Can't figure out if I am a dominant Fi or auxiliary Fe (ISFJ or ISFP I think??)

[JIB]

Lately I've been really trying to figure out what type I am in Myers Briggs and have been thinking really hard on it, I have considered that I am probably either an ISFJ or ISFP but I'm not sticking with just those two, there's a good chance I might be an INFP or INTP. I have filled out questionnaires before and people have said different things, I know the functions to some degree but have a very hard time coming up with characteristics or distinguishing them from one another. Mostly the ones that are confusing to me have always been Fi vs. Fe and Si vs. Se and I feel like I misinterpret what they actually mean.

I used to think I had Fe over Fi because I cared about other people more than myself, but then I realized that for the most part the people I really care about are my family... I don't know if this is an ISFJ thing in particular or what, but a lot of my decisions are based on how it would affect them and what they would think. I don't really care that much about people beyond my family, I try to be polite and considerate but I'm still not sure. Fi I can relate a little bit to, I have never been very good at expressing my feelings, its kind of weird because as a child I could cry if something really bothered me but now I can't cry at all, the only time I have ever cried in the last few years was a few days after my cat died when I realized he wasn't going to be eating breakfast with me, I didn't go to school I was so wrecked and I bottled up my emotions for so long which I still do. Even right now, I realize I have such a hard time expressing my own emotions, I prefer to just keep them to myself. I don't know, because I know thinking of others is supposed to be Fe I think?? But at the same time if one of my personal believes is being polite and considerate to people then yeah I don't know. I generally put others first but I think part of that is because I'm just conflict adverse, I despise conflict and just get angry and irrational when I argue or get into a fight, I'm a bit moody in general but I'd rather have a fist fight then exchange words a lot of the time because I can't not be in a conflict and not want to express my anger and frustration without being uncomfortable.

Si and Se is another confusing thing to me. I love physical things, I love hiking working out and what not if I'm in the mood for it. But at the same time, I remember my childhood pretty vividly and I always thought I was a dominant Si but I think I might think it for the wrong reasons? When I was a child I remember not getting along with other children on the playground so I would go to the library where it was quiet and read books, when I was a kid I read a lot more books than I read now. Mostly though, I remember being fascinated by history, mostly the American Revolution, Presidents, Biographies and then that got into further Military wars and knights in armor and Lewis and Clark and just... I was really interested in reading peoples stories and learning from them, I remember what got me researching the American Revolution was a cartoon and wanting to know more about it. That's pretty much it really for what makes me think Si? I just remember always being interested in History and people hear that whole kid in a library story and think total Si but I don't know. My only problem with that is I have a hard time seeing myself as some sort of Fe type sometimes and I'm definitely not an ISTJ, maybe I am?? Again, just confusing myself again but I have never been organized at all or facts based.

I'm sorry, I'm really over thinking this, I'm just super confused about this whole thing and I don't know why ISFJ and ISFP is so hard for me to distinguish when their functions are totally different. If you guys want me to answer a questionnaire or post a video or something I can, I'm just obsessed about typology and it annoys me that my type changes all the time because I can't figure out what functions I use and which I don't.

Thank you for your time!

 

[Kensei]

It seems like you are basing your Si on ability, Si is not being able to vividly remembering your past, it is simply just preferring to compare your past to your present and making judgements. Plus your Fe and Fi is not clear at all based on your description. If you want me to type you, answer the following questions as straightforwardly and honestly as you can.

Do you prefer to adhere to outside moral codes and social norms, or go by what you feel is right on the inside? Fe users will consider the norms of society and won't care about their unique values, thus coming off as fake when they are really trying to be loyal and courteous.
Fi users will go by their personal values and what they think is right first, and will have almost no regard for the standards of living set by society, this making them come off as selfish when they are justvtrying to do what is right.

Does that help?

 

[JIB]

Yes that did help a little, I think Fi makes more sense. I generally just try and do the right thing despite what society tells me the right thing to do is.

 

[Kensei]

If you truly prefer to go by your own vslues instead of societal norms and standards then you are more likely ISFP. An ISFJ would be more apt to do what's polite in societal opinion instead of what's right in their own mind. Welcome to the Fi club bro

Yes that did help a little, I think Fi makes more sense. I generally just try and do the right thing despite what society tells me the right thing to do is.

 

[Southern Kross]

It's best to get away from Si=memory and instead think of it as "precedent". It's framing your world based on what experience has told you works or doesn't work, or what are likely and unlikely outcomes. It can be highly impression based in how it goes about that. SJs tap into where we've gone and where we're going and remind others of this. They keep things on track; protecting and restoring the order when chaos takes threatens to take over.

Se is more based on emerging possibilities, preferring to work more with trial and error and let instinct take over. It sees the world/truth as something unfolding around it and attempts to tune into that. SPs like to remove the over-complications and assumptions about what has happened or will happen, and instead be present and ready for what is to come. This can make them quite good at problem solving, and also very aware of (and/or good at) narrative/storytelling.

Fe isn't purely about blindly going with the crowd either. It's about social norms, yes, but there it still selective about which ones it follows. FJs look around themselves to find which way to live is best - taking guidance from others that they trust and respect, and modelling their ethical system around that.