Tabula
New member
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2010
- Messages
- 302
- MBTI Type
- IxFx
- Enneagram
- 9w1
- Instinctual Variant
- so/sx
I've seen it mentioned more than once that having a case of the chronic shoulds is mostly an Fe-related affliction--SFJ in particular. I know I definitely suffer from it myself, but there's a part of it that makes me [again, for the 21304283rd time], question myself and my type.
Assuming Fe is my aux, applying shoulds/operating on the basis of implicit shoulds to inter/personal situations should (hehe) be a natural and egosyntonic behavior, yes? I guess it wouldn't be 100% of the time, 'cause I'm a human and stuff. But still. I'm wondering about other SFJs and their relationship with their shoulds.
Maybe an example is called for?
I work in childcare. Experiencing conflict between what I think I "should"/am supposed to do and what I think is the most reasonable or right thing to do is a daily occurrence for me at my job.
Example:
Let's say Tommy is playing "outer space." He takes a bunch of toys and starts throwing them across the room--"shooting stars!" he says. I SHOULD tell him to stop throwing the toys. I'm supposed to tell him to stop throwing toys. My ESFJ co-worker is immediately yelling from across the room, telling him to sit at the table and play with the toys. I know this. I feel this. But I want to encourage his imagination. He's not hurting anyone, he's not breaking anything, and he's enjoying himself. I feel pressure to tell him to stop, even though I personally don't believe he needs to.
This is a constant problem for me in my life. Not just at work, but everywhere. What does it mean? Am I still SFJ because I can RECOGNIZE the "supposed to's" in line with Teh Unspoken Rulez of Life and feel pressure to enforce/behave in accordance with them even when I don't agree with them? I don't mean to insult any SFJs by indirectly saying they mindlessly agree with and follow every rule all the time, either. I guess I'm not sure how to explain what I mean here. Hopefully someone understands what I'm getting at... kinda?
Assuming Fe is my aux, applying shoulds/operating on the basis of implicit shoulds to inter/personal situations should (hehe) be a natural and egosyntonic behavior, yes? I guess it wouldn't be 100% of the time, 'cause I'm a human and stuff. But still. I'm wondering about other SFJs and their relationship with their shoulds.
Maybe an example is called for?
I work in childcare. Experiencing conflict between what I think I "should"/am supposed to do and what I think is the most reasonable or right thing to do is a daily occurrence for me at my job.
Example:
Let's say Tommy is playing "outer space." He takes a bunch of toys and starts throwing them across the room--"shooting stars!" he says. I SHOULD tell him to stop throwing the toys. I'm supposed to tell him to stop throwing toys. My ESFJ co-worker is immediately yelling from across the room, telling him to sit at the table and play with the toys. I know this. I feel this. But I want to encourage his imagination. He's not hurting anyone, he's not breaking anything, and he's enjoying himself. I feel pressure to tell him to stop, even though I personally don't believe he needs to.
This is a constant problem for me in my life. Not just at work, but everywhere. What does it mean? Am I still SFJ because I can RECOGNIZE the "supposed to's" in line with Teh Unspoken Rulez of Life and feel pressure to enforce/behave in accordance with them even when I don't agree with them? I don't mean to insult any SFJs by indirectly saying they mindlessly agree with and follow every rule all the time, either. I guess I'm not sure how to explain what I mean here. Hopefully someone understands what I'm getting at... kinda?