[ENFP] Flibbertigibbets, Enfp types, and the Siberian Mongoose

[GAEL]

Thanks to this interesting forum and the thoughtful people who inhabit it, I've been thinking about some of my problems. At least, I considered them to be my own particular constellation of problems, before I began reading about the ENFP personality type, and its bewildering variety of strengths and foibles. I am a writer by inclination and profession, an art curator, and an independent scholar. That is, I am simultaneously engaged in organizing, synthesizing, interpreting and representing information, and struggling like Hell not to shop on Ebay, study the migration patterns of the American Warbler, change my toenail polish, phone four friends, wipe the dust of the bedboard, finish my novel about a house with an expanding closet, brush the dog's teeth, and take a short nap. It's terribly hard, and frequently depressing, this divided nature. Thanks to ya'll, I know I'm not alone. The world does not look kindly upon this kind of mind, as we all know.(F... their tiny, dehydrated and soul-destroying sequential task fascisms).

Here's an idea. The driving and determining forces that compel ENFPs to an awareness of layers of significance and multiple relationships between things and ideas, and which consequently enable us to be creative, original, and "inspiring" are the very same forces that drive us to levels of distraction that other types can't imagine. Which is why even well intentioned criticism is so horribly galling and alienating. The solution to this attentional issue must come from the ENFP mind itself. When faced with a task, whether trivial or complex and important, the ENFP mind finds itself in its characteristic position of contemplating multitudes of alternative ideas, notions, impulses, and desires. No wonder it's hard to iron a shirt. No wonder it's even harder to write a chapter of a book, or continue an analysis of the politics of 19th century Jaipur. I am finding that as my awareness of my own mental landscape increases, so does my ability to think to myself: " okay, I can't do it all, or even a fraction of what is trying to force itself on my attention, so I will just do one little thing. Just one little thing." So I sit down and start doing one little thing. Often that leads to another. On a good day, several hours of work will be accomplished, as long as I keep this tight therapeutic rein on myself. Like hobbling carefully down the hall after bunion surgery, instead of embarking on a competitive 10k run. The first thing leads to the second, but there are no shortcuts. Kinda like that.

Full Disclosure: I am old enough to be utterly baffled by willful illiteracy, pre-packaged miniature cartoon faces inserted into texts in an attempt to increase the expressive power of words which are not up to the task all by themselves, etc. Please don't bother to respond to this outburst. My three twenty-something kids have said it all.

A skill-testing question: the person in my avatar picture would have driven the Romans out of Britain, but her warriors were no match for their bureaucratically organized viciousness. Thus, it is demonstrated that the history of northern Europe was shaped by the flawed and heroic personality of an EFNP. Who was she?

 

[Malkavia]

This was a fun read, if anything.

 

[andresimon]

Thanks to this interesting forum and the thoughtful people who inhabit it, I've been thinking about some of my problems. At least, I considered them to be my own particular constellation of problems, before I began reading about the ENFP personality type, and its bewildering variety of strengths and foibles. I am a writer by inclination and profession, an art curator, and an independent scholar. That is, I am simultaneously engaged in organizing, synthesizing, interpreting and representing information, and struggling like Hell not to shop on Ebay, study the migration patterns of the American Warbler, change my toenail polish, phone four friends, wipe the dust of the bedboard, finish my novel about a house with an expanding closet, brush the dog's teeth, and take a short nap. It's terribly hard, and frequently depressing, this divided nature. Thanks to ya'll, I know I'm not alone. The world does not look kindly upon this kind of mind, as we all know.(F... their tiny, dehydrated and soul-destroying sequential task fascisms).

Here's an idea. The driving and determining forces that compel ENFPs to an awareness of layers of significance and multiple relationships between things and ideas, and which consequently enable us to be creative, original, and "inspiring" are the very same forces that drive us to levels of distraction that other types can't imagine. Which is why even well intentioned criticism is so horribly galling and alienating. The solution to this attentional issue must come from the ENFP mind itself. When faced with a task, whether trivial or complex and important, the ENFP mind finds itself in its characteristic position of contemplating multitudes of alternative ideas, notions, impulses, and desires. No wonder it's hard to iron a shirt. No wonder it's even harder to write a chapter of a book, or continue an analysis of the politics of 19th century Jaipur. I am finding that as my awareness of my own mental landscape increases, so does my ability to think to myself: " okay, I can't do it all, or even a fraction of what is trying to force itself on my attention, so I will just do one little thing. Just one little thing." So I sit down and start doing one little thing. Often that leads to another. On a good day, several hours of work will be accomplished, as long as I keep this tight therapeutic rein on myself. Like hobbling carefully down the hall after bunion surgery, instead of embarking on a competitive 10k run. The first thing leads to the second, but there are no shortcuts. Kinda like that.

