Am I an ESFP or an ENFP?

[KarenParker]

How would I know which one I am? I read both of them and I'm having trouble deciding. My percentages are in my signature.

 

[Athenian200]

How would I know which one I am? I read both of them and I'm having trouble deciding. My percentages are in my signature.

I think you might be an ENFP, actually. Though ESFP is still likely.

Well, there are several ways to decide. My favorite would be to compare Ne and Se first:

Extraverted Sensing occurs when we become aware of what is in the physical world in rich detail. We may be drawn to act on what we experience to get an immediate result. We notice relevant facts and occurrences in a sea of data and experiences, learning all the facts we can about the immediate context or area of focus and what goes on in that context. An active seeking of more and more input to get the whole picture may occur until all sources of input have been exhausted or something else captures our attention. Extraverted Sensing is operating when we freely follow exciting physical impulses or instincts as they come up and enjoy the thrill of action in the present moment. A oneness with the physical world and a total absorption may exist as we move, touch, and sense what is around us. The process involves instantly reading cues to see how far we can go in a situation and still get the impact we want or respond to the situation with presence.

Extraverted iNtuiting involves noticing hidden meanings and interpreting them, often entertaining a wealth of possible interpretations from just one idea or interpreting what someone’s behavior really means. It also involves seeing things “as if,” with various possible representations of reality. Using this process, we can juggle many different ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and meanings in our mind at once with the possibility that they are all true. This is like weaving themes and threads together. We don’t know the weave until a thought thread appears or is drawn out in the interaction of thoughts, often brought in from other contexts. Thus a strategy or concept often emerges from the here-and-now interactions, not appearing as a whole beforehand. Using this process we can really appreciate brainstorming and trust what emerges, enjoying imaginative play with scenarios and combining possibilities, using a kind of cross-contextual thinking. Extraverted iNtuiting also can involve catalyzing people and extemporaneously shaping situations, spreading an atmosphere of change through emergent leadership.

So, which of these do you relate more to?

Also, how do you view life? Do you look more at details or patterns?

 

[KarenParker]

So, which of these do you relate more to?

Also, how do you view life? Do you look more at details or patterns?

Boy. It's really difficult for me to judge which one sounds more like me because I would need them both to be explained with concrete examples. But I definitely use my imagination constantly and find hidden meaning in things. I really live for the moment though. I am always thinking to myself, "Really enjoy this moment right now."

I view life as something where you have live every good feeling to it's fullest and really savor it. And I also feel like we could die at any moment so we need to not play it safe and do the things that fulfill us the most no matter what the cost.

I think I see patterns in things without even thinking about it. When I tell a story or respond to a post on here I am sure to respond to everything fully.

OK here is why I think I might be an N. I am always thinking about the future. I have random thoughts. I am easily inspired and I'm always getting ideas for creative things like movies and plays and stories and music. I am always using my imagination to entertain myself and playing out fantasies and things like that. I get excited about the future more than the here and now. I like to come up with ideas that have never been done before. I like things like perfectly consistent ideologies. I love to fantasize about the future. For example, my future house and how I would raise my children and future vacations. Sometimes I can best describe something in a really abstract way like I'll tell someone, "you're a piece of seaweed on the ocean floor" and that is honestly the best way I can describe to them what I think of them. I do think it's boring when other people talk that way though. At every job I ever worked I felt like my co-workers were stupid because they never looked at the big picture of the business in the entire world and would get hung up on stupid things like a procedure for wiping down our computer screens. I think they always thought I was a weirdo for NOT giving a crap about that kind of stuff and rarely abiding by it. Lastly, I'm a very intuitive person. I know what other people are feeling and what their deepest motives are even if I've just met them.

 

[Athenian200]

Boy. It's really difficult for me to judge which one sounds more like me because I would need them both to be explained with concrete examples. But I definitely use my imagination constantly and find hidden meaning in things. I really live for the moment though. I am always thinking to myself, "Really enjoy this moment right now."

