[SJ] Daydreams

[fishingdude]

Do any of you SJ's daydream much? I've always felt I spent too much time doing it. I notice I do it quite a bit when I'm talking with people. If something they say doesn't seem like it's going to be that important, I usually just zone out the rest of the conversation. When there's a pause in their talking, I'll nod my head or say "really?" or something like that. They never seem to notice I'm not paying attention. It's sort of like when you're watching your favorite show on TV, and somebody's trying to tell you something, but you don't really want to talk because you're trying to watch so you say "uh-huh" to whatever they say. I also daydream about dumb stuff like having superpowers, time travelling, or "what if" scenarios. I do that a lot, is it normal? Do I do this to avoid reality, or am I just 'special'?

 

[Atomic Fiend]

lol You sounded like an INTJ.

 

[Giggly]

Hmm, I think people have a tendency to daydream when they are bored.

 

[Cimarron]

I've always daydreamed a lot! People think this is something that SJs don't do, for whatever reason. I don't daydream much when I'm talking to someone one on one, though. Maybe because when I really don't want to talk to someone and I don't have to be there, I'm already focused on trying to get out of the conversation and leave.

But I daydream about lots of "what if" scenarios, usually pretend conversations. Sometimes about if I were in a touring rock band, or were a professor, or a politician. It's hard to think about them now, after the fact.

 

[Spectre of the spam]

You seem to be my clone. That's exactly what I do.

 

[Pancreas]

The ISTJ’s I know, at least, tend to spend any time they’re not actively doing something in at least a partial daydreaming state. I get ignored often if I start talking to one and they’re so out of it that they don’t even hear me. I tend to notice when my questions are met with silence.

On another note, despite not being a SJ I find I tend to daydream a lot. I do it when I’m bored or when I’m supposed to be trying to get to sleep (i.e. I’m bored). I daydream about all sorts of things. I’ll go over events in my head and replay or play around with them (the ‘what if’ scenarios), I’ll think about conversations, both past and potential or I’ll go off on weird tangents like the superpowers thing or devising potential arguments for both sides of the ‘what came first: the chicken or the egg’ debate.

Why would people assume that anyone wouldn’t daydream? Is it because daydreaming is seen as less concrete and therefore not the domain of sensors? Or do people associate daydreaming with purely abstract and/or fantastical ideas that sensors would be less likely to think about?

 

[Cimarron]

Why would people assume that anyone wouldn’t daydream? Is it because daydreaming is seen as less concrete and therefore not the domain of sensors? Or do people associate daydreaming with purely abstract and/or fantastical ideas that sensors would be less likely to think about?

I mean that people say we don't daydream as much, because it deals with more abstract things, I guess. For example, I don't daydream about superheroes, or magical things like wizards or fairies. Though when I was a kid, I did pretend I was different kinds of dinosaurs and act it out, or different mythological characters interacting with the others. When I was 6 or 7 years old.

 

[swordpath]

I'm ADD but I also daydream often.

 

[raz]

I find myself asking people, "Wait, what did you just say?" a lot.

 

[ArbiterDewey]

I'm rarely able to keep up in certain conversations because of daydreaming combined with sucking at multi-tasking.

I'll get caught up in the daydream (or task) and not hear what anyone is saying around me.

I like it, but it annoys them pretty well.

My daydreams consist of changes in perspective, fantasy worlds (I am a Dungeon Master), and verifying my logic process, lol. And more.

 

[Giggly]

I am incapable of not paying very close attention to someone who I am talking with. It's normally a nice thing but sometimes it can be a bit nerve-wrecking because it makes me extra sensitive and I may possibly read too much into their body language or the things they say. Luckily, I know this and therefore take correction well.

I do, however, daydream a lot. Mostly when I am in a relaxed state but never when I am talking with someone.

 

[ehastin1]

i day dream all the time! always what if scenarios

 

[Cimarron]

I realized that I often do daydream about the past. Past events, past discussions, etc. Kind of running them through my mind again, and maybe emphasizing little details, more than they were in real life.

 

[ehastin1]

also sometimes i'll daydream about stuff that happened in the past and what i should've done to make that situation better. i'm not really sure why i do it

 

[Cimarron]

I wanted to post an experience I just had before I forget it. And I think it illustrates Si vs. Se, which is relevant because for SJs, Si is theoretically preferred over Se.

I was watching a Youtube music video, trying to be fully tuned into the song. At some point, the video had a guy in a trench coat. I saw the trench coat and my mind went back to a few days ago, when my friend and I were apartment-hunting, and during one tour a closet had a trench coat in it (as one of the example home items). So my friend said, "If you see a person wearing a trench coat, you know right away they're trouble." He laughed, and I gave a half-hearted laugh, because I kind of like trench coats--oops, I notice that I'm not paying any attention to the Youtube video. I've been staring at the screen for about a minute, but I didn't catch it.

So that's what happens when I "zone out."

 

[fishingdude]

So that's what happens when I "zone out."

That happens to me quite a bit through out the day. Maybe it's just ADD?

 

[Cimarron]

It happens to me a lot, too, especially when I'm trying to focus on something important but boring. The point is that probably everyone zones out at times, but in case anyone was wondering what it's like when an ISTJ zones out, there it is. Thanks for giving validation to the idea.

I wouldn't think it would be ADD, but I have no way to say for sure. You think you have ADD, separately from any of this?

 

[Mawigan]

The ISTJ’s I know, at least, tend to spend any time they’re not actively doing something in at least a partial daydreaming state. I get ignored often if I start talking to one and they’re so out of it that they don’t even hear me. I tend to notice when my questions are met with silence.

Oh, this sounds familiar. I always daydream when I don't have anything to occupy my attention. Sometimes I'll even be staring at the television but not interested in what's on, and someone will come into the room and ask me what's on or what they missed, and I'm always like, "Uh, I dunno, I wasn't really watching." Then they look at me oddly.

It's a little awkward. I can only imagine what it's like for the other person to see me staring and then realize that I wasn't paying attention at all. Even when someone's talking to me. I try, I really do, but sometimes it's just so hard.