Full Disclosure: I am old enough to be utterly baffled by willful illiteracy, pre-packaged miniature cartoon faces inserted into texts in an attempt to increase the expressive power of words which are not up to the task all by themselves, etc. Please don't bother to respond to this outburst. My three twenty-something kids have said it all.

A skill-testing question: the person in my avatar picture would have driven the Romans out of Britain, but her warriors were no match for their bureaucratically organized viciousness. Thus, it is demonstrated that the history of northern Europe was shaped by the flawed and heroic personality of an EFNP. Who was she?

Read the writings of an fellow ENFP. Nicholas Nassim Taleb. This will give you an idea of the range we have as ENFPs. I recommend you start with his book on aphorisms called Bed of Procrustes.

 

[Carpe Vinum]

 

[GAEL]

Thanks andresimon. An original thinker, for sure. I find a few of these aphorisms really pungent and funny, and others merely bad-tempered and churlish. Many of them sag under the weight of their own contrivance--In my opinion the best aphorisms arise from lived experience. Taleb's have rather an aroma of literary ambition to my ear. Is he an enfp? It seems you have given this quite a bit of thought. Another thing: I more or less agree with the conventional wisdom that enneagram 7 types can be fear-biters...(prone to reaction formations). Does that resonate?

 

[grey_beard]

Thanks to this interesting forum and the thoughtful people who inhabit it, I've been thinking about some of my problems. At least, I considered them to be my own particular constellation of problems, before I began reading about the ENFP personality type, and its bewildering variety of strengths and foibles. I am a writer by inclination and profession, an art curator, and an independent scholar. That is, I am simultaneously engaged in organizing, synthesizing, interpreting and representing information, and struggling like Hell not to shop on Ebay, study the migration patterns of the American Warbler, change my toenail polish, phone four friends, wipe the dust of the bedboard, finish my novel about a house with an expanding closet, brush the dog's teeth, and take a short nap. It's terribly hard, and frequently depressing, this divided nature. Thanks to ya'll, I know I'm not alone. The world does not look kindly upon this kind of mind, as we all know.(F... their tiny, dehydrated and soul-destroying sequential task fascisms).

Here's an idea. The driving and determining forces that compel ENFPs to an awareness of layers of significance and multiple relationships between things and ideas, and which consequently enable us to be creative, original, and "inspiring" are the very same forces that drive us to levels of distraction that other types can't imagine. Which is why even well intentioned criticism is so horribly galling and alienating. The solution to this attentional issue must come from the ENFP mind itself. When faced with a task, whether trivial or complex and important, the ENFP mind finds itself in its characteristic position of contemplating multitudes of alternative ideas, notions, impulses, and desires. No wonder it's hard to iron a shirt. No wonder it's even harder to write a chapter of a book, or continue an analysis of the politics of 19th century Jaipur. I am finding that as my awareness of my own mental landscape increases, so does my ability to think to myself: " okay, I can't do it all, or even a fraction of what is trying to force itself on my attention, so I will just do one little thing. Just one little thing." So I sit down and start doing one little thing. Often that leads to another. On a good day, several hours of work will be accomplished, as long as I keep this tight therapeutic rein on myself. Like hobbling carefully down the hall after bunion surgery, instead of embarking on a competitive 10k run. The first thing leads to the second, but there are no shortcuts. Kinda like that.

Full Disclosure: I am old enough to be utterly baffled by willful illiteracy, pre-packaged miniature cartoon faces inserted into texts in an attempt to increase the expressive power of words which are not up to the task all by themselves, etc. Please don't bother to respond to this outburst. My three twenty-something kids have said it all.

A skill-testing question: the person in my avatar picture would have driven the Romans out of Britain, but her warriors were no match for their bureaucratically organized viciousness. Thus, it is demonstrated that the history of northern Europe was shaped by the flawed and heroic personality of an EFNP. Who was she?

That sounds fairly, ahem "Bodacious..."

(Close enough for Internet spelling, right?)

