[Other] How are you making your life more meaningful today?

[Idealatious]

Hopefully not, but if you by chance found yourself in the unfortunate situation of being me wink, then you would go through many days, even weeks, without unearthing any real NF-certified meaning in your life. Until you get your idiot self in line. I need to make a very conscious effort to not feel like I'm wiling my life away - does anyone else? Whether you do or not, please tell me what little or big things you do to increase the quality of your life and make you feel more fulfilled! I would love to get your ideas/perspective, and also give you encouragement if you, like me, want it and are prone to procrastination!

(Also, hi, I'm new here; so please do throw something at me if I do anything wrong.)

-Studying abroad in Finland this semester: I've never been outside the USA, so this is a huge step for me to learn about different cultures and hopefully have a great experience.

-Joining this forum: I have a history of never engaging myself in Internet communities, just watching on the sidelines like a creeper. So excuse me while I give myself mad props for being here, haha!

-Having a penpal: This summer I decided I would finally get a penpal. More props are allocated (specifically 110.5 "props," using the complicated and little known Props Payment System TM) to my new amazing INTJ friend, who I might drag to this forum sometime.

-Attempting to write more - journaling, blogging, writing fiction: You name it; I should be doing it but am probably reading webcomics instead.

-Temporarily banning myself from archive-binging webcomics: This was inevitable, really.

-Keeping touch with old friends and not being invisible on Skype and Facebook chat: Okay, are any other introverts guilty of this? Avoiding people who you'd love to talk to just because you don't feel like talking? ...Well, I am. Excuse me while I change my online status to active.

-Joining as many clubs as I can: (But there are surprisingly few, unfortunately, and this university seems to value student volunteering less than my home U. This led me to randomly volunteer to speak with Finnish children for a couple hours, an experience I am simultaneously dreading and looking forward to.)

-Reading the news regularly: Guilty of my Dutch roommate asking me, an American, about 9/11 when I had forgotten about it. In my defense, I just woke up and my watch showed the wrong date.

So, how do you find meaning in your life, generally and specifically, and what do you find fulfills you? Hobbies? Learning? Setting goals? New experiences? Social interaction? But please do differentiate between things you want to do and things you actually are doing, because I could go on forever about all the things I should be doing.

I'd love to hear your experience/ideas/whatever you want to say! I mean, feel free to even question the creation of this thread; I can already imagine several possible critiques of this topic.

 

[FunnyDigestion]

Hmm, this is a good question. I'm sort of in a 'going-away-from-meaning, toward-simple-action' phase... to avoid those tangle-y thoughts that go to self-loathing. Those are some problems I have, nihilism, fatalism, defeatism. Not a lot of the time, but they crop up every now & then. They're rooted in self-loathing & pointlessness (anti-'present-action'). They're powerful ideas but really simplistic... listen to this song:

[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUbHf90Z4v4&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUbHf90Z4v4&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

Sometimes it's wise to do things randomly & incrementally. neat thread.

 

[King sns]

I think that my problem is that I find SO much depth in things around me, that I don't do anything about it, it can be crippling, stop me from actually doing stuff. I'm also always in a state of "growth" so it seems that there's not always a goal or real substantial progress. Lately I've been writing every day, and (thinking about) advancing my education and career, and getting in touch with my true self rather than trying to be someone else- noticing patterns from all of life that I can try to put together and maybe create something important.

 

[Lark]

This is a very good question, great idea for a thread, there is something about NF qualities which I really like. I dont have the answer right now.

 

[LovelyAngel]

Hopefully not, but if you by chance found yourself in the unfortunate situation of being me wink, then you would go through many days, even weeks, without unearthing any real NF-certified meaning in your life. Until you get your idiot self in line. I need to make a very conscious effort to not feel like I'm wiling my life away - does anyone else? Whether you do or not, please tell me what little or big things you do to increase the quality of your life and make you feel more fulfilled! I would love to get your ideas/perspective, and also give you encouragement if you, like me, want it and are prone to procrastination!

(Also, hi, I'm new here; so please do throw something at me if I do anything wrong.)

...

So, how do you find meaning in your life, generally and specifically, and what do you find fulfills you? Hobbies? Learning? Setting goals? New experiences? Social interaction? But please do differentiate between things you want to do and things you actually are doing, because I could go on forever about all the things I should be doing.

I'd love to hear your experience/ideas/whatever you want to say! I mean, feel free to even question the creation of this thread; I can already imagine several possible critiques of this topic.

