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ISFP or INFP

B

brainheart

Guest
I'm not supposed to be on here anymore because it's kind of a waste of my time, but I feel really stuck on this. I relate far more to the best fit ISFP than the INFP, for one, but other ISFP descriptions make them sound like uncreative airheads which is not me. I love building stuff, having a finished product for my work. I love being inventive, fixing things. When people talk about theories and 'head in the clouds' stuff for awhile I can't help but roll my eyes. I am not spiritual. I love fiction but I'm not too fond of poetry, unless it's something like Roald Dahl or humorous or straight-forward. Most poetry and philosophy or anything abstract I read it without reading it, if you catch my drift. But the same could be said for instructions or anything that is not written in prose, although I really latch on to song lyrics.

I don't know. I don't feel like writing more about this right now. I need to get outside and go for a walk before it gets dark.

I know I don't have enough information here but any input would be cool. I'm hoping that those who've been around for awhile would have something to say about it. I think I might operate in Fi+Ni a lot.
 

Quinlan

Intriguing....
Joined
Apr 6, 2008
Messages
3,004
MBTI Type
ISFP
Enneagram
9w1
Nothing you've said rules it (ISFP) out.
 
B

brainheart

Guest
I know. I think the big thing for me which makes me not think INFP is that my INFP friends seem to have it together way more than me- by this I mean they seem, I don't know, more mature and they have jobs I could never deal with having- social worker, writer for a law firm newsletter, etc. They like reading about psychology and philosophy and spirituality and I'm just like, eh.... give me a good story that's well written and interesting. Ideal job: working on a movie like Fantastic Mr. Fox, especially if I could build the sets, work on the figures.

I was a creative writing major then a Forestry major then a Film Production major but I was sick of school so I switched to Film Studies so I could graduate earlier, all of this at three different universities. And then I got married because I loved him and who cares about what I want to do career-wise in the future? And then I got pregnant because I didn't know what I wanted to do so why not have a kid? Besides, sex is fun.

I guess what I'm saying is that thinking of the possibilities... not my strongest suit. Enjoying life as it comes... yep.

But... I'm not super physically active. I have been in the past, but I don't always feel the need to 'do' stuff. Doing stuff for me can entail reading or watching the light hit the grass, what have you. I do feel best when I'm creating something, though.
 

Snuggletron

Reptilian
Joined
Sep 25, 2009
Messages
2,224
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
10
Figure out what functions you are using more efficiently/often than others. If you use Se more than Ne you're eligible for a type change. I think the first two or three functions are the most important.
 

BlackCat

Shaman
Joined
Nov 19, 2008
Messages
7,038
MBTI Type
ESFP
Enneagram
9w8
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
I've always thought you were an ISFP. I operate on Fi Ni a lot as well, I thought I was an INFP for a year about because of that. But I was stuck in the mind set of "Well I am intuitive, so why should have have the S tag?" But none of my intuition seems to be Ne really, and neither does yours. You don't really seem that NF.

Not being really physically active doesn't discount SP.

You definitely sound like an ISFP to me, and always have.

Why do you (or did you) think you were an INFP?

Also I noticed you started here as an ISFP, and then changed to ENFP. You had it right the first time! What made you change your mind?
 
B

brainheart

Guest
You definitely sound like an ISFP to me, and always have.

Why do you (or did you) think you were an INFP?

Also I noticed you started here as an ISFP, and then changed to ENFP. You had it right the first time! What made you change your mind?

Why have I always seemed ISFP, if you can pinpoint it?

I thought I was INFP because that's what I test and I like to write. But I also realize I am better at writing either: about myself or something specific. I've been working on this novel forever and I feel best about the stuff that's practically non-fiction, but then I worry about hurting people's feelings because it will hit too close to home or that I'm so uncreative that I can't think of something that didn't happen.

The other reason I thought INFP was because there is the pervasive stereotype out there that ISFPs don't do well in school, when I did. And then people are always typing musicians, writers that I relate to as INFP so I put two and two together.

