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[NT] Pacing

VagrantFarce

Active member
Joined
Nov 19, 2008
Messages
1,558
Never, but I exercise a lot, so I rarely have physical energy to "waste". My best thinking is done while laying on the sofa or bed.

I find that really interesting, and a great example of how the introverted./extroverted perceivign functions work. Intreoverted perceivers sit still when thinking, extroverted perceivers move about and interact with the world? I've seen auxillary Ni described as "sitting still".
 

MiasmaResonance

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Jul 18, 2009
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155
MBTI Type
INTP
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Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
I remember that the pacing started when I was about 5 or 6.
I still do it to this day.
 

BerberElla

12 and a half weeks
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Sep 25, 2008
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2,725
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infp
I only do this when I am stressed, yet oddly it stresses me too, it seems counter productive and yet I find myself doing it anyway.
 

ajblaise

Minister of Propagandhi
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Aug 3, 2008
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7,914
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When I'm working on an idea or solution, something about walking back and forth seems to help my Ti laser-focus more clearly.

Maybe sitting still and having a total absence of external stimulation isn't the best way to ponder a problem, but instead a very low base-level of stimulation - the kind you get by pacing around - is ideal. This could let you become more immersed internally because you have satisfied the 5 senses, making you less tense and more relaxed.

And relaxation is associated with alpha brain waves and alpha brain waves are associated with creativity!! BAM! Theory complete.


Nietzsche said something that relates to this:

"All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking"
 

Magic Poriferan

^He pronks, too!
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14,081
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Yin
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One
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sx/sp
I pace a lot. I pace while I am thinking intently. It begins without concscious or voluntary thought, but I find that if I'm restrained from doing it, my ability to think is seriouslky limited. It causes me some problems, because it makes it hard for me to write or study. As soon as I start thinking thinking with a sufficient intensity, I have to take flight. I've also found myself in places without remembering how I got there because of this habit.

Space is precious to me, and it invites more pacing. For a while when I lived with my parents, I used to pace in the back yard. The outdoors are mentally invigorating for me, and of course, they are spacious, so I prefer pacing outside. Unfortunately, I paced along the same spot so much, that there was eventually a path of thin, pale, trampled grass through the yard, and my parents told me to stop (my dad said people were going to think I was retarded).
 

Cimarron

IRL is not real
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Aug 21, 2008
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3,417
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ISTJ
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5w6
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sp/so
Yes, when I get excited about starting or doing something, I start pacing around the room. Especially when I'm talking through it out loud, imagining it. I can't sit still, I will just start pacing again.

Also, when I'm talking on the phone, I'm always walking around in circles. But that's not as special.
 
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Shaggy

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Jan 8, 2009
Messages
45
MBTI Type
INfJ
I pace alot. For me, it blocks visual and physical distractions the same way music helps certain people study. Alot of people I know need a fan to sleep at night as well. I tend to be able to concentrate on more complex ideas while pacing.
 

Misty_Mountain_Rose

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I never pace when I'm deep in thought. I practically go still as a praying mantis waiting for a fly :D Its like I zone out of the rest of the world and all external movement ceases. Sometimes I'll even STOP walking if I'm already moving when an important thought hits me and then resume once I've finished.
 

Verfremdungseffekt

videodrones; questions
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I have to either jog back, trying not to forget anything (at the last moment I will fail due to the concentration involved in unlocking the door or removing my shoes, and be discouraged)
Last night I helped my friend close up shop, around the corner. Outside are a couple of planters, two heavy granite tables, and a few chairs that need to be brought in. The shop is small enough that they need to be placed in a certain order to all fit. I've helped her enough that I know the routine as well as I might, yet as I walked out I found myself correcting my thoughts: no, not the table. Go for the planter. You need to bring in the planter. Then I noticed that the planter was blocked by a half-full dog dish. I walked to the curb, dumped out the water, and placed the dish on the table.

At which point I picked up the table and hefted it inside.
 

Verfremdungseffekt

videodrones; questions
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And relaxation is associated with alpha brain waves and alpha brain waves are associated with creativity!! BAM! Theory complete.
Were you pacing as you typed this?

The thinking out loud immensely helps, too -- something about hearing the words makes them more concrete, and allows me to separate them from the fuzz. That leaves more space for all the other pieces to breathe.
 

Verfremdungseffekt

videodrones; questions
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I think I've realized why typing is so much more conducive to thought than is longhand (aside from it being faster) -- it's finger drumming, but to a purpose!
 

Take Five

Supreme Allied Commander
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Aug 26, 2008
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925
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I pace around the house regularly almost everyday.
 

Nocapszy

no clinkz 'til brooklyn
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the 'experts' jot this down as a symptom of ADHD.
 

Zoom

Self sustaining supernova
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I walk around, not in a straight line back and forth but in circles and random patterns around the house. I can't talk to someone on the phone and be completely stationary, for instance - I have to be moving, using my body in some way.

Oftentimes I do a balancing act - walking on curbs, the tops of fences, or down stair handrails. That helps me think the most.

P.S. What Halla says below, as well. I'm doing it right now and completely forgot about the leg bouncing.
 

Halla74

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Absolutely, always.
If I must sit I end up bouncing my leg up and down or rocking.
The energy must come out some how, sitting or standing. :doh:
 

substitute

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not whilst thinking, no, but whilst speaking in public or talking on the telephone, yes.
 

weminuche

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Jul 24, 2009
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5
I do this. Not as much as I used to. My mom used to say "you are pacing around like a caged lion again."

I tend to do it when feeling bored/restless or severely stressed out about something I cant ignore. Usually I just distract myself enough to ignore it, but if it's bad/urgent enough that I cant, I'm probably pacing laps around the house.
 
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