NFPs, how do you use extraverted intuition?

[Abcdenfp]

For a long time, I thought I couldn't possibly be an Ne user because I don't have a wild imagination that dips into the surreal or what have you. I don't wander around thinking about what it'd be like to live in an underwater world or outer space or whatever. I don't even have crazy dreams (I know a lot of people who have apocalyptic dreams and I'm sure some people think about that stuff during waking hours too). I've totally laid in bed at night though imagining what I'd do if someone broke into my house. I imagine the fear and what path I might take to get to the kitchen for a knife (lots of Te here too). But everything I imagine is mostly rooted in reality in some way. I do speculate on possibilities, like could we all just be in a computer simulation? And I'll come up with supportive reasoning for that, like "maybe that explains how someone can have a traumatic brain injury and wake up with the ability to speak another language, like wires being crossed in the programming". Still, that's relatively rooted in reality (I'm not mentally writing the next Fifth Element or Harry Potter). But yes, mostly I just fantasize about silly things, like love, or envisioning the home I want built into the tree canopy one day. I also connect a lot of real stuff to abstract conceptual stuff. Like a tree swaying in a storm will immediately represent a person struggling in life but staying grounded by bending with the gusts (the gusts representing whatever difficulties life throws our way). I can unravel such a comparison on many different levels (incorporating the leaves as being that which we need to let go of, incorporating the seasons to represent symbolic death and rebirth, etc etc etc).

I once had a 6 month relationship with Tom cruise in my mind where I saved him from Scientology and honestly we were very in love. The relationship always started on my drive to work and then would stop at my desk.. resume on my way back home.
Then again i also have moments where I wish people could just download these epic stories I weave.

 

[Virtual ghost]

My ENFP mother is doing endless food experiments, for better or for worse.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

For a long time, I thought I couldn't possibly be an Ne user because I don't have a wild imagination that dips into the surreal or what have you. I don't wander around thinking about what it'd be like to live in an underwater world or outer space or whatever. I don't even have crazy dreams (I know a lot of people who have apocalyptic dreams and I'm sure some people think about that stuff during waking hours too).

I've totally laid in bed at night though imagining what I'd do if someone broke into my house. I imagine the fear and what path I might take to get to the kitchen for a knife (lots of Te here too). But everything I imagine is mostly rooted in reality in some way. I do speculate on possibilities, like could we all just be in a computer simulation? And I'll come up with supportive reasoning for that, like "maybe that explains how someone can have a traumatic brain injury and wake up with the ability to speak another language, like wires being crossed in the programming". Still, that's relatively rooted in reality (I'm not mentally writing the next Fifth Element or Harry Potter).

But yes, mostly I just fantasize about silly things, like love, or envisioning the home I want built into the tree canopy one day. I also connect a lot of real stuff to abstract conceptual stuff. Like a tree swaying in a storm will immediately represent a person struggling in life but staying grounded by bending with the gusts (the gusts representing whatever difficulties life throws our way). I can unravel such a comparison on many different levels (incorporating the leaves as being that which we need to let go of, incorporating the seasons to represent symbolic death and rebirth, etc etc etc).

I don't generally consider myself very poetic, but I suppose I can be given the tree example.

I borderline hate poetry because I almost never understand it or find it relatable.

Metaphorical makes sense. I speak in metaphors often when I really get into talking about something. It can be hard to explain my feelings and thoughts without metaphors and lots of hand gestures.

Well, poems use a lot of metaphors.

 

[Zhaylin]

In person I’m a very visual/audio driven listener. In fact, I don’t always fully process what was said until later. Strange I know

I relate to this A LOT. I call it "delayed hearing" lol.

Great info, everyone!

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I'm not exactly sure what you mean, but going off the conversation...

When I have to be around other people I take in everything- peoples eyes, body language, gesturings.
Let's say, a person is limping. Are they in pain? Is it an old injury or something new? Have they just been standing for too long? Can I help in some way?
That information passes through my mind faster than I can completely (consciously) process it, most of the time. I, sometimes, have to pause and reflect on why I'm feeling a certain way. Using the example above: I'll start scanning an area for a chair for someone, then wonder why the heck I'm doing that lol. Then it hits me- the person and their limp and a compulsion to help.

But then "logic" kicks in. Maybe they've limped all their life. Perhaps they'd feel insulted if I said or did anything. And then I feel annoyed at my brain for giving me useless information lol So, unless there's an apparent need to act (a kid's about to walk in front of a car), then I just brush the info aside and try to forget about it.