Hey- you know those cartoons at the back of the New Yorker, where you're supposed to fill out the captions? I suck at those. That seems like a Ne thing to me, being good at that. Just wondering...

Oh, ps Black Cat- what about me doesn't seem Ne? I know I don't seem NF, that's true...
 
B

brainheart

Guest
Figure out what functions you are using more efficiently/often than others. If you use Se more than Ne you're eligible for a type change. I think the first two or three functions are the most important.

What's the best way to do this?
 

BlackCat

Shaman
Joined
Nov 19, 2008
Messages
7,038
MBTI Type
ESFP
Enneagram
9w8
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
Why have I always seemed ISFP, if you can pinpoint it?

You don't really seem to steer away from the subject at hand in your posts, you stay in the current context (Se). You also said it yourself in an above post that you weren't good at generating ideas, and that's quintessential Ne.

I thought I was INFP because that's what I test and I like to write.

The other reason I thought INFP was because there is the pervasive stereotype out there that ISFPs don't do well in school, when I did. And then people are always typing musicians, writers that I relate to as INFP so I put two and two together.

None of these things really have anything to do with how people think... MBTI/typology is about how people think and this isn't really related to that. Liking to write, being artistic, not doing well in school... anyone can do that.

Hey- you know those cartoons at the back of the New Yorker, where you're supposed to fill out the captions? I suck at those. That seems like a Ne thing to me, being good at that. Just wondering...

I suck at them too. :)

I would check this site out... Best-Fit Type : Exploring the Multiple Models of Personality Type There's tons of stuff. On temperament, the functions, type descriptions, on a team descriptions, etc.
 

compulsiverambler

New member
Joined
Sep 15, 2009
Messages
446
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
I'm not supposed to be on here anymore because it's kind of a waste of my time, but I feel really stuck on this. I relate far more to the best fit ISFP than the INFP, for one, but other ISFP descriptions make them sound like uncreative airheads which is not me. I love building stuff, having a finished product for my work. I love being inventive, fixing things. When people talk about theories and 'head in the clouds' stuff for awhile I can't help but roll my eyes. I am not spiritual. I love fiction but I'm not too fond of poetry, unless it's something like Roald Dahl or humorous or straight-forward. Most poetry and philosophy or anything abstract I read it without reading it, if you catch my drift. But the same could be said for instructions or anything that is not written in prose, although I really latch on to song lyrics.

I don't know. I don't feel like writing more about this right now. I need to get outside and go for a walk before it gets dark.

I know I don't have enough information here but any input would be cool. I'm hoping that those who've been around for awhile would have something to say about it. I think I might operate in Fi+Ni a lot.
You sound a lot more ISFP to me. :) At least, you like the things I dislike and dislike the things I like, for what it's worth, and your likes seem more like Se things. I'm quite sure that as a child I was Fi-Si, perhaps because I was raised by SJs and they naturally demonstrated and brought out of me Si use more than Ne, and my rather insula, quiet and surprise-less early years encouraged Introversion and comfort with routine so much. I had relatively limited Ne as a child, it didn't kick in properly until I was around 13 I think. Even then though, I didn't have the characteristics you describe. Certain signs of an Ne preference were there. It's not true that ISFPs do badly at school. I knew one, I think a strong one, who frustrated teachers because she never tried and just drew pictures all day and didn't enjoy reading, but she wrote amazing prose when forced and passed exams anyway.
 

Zenihita

New member
Joined
Nov 2, 2008
Messages
50
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
4
I agree with compulsiverambler, you seem like an ISFP too me.

I know how reading certain things in type descriptions can get you confused, because there's something that doesn't suit you at all. But it doesn't really mean you're not that type, sometimes it just means that the author of the description is way of, or that it's a characteristic of most people of that type, but not all.

INFPs are very abstract and theoretical, I'd rather discuss mathematical theories (even though I don't know jack about math) than talk about something concrete and practical (I can't think of a proper example right now).
 