Welcome, Idealatious!

I am currently in a tough situation where I need to be putting in a lot of intense, focused hours at work – consuming some of my evenings and portions of my weekends. So I am very drained in what little spare time I feel that I have. (Although I had quite a bit of down time this weekend - but I’m also trying to keep from coming down with a cold.) The work atmosphere applies much pressure on me, driving me towards NT behavior (which I am fully capable of doing). I’ve been feeling guilty about operating in that mode, even if it’s meant to improve my chances of survival.

In the short term, I am doing two things to bolster my NF side and feel meaningful:

• I’ve made a new friend in the workplace. She is ENFP, and I have a complete lack of NFs around me. (I work in IT.) She is also well-versed in MBTI, so we’re having fun comparing the INFJ-ENFP differences. I’m learning a lot about ENFPs. (^_^)
• I’m trying to provide emotional support and personal assistance to several of my friends who are going through rough times in their family and work situations.

In general, here are some things that I’m doing over a longer period of time

• I’m a volunteer at a local youth support center. It’s been almost 11 years since I started work there. These youth are frequently rejected by their families, schools, classmates, co-workers, and society in general, so any place that provides a safe haven and boosts their self-esteem is important. I’m proud of the work I do there.
• I’m supporting my adult children (ages 29 and 30), who live with me. These are hard economic times.
• I act as a mentor to my junior co-workers – teaching them to fish, so to speak.
• I’m a volunteer for my church, photographing events, serving as backup web administrator, performing liturgist duties - and have served as a board member for three years.

My intent as an NF is to try to make a difference in peoples’ lives – even small differences – perhaps especially small differences. I’ve been a volunteer for a number of organizations whose purpose was to provide safe haven, emotional support, and sharing of information for troubled persons.

I’m no longer an activist... and I’m not trying to change things on a large scale. Helping people gives my life meaning. When I can no longer do that – when I’m living only for myself – then I guess you could say that the meaning is gone.

I like my hobbies – photography, writing, art, programming, watching anime – but none of those give my life meaning. (They do give me great joy, however.)

 

[Idealatious]

Hmm, this is a good question. I'm sort of in a 'going-away-from-meaning, toward-simple-action' phase... to avoid those tangle-y thoughts that go to self-loathing. Those are some problems I have, nihilism, fatalism, defeatism. Not a lot of the time, but they crop up every now & then. They're rooted in self-loathing & pointlessness (anti-'present-action'). They're powerful ideas but really simplistic... listen to this song:...

I can completely relate to what you are saying. Taking simple actions one day at a time can be helpful for people who tend to over-analyze - like me. Best of luck!

I think that my problem is that I find SO much depth in things around me, that I don't do anything about it, it can be crippling, stop me from actually doing stuff. I'm also always in a state of "growth" so it seems that there's not always a goal or real substantial progress. Lately I've been writing every day, and (thinking about) advancing my education and career, and getting in touch with my true self rather than trying to be someone else- noticing patterns from all of life that I can try to put together and maybe create something important.

I have been attempting to do the same things - sometimes it's hard to tell who I truly am, because without meaning to, I take on so many different roles depending what I am doing and who I am talking to! For me, it helps to have little goals to keep me on track, (otherwise I try to emulate NTs and SPs until I burn out!) but it's certainly not best for everyone. Thanks for responding, and I hope we all can try to find meaning from the patterns of our lives!

This is a very good question, great idea for a thread, there is something about NF qualities which I really like. I dont have the answer right now.

Hey there, thanks! I think I've seen you around a lot.

Welcome, Idealatious!....
My intent as an NF is to try to make a difference in peoples’ lives – even small differences – perhaps especially small differences. I’ve been a volunteer for a number of organizations whose purpose was to provide safe haven, emotional support, and sharing of information for troubled persons.

I’m no longer an activist... and I’m not trying to change things on a large scale. Helping people gives my life meaning. When I can no longer do that – when I’m living only for myself – then I guess you could say that the meaning is gone.

I like my hobbies – photography, writing, art, programming, watching anime – but none of those give my life meaning. (They do give me great joy, however.)

Hi, and thanks for your insights! I hope you get a break from work soon. Connecting with your ENFP friend sounds great; I would like to know more NFs! We're kind of elusive sometimes. And your long-term activities are quite impressive - 11 years! That seems like more than a small difference to me.