I do the same thing when driving: a car was going almost 90mph but has slowed down a great deal. Does he have a radar detector? Is there a cop or an accident in front of him? Is he texting or playing with the radio? And what about that idiot who just swerved onto the berm and the other guy who's tailgating me?

It's exhausting.

As for Peter Deadpan's post, that used to be me so hard core. I would spend HOURS in "daydreams". In one of them, I drove off a hillside during a snow storm. I was injured and had amnesia (of course ). I walked and walked through a blizzard until I stumbled across a cave. I had to warm up and treat my injuries using only the stuff in my fanny pack and jacket. What would I use? I pass out from the pain and shock and weeks pass and I still have no memory. Thankfully, there was a natural spring inside the cave. Unfortunately, the opening was too narrow and I got snowed in. Okay... how would I solve that problem? What could I make to keep it from happening again?
The story just kept growing and growing- how I could hunt and treat/store the kills. How does one make a primitive smokehouse?
Then, a guy showed up. A hunter. I was raped and became pregnant. (I killed him, of course, and made a daring get away.)
But now, how do I take care of a baby in these conditions? Twins? Are you kidding me, imagination?!

For a couple of years, or so, I built on to the story until:
One day, I get brave and leave the place I called home. I had adopted someone's horse and a stray dog over the years. I used those to transport the kids and all the stuff I had made (for trading). I got to a town and as I was leaving, someone said (to another person): "That poor lady. No one knows who she is, but she comes here from time to time. She thinks she has a son and daughter, but there's never anyone with her."

So yeah... surreal and apocalyptic summed up my musings quite well.

I finally figured out I was having them to begin with because I was frightened of the drive I had to take from town to our country house. I lived there, of and on, for a few years and was especially nervous during Winter. It was a coping mechanism as well as a way to kill time during long drives. People ask, "well, how bad could it be" (referring to anything and everything). I tend to imagine just how terrible things CAN go and what I could do to fix/change/survive it. Doing so actually makes me feel better lol.

This makes me understand why so many NFPs seem to be into creative writing. It seems like it almost comes naturally.

 

[Luminous]

This makes me understand why so many NFPs seem to be into creative writing. It seems like it almost comes naturally.

I wonder about it... I'm good at creating poetry, but not in creating elaborate plots. (Perhaps that is because I really haven't put any effort into it, though.)

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I wonder about it... I'm good at creating poetry, but not in creating elaborate plots. (Perhaps that is because I really haven't put any effort into it, though.)

I've started writing stories, but I always lose interest after a page. Concepts are one thing, but coming up with a story and characters to go with them is a bit harder.

 

[Luminous]

I've started writing stories, but I always lose interest after a page. Concepts are one thing, but coming up with a story and characters to go with them is a bit harder.

That's awesome. Yes.

 

[Zhaylin]

This makes me understand why so many NFPs seem to be into creative writing. It seems like it almost comes naturally.

Thanks. There wasn't much easy or natural about it though lol. It was a story that grew over years and began at one point: a car crash during a blizzard.
Then I'd become curious about how I could survive x, y and z so I also researched a little when I could (there was no internet at the "Farm")

For me, the hardest part of writing stories is the beginning and ending. I'm also not great about creating a visual experience. I tend to be too technical and rely too heavily on dialogue. Though I didn't realize it, at the time, I was also heavily influenced by The Stand and Clan of the Cave Bear (for several novellas). So, I also lacked originality lol.
In other words, I sucked I still loved writing, though- especially character creation.
Perhaps D&D helped. I dabbled a tiny bit in that game, when I was a kid, so I applied that interest to creating characters in my stories. What are their abilities, strengths, weaknesses, character flaws: INT, HP, Char, WIS etc. Then I'd think about how they looked. Magazines helped a little there.

Just have fun with it. I have a folder, somewhere, of one page stories I lost interest in. For me, stories that HAVE to be told are persistent. They'll niggle at your brain until you release it on paper. You'll find no peace until then lol. (I can laugh now, but I didn't feel like it back in the day! They drove me mad at times!)

 

[Earl Grey]

Looking at reality and going, "But, in what way can this be different?"

 

[PumpkinMayCare]

I automatically ask myself what could be, after seeing what already is. For me it is hard to see what is in all the glory details very often. The 'what if' questions have to be the ones I must've asked myself subconsciously the most. I just can't help it. It's the way I'm wired.
Additionally, Ne helps me come up with various possibilities. Let's say someone asks me why I wouldn't do something. In my head a million reasons would pop up, instead of only one.

Ne also helps me see how things are connected with each other. And it strengthens the imagination too. I often realize how much easier it is for NFPs to imagine something in their heads. Almost like a movie playing before your minds eye.