B

brainheart

Guest
It's not true that ISFPs do badly at school. I knew one, I think a strong one, who frustrated teachers because she never tried and just drew pictures all day and didn't enjoy reading, but she wrote amazing prose when forced and passed exams anyway.

This sounds sort of like me, except I LOVE to read. I can (and have) read a novel a day. I will read, basically, anything I can get my hands on. But if I am reading theoretical stuff, my mind definitely wanders. The only parts I get right away are the concrete examples of the theory. For example, in math, I understand story problems. I understand math that has applied use, but you get into the abstract and I have nothing to hold on to.

Same with science- Biology, chemistry, anatomy, I get. Physics... as much as I'd love to understand and like the idea... hard.

Also, I didn't just pass in school, I excelled- Honors student extraordinaire... minus math. And I was the only Honors student not to get in National Honors Society, if that means anything.

I guess I'm having a hard time understanding how, if I am an ISFP, Ne would make me different. And I have read all of the functions descriptions. Maybe because I need a concrete example? :huh:

Oh ps, I very much lived in my own world as a kid. I was pretty much convinced my stuffed animals were alive, although I never believed in Santa Claus and felt no need to.
 

wolfy

awsm
Joined
Jun 30, 2008
Messages
12,251
I think you are ISFP. Just an N leaning ISFP like BlackCat and Quin. Bestfit gives the best description. There are some other good ones too.
 
B

brainheart

Guest
Well if best fit gives the best description, I would say you are right, and I trust your opinion, wolfy. It's just my husband is an ESFP(I think) and we are quite different. Me: literature, music, art. Him: sports, music. I love to think deeply about things. He'd rather not.

What especially resonates in the best fit description for me:

ISFP

Probably I’m the happiest when things are just a little different everyday. I don’t want to commit to any particular way to be. I want to be able to be a lot of ways. In my mind, I am peacefully assimilating myself to a lot of different situations, flowing easily between them all. Most people don’t understand there’s a lot going on inside. It’s always different, and if it’s not always different, it’s no fun.

When I’m someplace, doing something, I’m really there. The whole experience is related to that time and place. And people only see the part of me that is with them that day. That’s who I am for that day, but little do they know that tomorrow I might be different.

I’m reserved when I first meet people, but I am friendly, warm, and outgoing once I’ve gotten to know someone. I really enjoy listening to people, hearing other people’s stories and learning about them. I remember a lot of the details. I ask a lot of questions and like the challenge of recognizing where people are coming from and why they might be coming from that perspective. I love the give and take of conversations. I really feel thrilled and excited learning from that intellectual energy combined with that emotional energy. It gives me a sense of the person. In any situation, I love the give and take, the playfulness and energy, the excitement and a little bit of competition, a little bit of one-upsmanship. But when it becomes abrasive and people personally attack others, I’m offended.

I have a lot of interests and I can get interested in one thing, and then something else comes along and that looks fascinating. I enjoy using the skills that I do have, and they’re varied. I’m always on the lookout for something that uses my skills and abilities, that will give me variety and still be stimulating and let me have a mission with people. In my best jobs, I was connecting with people and problem solving and often using tools, adapting equipment or techniques.

My nature is when things get to a crunch, I’ll make something happen that will make it all right. I just know that I can do that and will do that. I love solving people problems.

But part of me shivers if someone tells me their expectations of me, even if they’re expectations I have for myself. I need the freedom to be able to change my mind or direction. I like to get a feel for what they’re looking for and then just make it happen and hope they enjoy it. And don’t ask me how I did it because I have a difficult time communicating that. It’s whatever moves me at the time. I probably don’t even remember half of what I’ve done. I can spin around doing nothing and then spend two minutes and get something done. It’s a whole process that I can’t communicate, because it’s not something that can always be written down on paper—because when I’m doing it, I’m enjoying it. It’s like I’m in a different world. It’s not a task to me—it’s a creative outlet.

