self is, than whether I'm being it...Maybe they're sort've the same thing...


Yeah same as. I'm still on a mission to find myself, so I never really feel like I know who I am. I know what people expect me to be, and at times I play those parts, but more often than not I am questioning who I really am, and what my real wants and needs are.

Sometimes I think I have found me, but time passes and the shell no longer fits, so I shrug it off and go searching for a new one.

I think I will always be like this though, since who we are changes as we grow.
 
G

Ginkgo

Guest
To be honest, I really don't want to be myself because I want to improve myself, thus not being my past self. Unfortunately, my future self will probably laugh at me one day for being so silly. I can't really blame him. After all, he is better than me.
 

Ingrid in grids

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What does the 'being' mean in 'being yourself'? Do you mean external or internal? By 'being yourself' do you mean acting out in a way that flows directly from how you feel internally, or simply feeling like yourself? I think there's a difference between 'being yourself' (for this can be carried out in your head), and exhibiting/behaving in a way that reflects your 'true self'.

For me, l feel most 'myself' in my head, yet the kind of 'self' I have there is like a massive, complex web; layers upon layers of many other selves - almost too many to count. There, it's hard to answer 'who I am', and easier to ask 'who I can be'...like many smaller fragments, changing, moving, swapping, contradicting, that somehow make up a greater personality.

I find that who I am (or the who I ams) internally doesn't truly match up with my outward character.. because they can't. The kind of external 'self' I prefer to maintain is simpler, much more consistent and follows a pattern of behaviour, more structured... not in any way inauthentic, just a certain blend of those many other selves, some more expressed and others suppressed. It's a pattern that seems to work. I don't think that this is not 'being yourself' and I certainly don't think that this is a loss of self, it's just lending less of it out less of it to get by.

I find that as I'm getting older, and also meeting more people who I feel I can share more of my headspace with, my external and internal characters are becoming more in sync.

I wonder if ANY of that made sense. I'm having trouble putting into words exactly what I want to say.
Also, bare in mind that I'm an introverted NF and so the external world isn't exactly my home ground.
 

Kasper

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Also, how do you create a poll?

Polls should be created before you submit a thread but let us know what you want in it and it can be added by a mod.
 

nanook

a scream in a vortex
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Jul 22, 2007
Messages
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i know that i am not much of myself, but i also know that my general ability to be myself and become myself is better than that of a few people, some of which can't tell that they are not themselves. my ability to see how i am not myself is part of this ability to become myself. i don't have to wonder about it. but i wonder about the causes. like, how much of my lack of identity with my full self is caused by stupid chemical issues or brain damage and how much of it can be fixed by intelligent and spiritual attempts. for instance, i have a horrible broken jerky handwriting, but after an ecstatic trance experience i had a perfect round handwriting for a very short period. to become myself, i should probably plug my fingers into an energy outlet/socket, every morning.
 

Liminality

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I think every thing you do, think, feel etc is a part of your self, an expression of the reactions to things, internally and externally that lead you to how you are.

It's all just a set of criteria which is 'you' reacting to events in life second by second...

It's always 'me', maybe something I deem part of my 'shadow', but it's still from me, still of me...

How can something I feel or think or do not be a part of me when I'm the one doing feeling thinking it?

Often there's a vast space between who I should be, who I want to be, who I reject and who I am, and anumber of other variations. There's me being pushed into a tight situation, but I'm still the one doing the reacting.

I am my sense impressions, my feelings, my gut reactions etc I'm a particular thing, eg a line, and only lineular things maybe produced.

I wonder which type has the most concrete, non fuzzy sense of self...

...Rambling over.

i know that i am not much of myself, but i also know that my general ability to be myself and become myself is better than that of a few people, some of which can't tell that they are not themselves. my ability to see how i am not myself is part of this ability to become myself. i don't have to wonder about it. but i wonder about the causes. like, how much of my lack of identity with my full self is caused by stupid chemical issues or brain damage and how much of it can be fixed by intelligent and spiritual attempts. for instance, i have a horrible broken jerky handwriting, but after an ecstatic trance experience i had a perfect round handwriting for a very short period. to become myself, i should probably plug my fingers into an energy outlet/socket, every morning.

Good analogy :) Yeah, I think handwriting is a good analogy.
 

TopherRed

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I lead with Fe/Ni, and sometimes I feel like I'm everybody else.

Truth is, I do have a set of moral standards and rules I follow, that really are purely "me", but beyond that, I have fun. This elasaticity in my personality allows me to join with others, to become relavant. I find that Fe/Ni has the capacity to be one, long, ongoing costume party, and I change my image as often as I please (to which my morality will allow). I'm really not that unstable most of the time though--I'm rather plain, to be relavant, because most of the time, I'm with that sort of people (like at work).
 

INTP

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No I tend to be a very happy person,but I am always wondering if I am on center (something very typical of ENFP's)

What do you mean by being on center?
 

lane777

nevermore
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Oct 23, 2008
Messages
635
I used to think I was being fake when other people were only bringing out different sides of me :rolleyes:

But I'm truly crushed that no one person can ever see you for all that you are. No one can make you feel so accepted that you bare all, because no one has the ability to appreciate your every quality - even if they wished it. This does not mean that I hide certain qualities in shame - rather I would not bother to reveal those qualities which would be disregarded anyway.
 

Ingrid in grids

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I used to think I was being fake when other people were only bringing out different sides of me :rolleyes:

But I'm truly crushed that no one person can ever see you for all that you are. No one can make you feel so accepted that you bare all, because no one has the ability to appreciate your every quality - even if they wished it. This does not mean that I hide certain qualities in shame - rather I would not bother to reveal those qualities which would be disregarded anyway.

I can totally relate. Thank you for this post!
 
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