I view life as something where you have live every good feeling to it's fullest and really savor it. And I also feel like we could die at any moment so we need to not play it safe and do the things that fulfill us the most no matter what the cost.

I think I see patterns in things without even thinking about it. When I tell a story or respond to a post on here I am sure to respond to everything fully.

Hmm... that could either be your weaker Ni coming into play, or evidence of Ne.

Okay, well, I'll try. Let me see...

Let's take a cola can.

Se: This is a Diet Dr. Pepper can, silvery and maroon colored. There's a little smudge near the top of the rim. It's empty. There's no fog on the surface and it isn't cold to the touch, so it's been empty for while.

Ne: This is a soda can. I could recycle it, throw it away (which would be bad for the environment), build a tower of soda cans using the other 11 cans on the table out of it for fun, or perform various experiments on it to see what weight/temperature it can hold up to.

I didn't mean to make Ne sound like more fun than Se, but I think I did.

 

[nightning]

Se is about the taste and feel of the can of Dr. Pepper. Like the satisfying sound and feel of crushing that aluminum can under your shoe. Ne is about the things you can do with the can other than recycling or tossing it in the trash. Does that balance out the fun factor?

 

[Athenian200]

Se is about the taste and feel of the can of Dr. Pepper. Like the satisfying sound and feel of crushing that aluminum can under your shoe. Ne is about the things you can do with the can other than recycling or tossing it in the trash. Does that balance out the fun factor?

Ah, yes. That makes sense.

That's probably closer to it.

 

[KarenParker]

Hmmm... well if we're talking beverages, I'm probably leaning more toward the sensor thing. Even if it's not fun! haha! I had a beer with a friend the other night and I didn't try to do anything with the bottle but I do remember thinking that I liked drinks in glass bottles. God, maybe it is more boring to be a sensor...

 

[Athenian200]

Hmmm... well if we're talking beverages, I'm probably leaning more toward the sensor thing. Even if it's not fun! haha! I had a beer with a friend the other night and I didn't try to do anything with the bottle but I do remember thinking that I liked drinks in glass bottles. God, maybe it is more boring to be a sensor...

Probably just more boring when it comes to empty beverage containers.

And don't worry, I would do the same thing most of the time. I just contemplate such things internally (Ni) rather than acting on them.

Beverages in glass bottles are the best. I liked finding Coca-Cola in them at one store, and the old Yoo-Hoo chocolate drinks from when I was a kid were really good too.

Usually I end up settling for aluminum cans, though (which are decent, but not as good as glass). Plastic bottles are my least favorite containers to drink out of, but they're so common now.

 

[Asterion]

When going for a drive, which do you tend to think about more:
1. Worrying about which direction to take after the next direction you take
2. Not really worrying at all and just deciding when you get there

You'll probably have a bit of both, but you'll find that you might have a slight preference for one or the other. atm, I'd say you might be an ENFP.

 

[simulatedworld]

ENFPs are much more prone to childish naivete and spacy daydreaming. They're more zany, off the wall, etc. They have a sense of the theatrical that ESFPs don't, and they typically spend more time analyzing the in-depth implications of Fi and its multi-faceted ethics.

Much like INFP vs. ISFP, the ENFPs are more prone to taking things too personally, though either type can do this. ESFPs are better with body language and directly reading the physical energy of those around them, while responding to their needs through practical, often physically tangible means. ENFPs are more likely to theorize about broad, idealistic social change and neglect the practical needs of their loved ones when they get too caught up in "saving the world" or whatever pet project has struck their interest lately.

ESFPs stick more to their own business. They don't see a lot of reason to try and save the world--just focus on your life and your loved ones and do the right thing when the time comes--it's that simple.

ESFPs are also typically much better at working with their hands and things they can directly experience and learn by doing. While neither type is too big on following traditional methods, ENFP will usually at least consider the established theoretical method in the process of inventing his own, while ESFP regards the instruction manual as an absolute last resort.

