[INFP] Who are you INFPs, honestly

[Chris_in_Orbit]

I'm starting to have trouble with MBTI. Its an interesting tool but the things it measures...are those really personality? I guess I will never know for sure... because personality is such an ambiguous thing. Still, I would like to know specifically from INFPs: who are you? Can you define your character separate from the MBTI INFP? If so please share. I would also like to hear any personal quirks that you don't find to be in the INFP descriptions.

So

What are you waiting for?

Oh, me?

Should I start this off? Fine

Who am I? Well, I'm not entirely sure. I don't think I ever will be, but I don't think that is wholly important anymore. I think of the phrase "A person is the sum of his actions" these days. But this has been a rather recent thing and I have not actually done much in my life yet...

Anyway, I think that no matter what goes on inside my head or how different i am from everyone else, it still does not change the fact that I am in America. I have so many oppurtunities that I know alot of people will never have. What I do with those resources as an American is very significant, I think, to defining who I am. I want to be (watch out for this subjective term!) successful.. I know that means different things to different people but its the truth.

Some things about me that I don't identify as INFP.

I don't avoid conflict. I am actually pretty assertive at times. It didn't come naturally but I learned to be that way and its honestly one of the best decisions I've ever made.

One description I saw was that INFP sees life through rose colored glasses...um...what?? For one thing: No. For another, thats sort of contradictory to what other profiles say... too many contradictions between descriptions only help to confuse me more. One says INFP is optimistic and see life as a good place...another says INFP may be disillusioned because the world isn't up to their standards? Neither of these fit. I consider myself a normal guy with realistic expectations. I know how rotten people and life can be and I know how to prevent myself from getting hurt from such things.

So enough about me, what about you?

 

[GZA]

I agree that personality is way too ambiguous for this system to even come close to describing anyone really.

Who I really am... I wrote a decent enough description a few weeks ago in the beginning of my writing class where we had to make a character sketch of ourselves. But even then, writing a thing up is way to limiting. I think personality, and my personality at least, could only be shown as the sum of my habits, actions, accomplishments, and failures, in the order that they occur chronologically. It's one of things that must be shown and seen, rather than told and dictated.

Which is why MBTI as a whole runs out of gas, I think.

So what would these accomplishments, ect, be? Whatever I decide to make them. I still think I'm very embryonic, I havn't really put myself out there yet, but I (perhaps very naively) believe that anything I choose to do, I can, and I can kick ass at it, too, if I can commit to it, which I will be able to.

 

[Chris_in_Orbit]

Yes, GZA, I agree with you. You can be a driving force in whatever it is you choose to do. Once you figure out what that is, I bet you will be a force to be reckoned with

So I'm quite interested to hear about this assignment of yours. What did you say about yourself?

 

[nolla]

Good question. I can't wait to hear more people on this one.

I am. Hmm... well, superficially looking at me you see kind of a hippy. You ask me what I do, I say I studied media and now I'm unemployed. I paint and draw sometimes. I like nature. I like people. (Actually I wouldn't probably say any of these, because it is silly to make a list of things you do) I like to think about stuff and read many kinds of books with "knowledge", for example psychology, philosophy, religion, myths. The happiest time of my life so far is on one hand "here and now" and on the other my childhood. The defining moment of my childhood was when my parents broke up and the facade was broken, the defining moment of my teenage was when I realized that the broken facade and it's aftershock had made me emotionally cripple and lonely. The conclusions drawn from it and my reactions to them have made me what I am now. Actually, that might be the reason I am interested in personal growth. The reason for me being happy as a kid was because I was ignorant, the reason for me to be happy now is because I am not ignorant and I can live with that. I know I don't have everything I want, but I have everything I need and most of what I want, so I am content now. For future I have very blur set of plans. I want to move somewhere I can get my kind of job. If I get that, I work for some time, maybe travel, I don't know. I would like to see many places, but usually I am quite happy with friends and beer. I don't want to be that guy who looks back at his life and doesn't like it. So far, I'm doing good.

So, you be the judge and decide if this is INFP.

 

[Chris_in_Orbit]

How interesting. Nolla did you paint your avatar?

Its hard to have that facade broken. I learned recently how much of childhood I took for granted. Childhood was also my best time. The problems I had then were nothing and I can honestly say I was ignorantly blissful. I'm sorry to hear that your family ended up splitting up, that must have been hard for you to deal with. I hope you can find that perfect job for yourself.

 

[Anja]

I say who I am with nearly everything I say.

It's been my experience that people rarely believe me until they know me for a while.

When I've joined any new forum I get a few "Yeah, rights." from the mistrusting and suspcious sorts.

Takes a while.

This has been a life long experience for me which is probably why I self-disclose so frequently.

I think it's because so many of my hobbies and interests are divergent.

I'll go on:

I do needle point and I ride cycle.

I collect books about human freaks and have a degree in English literature.

I read comic books and can quote John Donne.

I taught high school at one time and the best job I ever had was hoeing bean fields.

I can talk "street" or with Phds.

I can crack jokes about death but will cry at the death of a kitten.

I sometimes wear a business suit and do public speaking but I'm more comfortable in torn jeans and a tee shirt.

