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Ne users and boredom/frustration

Tamske

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There has been a lot of discussion about ENTP boredom. I'll summarize a bit the general content of those discussions.

We have the greatest ideas when we can't realize them. When we get to realizing, we've already thought so much about the idea that it isn't new and interesting any more.
We long for some event and imagine lots of nice things about it, but when it's there it's always less exciting than in our imagination, so we get bored by it and long for something else again.


I'd like to know if other Ne users relate to this... especially ENFPs. I've never seen a bored ENFP... then again, I've never seen a bored ENTP either (only heard about them, on this forum). I can relate to the above description, but I'd call that frustration rather than boredom. I'm not bored because I'm imagining new things all the time and enjoying the ideas even if I can't realize them. I'm only frustrated when I have time and all my previous ideas seem worthless and no new ideas are coming up.

So... Ne users:
1) do you relate to the description?
2) would you call it "boredom" (you don't enjoy the idea-generating itself regardless of realization) or "frustration" (you get annoyed by the discrepancy between idea-generating and realizing), or both?
3) do you have any tricks to combat it?
 

simulatedworld

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I think you've seen lots of bored ENTPs (and ENFPs); you've just chosen to define boredom in an unusual way to support the conclusion that you and other Ne doms are not bored. Seems kind of circular.

Personally, I'm bored with reality. It doesn't mean that what's going on in my head is boring, but I can't live completely in my head and I do have to deal with the real world pretty often--ergo, I am bored when forced to pay attention to the concrete realities of the present moment (which is quite often.)
 

Tamske

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I just wanted to get the definitions straight!
I'm not trying to imply I'm better than you for not being bored or anything. I'm just curious - like any ENTP probably. I always thought "bored = not enjoying yourself", and I wanted to know if you guys fitted that description or not...
 

simulatedworld

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I just wanted to get the definitions straight!
I'm not trying to imply I'm better than you for not being bored or anything. I'm just curious - like any ENTP probably. I always thought "bored = not enjoying yourself", and I wanted to know if you guys fitted that description or not...

I'm sorry if I sounded offended. I wasn't. I'm just saying you'd have to be able to live in your fantasy Ne world 100% of the time to be "never bored", which is impossible if you plan to ever interact with the real world in a meaningful way.

I think you'll find that yes, many ENPs fit that description. Your insights about imagining the possibility of ever-greener grass than we have now are quite accurate.

P.S.,

I like your little function people drawings. They're a good way to conceptualize some of the competing forces in our value systems.
 

Tamske

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I'm sorry if I sounded offended. I wasn't.
Oh, the joys of internet (mis)communication... :doh:
I'm just saying you'd have to be able to live in your fantasy Ne world 100% of the time to be "never bored", which is impossible if you plan to ever interact with the real world in a meaningful way.
Very true.
It's even worse. A fantasy Ne world (at least, mine) gets destroyed when you don't interact with the real world in a meaningful way. That's Ne to me -it needs the input from the real world to function.
I get bored when I lack the interaction for a long time. Really bored, as in "not enjoying myself". And frustrated too, because I don't use the alone time to work on all those ideas which seemed so interesting when I couldn't work on them.

To me, the ideal situation is switching between the interaction/idea-generating time and the alone/realizing time.
 

Grungemouse

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I might not be an Ne-dom, but I'm still an Ne-user. That counts too, right?

The description applies to me somewhat. I like coming up with ideas that provide a solution, so much so that realizing them pales in comparison. The fun is in the challenge of bombarding these ideas with the present reality's variables and seeing which one remains standing. I'd use some examples to support, but I can't think of any. But the mental challenge is invigorating. Right now, I'm planning how to go to Las Vegas in May, without my parents knowing I'm meeting my friend at the destination - rather than going together (my parents won't let me travel alone, bla bla). So I'm strategizing ways of preventing them from finding me out, finding every hole in the plan, and brainstorming patches to cover every crack. It's probably more fun than the holiday itself is going to be.

2) Not so much boredom, but mainly getting your gratification(?) from the ideas themselves. Like sating your appetite at the starter, before you reach the main course of a menu. Some people find the idea aspect mentally draining, and want to skip to the implementation, while others are contented with the ideas. I think it's a matter of preference.

3) Just do it. No other way about it, I don't think.
 

CrystalViolet

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I might not be an Ne-dom, but I'm still an Ne-user. That counts too, right?

The description applies to me somewhat. I like coming up with ideas that provide a solution, so much so that realizing them pales in comparison. The fun is in the challenge of bombarding these ideas with the present reality's variables and seeing which one remains standing. I'd use some examples to support, but I can't think of any. But the mental challenge is invigorating. Right now, I'm planning how to go to Las Vegas in May, without my parents knowing I'm meeting my friend at the destination - rather than going together (my parents won't let me travel alone, bla bla). So I'm strategizing ways of preventing them from finding me out, finding every hole in the plan, and brainstorming patches to cover every crack. It's probably more fun than the holiday itself is going to be.

2) Not so much boredom, but mainly getting your gratification(?) from the ideas themselves. Like sating your appetite at the starter, before you reach the main course of a menu. Some people find the idea aspect mentally draining, and want to skip to the implementation, while others are contented with the ideas. I think it's a matter of preference.

3) Just do it. No other way about it, I don't think.