ESFPs are a little more driven toward tangible action. They are comparatively weak in brainstorming sessions where a lot of new generalized concepts are being created--their strength comes in the practical implication of the ENFP's pie-in-the-sky grand schemes. ESFPs also cannot conceptualize as many simultaneous perspectives--too much abstraction without a clear practical use and they start to lose interest.

Both types love to talk and socialize, but ESFPs talk more about real events and people and what activities are going on in their lives at the moment...ENFPs are much more willing to wander off into some random area of discussion, making meta-jokes and layering meaning upon meaning, just to toy around with the possibilities.

If either of them can stop drinking/screwing/being merry long enough to actually get anything productive done, that is.

 

[Jeffster]

They're more zany, off the wall, etc. They have a sense of the theatrical that ESFPs don't....

Bzzzz. Most of what you wrote seems pretty accurate, but this part is dead wrong. There's a reason why ESFPs are referred to as the "Performer" type. They can be just as "zany and theatrical" as any ENFP.

Karen, I think you are an ESFP, based on what you have written in several topics. Even in this one, you ask for concrete examples. That's something that S types tend to ask for, and not Ns. Most of the N types here seem perfectly happy talking in hypotheticals and abstract stuff that never goes anywhere. You've come off in your posts like when you ask a question, you want a practical, usable answer, not just a vague "impression" in response. I can't remember how old you are, if you told us that, but thinking a lot about the future is something that pretty much everybody does up until a certain age, because they don't really have a whole lot of past experiences t dwell on. For me, it was around my mid twenties to thirty when I started to think less about the future and more about the past when I drifted from the present moment.

But if you read the topic I made about "not living in the here and now", you get the idea from the N types, that it's not just a matter of thinking about the future, but according to them, it's extremely difficult for them to experience the present moment for what it is, like their brain is always projecting backwards or forwards automatically, not as like a daydream, but as a constant state of mind. Now, I'm just basing this on what I have read from people here, but your descriptions of your future-thinking doesn't seem to match that. And your feeling like you know what others are feeling could be an example of that Introverted Feeling function that is used heavily by ESFPs as well.

 

[Lauren Ashley]

I agree with Jeffster. You seem like ESFP to me. All of your MBTI threads tie into something practical, that can be useful in the external world. I never get the sense that you're just discussing ideas for the idea's sake, which I get from Ne doms.

 

[ladyinspring]

Very obvious ESFP. Your post is a perfect representation of SPs and I believe it is so good and clear that it could be on the bestfittype website, it's that clearly SP. Everyone here should read it and see what an ESFP is like (you are very self-aware and able to describe yourself exceptionally well). I am going to have to go line by line because this is so SP.

Even your avatar depicts a quintessential ESFP atmosphere.

Boy. It's really difficult for me to judge which one sounds more like me because I would need them both to be explained with concrete examples.

This is a well-covered trait of SPs in Linda Berens' "An Introduction to Temperaments".

They want to "Get or give useful concrete information to plan for the future or take action in the present." They are "more comfortable with firsthand experiences and descriptions of actual events or situations," as a contrast to abstract Ns, who are "more comfortable with ideas, conjecture, conceptualizing, envisioning, and figurative expressions." They have a tendency to "seek details about the pieces to build concepts and patterns - impatient when concepts, patterns, and theories are presented alone."

Athenian presented you with two descriptions of theory-based ideas: extraverted sensing versus extraverted intuition. These are abstract and the descriptions are ideal representations, not actual things that you can picture or personal examples of people. This is not to say that an ESFP couldn't understand or come to a conclusion based on them (Sensors around these forums discuss functions all the time), but the preference is as you expressed: something concrete that you can use.

But I definitely use my imagination constantly and find hidden meaning in things. I really live for the moment though. I am always thinking to myself, "Really enjoy this moment right now."

