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#i think there's less of a difference between intuitive and sensory than people think
drdemonprince · 2 years
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I'm just wondering as someone who is undiagnosed but currently suspecting I am autistic, is getting motion sickness easily (like every time you ride a bus/car) a form of sensory sensitivity? Or would that be completely unrelated to autistic sensory differences?
Motion sickness is really common in Autistics, and most people think that's due to differences in proproreception (one's sense of one's body position in space). Autistic people tend to have poorer coordination and worse balance than Allistics on average, and less of an intuitive understanding of how to move their body and what sensations to expect when their body moves, and the disjoint between the movement their eyes perceive and that their body experiences tends to result in motion sickness.
Technically you could call this a sensory issue, since prioproreception is a sense. Anecdotally my own very severe motion sickness has always been more likely to get triggered in environments that are also provoking some kind of sensory overload in me: cars with really smelly fresh leather interiors for example would always make me puke as a child, and I get far more motion sick on a brightly-lit train car or one filled with lots of ambient noise and perfume smells than on a calmer, quieter bus.
Then there's the fact that Autistic people are worse than allistics at attending to hunger cues, and having an empty stomach tends to make people more likely to get motion sick as well. a really intense meltdown could result in vomitting just out of sheer agitation. so there's lots of factors.
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funkymbtifiction · 2 years
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Hey, Charity. Hope you're having a good day. 😊 I came to figure some things out and narrow things down further. I swear I pretty much got it down flat I'm just making a few mistakes here and there so I'm just asking for clarity.
Ever since I started looking at my behavior as a whole, and probably because I have noticed how I am on my own beforehand so keeping track of things is easy, I have started to notice that I don't have Ne (at least not very high(?) or Fi....
What you wrote is consistent with IFJ, yes. You judge things by an objective moral standard (behavior, how this impacts others, leaving space for them to grow and possibly get better as a human being), rather than a subjective, rooted place of "but I don't feel that way / that argument doesn't change how I feel." Regarding your dominant process -- if it is easy for you to do Ni things like switching your vantage point in order to see something from a different light, that is indeed Ni. You gave more evidence for Ni in what you wrote (vague, lacking in sensory details or specifics) than for Si -- you don't appear to fully understand either one, and admitted that you related to some Ni stuff in my book ("sure I do that, but it's not special or anything").
I get your resistance to being an INFJ, because you think you aren't "good enough" to be one -- but all INFJs are different. They see things through the lens of intuition, reading between the lines, and putting together random pieces until it clicks and makes sense, but not all of them have a "grand vision for their life" (that shows up more in fiction than in reality). Some of them just intuit things, and go about life in a relatively "normal" fashion. My ENFJ friend says she never knows what her future is going to hold -- but she will know it when she gets there, because it feels like she's on the right path when she trusts her intuition. (I will go for this... and then I feel like it would be a good idea to switch my major to this, within the same field, and who knows, maybe I will wind up a psychologist!)
I know you identify as a 9w1, and that's possible, but I also would not entirely rule out 6. You are doubting that you are "good enough" to be an INFJ (rather like I doubted I could be an ENFP, since they seemed cool and less grounded than I am). You are doubting that your intuition is any good or "special." You are doubting that you can trust it. Why don't you want to be a "rare" type? Answer that, and you will know if it comes from 9 or 6. If the latter, you don't want to be "a rare type" because that alienates you from people, puts you under threat, and you might face jealousy or rejection, and you want to be "normal" so you can feel safe and not second-guess your type anymore. You should also remember that 9s have trouble identifying what they want as separate from others, so they are less likely to have long-term goals they are working toward, since they don't know!
You identify strongly with NJ characters, you understand how they think, and you admit that you are someone who sticks to one interpretation or one way forward in a story, and would not change it to suit the audience's reaction or their feelings. That's Ni, not Si and Ne. You mentioned how the Stranger Things writers have changed things as they went along -- Steve was supposed to be a one episode guy, then a one season guy, and now he's one of the most beloved characters with the best arc (from jerk-wad to hero). That's how Ne works, even in an inferior position. It evolves, it changes, it moves into another direction, it winds up different from what was first planned.