 

[GAEL]

Hi grey_beard. Now THIS is bodacious

I Am Malala Hits Shelves Ahead of Nobel Peace Prize
Image Credit: Twitter @khalidkh

 

[andresimon]

Thanks andresimon. An original thinker, for sure. I find a few of these aphorisms really pungent and funny, and others merely bad-tempered and churlish. Many of them sag under the weight of their own contrivance--In my opinion the best aphorisms arise from lived experience. Taleb's have rather an aroma of literary ambition to my ear. Is he an enfp? It seems you have given this quite a bit of thought. Another thing: I more or less agree with the conventional wisdom that enneagram 7 types can be fear-biters...(prone to reaction formations). Does that resonate?

It is far bigger possibility that you may not be an ENFP. He is an ENFP I'm 99% on that. Regarding your thoughts on his writings. He hasn't had to work for over 30 years, ambition is something that he luckily hasn't had to feel in a long time. I think what motivates him more than anything is a sense of heroism.

 

[Dreamer]

Thanks to this interesting forum and the thoughtful people who inhabit it, I've been thinking about some of my problems. At least, I considered them to be my own particular constellation of problems, before I began reading about the ENFP personality type, and its bewildering variety of strengths and foibles. I am a writer by inclination and profession, an art curator, and an independent scholar. That is, I am simultaneously engaged in organizing, synthesizing, interpreting and representing information, and struggling like Hell not to shop on Ebay, study the migration patterns of the American Warbler, change my toenail polish, phone four friends, wipe the dust of the bedboard, finish my novel about a house with an expanding closet, brush the dog's teeth, and take a short nap. It's terribly hard, and frequently depressing, this divided nature. Thanks to ya'll, I know I'm not alone. The world does not look kindly upon this kind of mind, as we all know.(F... their tiny, dehydrated and soul-destroying sequential task fascisms).

Here's an idea. The driving and determining forces that compel ENFPs to an awareness of layers of significance and multiple relationships between things and ideas, and which consequently enable us to be creative, original, and "inspiring" are the very same forces that drive us to levels of distraction that other types can't imagine. Which is why even well intentioned criticism is so horribly galling and alienating. The solution to this attentional issue must come from the ENFP mind itself. When faced with a task, whether trivial or complex and important, the ENFP mind finds itself in its characteristic position of contemplating multitudes of alternative ideas, notions, impulses, and desires. No wonder it's hard to iron a shirt. No wonder it's even harder to write a chapter of a book, or continue an analysis of the politics of 19th century Jaipur. I am finding that as my awareness of my own mental landscape increases, so does my ability to think to myself: " okay, I can't do it all, or even a fraction of what is trying to force itself on my attention, so I will just do one little thing. Just one little thing." So I sit down and start doing one little thing. Often that leads to another. On a good day, several hours of work will be accomplished, as long as I keep this tight therapeutic rein on myself. Like hobbling carefully down the hall after bunion surgery, instead of embarking on a competitive 10k run. The first thing leads to the second, but there are no shortcuts. Kinda like that.

Full Disclosure: I am old enough to be utterly baffled by willful illiteracy, pre-packaged miniature cartoon faces inserted into texts in an attempt to increase the expressive power of words which are not up to the task all by themselves, etc. Please don't bother to respond to this outburst. My three twenty-something kids have said it all.

A skill-testing question: the person in my avatar picture would have driven the Romans out of Britain, but her warriors were no match for their bureaucratically organized viciousness. Thus, it is demonstrated that the history of northern Europe was shaped by the flawed and heroic personality of an EFNP. Who was she?

The only way I can get myself to accomplish anything of importance in a day is to constantly remind myself of the bigger picture and what it is I want to achieve. Even in some obscure and indirect way, something so simple as cleaning the dishes in the sink plays into the bigger picture. For me, a messy house and clutter is the arch nemesis to my ability to sustain any high levels of productivity. My mind is so cluttered with racing thoughts, I find that the only way to deal with it is to either clean up and organize my house or to go out for a long run to jump start my brain again. But going back to reminding myself of the bigger picture, I always leave myself stickies and notes around the house, especially above my desk, that remind me of all the goals I want to accomplish, and here and there when I need to reflect on things and ground myself again, I ask myself, is what I am doing at the moment going to propel me to those goals, or distract me from them? I just make sure to ask that simple question whenever I start to feel lost and indecisive.

As much as I love the way my mind works and the brilliant ideas that can stem from it, it can also be a challenge to guide it towards accomplishing those same great ideas my lovely brain thought up.

 

[windoverlake]

This was a fun read, if anything.

Yup! Started with the title then never let up.