OrangeAppled
Sugar Hiccup
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2009
- Messages
- 7,626
- MBTI Type
- INFP
- Enneagram
- 4w5
- Instinctual Variant
- sp/sx
I wonder if any other INFPs relate to the following irrationalities, because I'd like to make this a case for what seems to be the "INFP falling off the face of the earth" syndrome.
1. I have no sense of time.
A week can feel like a day, a day like a lifetime, 5 minutes like an hour, 20 minutes like 5 minutes.
People complain that it has been 2 weeks since they've heard from me, but it felt like a few mere days to me, and I am surprised when I see that much time really has gone by. Sometimes, time feels like this weird man-made concept, and I just don't feel it like other people seem to. I'm on some other timeline in my head or something.
I keep clocks and calendars all around me because of my poor sense of time. I need constant reminders.
I'm considering putting a clock in my bathroom, because I'll zone out while brushing my teeth and before I know it I am LATE.
This poor sense of time plays a HUGE part in my being late and allowing too much time to go by in contacting friends. Because of my tendency to fantasize, I will still feel connected to people during this time, which just adds to the feeling that just spoke with them recently.
2. I am always waiting for THE PERFECT MOMENT (imagine cymbals clashing here!) to initiate contact with people.
For example, I will consider calling a friend, and then some Ne doubt kicks in:
"What if it's too late? What if it's too early? What if they are sleeping? What if they are taking a shower? Walking their dog? Washing their car? It's probably a bad time. I'll just call another day."
My mood gets the better of me:
"I am not feeling talkative. I don't want to call them unless I am in the exact right frame of mind."
Then, before I know it, a month has passed. An afternoon arrives. I find myself free and feeling sociable at 4:07 pm. I think: NOW IS THE PERFECT MOMENT. So then I call, and the person is annoyed, and then I feel bad. Which brings me to....
3. Universal Application of Negative Experience
The annoyed reaction of the person is obviously due to my delay in contacting them, but I take it deeper. I think:
"It was not THE PERFECT MOMENT after all. I am an annoying person. They don't ever want to talk to me."
If this happens several times, then I not only apply that conclusion to this one person, but just about every one else also. I then slack on calling everyone, and the more time that goes by, the more apprehensive I am, because I am sure they don't want to hear from me and I will only be bothersome.
This "universal application" must be some kind of Fi Si thing gone awry....Negative experiences are ingrained in me, and it takes a lot of positive reinforcement to change this thought process.
So in conclusion, this is my personal elaborate excuse for falling off the face of the earth, but is this typical INFP?
Any INFPs who relate? If so, what is your way of getting around these weak points and out of this frame of mind?
1. I have no sense of time.
A week can feel like a day, a day like a lifetime, 5 minutes like an hour, 20 minutes like 5 minutes.
People complain that it has been 2 weeks since they've heard from me, but it felt like a few mere days to me, and I am surprised when I see that much time really has gone by. Sometimes, time feels like this weird man-made concept, and I just don't feel it like other people seem to. I'm on some other timeline in my head or something.
I keep clocks and calendars all around me because of my poor sense of time. I need constant reminders.
I'm considering putting a clock in my bathroom, because I'll zone out while brushing my teeth and before I know it I am LATE.
This poor sense of time plays a HUGE part in my being late and allowing too much time to go by in contacting friends. Because of my tendency to fantasize, I will still feel connected to people during this time, which just adds to the feeling that just spoke with them recently.
2. I am always waiting for THE PERFECT MOMENT (imagine cymbals clashing here!) to initiate contact with people.
For example, I will consider calling a friend, and then some Ne doubt kicks in:
"What if it's too late? What if it's too early? What if they are sleeping? What if they are taking a shower? Walking their dog? Washing their car? It's probably a bad time. I'll just call another day."
My mood gets the better of me:
"I am not feeling talkative. I don't want to call them unless I am in the exact right frame of mind."
Then, before I know it, a month has passed. An afternoon arrives. I find myself free and feeling sociable at 4:07 pm. I think: NOW IS THE PERFECT MOMENT. So then I call, and the person is annoyed, and then I feel bad. Which brings me to....
3. Universal Application of Negative Experience
The annoyed reaction of the person is obviously due to my delay in contacting them, but I take it deeper. I think:
"It was not THE PERFECT MOMENT after all. I am an annoying person. They don't ever want to talk to me."
If this happens several times, then I not only apply that conclusion to this one person, but just about every one else also. I then slack on calling everyone, and the more time that goes by, the more apprehensive I am, because I am sure they don't want to hear from me and I will only be bothersome.
This "universal application" must be some kind of Fi Si thing gone awry....Negative experiences are ingrained in me, and it takes a lot of positive reinforcement to change this thought process.
So in conclusion, this is my personal elaborate excuse for falling off the face of the earth, but is this typical INFP?
Any INFPs who relate? If so, what is your way of getting around these weak points and out of this frame of mind?