ss left the below quote in another thread:
in the same thread ENFPs were discussing what Fi means to them and how we use it.
This is kind of an important question for me personally as I have been labeled as a stupid ENTP in the past because of how my Fi differs from other peoples in its expression.
I thought up some questions, but please feel free to be very free form and just write whatever you would like...
1. what is Fi for you...how do you feel yourself using it...?
2. Do you externalize your Fi judgments and let others know what you think?
3. How much Fi vs Te do you use and do you feel it has shaped you differently?
4. Do you find you have weird Fi values at times from others?
5. How does your Fi vary from INFP Fi?
6. Do you ever feel conflicted by Fi vs Te finding different paths?
1. Fi to me is what makes up my inner world. How I would want reality to be, and what I fight for everyday. It's my core. It's my inner world, the storage space where all the useful Ne-ideas get sorted out and put together to fit a wonderful magical world that I'm building in my head. It's also what tells me instantly when something's wrong or awesome, it's actually a physical sensation that.
I use it by closing my eyes and have Ne conjure a picture of the options in front of me. The option that makes my heart 'jump', is the right choice for me.
It is also what drives me to understand others, to gain their perspective. Ne fleshes out the perspective they're likely to have, and Fi figures out why, how it logically makes sense and how it's likely to be connected to other behaviors. It makes emotional logical sense out of people's drives and motivations, compares it to my own emotional state if I were to be in that situation (again together with Ne), and adjusts according to the data that Si has on that person, to match their likely emotional response to a situation as closely as possible. And then it makes me experience it as if I was that person. In more abstract terms, it takes the info gathered by Ne and Si on people in general and distills groundrules for emotional logic from it, always searching for the missing link in the puzzle and the logical reason behind a certain behavior or emotion. Everytime I get a new piece, I get a an aha-erlebnis as they call it, it gives me more of an oversight on how people work, or deeper insight, kinda like x-ray vision into a person's mind/heart/soul.
It tends to love beauty and harmony in all its forms, be it visual, audio, psychological, and is therefore prone to loving people it considers beautiful in some way of another and strive to becoming a vision of beauty itself, as well as actively manipulate the world around itself to do the same.
2. One of my Fi values is to not judge instantly, or at least definitively. I let Ne finish its job first, and make sure I have all the info I need. Fi instantly sniffs out what info is still necessary first, and I will reserve judgement until I have it all. If I'm forced to give it up due to timeconstraints or the like, I can however. I will present a rudimentary analysis based on the info I've gathered. But, Te will be in charge of delivering it, as Fi is still reserving judgement due to lack of data. The process is not finished yet. I'm a firm believer in being honest and the truth, so, if asked, I will answer honestly and give my opinion yes. I'm also a firm believer in letting people decide their own course of action as long as they do not harm anyone else in the process. So I will seek to understand their thoughtprocess when I cannot see it, in order to see the value in what they're doing and if necessary, present them with a different course of action that will gain them the same thing, if necessary. If others are at risk, and there's limited time, I might go about it the Te-hammer way, in order to save time and make amends later. Otherwise, I'll try to disuade them from their course of action, presenting my case and appealing to what I think is important to them. Most of the time, I will just stay out of their way and move around them if need be.
3. Fi has always kept my Te on a leash. I've always felt ashamed for using Te, and barging through stuff. I felt guilty every time that happened. I will give people the benefit of the doubt and only in self defense use Te. I also don't like engaging in Te for long as I tend to run out of steam soon and it drains me like mad. I have to be really pissed, fuming or determined to keep going and it tends to have the finesse of a frigging bulldozer at that point. I can also use Te to do small tasks that do not require much thought and quite enjoy that, but only for a day or so, after that, it feels empty.
Fi on the other hand is my lifeforce. Where Te can feel empty if not driven by Fi, Fi is pure fuel to me. Connecting with others, reading them, I will use Te to catalogue data, but that's it. It assists humbly my NeFi to channel the data, that's it. My Fi is where I wanna live. I bask in it, it feels good, even when it's dark and gloomy, it crackles like lightning and fuels me much in the same way that electricity fuels many things in this world. My absolute favorite state is being on a Fi-high and just *feel*, and feel at one with everything that's alive, to figure things out and watch the puzzle pieces fall in place in an attempt to answer the great questions of Life itself.
Fi gives me meaning in life, it gives me purpose.
I do feel that it's made me rather useless in a practical way. Fi isn't...something that's handy to survive on this planet. Yes, it's at the core as to why life is worth living but it doesn't really...get you anywhere
I do feel ashamed of that at times and it's one of the reasons I truly admire NTJs and STPs...they do what I...welll...suck at
4. I don't feel my Fi-values are that different from other Fi-users. I do admit though that i've been labelled weird by Fe-users all my life, and it's been lonely. On the other hand, I do enjoy them being mine, and mine alone in a way. After all, it's a blueprint of who I am and every person is unique. Though the most important ones are probably shared by other Fi-users, it is my genetic make-up and my environment that has shaped who I am today.
5. Good question. And if you'd ve asked yesterday I'dve struggled answering. After reading the function order, I do believe that my Fi is mostly geared towards others. Though I too have my own world to retreat to and lick my wounds, it was primarely created to have a place to hide and shelter. As an escape. I believe a Fi-user doesn't ever vacate that world, and brings that world into our world, into reality, whereas I bring bits and pieces to try and create a bridge to my world, I'd say. I also think I'm less likely to instantly feel strongly about a person or situation, and that Ne gives more of a buffer where you first wanna get all the info you can get (sweet delicious info...
) before you make up your mind, whereas Fi-doms will probably match something more to their ideal and instantly see the differences and holes in reality. I think Fi-doms to certain extent *are* their inner world personafied, whereas I use mine as a source of inspiration for me to love and encourage/ motivate others with as well as a place to hide from the cruel world when need be. Fi-doms are more likely to be 'wise' I'd say, as they ponder way more on universal truths, whereas I learn them through seeing patterns and applying something I've learned or experienced to several other scenarios and seeing what fits and what doesn't. Add a touch of Fi and you get to distill those same truths..I just take the round about way
6. Yes of course. I mostly have this when I'm *expected* to achieve stuff, or get to a goal. Be it gamenight with friends, or getting the job done at work, I struggle with it like mad. I enjoy a game when i get to enjoy the journey and everyone is having a good time and I get to build something pretty (beauty and harmony, Fi loves it!). If I play the game the Fi way, I will lose, and disappoint my partner, or not even get any chance of actually playing it to build pretty things as I'm being overrun by the enemy. If I play it Te-style, I'm crushing others, feeling guilty over it and not enjoying it at all as it feels like work. And pointless at that (It's a game, for gods sake!). With the job it is easier, as I feel it's my responsibility to not let my boss down. On the other hand, make me do that every day and I'll wonder what the point is (hence my problem holding down a steady job..I just cannot find the meaning in it).