INTPness
New member
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2009
- Messages
- 2,157
- MBTI Type
- INTP
- Enneagram
- 5w4
There have been several discussions on these forums about how NP's get bored easily with careers and other projects. And the NJ's usually say something like, "Once you find the career you've always wanted, why wouldn't you stick with it?" And we answer with something like, "Once I had it for a few years, I'd be over it." And then they say, "That doesn't make sense." And then we say, "You're stupid." And then they say, "That's why you're poor." And then we say, "That's why nobody likes you." And then they say, "Your mama has herpes." And a big fight ensues.
But, seriously, unless you are an NP yourself, it's a difficult thing to understand.
Here's my thought: since we are this way, wouldn't it make sense, logically, for us to break our lives up into small increments. Presumably, most of us already do this - changing careers every couple of years, moving to a new city, taking up different hobbies, even hanging out with a completely different set of friends. I think we do this without really thinking about it. But, what if we strategically made it a point to do this? I'm mainly thinking in terms of business/entrepreneurial projects again, but it could definitely apply to other areas of life as well.
I heard a quote on the radio the other day where they paraphrased something that Barbra Streisand had said once. Apparently she said something like, "I work so hard because I'm so lazy." They said that her point in saying this was that she busts her tail for a while (making an album, touring, etc.) and then she can take it easy for a while and relax and gather her bearings. A year in the studio, a year touring, and then 6 months off to relax sort of thing. I can relate to this and it made me think about all of this.
I heard another quote that went something like this: the thing that most commonly kills a great idea....is another great idea.
But, instead of being frustrated with all of these ideas that come to us and constantly blaming some new idea for the failure of old ideas, why shouldn't we embrace this trait in ourselves and break up our business ventures into smaller chunks? 2-year projects, 5-year projects, and then move on to something new and fresh. Hit and run, so to speak. Sure, the NJ's will give us plenty of reasons why we should stick with something for years and years - and there are good reasons to do this. But, that's for them. We aren't them. We need change, we need things to be fresh.
I think we get in these ruts where we're so frustrated by all of the ideas we have that we tend to give up and do none of them. I find that when I have 2 or 3 things going at once and I pursue those things for a couple of years, I do well. The 2 or 3 things can give us some variety (and they may be related to each other in some way, but they are also different). Then as our enthusiasm begins to fade, we instinctively know that it's time to begin phasing out. And then we can be excited and passionate again about the new thing we've been drumming up in our minds (without ever reaching that mind-numbing state of boredom that starts to seep in during year 3 or year 6), because as soon as we start to lose passion, we're moving on.
We can be successful doing this too. Something is lost by not sticking with it for the long run, but something is gained too - passion and enthusiasm. Imagine if you could give yourself and your energy to something for a solid 2 years, knowing that when you got bored, you could sell it or just simply move onto another passion.
Thoughts?
But, seriously, unless you are an NP yourself, it's a difficult thing to understand.
Here's my thought: since we are this way, wouldn't it make sense, logically, for us to break our lives up into small increments. Presumably, most of us already do this - changing careers every couple of years, moving to a new city, taking up different hobbies, even hanging out with a completely different set of friends. I think we do this without really thinking about it. But, what if we strategically made it a point to do this? I'm mainly thinking in terms of business/entrepreneurial projects again, but it could definitely apply to other areas of life as well.
I heard a quote on the radio the other day where they paraphrased something that Barbra Streisand had said once. Apparently she said something like, "I work so hard because I'm so lazy." They said that her point in saying this was that she busts her tail for a while (making an album, touring, etc.) and then she can take it easy for a while and relax and gather her bearings. A year in the studio, a year touring, and then 6 months off to relax sort of thing. I can relate to this and it made me think about all of this.
I heard another quote that went something like this: the thing that most commonly kills a great idea....is another great idea.
But, instead of being frustrated with all of these ideas that come to us and constantly blaming some new idea for the failure of old ideas, why shouldn't we embrace this trait in ourselves and break up our business ventures into smaller chunks? 2-year projects, 5-year projects, and then move on to something new and fresh. Hit and run, so to speak. Sure, the NJ's will give us plenty of reasons why we should stick with something for years and years - and there are good reasons to do this. But, that's for them. We aren't them. We need change, we need things to be fresh.
I think we get in these ruts where we're so frustrated by all of the ideas we have that we tend to give up and do none of them. I find that when I have 2 or 3 things going at once and I pursue those things for a couple of years, I do well. The 2 or 3 things can give us some variety (and they may be related to each other in some way, but they are also different). Then as our enthusiasm begins to fade, we instinctively know that it's time to begin phasing out. And then we can be excited and passionate again about the new thing we've been drumming up in our minds (without ever reaching that mind-numbing state of boredom that starts to seep in during year 3 or year 6), because as soon as we start to lose passion, we're moving on.
We can be successful doing this too. Something is lost by not sticking with it for the long run, but something is gained too - passion and enthusiasm. Imagine if you could give yourself and your energy to something for a solid 2 years, knowing that when you got bored, you could sell it or just simply move onto another passion.
Thoughts?