I enjoy family and friends. I enjoy being with them and doing things with them—developing that relationship, bonding with them. I carry through with my commitments and I’m a very responsible person. Deep friendships are important to me, but not too many.

When I am angry I get quiet. Others don’t know though, that’s the problem. Because it’s not an external, visible reaction—it’s more passive, turned inward. I’m trying to think it through to figure a way to get my point across so they understand because I wouldn’t want to attack somebody. That’s something about me, that noncommunication, or withdrawal.


I like recognition. It’s very important to get complimented soon after an accomplishment. If something goes unnoticed or unrewarded, it doesn’t have the immediate impact that I want. I’ve been learning my own positive self-talk. I tend to be a workaholic at whatever it is I am doing. You might say I’m a perfectionist. I want people to be impressed with my performance. I don’t want anyone to be unhappy with my performance so I continue to perform, and that is kind of a driving force. It has been a constant struggle to not overdo it. I need a positive environment to work in and I need the people I’m working with to support me.


INFP:

I have a very internal focus. I think I look at myself through other people’s eyes, but sometimes I can lose touch with how things work for me. Then I can get introspective, going very deep and staying there, not coming out too quickly or easily. Somehow I find it very difficult to put into words and communicate the things that really matter to me. Most people don’t have the foggiest notion about what goes on with me.

I like harmony and seek consensus and do well with the deep issues. My values and the things that are important to me often feel outside the mainstream in the sense that I feel impinged upon and uncomfortable with so much of what goes on. I’m too private to push my values on to other people, but I am convinced that one ought to be congruent in their own life if they are going to expect congruence from others. In a sense I hold other people to that standard, and I worry about my own incongruities, inconsistencies, and contradictions. Groups can be hard. I can put myself in the group process so rapidly and so completely, and it’s important not to get sucked in. I need to be predictable about what I believe.

I am a global thinker and I like to learn interactively. My thoughts need to be connected with some person or value. On reflection, don’t all thoughts have to be connected to something? I feed new information into other things I’ve read and my thoughts, and I can have a marvelous time just sitting with ideas. And I like to discuss or write things because I seem to have a lot in my head and I’ve got to get it out. I love bringing together different eclectic ideas and seeing what’s similar. I like to have my own ideas, hear others ideas, and have ideas challenged, bantering back and forth. Chitchat has no interest for me. I tend to do a lot of mental rehearsal and play in problem solving, and the fun part is figuring out how to do something. Motivation comes when something has real meaning or value for me, and while I enjoy ideas I don’t like having my values challenged.

For me, asking questions is just a different form of being quiet, a way to explore an inner thought stream or check out of reality and back into my thoughts. Sometimes I chuckle at myself that there is really no sequential way that I work though tasks.

I have always trusted my intuition, even before I was aware of it. I enjoy talking to people. It’s interesting to learn about them, where they’re coming from and how they invent their reality. And I have an innate talent for reading between the lines—to hear what hasn’t been said—and a sense of what needs to be said and done. I tend to form impressions right away about people, and most of the time I feel pretty good about my impressions but sometimes I am way off. At least if the people have good intentions, I can relax.

I enjoy seeing people enjoy who they are, and I get a lot of joy helping others discover that they have value. Being able to help someone in their darkest hour, to communicate across differences and find common ways of working together, that is very satisfying because then there is a real sense of closeness and acceptance and a genuine pursuit of helping people heal and achieve their goals. I hold on to relationships even though we may go long periods without seeing each other, and I cherish those long associations.

I’m concerned about how others feel when they are around me. Lack of honesty or ethics or integrity in interactions—when someone is saying one thing but doing another—really puts me off. So does when someone doesn’t honor, or accept as valid, my communication or feeling as I try to talk to them about something that matters to me. And I don’t need to talk about myself. I don’t enjoy it. Sometimes I’m frustrated trying to communicate, and sometimes a metaphor or a joke or a story is a way to effectively express myself so what I’m saying can be heard by someone who hears or experiences things differently.