As for the clichee of Ne making someone more open to taking risks; well, it's true in a way. If it weren't for my Fi and Te holding me back very often, I'd take pretty stupid risks just out of curiosity. Oh, speaking of curiosity ... That's what Ne's "doing to me" the most. It's hard for me to pick a topic and go 'I'm not interested in that one'. I do have favs, but only two.
Last but not least ... Switching perspectives on something. I contribute this to having Ne. It's all those possibilities, all those ways you can look at something ... Wah! They're sometimes too much for me.

 

[mgbradsh]

I'm not exactly sure what you mean, but going off the conversation...

When I have to be around other people I take in everything- peoples eyes, body language, gesturings.
Let's say, a person is limping. Are they in pain? Is it an old injury or something new? Have they just been standing for too long? Can I help in some way?
That information passes through my mind faster than I can completely (consciously) process it, most of the time. I, sometimes, have to pause and reflect on why I'm feeling a certain way. Using the example above: I'll start scanning an area for a chair for someone, then wonder why the heck I'm doing that lol. Then it hits me- the person and their limp and a compulsion to help.

But then "logic" kicks in. Maybe they've limped all their life. Perhaps they'd feel insulted if I said or did anything. And then I feel annoyed at my brain for giving me useless information lol So, unless there's an apparent need to act (a kid's about to walk in front of a car), then I just brush the info aside and try to forget about it.

I do the same thing when driving: a car was going almost 90mph but has slowed down a great deal. Does he have a radar detector? Is there a cop or an accident in front of him? Is he texting or playing with the radio? And what about that idiot who just swerved onto the berm and the other guy who's tailgating me?

It's exhausting.

As for Peter Deadpan's post, that used to be me so hard core. I would spend HOURS in "daydreams". In one of them, I drove off a hillside during a snow storm. I was injured and had amnesia (of course ). I walked and walked through a blizzard until I stumbled across a cave. I had to warm up and treat my injuries using only the stuff in my fanny pack and jacket. What would I use? I pass out from the pain and shock and weeks pass and I still have no memory. Thankfully, there was a natural spring inside the cave. Unfortunately, the opening was too narrow and I got snowed in. Okay... how would I solve that problem? What could I make to keep it from happening again?
The story just kept growing and growing- how I could hunt and treat/store the kills. How does one make a primitive smokehouse?
Then, a guy showed up. A hunter. I was raped and became pregnant. (I killed him, of course, and made a daring get away.)
But now, how do I take care of a baby in these conditions? Twins? Are you kidding me, imagination?!

For a couple of years, or so, I built on to the story until:
One day, I get brave and leave the place I called home. I had adopted someone's horse and a stray dog over the years. I used those to transport the kids and all the stuff I had made (for trading). I got to a town and as I was leaving, someone said (to another person): "That poor lady. No one knows who she is, but she comes here from time to time. She thinks she has a son and daughter, but there's never anyone with her."

So yeah... surreal and apocalyptic summed up my musings quite well.

I finally figured out I was having them to begin with because I was frightened of the drive I had to take from town to our country house. I lived there, of and on, for a few years and was especially nervous during Winter. It was a coping mechanism as well as a way to kill time during long drives. People ask, "well, how bad could it be" (referring to anything and everything). I tend to imagine just how terrible things CAN go and what I could do to fix/change/survive it. Doing so actually makes me feel better lol.

I strongly relate to this.

I would say at this point in my life I just let my Ne do its thing as opposed to trying to control it or focus it. It’s picking up so much information that I’m not always consciously aware of. My Fi and Si will sort through it all later and arrange everything so my Ne can go back and make all the connections it needs to.

I’m not sure if that makes sense or explains it accurately though.

 

[Zhaylin]

Hmm... so is curiosity a Ne thing (could also be Te or Ti, I suppose?)?

Even though I'm not really creatively imaginative anymore, I am forever curious. I honestly couldn't even give you a ballpark figure of how many things I'm curious about over the course of any given day. A lot of it's health related: "Why are my toenails blue-ish? Why does the top of my foot turn red?- looks like contact dermetitis but my feet contact the same things lol? What are these animal tracks in the yard? What about that bird? Just imagine what you could see if you were a bird!" And yes, my thoughts are very ADD One thing will make me think of another and then another until I forget what I was first going on about.

There's a never ending internal monologue going on (I have aphantasia to a lesser degree. Did I already type about this here or elsewhere? I can see shadows or brief flashes of images but I mostly think in words). The thing I say to myself, probably more than anything else is: "Shut up Brain! I'm not thinking about that right now!" because once I start, I have to follow.