Don't be afraid to be an INFJ, or fearful that you aren't measuring up to other ones -- it's how you think. I think my earlier typing of INFJ is correct. I don't see any reason to think Si-dom instead.
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ourladylennon · 3 years
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Hi, how are you our beloved lady? I hope ur doing good. I want to know your opinion to mbti stuff. What do you think about that? And what do you think about Beatles mbti stuff?
Tulip!!! How are you? I am so sorry it took me this long to answer- I could not figure out the best way to present the information for this ask or what would be the best information *to* share. I actually *love* MBTI, I think it’s fascinating. It really helps you understand yourself and others better. As far as the Beatles, there is a lot of debate about their types, but I have compiled a list of the most commonly accepted type for each Beatle with a break down below the cut!
John: INFP, “the Healer” (function stack: Fi-Ne-Si-Te) or ENFP “the Champion” (function stack: Ne-Fi-Te-Si)
A concise picture: generous, kind, charming, empathetic, sensitive, perceptive, strong personal values, introspective, imaginative, idealistic, individualistic, lively, spontaneous, adaptable, big picture, forward looking, long term oriented  // can be impractical, disorganized, tendency to overthink, easily offended, disregard for rules/traditions/norms
Paul: ISFP, “the Composer” (function stack: Fi-Se-Ni-Te) or ESFJ “the Provider” (function stack: Fe-Si-Ne-Ti)
A concise picture: kind, charming, warm, caretaker, sympathetic, sensitive, observant, reserved, practical, level-headed, “live in the moment”, sensory based, detail oriented, action oriented, strong sense of “right & wrong”, curious, competitive, literal // easily bored, thrill-seeking, unpredictable, “black & white”, short term oriented, intensely private, detached, aloof, fiercely independent, can be inflexible, worried with social-status
George: INFJ, “the Counselor” (function stack: Ni-Fe-Ti-Se)
A concise picture: altruistic, affirming, nurturing, compassionate, empathetic, sensitive, perceptive, strong personal values, introspective, visionary, idealistic, individualistic, seeking meaning, insightful, big picture, forward looking, long term oriented, value organization, decisive, reserved, firm // intensely private, deeply sensitive, perfectionists- prone to burn out, overthinking, need for a cause, uncompromising
Ringo: ESFP, “the Performer” (function stack: Se-Fi-Te-Ni)
A concise picture: generous, kind, charming, warm, sympathetic, friendly, easy-going, observant, practical, tolerant, accepting, spontaneous, playful, enthusiastic, resourceful, adaptable, “live in the moment”, sensory based, action oriented, strong sense of “right & wrong”, literal // easily bored, thrill-seeking, unpredictable, “black & white”, short term oriented, frivolous, materialistic, deeply sensitive, conflict averse
Note: MBTI code is comprised of four functions: iNtuition or Sensing, Feeling or Thinking. Intuition and sensing are perceiving functions: how you gather and assimilate data. Feeling and thinking are judging functions: how you use that information to make decisions. Each of these functions can either be Introverted (introspective, self-reflective, subjective) or Extraverted (objective, facing the outer world, expressed outwardly); for example, Introverted Feeling= Fi, Extraverted iNtuition= Ne, etc.
John: INFP, “the Healer” (function stack: Fi-Ne-Si-Te) or ENFP “the Champion” (function stack: Ne-Fi-Te-Si)
Both are very convincing. As you can imagine, these two types are very similar and their differences are more like nuances. It probably comes as no surprise that XNFP are known to be “dreamers” who act as mediators amongst people, desire harmony and look toward the future and see endless possibilities. This combination of being iNtuitive + Feeling dominant makes for a very empathetic subject who has a knack for reading between the lines; they both understand human emotion and relate to others well, but on the flip side, they can be hotheaded and quick to take offense: both for themselves and others. At the core of both, these types have strong moral values and use value judgements to make decisions, i.e. "this is good this is bad". They use their Ne/Ni absorb information from the meanings and impressions they gather and search for patterns in data to quickly see the bigger picture, and then use emotions to make decisions based around that. Though they are XNFP are generally open minded and adaptable, when their personal values are called into question, they sense injustice, they sense inauthenticity, or if someone tries to control them is when they can become upset. They do not like to be limited because they desire freedom, options, and don’t like redundancy. Communication style is likely to be abstract, metaphorical. Though they crave close connections, they become drained from social interaction. Depending on whether INFP or ENFP, there are subtle differences. For example, ENFP leads with Ne, meaning, they may be quicker to materialize their ideas (the more spontaneous of the two), whereas the INFP will spend more time reflecting "what if" before doing. This bleeds into other aspects; ENFP may be more lively, spouting things off the top of their heads without reflecting, they're a people's person. INFP is a little more introspective before diving head first and spilling everything. XNFP tend to constantly assess their value and desire validation. 
