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[ENTP] ENTPs: wearing masks?

sculpting

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So everything you guys teach me I promptly go blather on about at work. Most folks are neutral and some think it is really neat . My INTPs are quiet but they have told me it is nice to know they are odd for a reason. My INTJs already know all about it cause they know everything. My ENTPs tend to wonder off shyly (like unicorns) but then return later and ask more qestions. They sort of drop them here or there into the midst of light hearted conversations- really deep questions like the one below...

" I actually struggle not to wear masks. Do you ever have imposter syndrome?" I asked him what that was...

"Imposter syndrome is feeling that you are unworthy and that you have fooled others about your true self"

then I told him he is really responsible, accountable, and an awesome guy and a great teamplayer at our company, and a wonderful father and husband to his family, he said "no, just a mask". But he is one of the best folks I work with and has profound integrity and cares very much for those around him. His actions show this.

My entp also says she feels masked and very compartmentilized.

Would you guys mind elaborating on if this is something you also feel? I dont understand what he or she is feeling. I care much for both of them and since they came to me asking, I thought I ask.

Why do they feel this way?
 

EcK

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BlahBlahNounBlah

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:thinking:


I have masks, but my masks aren't hiding some true core self. What I mean is, if you take all of my masks away, I'm not sure what's left.


That sounds bad.

:unsure:
 

Synarch

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:thinking:


I have masks, but my masks aren't hiding some true core self. What I mean is, if you take all of my masks away, I'm not sure what's left.


That sounds bad.

:unsure:

BlueWing / SolitaryWalker would say that strong Ne has the potential to make a type self-effacing due to its strong orientation to the external world. So, it's not necessarily that there is nothing behind the mask, more that the self is something of a mirror, which lends the chameleon aspect ENTP's are renowned for.
 

simulatedworld

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BlueWing / SolitaryWalker would say that strong Ne has the potential to make a type self-effacing due to its strong orientation to the external world. So, it's not necessarily that there is nothing behind the mask, more that the self is something of a mirror, which lends the chameleon aspect ENTP's are reknowned for.

But not the spelling, which ENXXs are not so renowned for.


btw, totally understand OP.
 

BlahBlahNounBlah

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There are some people who I continually react to by turning into a version of myself that I don't like. When I realize this, I'll usually limit my exposure to that person.


So even though I'm a walking assortment of masks, I choose which ones get to continue. I wouldn't spend a lot of time with a person unless I liked the version of myself I am with them.
 

CJ99

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Hmm this is similar to what I discovered about myself last night in the most interesting psycho analysis convo i've ever had - It was with an ENTj one of my very very few NT friends.

I realised I had a self improving complex i.e. I feel the need to keep on trying to improve my self and realise my potential and i'm very self critical about it all.

I think ENTPs feel the need to take on the best parts of other people in their aim to explore themselves and realise their potential. So they copy other peoples "masks" so as to make one big ultimate mask.

I think one of the most fundemental parts of the ENTP is their ability to see all the things they could be more than any other type. In other words they are very aware of the masks they can wear and how they all go together to make on big mask. It their ultimate invention - their own personality!


Mind you that could be a load of bullshit!
 

substitute

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There are some people who I continually react to by turning into a version of myself that I don't like.

Yes, I relate to that part a lot. Often takes me quite a while though, to figure out that's what's going on. Until I do, I feel completely confused and anxious cos I feel sure that I really have become an asshole or something, so I wonder why the hell people are choosing my company... I get paranoid and all sorts in worst case scenarios.

I've somewhat artificially developed Fe, which I think was probably a bad idea. The idea was to be more sensitive to others' feelings. But it's enabled an attachment that's completely incompatible with my "native" personality. Not fake, but sorta artificial, like a vein grafted onto an artery in a bypass operation - the blood getting there is really getting there and it's real blood, but it wouldn't have got there at all, certainly not by that route, if it hadn't been artificially forced, though there the analogy ends cos the body can deal with that just fine, whereas my personality can't deal fine at all with this.

Then, once it's there... the rest of me doesn't know what to do with it, as it jarrs horribly with the things I value most, making them very difficult; making my life a very tough balancing act.

So even though I'm a walking assortment of masks, I choose which ones get to continue. I wouldn't spend a lot of time with a person unless I liked the version of myself I am with them.

OMG +1!!

Did you ever see that episode of Next Generation where that empathic metamorph woman turns up? See the synopsis here.
 

Mondo

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I say that I definitely have my set of masks and know when to use the right ones. I think it's often important to have some sort of mask to survive most jobs, unless you want to be unemployed or something like that.. something I personally can't afford to be.
 

yenom

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I am pretty sure who I am and what I want to do out of life. I do not think I have a self-identity crisis. I am sure the other ENTPs are like this.

People who put up a false front constantly are only living a lie, they will eventually get caught for doing this.

But if you are saying mask is an aspect of your personality, then we all have masks, because no mask can completely describe your personality. You can also call your name as a mask if you want, because its part of your self-identity.
 

violet_crown

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I think this is a really fascinating discussion. I've been reading the spate of multiple identity-themed threads that have been posted in the last couple of days and had an "aha" moment a few seconds ago. Just to organize my thoughts:

First this seems to an interesting side effect of intuition. Ne's manifesting this as multiple, externally acquired personas with a constant internal perspective. While Ni's seem to have multiple internal personas that are expressed in alternating behavioral sets.

Second, this seems to be particular to extroverts. Or at least, if it happens to the introverts, they havent mentioned it.

My only guess as to why this seems to be a fixation for NTs is that Ns strong preference for symbols, coupled with its interest in potential and possibility. And Ts like systems. These "masks" would be an Ne's way of coding options in terms of social behavior. Whereas Ni's internal multiples define the dynamics/various forces of their psyche. The symbols allow for systematization and thereby more direct manipulation.
 