Tell me if any of y'all do this:
My husband will grumble because we're running late or something. Or, perhaps we leave early and out of character. I always think about what could have happened if we left on time. Did we avoid a car crash? Would a deer have been crossing the road? Or a person? There could have been a major traffic accident that ended many lives, but it never happened because we weren't on the road when we should have been.

 

[gllg]

I relate a lot to what Peter Deadpan describes. I spend a lot of time in fantasy, but they are not out-of-this-world fantasies. They're mostly about love. There are also fantasies of what might happen in the future, what I'll do about it, how it'll feel. I used to fantasize about the past, and rewrite some things, but not anymore.

That's totally me to a T

Fantasizing about relationships and all the what ifs possible.

Although I usually fantasize in a positive way, I sometimes find myself negatively fantasizing if there is either a chance that I would get rejected or the relationship might be doomed. Maybe it's a way to protect myself when that happens so that I have already felt part of that hurt.

Do any of you do that as well? If so, have you found it helpful?

 

[Luminous]

That's totally me to a T

Fantasizing about relationships and all the what ifs possible.

Although I usually fantasize in a positive way, I sometimes find myself negatively fantasizing if there is either a chance that I would get rejected or the relationship might be doomed. Maybe it's a way to protect myself when that happens so that I have already felt part of that hurt.

Do any of you do that as well? If so, have you found it helpful?

Yes, I do that, too. I'm not sure whether it's been helpful.

 

[Zhaylin]

lol [MENTION=38890]gllg[/MENTION] I wrote about doing exactly that, though not with relationships.
If I have, even a slight fear about something, I fantasize/daydream about all the terrible and ghastly possibilities and outcomes.
I walk my dogs at 1AM, for instance. We live beside a busy road that's 55 mph. That's the road I walk. I go at 1AM because it's quiet at that time with virtually no traffic. The weather is also perfect at that time of day lol.

So, my thoughts take me down dark paths: I'm hit by a drunk driver, or accosted, or assaulted, attacked by feral dogs or bears or deer (they can be quite vicious at times lol). When my thoughts turn to those things, I ask it "yeah? So what could we do about it?"
I'm hit by a drunk driver and die. Well, there's no story there so that outcome bores me. Let's say I'm injured instead. What are the injuries and how bad are they? Where along the road was I struck? My phone survives the impact, I dial 911. End of story. Boring It doesn't survive, so I have no way of calling for help. What then? How could I get home or help?

I do that for each of the fears. I guess, it's my way of confronting what ever it is that's troubling me and working through it. If I can foresee how bad something COULD be, I can have a plan for defense. And, like you said, I experience some of the hurt and fear through the daydreams. If something bad did happen, the blow has been cushioned.

ROFL. It just occurred to me that my father was right. He used to pick on me and say I could turn a walk to the mailbox into a 200 page novel.

 

[gllg]

lol [MENTION=38890]gllg[/MENTION] I wrote about doing exactly that, though not with relationships.
If I have, even a slight fear about something, I fantasize/daydream about all the terrible and ghastly possibilities and outcomes.
I walk my dogs at 1AM, for instance. We live beside a busy road that's 55 mph. That's the road I walk. I go at 1AM because it's quiet at that time with virtually no traffic. The weather is also perfect at that time of day lol.

So, my thoughts take me down dark paths: I'm hit by a drunk driver, or accosted, or assaulted, attacked by feral dogs or bears or deer (they can be quite vicious at times lol). When my thoughts turn to those things, I ask it "yeah? So what could we do about it?"
I'm hit by a drunk driver and die. Well, there's no story there so that outcome bores me. Let's say I'm injured instead. What are the injuries and how bad are they? Where along the road was I struck? My phone survives the impact, I dial 911. End of story. Boring It doesn't survive, so I have no way of calling for help. What then? How could I get home or help?

I do that for each of the fears. I guess, it's my way of confronting what ever it is that's troubling me and working through it. If I can foresee how bad something COULD be, I can have a plan for defense. And, like you said, I experience some of the hurt and fear through the daydreams. If something bad did happen, the blow has been cushioned.

ROFL. It just occurred to me that my father was right. He used to pick on me and say I could turn a walk to the mailbox into a 200 page novel.

Well, I have never gone that far into the what ifs but if that helps you working through it then imagine away!

 

[gllg]

Yes, I do that, too. I'm not sure whether it's been helpful.

I guess at some point it could be, the important thing is not trying to over analyze the bad things and take them out of proportion, which I am guilty of That's the problem of being in love with a immature ESFP