Warning: Ne brainstorming activated! Oh brother here we go
My brainstorming on this matter has changed, again. This time onto more group/social areas. I think that we INF's can do really awesome with people one on one, but in groups its very hit or miss, and if we don't know a lot of people in the group the odds of a miss are much higher. Sometimes you hear the phrase "its like the rooms lights up when [person] walks in!" and I'm like "man, why can't I do that!!!" Maybe I can, but I'm pretty sure it hasn't happened yet. I think as INF's we are much better at having a group of people together and getting them to feel relaxed and comfortable than all revved and excited. I think its both important to see our current strengths, and to continue to learn and develop and grow. When I see people that are really good at something, I can definitely have a desire to emulate their skills. For me, when I see E_F_'s I often wish I could emulate their social enthusiasm and charm. At the same time, I've had those same E_F_'s tell me they wish they were better at some of my social/people skills. So its not like either group is lacking, but can't we have both???
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, as that saying goes. I'm not aiming for imitation, more like emulation.
And on another related note, INFP's are often referred to or described as "delightful." I remember when I was younger I could see that the things that I did and how I did them would bring smiles to peoples faces and joy to that moment of their lives. How NF right? I felt like I had a "social impact" that was clear and immediate. It didn't change the world or anything, but that little "bubble" of the world was apparently much happier! Maybe those were just a lot of FJ's and NFP's. Now I'm largely around other types of people, who are generally harder to impress and less emotionally expressive. So maybe I just feel like my efforts are rebuffed, ok no maybe there. But when I get around some other types of people again, all of the sudden those people are laughing and smiling and liking my funny jokes and stuff.
So maybe the overall lesson for me on this "social dynamics" aspect of this topic is: quit looking for positive emotional feedback from people who generally don't give out that. But the people who do, well they make this INFP feel 'delightful!'
Hmm, all this blabbing feels almost like a blog or something "Deep inner thoughts, by an INFP"
For all of those who have ever wondered what its like to be an INFP or what we are like on the inside, we'll I'd say its kinda like this thread. We have an observation/thought/reaction/whatever. It might be something we observe in the outer world via Ne, or it might just be internal rumination. Then we sort through our feelings and values on it [Fi]. Then we say "what can I do with this" or "how can I give external expression to this" at which point its all about Ne. For me, I can take negative things, mull them around with Fi, transmute them into something positive [Fi], and then "release it into the world" [Ne]. Sometimes people see that Ne expression and surmise that there is some negative thoughts/feelings that somehow lay behind it, and not to that there aren't but I processed those negative thoughts into something else and then tried to make something positive with it. A not particularly great example: I see some guy treating his girlfriend like crap. I'm all like "that's such a crappy way to treat people! [Fi] You don't make better relationships that way! [Fi and or Ne?] Okay, I can't change his behavior, but I can do my little part to make sure it doesn't spread. I won't treat women like crap! [Fi] Okay, now let me go be nice to these women over here [Ne]" INFP's, making warm feelings out of crap!
Dude, that should be like our catchphrase or something! Maybe I should PC it a bit: INFP's taking junk and transforming it into personal warm fuzzies???
Other INFP's, does that process in the above paragraph seem familiar/right to you?