Kasper

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I have masks, but my masks aren't hiding some true core self. What I mean is, if you take all of my masks away, I'm not sure what's left.

Not fake, but sorta artificial.

Them bits ^ :yes:

I'm always basically me and not fake but I have many masks that fit with the environment I'm in and people who are around. The masks screen what I don't want to show and direct you to what I'm prepared to reveal. I mirror a lot which involves accentuating the part of me that fits with whoever I'm around, not necessarily true to being myself but still part of me.
 

epp

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... and I thought I was crazy or something. I once realized I can sort of turn into a whole different personality with different people... without losing my own personality at the same time. It was most notable with my then-new BF, I was really calm, gentle and... er... feminine (in a good way) with him even though I'm usually much different. But this phenomenon works with other people too, so it was not because of me being in love :p

I called it 'reflecting', because it seems to me like I reflect those sides of my own being that the other person wants to see in me - too bad if they want to see the bitch in me. And I don't do it consciously, it just happens. So I guess it has something to do with Ne function.

Sorry, it would be hard to explain even in my native language, I'm not sure I made myself clear... *hides*
 

BlueScreen

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Hmm this is similar to what I discovered about myself last night in the most interesting psycho analysis convo i've ever had - It was with an ENTj one of my very very few NT friends.

I realised I had a self improving complex i.e. I feel the need to keep on trying to improve my self and realise my potential and i'm very self critical about it all.

I think ENTPs feel the need to take on the best parts of other people in their aim to explore themselves and realise their potential. So they copy other peoples "masks" so as to make one big ultimate mask.

I think one of the most fundemental parts of the ENTP is their ability to see all the things they could be more than any other type. In other words they are very aware of the masks they can wear and how they all go together to make on big mask. It their ultimate invention - their own personality!


Mind you that could be a load of bullshit!

I might be an ENTP. I call it personal evolution. You have a dream, and you don't reach it, you become it. Maybe in a different way, but I've developed from the things I liked around me. That selection is what makes a self. What you choose, you chose because you are you.
 

sculpting

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BlueWing / SolitaryWalker would say that strong Ne has the potential to make a type self-effacing due to its strong orientation to the external world. So, it's not necessarily that there is nothing behind the mask, more that the self is something of a mirror, which lends the chameleon aspect ENTP's are renowned for.

I have mountains of Ne, tons and tons of it. I mold myself to my surroundings, adapt to what I need to be in that moment for that person I am interacting with. I think Ne gives you the ability to have those multiple personas or masks. If I had to describe functionally they might be an Ne-Fi, an Ne-Te and an Ne-Ti that I have to work at a bit and is really stpid in comp to an entp. I feel like I can sort of isolate the Fi, Ti, and Te as well a bit when I need to focus internally. But all guesses, could be BS. Funny, not sure what Ne-Fi-Te all together quite feels like.

But they are all part of me. So masks maybe, but I am not bothered by them at all. They are more like facets in a jewel. It just looks different from different angles. They dont feel forced or artificial, however on the surface they do flow and are mercurial. Ienfps seem to have the chameleon qualities but not be bothered quite like you guys do by them.

Yes, I relate to that part a lot. Often takes me quite a while though, to figure out that's what's going on. Until I do, I feel completely confused and anxious cos I feel sure that I really have become an asshole or something, so I wonder why the hell people are choosing my company... I get paranoid and all sorts in worst case scenarios.

I've somewhat artificially developed Fe, which I think was probably a bad idea. The idea was to be more sensitive to others' feelings. But it's enabled an attachment that's completely incompatible with my "native" personality. Not fake, but sorta artificial, like a vein grafted onto an artery in a bypass operation - the blood getting there is really getting there and it's real blood, but it wouldn't have got there at all, certainly not by that route, if it hadn't been artificially forced, though there the analogy ends cos the body can deal with that just fine, whereas my personality can't deal fine at all with this.

Then, once it's there... the rest of me doesn't know what to do with it, as it jarrs horribly with the things I value most, making them very difficult; making my life a very tough balancing act.

I wonder if this is getting closer to what makes my entp friend feel odd. He is very Fe heavy, and an amazingly sweet person. I wonder if the transition/discrepancy between what his internal Ti says and his external Fe says are so great that there are actually conflicts going on.

An interesting thing I have noticed about him. When he talks, he will pause at times, almost like he is searching for the right words. Except I think he is searching for an Fe way to rephrase what Ti just told him if I had to guess...

I pissed him off Friday, totally my fault, yet he was so nice. far too nice..big hesitations between sentances.. I should have been yelled at for what I did. It was horrible and I totally screwed up.


Are there some number of different masks? Do they feel well defined at all or constantly being varied? Is it as simple as Ti vs Fe or much more complex than that? Do other people ever comment on seeing you act so differently in different places?
 

Tiny Army

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I have several "mini-personalities" that I pull out at will. They're each exaggerated versions of different aspects of my personality. I just don't like revealing all my cards at once so I show different people different sides of me.
 

ghoti

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Second, this seems to be particular to extroverts. Or at least, if it happens to the introverts, they havent mentioned it.

Maybe I'm misinterpreting the implications of a mask in ENTP experience, but it does not seem too far off from my own. Not that it's a subject I understand well.

For me it's a form of self defence, though. And it's most definitely fake, not another facet of my personality. It's draining, frustrating, and induces a lot of self loathing when I pretend to be something so far removed from myself.

It's also necessary for where I work. But that's just how it goes when your boss is the mouse. :( Ffff.
 
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