I was thinking about what you said regarding hobbies - I sometimes feel like accomplishing things within my hobbies would somehow make my life more meaningful. Perhaps it is my NT side coming out more that I want to feel really competent in some areas? I mean, reading a book or keeping up with blogs is great but not meaningful. But when I do something I can be proud of, like write a good story or finish a complex drawing, I feel like that makes my life more meaningful? It's hard to tell; I've been unproductive in regards to "accomplishments" lately, so maybe I'm chasing things that I think would fulfill me even if they won't.

Anyway, you sound very wise in this area and have given me some things to think about; thank you!

 

[FunnyDigestion]

I can completely relate to what you are saying. Taking simple actions one day at a time can be helpful for people who tend to over-analyze - like me. Best of luck!

Over-analyzing is one of my most indomitable skills. When I'm analyzing, people'd better just get out of the way, because I'm about to ruin their day. They'll be broken into little bits of factual information in about 3 seconds, with no way out. I hate it, but it's my nature.

 

[Oaky]

Over-analyzing is one of my most indomitable skills. When I'm analyzing, people'd better just get out of the way, because I'm about to ruin their day. They'll be broken into little bits of factual information in about 3 seconds, with no way out. I hate it, but it's my nature.

I would like to analyse you doing that.

 

[Mitsuko Souma]

In a different forum, I talked to someone and helped them get a bit less depressed. I also gave him my Skype so we can talk one-on-one rather than posting on the forum. He seems happier now.

 

[BAJ]

I made a new painting, which is poorly photographed below.

I joined a local free thought group that I can both interact with online and go see in person. This week I gave them a link to an online MBTI type sorter, and many of them took it. So now I have a group who's types are known that I can both meet with in person and hang out with online.

Every two weeks, I'm trying to meet with people. I've done more interaction this year than the previous five.

I've been making an effort to be nicer to my co-workers.

...pehaps more later

 

[xenaprincess]

Over-analyzing is one of my most indomitable skills. When I'm analyzing, people'd better just get out of the way, because I'm about to ruin their day. They'll be broken into little bits of factual information in about 3 seconds, with no way out. I hate it, but it's my nature.

lol. I'm similar except that I am also flaky. And a little paranoid.

I notice that when I focus more, altruistically, on others, I am happier. For instance, a friend is going overseas for the first time. I am really excited for him and I hope he has a blast.

'Meaning' is a tricky term. You have the obvious things like spending precious time with loved one, making sure they are feeling all right, followed by things like gratitude for what large and small things we have in life. It takes real effort to do this sometimes.

 

[31january]

this is getting pretty tricky for me lately. I'm still a student and can get very caught up in obligations and I think as a result, i have been relying a lot on social interactions to find meaning and emotion in life. but things haven't always been going so smoothly lately, and i've been thinking more about and trying to find meaning which i myself can create and actually control, with mixed success. i'm actually kinda thankful for my pretty busy schedule (i just completed a 100km trek hehe) cos it means that i can safely say i didn't waste my time away, but at the same time accomplishments are only fulfilling up to a point. I think maybe finding a cause to champion or work towards might help. at the same time, maybve finding meaning might be more about appreciating each day of your life and what you've done in it, than trying to find actual activities which can bring meaning, which seems to always lead to dissapointment

 

[Crescent Fresh]

I wrote a long, heart-felt letter to my mother today.

Haven't done that in years.

 

[LadyJaye]

I wrote a long, heart-felt letter to my mother today.

Haven't done that in years.

Good for you.



I'm making a teddy bear. Never done that before, and its really bringing out my inner child.

 

[BAJ]

Whew.

I started carrying pocket notebooks with me.

I got an exercise bike so that I can play on my computer while riding it.

 

[Yloh]

I made a new painting, which is poorly photographed below.

I joined a local free thought group that I can both interact with online and go see in person. This week I gave them a link to an online MBTI type sorter, and many of them took it. So now I have a group who's types are known that I can both meet with in person and hang out with online.

Every two weeks, I'm trying to meet with people. I've done more interaction this year than the previous five.

I've been making an effort to be nicer to my co-workers.

...pehaps more later

I love your painting BAJ.

 

[gromit]

Listening to or being there for people having a rough time, getting a treat if I remember it's a treat that somebody likes. If there's something I can do to help, do it. I find meaning from the people close to me... friends, family, coworkers. Sometimes I will hear a statement or phrase of a poem or something and get tingley feeling from it...

 

[Noon]

It's not today, but I'm supposed to be relaying for life soon. If I don't get to I'll at least dedicate a luminaria to someone.