posted by skylights
i also thought there was something lovely and magical about the INFP profile. the whole "healer" thing, and in being a fairly small subset of the population. interestingly... i've come to find out that there's more of a... hardness? to most INFPs than i realized. a stronger moral boundary. stronger Fi, i figure, in functionspeak. it's been especially interesting to encounter INFPs who are not very "warm" or "squishy" for the way i initially idealized the type. many INFPs - you, nolla - OrangeAppled, Tater, Southern Krossed, Udog, just to think of a few - you guys almost seem INTPy to me at times. drier, more independent and divorced from other people. not that that's either bad or good - it's just different than what i had initially imagined upon first conceptualizing INFP. in reality i think i was projecting myself into INFP as much as i was attempting to project INFP onto myself. it still irks me a little that i am not a "healer" by type, because that's always been a major focus in my life and self-concept, but the truth for me is that curiosity wins out over healing.
my thoughts exactly, especially the "INFPs are less than 4% of the population. yeah, I must be that!" assumption that's easy for ENFPs to make early in the self process
posted by Marmie Dearest
Well, I once said to a college friend, just months prior to my more in-depth study of personality theory, that I was an introvert, and he laughed until he snorted and said, "I don't think you're an introvert. You're also not shy."
However, I did have a lot of social anxiety during periods of my younger life, and I think sometimes ENFPs think they're introverts because they like to spend time alone thinking and reading...however, it's interesting to me how many famous ENFPs are writers, so apparently that has nothing to do with being an introvert.
interesting, I thought I was an introvert specifically because I
didn't have social anxiety. the main reasons I think I am an ENFP (although I wouldn't exactly call myself an extrovert) are
- outspoken about just about everything
- intense communicator
- trouble talking quietly
- balanced F/T, unbalanced N/S
- most introverts I know don't like to talk about themselves a lot
- quick to respond in a conversation. although I suppose this could be more an Ne thing that extroversion as a whole (people often think I'm not listening, but it's really just that I generate responses at lightning speed)
still, my blatantly introverted lifestyle calls this into question
- being in public usually feels like running a race.
- I spend most of my time inside studying, doing homework, ranting on type C, drinking tea and listening to music
- I can stay in my room for days and do nothing but listen to music and think
- easily startled, when I'm in my room doing something and my roommate walks in, it usually makes me jump
- prefer to keep the door closed and locked, I like to know in advance if someone wants to talk to me
- ENFPs usually like people...I am disgusted by most people
- group dynamics confuse the hell out of me
- dislike traditional conversation structure of 50/50 speaking/listening (when I'm with my INTJ besty, sometimes I'll talk 80% of the time and other times 20%. other times both of us will talk at the same time while simultaneously listening to each other and then not not say anything for 5-15 minutes before going back to one person talking at a time)