I don’t know what I am going to do next, but I trust in myself that something will come in as a new idea, with challenge and inner meaning. Whatever it is, it will be right. Although I would never actually say it, it feels as though I am grounded in the very being of who I am when I talk like this.

What about other ISFPs? What about INFP or these descriptions do you relate to?
 

wolfy

awsm
Joined
Jun 30, 2008
Messages
12,251
I think the differences between you and your husband are more introversion and extroversion. Plus gender would play a part. I spend a lot of time in thought. I don't relate to a lot of the INFP description, but I do relate to almost all the ISTP description. I have a different yet similar problem.

The parts you highlighted in the INFP description seem to be describing Fi mostly I think.
 

compulsiverambler

New member
Joined
Sep 15, 2009
Messages
446
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
This sounds sort of like me, except I LOVE to read. I can (and have) read a novel a day. I will read, basically, anything I can get my hands on. But if I am reading theoretical stuff, my mind definitely wanders. The only parts I get right away are the concrete examples of the theory. For example, in math, I understand story problems. I understand math that has applied use, but you get into the abstract and I have nothing to hold on to.

Same with science- Biology, chemistry, anatomy, I get. Physics... as much as I'd love to understand and like the idea... hard.

Also, I didn't just pass in school, I excelled- Honors student extraordinaire... minus math. And I was the only Honors student not to get in National Honors Society, if that means anything.

I guess I'm having a hard time understanding how, if I am an ISFP, Ne would make me different. And I have read all of the functions descriptions. Maybe because I need a concrete example? :huh:

Oh ps, I very much lived in my own world as a kid. I was pretty much convinced my stuffed animals were alive, although I never believed in Santa Claus and felt no need to.
I'm sure many ISFPs do (love to read). I think J.K Rowling is probably ISFP. I just mentioned that this one didn't because it shows you don't have to be inclined to do something to be somehow really good at it anyway, and ISFPs may not be inclined to learn in the ways that many schools want them to, but they may still excel if naturally gifted.

This itself may be an example of Se/Ne difference. You thought I mentioned it as a concrete example of what ISFPs are like. I meant it to demonstrate a principle that could be applied more widely. I'm not suggesting this one instance means you must be ISFP, of course, but it might serve as an example of how Se and Ne approach things and communicate.
 
B

brainheart

Guest
I'm sure many ISFPs do (love to read). I think J.K Rowling is probably ISFP. I just mentioned that this one didn't because it shows you don't have to be inclined to do something to be somehow really good at it anyway, and ISFPs may not be inclined to learn in the ways that many schools want them to, but they may still excel if naturally gifted.

This itself may be an example of Se/Ne difference. You thought I mentioned it as a concrete example of what ISFPs are like. I meant it to demonstrate a principle that could be applied more widely. I'm not suggesting this one instance means you must be ISFP, of course, but it might serve as an example of how Se and Ne approach things and communicate.

I think you are right on with this. For example, you mentioned J.K. Rowling and my initial reaction is, "I hate J. K. Rowling's books. Therefore, how could I be ISFP?" vs, J.K. Rowling is an ISFP writer, so being an ISFP and a writer is a definite possibility. It's kind of like all of my N friends seem to 'get' when a relationship is not working or when someone is no longer interested and I need it S-P-E-L-L-E-D out. Or I will base the fact that it's working on our physical relationship vs what is said, because words can be manipulated in order to hide. Actions tell the truth. But often people are the other way around.

Thanks for spelling it out for me. No, seriously.
 

OrangeAppled

Sugar Hiccup
Joined
Mar 20, 2009
Messages
7,626
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
4w5
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
You sound ISFP from all this...Se over Ne, definitely. My ESFP sister is very smart, did well in school, and enjoys reading (but like you, prefers less theoretical stuff). There's nothing that says SPs have to be airheads and are only hands-on.
 
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