(I did see people throw John around as an INTP/ENTP. They’re mildly convincing, but much less likely. His Fe/Fi seems too present to be a Te/Ti)
Paul: ISFP, “the Composer” (function stack: Fi-Se-Ni-Te) or ESFJ “the Provider” (function stack: Fe-Si-Ne-Ti)
Both are very convincing. These literally have the *exact same* function stack order, but the energy of each function points in different directions (which ultimately does make a difference even though it may not seem like it). With both of these types, we typically see someone who is observant, practical, and very rooted in the present. This combination of Sensing + Feeling dominant makes for a very caring individual who both enjoys and is good at nurturing others, but on the flip side, they can be quick to take offense and may shut down/withdraw. XSFX types are known for being reserved with their emotions/needs and likewise reserved in showing emotion and tend to do so through their actions, rather than words. At the core of both, just as with other feeler-types, they have strong moral values and use value judgements to make decisions, i.e. "this is good this is bad". However, they use their Se/Si to observe and absorb information through their physical reality, often referencing from past experiences to fill in the details in order to build the bigger picture, and then use emotions to make decisions based around that. Though both types are generally seen as level-headed and adaptable, when their personal values or character are called into question (because they have a very clear picture of their values; they know who they are) or their good-nature is taken advantage of is when they can become upset. They do not like to be limited because they prefer to be in control and do not like uncertainty. Communication style is likely to be direct, literal. While ESFJ love bringing people together and ISFP may enjoy small groups & close connections, they both become drained from social interaction. Depending on whether ISFP or ESFJ there are subtle differences, the most apparent being that ESFJ prefer more structure than ISFP, and likewise, the ISFP may be a little more spontaneous as they seek to stimulate their Se. ESFJ will also likely be a bit more outgoing with Fe being in play as their dominant trait, whereas the ISFP may be more socially reserved (Fi), though no less charming or socially aware. They both have a knack for understanding what is expected of them but ISFP is less likely to bend for others whereas the ESFJ seeks group harmony. Both types tend to put others first and are reluctant to ask for their needs, and in combination with simultaneously being sure of their values and sure others understand those without question, they may have a heightened desire for praise to validate their actions & themselves. Both types often don't feel seen for the amount of care they put in for others and desire to be appreciated. 
(Fun thing I saw mentioned a lot and felt relative to Paul: ISFP are said to enjoy aesthetic beauty of things- clothing, art, etc. without needing the abstract meaning to make it so; they just simply like it for what it is. This is likely because their Se is grabbing for anything stimulating and then introverted Feeling (Fi) says “oh yes, this makes me feel good!” Can we say hello MMT sweater vest?)
George: INFJ, “the Counselor” (function stack: Ni-Fe-Ti-Se)
As you can imagine, INFJ is going to be similar to XNFP on the surface: dreamy, idealistic, empathetic. What sets them apart is that INFJ tend to have a bit more structure and a little bit more of an analytical mind. The combination of being iNtuitive + Feeling dominant is going to still give that very empathetic subject who has a knack for reading between the line, but there is a subtle difference with INFP's mirroring others emotions (Fi) and INFJ's absorbing others emotions (Fe). INFJ understand human emotion and relate to others well, but on the flip side, they can become angry when someone upsets group harmony or overwhelmed from constantly assessing emotions. At the core of INFJ, just as with the other feeler-types, they have strong moral values and use value judgements to make decisions, i.e. "this is good this is bad". They absorb information from the meanings and impressions they gather and search for patterns in data to see the bigger picture and use emotions to make decisions based around that. Though they are generally open minded and adaptable, when their personal values are called into question, they sense injustice, or if someone dismisses their ideas they can become upset. While they enjoy freedom to explore many possibilities, they do well with a bit of routine and organization to help see their ideas through. Communication style is likely to be abstract, metaphorical. Though they crave close connections, they become drained from social interaction. INFJ's often feel like people don't get them and desire to be understood.