Okay, the second sentence as I know you are aware is a dominant trait of SPs, although other people might also claim they "live for the moment." You seem self-aware enough to know if this is true of you.

What kinds of things do you "find hidden meaning in"? For example, SPs are really adept at seeing the motives of others. They are also prone to finding inspiration in their surroundings. Introverted intuition is always seeing symbols and finding hidden personal meanings in things, and all SPs value introverted intuition and like to use it even though they are not as strong as NJs. I am convinced that everyone uses their imagination but not for the same purposes. I'll give you a personal example.

I do not live in the moment. As Jeffster said, it can be very difficult for someone like me to stay in the moment at all. For me, this can show up in mild and extreme ways. At its most extreme, I can live in my imagination for hours at a time. Imagined situations feel just as real to me as "real ones", perhaps even more real because my mind is fully attuned to the imagined situation. Hours can go by before I realize that I've been pacing back and forth living a fantasy in my mind. Even when I am not so extreme as to spend hours imagining (and as an introvert I know this may not be the same for ENFPs), I am still not really into what is going on around me. I always have much of my brain somewhere else.

I view life as something where you have live every good feeling to it's fullest and really savor it. And I also feel like we could die at any moment so we need to not play it safe and do the things that fulfill us the most no matter what the cost.

From keirsey.com:

Artisans tend to be fun-loving, optimistic, realistic, and focused on the here and now
Artisans pride themselves on being unconventional, bold, and spontaneous.
Artisans will strike off boldly down roads that others might consider risky or impossible, doing whatever it takes, rules or no rules, to accomplish their goals.

I think I see patterns in things without even thinking about it. When I tell a story or respond to a post on here I am sure to respond to everything fully.

You respond to everything fully? See, when I read other people's posts intuition sparks something in me and I don't usually see something as it is, but as it could be. That makes it hard to "respond to everything fully" because my mind has already gone a million other places by the time I try to post. I respond to the essence of what I perceived and not the details that are there. But I will say that because I feel your post is a perfect example of SP I just have to highlight everything you've said so others can see it.

Your whole list of "why I think I might be an N" was actually very refreshingly and solidly SP. Everyone uses extraverted and introverted intuition albeit differently and with differing strengths, so I am not going to say that everything about you is extraverted sensing because that would be false. I know there are things about you that are N or situations when you are N, as is true of everyone. Still, some things you identified sound more SP than NP to me. Even some of the things like "always thinking about the future" which are often associated with Ns I think are very SP from my experience and what I have learned, due to the way SPs in particular use introverted intuition.

I am easily inspired and I'm always getting ideas for creative things like movies and plays and stories and music.

This is why SPs are also called "artisans." I mean, obviously other types can be creative and inspired, but this is an actual hallmark of the SP.

Artisans are the temperament with a natural ability to excel in any of the arts, not only the fine arts such as painting and sculpting, or the performing arts such as music, theater, and dance, but also the athletic, military, political, mechanical, and industrial arts, as well as the "art of the deal" in business.

I get excited about the future more than the here and now.

I think this may be a misconception of how Ns are oriented to the future. My orientation to the future isn't based on being excited by it or how it makes me feel, it's based on the fact that for me, the future is now. When I perceive something (which can be a person, or an idea, or anything), I see it as what it could be or should be.

SPs are natural optimists, so of course they are thinking about the future and thinking they can do whatever it is that they are imagining and then trying to do it.

I love to fantasize about the future. For example, my future house and how I would raise my children and future vacations.

Probably in detail huh. What kind of house and how many kids and what kind of family you will have and where you will go and what you will do there. That is all very concrete, detail-oriented stuff.

In contrast with me, who has NO IDEA ABOUT ANY OF THAT unless I put serious thought into it which I usually don't. My ESFP best friend already knows what she wants to do next summer for goodness sakes (and you know what? she will actually do it, I know it). I have never known people who could visualize and work toward their personal future like ESFPs. It's easier for them to make goals because they can actually see in specifics and factual details, and not just get the vague impressions I get.