That's why I have at least five or six contingency plans for any endeavor I pursue. And I agree the planning is much more fun than the realization.
 

sculpting

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My entp best friend says that at times she has been so bored she has wanted to commit suicide. I am not exaggerating this or being histronic. She was very serious when she said this. We couldnt really figure it out, except I recall some of the entps here talking about horrific boredom.

She said with the boredom comes a sense of emptiness. (Search for entp boredom-I think there was a thread about this a couple of months ago)

Maybe it is some sort of Ti black hole? Shit I cant remember the whole convo-

Life would suck/be painful, to block this out she would do really crazy Se-like party behavior, then follow up with a feeling of horrific empty boredom. She said the solution in this case was to slow down and face the issues she was running from.

Maybe it was some sort of weird attempt to dive utterly into crazed NeTi (Se-like) which then leaves you in some sort of weird biochemical withdraw state when the crazed Ne goes away. Like you used all your Ne energy up way too quickly?

Maybe that's what the folks are talking about rather than simple boredom?

I dunno what enfps do-I'd have to think about the symmetry for a bit. Normal boredom sound like the entps-we just live in our heads and play there.

EDIT: I have states of emotional emptiness-where I cant find Fi. not depressed, just empty. but bored sort of it-there is just nothing WORTH doing? I dunno...
 

Shimmy

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I am bored often yeah. Unlike happy puppy's friend I never thought of suicide, but I do often think of getting away to a different place. I don't have a sucky life or anything, in fact, it's pretty good. But there's always the sense that there are other places or things that might be more worth while.
 

nozflubber

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"When we get to realizing, we've already thought so much about the idea that it isn't new and interesting any more."

This is almost identical word for word to a profile INTP i read somewhere. Sometimes I move on from a subject just because I feel like i've understood it from all the avenues that I wish. After that, it = boredom for me.

(but also, some people on this board think im ENTP so go figure)
 

Queen Kat

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1) do you relate to the description?
Absolutely.

2) would you call it "boredom" (you don't enjoy the idea-generating itself regardless of realization) or "frustration" (you get annoyed by the discrepancy between idea-generating and realizing), or both?
Most of the time I'm so bored that it feels like I'm dead. Feeling dead is really frustrating. It's also frustrating that whenever I need someone else to help me realize my ideas they always do it the wrong way and that always leaved me unsatisfied. So it's both.

3) do you have any tricks to combat it?
I wish I had. It would be fun if I could like clone myself, so if I have an idea and I decide to realize it, I would always have enough people who will do it the right way. Unfortunately that's pretty much impossible.
 

Tamske

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My entp best friend says that at times she has been so bored she has wanted to commit suicide. I am not exaggerating this or being histronic. She was very serious when she said this. We couldnt really figure it out, except I recall some of the entps here talking about horrific boredom.

She said with the boredom comes a sense of emptiness. (Search for entp boredom-I think there was a thread about this a couple of months ago)

Maybe it is some sort of Ti black hole? Shit I cant remember the whole convo-

Life would suck/be painful, to block this out she would do really crazy Se-like party behavior, then follow up with a feeling of horrific empty boredom. She said the solution in this case was to slow down and face the issues she was running from.

Maybe it was some sort of weird attempt to dive utterly into crazed NeTi (Se-like) which then leaves you in some sort of weird biochemical withdraw state when the crazed Ne goes away. Like you used all your Ne energy up way too quickly?

Maybe that's what the folks are talking about rather than simple boredom?

I dunno what enfps do-I'd have to think about the symmetry for a bit. Normal boredom sound like the entps-we just live in our heads and play there.

EDIT: I have states of emotional emptiness-where I cant find Fi. not depressed, just empty. but bored sort of it-there is just nothing WORTH doing? I dunno...
:cry: That sounds really bad...
I can relate to the "state of emptiness" you describe, but to me it has never been this bad. I'm optimistic to a fault, always thinking things will get better.
I wouldn't call it "Ne used up", it's more like "Ne not getting its input from real outside world and linking back and forth between the same subjects, trying to get interested in them again and failing". The solution -to me- is getting out. This is easier said than done, though... when in an "empty" state, going out seems the thing you want to do the last, because you think you need the time to work on your projects.

Thinking there is nothing worth doing: yes, indeed. Or, in the same vein, thinking that you will never do something well enough or never even finish something. I'm writing and I think my story will suck like all my previous stories do and I won't finish it because there is still so much to do and I never finish anything... until I realize that (1) I enjoy the writing process. Who cares about the result? and (2) I did finish some stories before, so I can do it and (3) some people like to read them, so they can't be that bad.
Fi fail? I don't know.

"When we get to realizing, we've already thought so much about the idea that it isn't new and interesting any more."
This is almost identical word for word to a profile INTP i read somewhere. Sometimes I move on from a subject just because I feel like i've understood it from all the avenues that I wish. After that, it = boredom for me.
(but also, some people on this board think im ENTP so go figure)
INTPs and ENTPs aren't that different...
I would start a project, making sketches our writing down ideas and lose my interest halfway down it. Maybe that's more ENTP? Ti catching up?

Ne vs. Ti
Indeed! :D A good dose of (eventually external) Te helps a lot here, too.
 
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entropie

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To me its music that brings ideas. But you know as it is with all good things, if you look for them, you never find them.

[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bVYgYW6410"].[/YOUTUBE]
 
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