Ringo: ESFP, “the Performer” (function stack: Se-Fi-Te-Ni)
ESFP is a beautiful blend of all the cognitive functions and that's why it's often labeled at the "entertainer" type. They're practical, but not rigid; they’re bubbly, but they’re deep; they’re spontaneous, but they’re down to earth; they’re honest, but not too blunt; they’re just all around the kind of people who can bring people together. The combination of Sensing + Feeling dominant makes for a very caring individual who is warm towards others and overall inviting, but on the flip side, they can be quick to take offense and may erupt or shut down. At the core of ESFP, just as with the other feeler-types, they have strong moral values and use value judgements to make decisions, i.e. "this is good this is bad". They use their Se/Si to observe and absorb information through their physical reality, often referencing from past experiences to fill in the details in order to build the bigger picture, and then use emotions to make decisions based around that. Though generally seen as one of the most easy-going types, when their feelings are dismissed or their general exuberance is mistaken for shallowness, they're forced to make decisions, or they find themselves stuck amongst negativity is when they might become upset. They do not like to be limited because they desire freedom and dislike rigorous routine. Communication style is likely to be direct, literal- to be clear, too much abstract information might drive an ESFP crazy, and unlike some of the other Sensor types- do not like too many details. ESFP are social by nature and find socializing fulfilling. 
How this applies to their relationship dynamic:
This is my favorite part and if you’ve read this far- please like go treat yourself for your good work. Not only do the general stereotypes of their personalities fit them so well, but it literally shows just how real the contrast of John & Paul and Paul & George is and how similar John & George are. 
But mainly, I just want to focus on J/P because I. fucking. love. it. Just think about it. John: Strawberry Fields. Paul: Penny Lane. SAME concept- ENTIRELY DIFFERENT STYLE. Intuition vs sensing at its finest. It’s clear as day. (wonderful video by one of my favorite MBTI youtubers, appropriately titled: Intuition vs Sensing, Explained with The Beatles)
Not only that, but I always think back to Geoff Emerick’s biography when I was reading about their work in the studio:
“John always had plenty of ideas about how he wanted his songs to sound’ he knew in his mind what he wanted to hear. The problem was that, unlike Paul, he had a great difficulty expressing those thoughts in anything but the most abstract terms. Whereas Paul might say, ‘This song needs brass and timpani,’ John’s direction might be more like ‘Give me the feel of James Dean gunning his motorcycle down a highway.’ ”
“In the midst of all this, John had been listening repeatedly to his acetate of ‘Strawberry Fields Forever,’ and he decided he didn’t like it. For someone who was normally so articulate, it always amaze me how he would struggle for words whenever he tried to Tell George Martin how he wanted a song arrange. This time around, he just kept mumbling, ‘I don’t know. I just think it should somehow be heavier.’ ‘Heavier how, John?’ George asked. ‘I dunno, just kind of, y’know…heavy.’ Paul did his best to translate John’s abstract notion into concrete musical form. Pointing out how well the flue sound on the Mellotron had worked, he suggested that perhaps some outside musicians be brought in, that the song be scored for some orchestral instrumentation. John loved the idea, specifically requesting cellos and trumpets.”
Furthermore, this entire paragraph that I don’t feel like typing out:
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God, I could seriously just go ON about those two. Honestly, Geoff’s book has been incredibly insightful to their nature (pretty sure this book is responsible for when I started falling *in love* with Paul). There are tons of examples to go with the MBTI typing, but I realize this is already at great length so I’ll refrain. 