You sound like someone who "lives for today and is excited about tomorrow". For me, today is just getting in the way of tomorrow which never comes (because then it is today!).

Sometimes I can best describe something in a really abstract way like I'll tell someone, "you're a piece of seaweed on the ocean floor" and that is honestly the best way I can describe to them what I think of them. I do think it's boring when other people talk that way though.

If you'll notice from my post, I haven't used a single metaphor. Although I don't find them boring, I find good metaphors to be transformative. Seeing how something is something else that I already understand is how I learn.

While I don't use too many metaphors (because I can't come up with perfect ones), I do use a lot of universal statements, which is another trait of NFs. SPs communicate with anecdotes and questions.

At every job I ever worked I felt like my co-workers were stupid because they never looked at the big picture of the business in the entire world and would get hung up on stupid things like a procedure for wiping down our computer screens.

You just ran into the structure-oriented nature of Js. This is the SP's number one complaint about work and school! SPs need freedom above all else.

According to Linda Berens, at work SPs promote opportunity, operate best in an environment that is "stimulating, varied", lead by taking action, and are most stressed by "constraint, boredom, lack of impact".

"The core needs are to have the freedom to act without hindrance and to see a marked result from action."

Now will other types want to be free? Of course, although they are not driven by it. I just had to point out that this thing you identified as a reason for thinking you are N is very SP by its very nature.

Lastly, I'm a very intuitive person. I know what other people are feeling and what their deepest motives are even if I've just met them.

SPs and NFs are both motive-seeking (while SJs and NTs are structure-seeking). SFPs and NFPs are going to be quite similar in this regard although with a few differences.

For an SP, "motives are the reasons people do things." All the ESFPs I know seem downright obsessed with knowing why someone is doing something and always think they know. SPs are also cynical, in that they believe that what people are doing is in accord with what motivates them, or "people are in it for what's important to them".

For an NF, "motives represent a person's spirit and higher purpose in life." And to me people often do not act in accordance with their deep motives.

I like to come up with ideas that have never been done before.

This is why SPs are also known as "Improvisors".

 

[Laurie]

I think that many S's feel they need to change to N after reading this forum for a while.

I know a few esfp's and the big difference I see is that I talk motivations to death, whereas the esfp's I know don't get that. One of my esfp friends really identified with the enfp information, we are similar and that makes it hard.

 

[KarenParker]

When going for a drive, which do you tend to think about more:
1. Worrying about which direction to take after the next direction you take
2. Not really worrying at all and just deciding when you get there

You'll probably have a bit of both, but you'll find that you might have a slight preference for one or the other. atm, I'd say you might be an ENFP.

definitely the first one. Driving freaks me out.

 

[Usehername]

My sister tests ENFP and seems to have a lot of N skills, but she is ESFP.

She's not really into clothing or being the life of the party or being flaky (despite being able to accomplish all of those things), but what made us able to type her (and her to confirm with confidence) was her music performance.

I'd practice music for nothing more than my own mastery and competence and internal rewards, she's the ultimate performer--always playing better and adapting the more people are around and listening (not in a "look at me" way, only in a true performers skill way).

She just needs to be where the action is. This is what confirmed it for her. I know ENFPs who have wandered off into the wilderness by themselves accidentally on some impromptu spiritual hunt while we were canoe tripping. My sister would be far too practical to be caught up enough to do that.

My favourite thing about ESFPs is that when life is not going well, they just suck it up and take action until they are actually happy. I so wish I had that skill. It is really important.

 

[Lauren Ashley]

I think that many S's feel they need to change to N after reading this forum for a while.