My friends are truck drivers and policemen, social workers and college profs, a few crackheads and alcoholics, a former prostitute, a minister, a missionary, cowboys and girls, motorheads, bikers, a couple of reformed drug dealers and thieves, a laywer or two, a doctor, college profs And like that.

I suppose that seems unbelievable to a lot of less INFPy people.

 

[nolla]

Nolla did you paint your avatar?

Yeah

Its hard to have that facade broken. I learned recently how much of childhood I took for granted. Childhood was also my best time. The problems I had then were nothing and I can honestly say I was ignorantly blissful. I'm sorry to hear that your family ended up splitting up, that must have been hard for you to deal with.

It feel kind of ridiculous that it had a huge impact for me when I think about it now, but I honestly can't say what I would be if things had gone differently, so I have to consider it a defining moment. Sometimes I wonder at what point do the "normal kids" lose their belief in their parents...

The hard part wasn't really the break up and moving to another places and losing all my childhood friends in the process and having to take responsibility of my little brothers. The hardest part was when I realized it and the impact it had had on me (Its incredible how the brain can somehow "make sense" of everything. I actually believed for a long time that I was quite fine alone...)

I hope you can find that perfect job for yourself.

Thanks! But it's fine really if I don't. I just do some shitty job as little as possible

 

[nolla]

I suppose that seems unbelievable to a lot of less INFPy people.

To me it makes perfect sense. You are a hippy! :hi:

 

[Chris_in_Orbit]

I say who I am with nearly everything I say.

It's been my experience that people rarely believe me until they know me for a while.

When I've joined any new forum I get a few "Yeah, rights." from the mistrusting and suspcious sorts.

Takes a while.

This has been a life long experience for me which is probably why I self-disclose so frequently.

I think it's because so many of my hobbies and interests are divergent.

I'll go on:

I do needle point and I ride cycle.

I collect books about human freaks and have a degree in English literature.

I read comic books and can quote John Donne.

I taught high school at one time and the best job I ever had was hoeing bean fields.

I can talk "street" or with Phds.

I can crack jokes about death but will cry at the death of a kitten.

I sometimes wear a business suit and do public speaking but I'm more comfortable in torn jeans and a tee shirt.

My friends are truck drivers and policemen, social workers and college profs, a few crackheads and alcoholics, a former prostitute, a minister, a missionary, cowboys and girls, motorheads, bikers, a couple of reformed drug dealers and thieves, a laywer or two, a doctor, college profs And like that.

I suppose that seems unbelievable to a lot of less INFPy people.

...



you seem to have a very interesting life, definitely off track with mainstream but thats OK! Its actually a good thing I think. I want to be able to say when i get older that I have done many things and seen many places and known many people. I bet you have many interesting stories in you.

Thanks for sharing

 

[Chris_in_Orbit]

It feel kind of ridiculous that it had a huge impact for me when I think about it now, but I honestly can't say what I would be if things had gone differently, so I have to consider it a defining moment. Sometimes I wonder at what point do the "normal kids" lose their belief in their parents...

The hard part wasn't really the break up and moving to another places and losing all my childhood friends in the process and having to take responsibility of my little brothers. The hardest part was when I realized it and the impact it had had on me (Its incredible how the brain can somehow "make sense" of everything. I actually believed for a long time that I was quite fine alone...)

Yes the brain is a wonderfully mysterious thing. Even moreso when science has some sense of it.. You make me wonder what events in my life were most significant in defining who I am.

You are great with water colors, I wish i could be risky with colors and have it look as wonderful as that.

 

[Anja]

Thanks. I look forward to getting to know you better.

We can be a pretty interesting bunch!

 

[nolla]

You are great with water colors, I wish i could be risky with colors and have it look as wonderful as that.

Just a lucky shot.

 

[Thursday]

-i will edit this later to answer-

 

[Anja]

To me it makes perfect sense. You are a hippy! :hi:

I've heard it takes one to know one. . .

Got this observation that people sometimes get stuck in the period of their life that was the most satisfying.

My husband has a cousin who still wears rolled bobby sox and saddle shoes and tapes her bangs to set them. She must be nearly seventy.

Definitely apears to be bad form to me.

And I'm stuck on hippy. Heh. :hi:

 

[kuranes]

And I'm stuck on hippy. Heh. :hi:

:hi: from another often categorized this way....I've never thought I was optimistic enough to be a real hippy, if such a thing actually exists. ( It was originally just a journalist phrase and few people actually called themselves "hippies" even in the "heyday". )

* does not even attempt to sum himself up - but isn't certain he is an INFP anyway. Looks forward to hearing Anja's life story someday *

 

[Anja]

I am so sure you are, kuranes, cuz I grok you.

Yeah, calling one's self "hippy" was bad form, also.

We were freaks or heads. So silly.

 

[Anja]

I think "hippy" was sorta rural in flavor.

 

[Anja]

Oh lookit! I'm gonna hit a thousand.

 

[kuranes]

I am so sure you are, kuranes, cuz I grok you.

Groovy. We'll tell all the squares to "get off the patio, daddio"

 

[Anja]

ANJA'S LIFE STORY

See that veryveryvery deep hole over there?

See how veryveryvery tired and happy I am?

(Fill in the blanks.)