Now that I’ve nearly written a whole book, I’d like to say some words: this is by no means an all inclusive or exhaustive review of MBTI & I am no expert. There are so many other facets of MBTI that go much deeper than this, but I felt for the purpose of general explaining, it made most sense to stay at surface level (which incidentally made me feel like i’m providing a useless analysis). Hope you learned even a little bit or got some sort of fun out of it!
If you have specific questions, feel free to ask and I’ll try and make sense of the MBTI madness!
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mbti-galaxies · 3 years
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hello! sorry if this is bothersome, but i was wondering if you could help me distinguish between infp and isfp?
i’ve thought i was an infp for years now, using cognitive functions even. im definitely no expert, just kinda vaguely know what each one is, but i went through it using several sources i and was like “oh yeah oh yeah this is it” but i dont think it’s It anymore ??
i got diagnosed with adhd in december and ive been taking medication, so it’s been a lot easier to be able to distinguish what’s actually my personality and what kind of just comes from adhd. i think that i might actually be isfp. i think i related a lot to high Ne because with adhd youre always bouncing around restless wanting to do all the things, and youre brain’s always on rapid fire mode. but since ive been on meds ive been less like that and more grounded (i still do drift off a lot ofc cause that’s just how it is). and ive been able to realize that i dont actually get caught up in my thoughts a lot,,,,like i dont uhhhh care very much,,,i am not concerned with the future very much? i think im very in the present, and i kind of just do whatever is in front of me. whatever im in the mood for. sensory stuff. i love piano, ukulele, video games, drawing, etc. doing stuff with my hands. im also a dancer; it’s very fulfilling to be able to engage in something so physically stimulating and be creating art at the same time.
anyways this is so long but im very very leaning towards isfp. it’s crazy cause i used to think i was so head in the clouds but actually??? i love to be grounded?? i love to feel and see and observe things instead of be imagining and thinking about abstract stuff?? im very in the present and i Do Not think about future stuff at all? i really dont think about the big picture at all?????
i know you dont know me so you cant really tell me what my type is, but any input or other differences between infp and isfp would be so helpful!! i also just dont really trust myself and im seeking validation or correction lmao. thanks so much for reading this i appreciate you a lot
Hey!! You're not bothersome at all, I love getting asks and talking to people about their types so thank you so much for sending this!
Obviously I don't know you personally so I'm not going to claim I'm 100% sure of what you are, but right of the bat I can tell you that based on your explanation you definitely sound more like an ISFP rather than an INFP.
(I'm gonna put the rest of my thoughts and stuff under a read more cuz my response is long too lol)
First of all the fact that you mentioned being diagnosed with ADHD is actually really helpful because over the years learning about psychology (I'm majoring in it in college) and the MBTI Personality Theory I've definitely noticed that neurodivergency/mental disorders/mental illnesses play a huge role in how people interpret their type. It's really hard sometimes to tell the difference between whether a trait is your actual personality or something else going on in your brain. This is one reason why a lot of extroverts mistype themselves as introverts because they have social anxiety disorder, a lot of sensors mistype themselves as intuitives because they have ADHD(like your situation), a lot of thinkers mistype themselves as feelers because they have depression, etc.
Alright so now let's get into the major differences between ISFP and INFP.
Assuming you're pretty sure that you're at least IxFP, I won't get into the specifics of every single letter and function here, I'll just discuss the differences between having Se or Ne as your second function in the stack. (Fi-Se-Ni-Te vs Fi-Ne-Si-Te)
Compared to INFPs, ISFPs are much more grounded. Of course they still can drift off and daydream, but they tend to focus on the present more than the future and focus the majority of their stimulation on their physical environment rather than focusing the majority on their inner world.
This seems to match up with what you said: "i am not concerned with the future very much? i think im very in the present, and i kind of just do whatever is in front of me. whatever im in the mood for. sensory stuff. i love piano, ukulele, video games, drawing, etc. doing stuff with my hands. im also a dancer; it’s very fulfilling to be able to engage in something so physically stimulating and be creating art at the same time."