I agree. And Fs to Ts, Es to Is, and Js to Ps. Ultimate we reach le ultimate type -- INTP

 

[KarenParker]

Karen, I think you are an ESFP, based on what you have written in several topics. Even in this one, you ask for concrete examples. That's something that S types tend to ask for, and not Ns. Most of the N types here seem perfectly happy talking in hypotheticals and abstract stuff that never goes anywhere. You've come off in your posts like when you ask a question, you want a practical, usable answer, not just a vague "impression" in response. I can't remember how old you are, if you told us that, but thinking a lot about the future is something that pretty much everybody does up until a certain age, because they don't really have a whole lot of past experiences t dwell on. For me, it was around my mid twenties to thirty when I started to think less about the future and more about the past when I drifted from the present moment.

But if you read the topic I made about "not living in the here and now", you get the idea from the N types, that it's not just a matter of thinking about the future, but according to them, it's extremely difficult for them to experience the present moment for what it is, like their brain is always projecting backwards or forwards automatically, not as like a daydream, but as a constant state of mind. Now, I'm just basing this on what I have read from people here, but your descriptions of your future-thinking doesn't seem to match that. And your feeling like you know what others are feeling could be an example of that Introverted Feeling function that is used heavily by ESFPs as well.

Wow! That makes so much more sense now! I've always felt on this forum that people would make posts that now I see were just them conceptualizing and I just wouldn't get it as to why they would bother to post it because it couldn't be applied to anything. But now I see that they just do it for fun and I can't really relate.

What you said about the brain thinking backwards sounds so foreign to me. Well case closed-- I'm an ESFP for sure!

 

[Laurie]

Wow! That makes so much more sense now! I've always felt on this forum that people would make posts that now I see were just them conceptualizing and I just wouldn't get it as to why they would bother to post it because it couldn't be applied to anything. But now I see that they just do it for fun and I can't really relate.

Ahahah you just summed up what me dating an ESFP is like.

 

[KarenParker]

LADYINSPRING!

Wooooow!!!!! You're my favorite! Thank you for making such a beautiful post! I noticed something interesting about your post, it's off topic but I want to say it anyway. So in this book I am reading about marriage, these researchers said that having a high emotional intelligence and being able to say things that are criticism without the sting is like, the biggest indicator of whether or not your marriage will survive and I just noticed in this post that you're really freaking good at that. My mom is an INFP and she's very good at that too but it wouldn't come across in a forum post. That's for sure. Oh and for an INFP, you can speak sensor VERY well.

I love all your links. I'm going to read every single one of them.

I think I always noticed in the back of my mind that all of my posts were about things I wanted to use for practical application. I've always felt like my posts didn't fit in this forum because of that very thing. Like people must get annoyed about that because they know I'm looking to apply whatever knowledge to a very specific situation.

You asked about what I see hidden meaning in and I will give you an example. So my boyfriend and I had just gotten in a little argument, we were not talking directly too each other because we were thinking about it and I was driving in a car and then I saw this little wild bunny on the side for the road and I wanted to stop to pet it and I slowly opened my car door and it hopped TOWARD me and then when I got out of the car to pet it, it had disappeared. Like magic or something. And I looked around and it hadn't gone under the car or in the bushes because they weren't shaking. So I thought it must be some kind of sign. Like maybe the universe was trying to distract us for a second and be like, "LOOK! you guys are little wild baby bunnies inside and don't you forget that about each other. so stop getting your feelings hurt." ahhaha! I don't know! It was just an impression.

I think it would be cool to live in your imagination and have it feel real. If I imagine scenarios in my head, sometimes I feel real feelings but it's not very strong. So I don't know if that would be the same thing.

I laughed so hard when you said, "and you probably think about it in detail huh?" Because I was JUST working on planning a trip to Denmark and I have been doing exhaustive research about every place I'm going to go and how much it costs, how I will get there and EVERYTHING. It's fun!

I do really care about freedom in a job. I quit working there and now do my own web design and graphic design out of my house. I don't think I will ever work for any company again. I am SO predictable! I'm an ESFP! WE DID IT! WE CRACKED THE CODE! YAAAAAAY! *party emoticon*