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[NF] What does it mean to be an idealist?

Rebe

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I choose what I want and what I believe to be Right over what is most likely to happen depending on the external, physical world with all those people who are so different from me. I won't give that up either. I am stubborn in my pursue of making my idealistic visions come true.
 

The Outsider

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It's my excuse when I murder people.
 

am_i_evil666

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To the OP: Idealism is having that avatar and imagining that people will actually like it.

No, that's not idealistic, that's down right delusional :D

Idealism, delusion....but who says anything about intention? Now, this is assuming that you choose your avatar for others to like.


Well, I do not dream to make the world a better place. I do not wonder how it got the way it got, because I do not care.
I do not like the way things are, and I do fantasize constantly. This gets me very, very depressed when confronted to reality.


Interestingly, idealism seems to be connected to making the world a better place. But how, why? Evil idealism...does it exist? It has to. Well, this is just wordplay.
 

Amargith

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omg..deja vue...didn't we have a thread like this a few months back???
 

mr.awesome

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setting standards.
unfortunately often unrealistic ones.
an ideal is in lehman's terms a state of mind in pure bliss. a state of perfection.
idealists therefor imagine and set standards of what they want. which is almost never the case met.
Sisyphus is a wonderful example of an idealists life at its negative points.
 

Amargith

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Yeah, everything would be better on another planet!

Dude, that's not what I meant :D
I just feel like I don't belong here sometimes, people look at me and my view on life like it's alien. At some point, you cannot help but wonder, ya know :cry: :alttongue:
 

am_i_evil666

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And this where all the misery stems from. How can you ever be happy if nothing fits your standard?
 

BlackCat

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And this where all the misery stems from. How can you ever be happy if nothing fits your standard?

This is in the nature of 4's, and can't be changed. They'll always have unrealistic expectations and ideals, and be disappointed when they actually see their ideals met because it wasn't like what they fantasized about.
 

Amargith

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You learn and adjust. Find meaning where you can. And you discover why it is others consider this standard to be perfect and perhaps even gain insights you'd never dreamed of in doing so.


Bc, dude, you make being a 4 sound sooo appealing...
 

Betty Blue

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Because you believe in it and self belief is fantastic!:static:
Also i find other NF's have similar ideals to me:yes:
 

OrangeAppled

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I definitely see myself as an idealistic person, and always have, even before I even got into MBTI. If I had to sum myself up in one word, it would be "idealistic".

Idealism to me is having a vision of what would be perfect, seeing things as they should be over how they are. Sometimes it's an unattainable vision that is more of a motivating idea than a real goal, and other times it is imagining a "best case scenario". There is a valuing of what you can imagine over what is real, because what is real is limited.

Idealism can make you out-of-touch with reality, but it can also make you innovative and spur you to strive for the best in the long-term instead of accepting what is simply good enough right now. It also tends to make you value what is in the mind over what is physical, because you see everything as starting with an idea and then being realized eventually, which is why you may always hold tight to these ideals, no matter how impossible, as you figure that everything began that way.

I find ideals to be fluid and broad at times. There's a general feeling I want to stay in accord with, but iNuition allows you to see many avenues that can satisfy the feeling. So there are often many ideals for any given situation, not just one ideal. Or there can be a hierarchy of ideals, where one would be the ultimate best, yet others would still be satisfactory.
 

scortia

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Idealism, to me, is something that makes living in this world hard. Hardly anyone ever gets you. They don't know why you're easy to get along with when you forget their birthday or smash their hand in a door but no idea why you're so upset when you judge someone behind their back.

You can be an idealist with poor ideals yes. But you stick to those ideals, they motivate you, inspire you, give you a reason for breathing. I look at so many people in the day and wonder just what makes them want to live. Without idealism, and the potential for life-altering epiphanies and striving for perfectionism, I'd find little to make life enjoyable honestly.
 

Tiltyred

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Make it an ideal for yourself that you become a person who loves the world and the people in it even if they disappoint you, because it's good to be alive and get to participate, and part of life is disappointment.

Idealism is like being in a perpetual state of giving birth, yearning so hard to manifest a vision.
 

CuriousFeeling

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Make it an ideal for yourself that you become a person who loves the world and the people in it even if they disappoint you, because it's good to be alive and get to participate, and part of life is disappointment.

Idealism is like being in a perpetual state of giving birth, yearning so hard to manifest a vision.

Tell me about it. I know that feeling all too well.
 
G

Glycerine

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high hopes and dreams until reality sets in and crushes it. You either keep pushing though or become a cynic. It's so hard not to become a cynic. The best bet is to become a realistic idealist.
 

Betty Blue

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For comical value only
Being and NF IS a gift it is NOT a disibility. Oh the beauty of being able to laugh at ones self,
and others.
:newwink:
 

Lily Bart

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Mar 27, 2009
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high hopes and dreams until reality sets in and crushes it. You either keep pushing though or become a cynic. It's so hard not to become a cynic. The best bet is to become a realistic idealist.

That explains the NF pretty well for me. Other types strike me as much more sentimental, even sappy (yes, even the Thinkers) when they're in NF territory. They just don't work with it as much as we do and they're pretty naive about the whole thing!
 
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