ISFPs also tend to be more practical overall. They can definitely see value in abstract ideas, but they don't spend hours thinking about the big picture and wild concepts like intuitives do. ISFPs may not care as much about the meaning behind something, they care more about how it makes them feel or affects the world around them. They're much more based in reality compared to INFPs, and because of this they also tend to be a little more easygoing and willing to try new things. They like to explore and observe and need outside stimulation a bit more than their intuitive counterparts, and because ISFPs are introverts, this stimulation tends to come from creative and sensory activities such as music, arts, games, etc. (In comparison to ESFPs, who might also need social stimulation in addition to these activities)
This makes sense with what you said: "i love to feel and see and observe things instead of be imagining and thinking about abstract stuff?? im very in the present and i Do Not think about future stuff at all? i really dont think about the big picture at all?????"
Some other differences between the two:
Both ISFPs and INFPs have strong moral compasses from their dominant Fi, but ISFPs may be the less strict of the two, or they may be able to change their opinions on something a little bit faster. This is because INFPs have a major tendency to overthink everything, so when new information comes in they basically have to reevaluate a lot of things. ISFPs on the other hand don't necessarily have to think through every little action that they do, if something feels wrong or they learn that something they do is wrong it's a much quicker turnaround since they don't get caught up in their head as much.
ISFPs aren't as idealistic as INFPs. Sure they have wants and dreams for themselves and the world, but they have much more realistic expectations overall.
ISFPs display their passions and feelings through actions primarily. They focus on displaying and expressing things (show not tell perse). INFPs display their passions and feelings through words and meaning primarily. They like thoroughly discussing or thinking through the why, figuring out patterns and connections.
So with all that in mind and your own thoughts about yourself and your type, I'd say you're an ISFP. Feel free to ask more questions if you have any or if I missed something! Thank you so so much for the ask and I hope you have a wonderful day!
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zenwords · 4 years
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The 11 Most Common Myths About Highly Sensitive People
Unsurprisingly, given my sensitivity, I struggled to fit in when I was growing up in the loud and vibrant 1970s, a decade not known for its subtlety.
I was unbearably sensitive and relentlessly teased for crying or overreacting to things.
If I didn’t understand something the teacher was trying to tell me, I would start to cry. If friends didn’t want to play with me, I would cry some more. I would obsess over every single thing anyone said to me. Hardly surprising then that I was a lonely and friendless child as everybody must have felt they had to walk on eggshells around me.
There were countless anxious school lunchtimes when I clutched my plastic blue tray and agonized about whether or not anyone would sit with me. They rarely did.
PE sessions were another torture as, of course, the team leaders picked everyone but me for their team. I don’t blame them. I didn’t have the competitive and confident streak needed to win. My lessons were mostly spent sitting on a table alone, and break times were largely spent hiding from my exuberant peers.
I lived life through the lens of my heart. I couldn’t separate myself from anyone or anything. Lacking the ability to set boundaries, I didn’t know where I ended and other people began.
This theme of not fitting in continued into my adult life. If only I had understood earlier that I needed to stop trying to fit in. I needed to educate myself about what it really means to be a sensitive soul. Someone who notices things, reflects deeply, and cares about others and how they are feeling.
Dig deep enough and there are stacks of research out there to show being sensitive, feeling your way through life, is a strength. You understand that your empathy and intuition have healing and transformative powers and are a source of connection and creativity.
If you think being sensitive means being a shy ‘cry baby’ you have seriously got this wrong (though, yes, many sensitive people cry a lot). It’s just one of several common and frustrating misconceptions about sensitivity:
1. Sensitive people are all shy and introverted.
There are sensitive extroverts, too—about 30 percent of sensitives are extroverts. Sensitive people tend to need alone time to recharge after being in overstimulating environments, much like introverts, but they may still get energy from being around other people. Which means they need to find the right balance between social time and downtime so that they feel connected but not drained.
2. Sensitives are fragile, ineffective ‘snowflakes.’
Many defining characteristics of sensitive people, such as their empathy, passion, and creativity, make them exceptional business leaders or influencers on the world stage, for example, Walt Disney, Jacinda Arden, John Lennon, and Princess Diana to name but a few.
3. Sensitive people are pushovers who have no firm convictions of their own.
Empathy is a defining characteristic of sensitives, but it is not an endorsement of another person’s viewpoint; rather it’s simply respecting and listening to that viewpoint. You can validate and respect someone’s perspective and still choose to live by your own principles.
5. Sensitivity is a women’s issue.
Up to 50 percent of sensitives are men. Boys and men are often taught to suppress their emotions to appear tough, strong, and masculine, but this often causes depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem—because no one can choose not to be sensitive. They feel ashamed of their sensitivity but need to understand that real men do cry.
6. Gay men are prone to being sensitive.
This is a social stereotype that equates being gay with being more feminine and, as stated above, sensitivity is not a feminine issue.
7. Highly sensitive people are prone to depression and anxiety.
There may be an increased risk of anxiety, but depression is a medical condition that needs treatment and many factors contribute to the likelihood of experiencing it. Lack of self-awareness and acceptance, whether a person is sensitive or not, can also increase the risk of depression.
8. There is a strong link between hypersensitivity and autism.
Those with autism may well have sensory issues, for example, finding things like bright lights or loud noises overwhelming, but this does not mean that everyone with sensory issues has autism. There are major differences between high sensitivity and autism, but chiefly autism comes with ‘social deficits’ (less response in brain areas associated with empathy) and high sensitivity does not.
9. Sensitive people are too weak and self-doubting to become effective leaders, stand up to narcissists, or succeed in a harsh and critical world.
Not so. Once they are armed with self-awareness and the tools and techniques to turn their gentleness into a strength, sensitive people are an unbeatable force.
10. All empaths are sensitive.
Sensitive people are empaths because they feel what others feel. But not all empaths are sensitive, i.e. they soak up emotions but not all the other stimuli from an environment as sensitives tend to do.
11. Sensitive people need to ‘toughen up.’
They can’t, because being sensitive is who they are. They are born that way.
I used to buy into all these negative associations, especially the notion that a sensitive person needs to ‘toughen up.’ They simply can’t. It’s like telling someone who is taller than average that they should be shorter. Just as being tall is not a flaw, being sensitive is not a flaw. It is not an illness, or a choice people make, either. It is how they are born.
According to experts, it is an innate trait with research indicating that at least three sets of genes may contribute to it. Some highly sensitive people may have all or some of these ‘sensitive’ genes, and intriguingly all three impact the brain and nervous system in some way.
Sensitive people are born to be gentle and to experience life on high alert through the lens of their feelings and senses. They are not better or worse than anyone else, just different.
Although they may have traits in common, they are not all the same. Every sensitive person is unique, just as every person who is taller than average is unique.
Indeed, the fact that the genetic coding for sensitivity continues to survive natural selection suggests that for evolutionary reasons, for the survival of the human race, it is beneficial that some people can see, feel, and sense things others cannot. It offers an evolutionary advantage and exists, and will continue to exist, because it is the one true force that drives humanity toward greater connection.
Empathy, intuition, creativity, gentleness, and compassion are personality traits that unite rather than divide, and they are all defining traits of the highly sensitive individual.
In a nutshell, we are all born with a unique genetic code. The key to a fulfilling life is not to repress, deny, or try to hide our uniqueness but to make the most of what life has given us. If you are sensitive, it is essential that you understand this is not a weakness. Rather, it is a strength, and a potentially healing gift both for yourself and for the human race.
— Theresa Cheung
Theresa Cheung is a Sunday Times bestselling author. She has a Master’s degree in Theology and English from King’s College Cambridge. Her work has been featured in the Daily Mail, Daily Express, The Guardian and she has appeared on ITV, GMTV, BBC radio and Russell Brand’s Under the Skin podcast. Most recently, Theresa has set up her own podcast, White Shores, interviewing some of the world’s greatest minds and sharing inspiration on personal growth. More about Theresa here: www.theresacheung.com
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holden-norgorov · 4 years
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Why Katniss Everdeen is definitely an INTJ.
Due to the lack of general consensus regarding The Hunger Games main character’s personality type, I’ve decided to provide an analysis aimed at demonstrating that Katniss Everdeen is indeed an INTJ, and at narrowing down why she often gets mistyped by a huge bunch of the Internet – which is, mostly, because people who are not so familiar with the theory tend to type characters formulating their thesis on dichotomies rather than cognitive functions, and without knowledge regarding how cognitive functions work and interact with each other.
Disclaimer: I’ll preface this entire post by clarifying that I’m talking about the literary character, not the cinematic one. Katniss, as portrayed in the movies, seems to be inevitably too expressive than how she is described in the books. Overall, Jennifer Lawrence’s performance it’s still a great adaptation of the character, that’s unquestioned; but acting itself is a discipline entirely focused on conveying emotional resonance through body language, and, as opposed to what happens with literature, emotions have to be seen on screen rather than just read on paper. This means that the actress herself, in order to give the audience a glimpse about what’s happening inside the character she is portraying, sometimes has to show it through expressive reactions and behaviors – a scheme that, repeated periodically, ends up making it look like Katniss might rely on Fe as a response mechanism to the external world (which is not the case). So, keep in mind that I’m talking about the character as described in the original, literary work.
In this post, I’m going to thoroughly focus on the main response that the MBTI community provided to the character, and confute the almost-taken-for-granted idea that she is a Sensor, which always gets thrown in without any argumentative and explanatory back-up to support it. Just because Katniss is skilled at archery, it doesn’t mean that she uses sensory lens to interpret the whole world. Aside from INTJ, Katniss gets often typed as an ISTP or an ISTJ, and despite understanding where both these typing choices come from, they are both flawed perception on her for different reasons.
Why Katniss is not an ISTP:
ISTPs lead with Ti (Introverted Thinking) and consequently have Fe (Extraverted Feeling) as their bottom function. This means that their first extraverted function is a Perceiving one (Se) and that they extravert their feeling side rather than their thinking side in social circumstances. IxTPs, despite being extremely logical, tend to keep their rational side hidden to others and, in relating to them, are more able to grasp the collective harmony of the group and exude a certain ability to conform to it. Ti/Fe users are less comfortable with displaying Ti’s internal, complex logical framework when dealing with people, but mingle with them exploiting their own – usually untrained, but still accessible – Fe persona. ISTPs in particular, having Se and Fe as their extraverted functions, can be quite good in going with the flow and at the same time understanding the collective needs and adjusting to them. In the inside, ISTPs may feel lonely in the middle of a crowd – mainly because of their internal “library” of logical, organized facts rarely shared externally – but on the outside, they appear to be quite well-adjusted, in tune with the environment and striving to be accepted by or to please others, other than, to a lesser extent, being expressive of how they feel with their attitudes (faces, gestures, etc). Dominant Ti users, leading with an internalized judging function, are also prone to indulge in overthinking and self-questioning dynamics every time new external data seem to contradict one of their internally-processed conclusions. They always look for logical inconsistencies between what they grasp from the outside and what they have previously deemed as logically accurate in the inside. Ti is naturally prone to engage in constant re-evaluations of logical facts, often generating self-doubt, and to increasingly complicate the reasoning upon them: it’s a theoretical way of thinking.
ISTPs have Se (Extraverted Sensing) as their Auxiliary function. This makes them externally chaotic despite their inner organized system. Extraverted Sensing, as the first extraverted function in a person, makes Se users thrive in the unpredictable. Se users gain energy in highly-stimulated scenarios where they can react freely and spontaneously to their environment: they shine when they get to be (physically) responsive and reactive to the world, and avoid being pro-active and trying to actively shape their path with previous decision-making procedures, because to them that feels debilitating. A perfect example of an ISTP female character is Fa Mulan, from the Disney Classic “Mulan” (1997): she is constantly overthinking and questioning herself because she experiences her world trying to grasp out of it what makes sense according to her internal logical system (Ti); she is at her best whenever improvisation and reactive skills are required in the physical realm (Se) and consistent with her Ti’s conclusions; she has deep problems within herself because she is unable to please her family (low Fe), and because of this she spends her entire life up to the movie events without knowing who she actually is (Fi as the demon function). ISTPs’ Ti/Se combination can provide them with a natural and exceptional expertise in practical matters without requiring the average amount of effort, as seen when Mulan is able to succeed when other soldiers can’t despite her lack of previous training. They are theoretical thinkers and spontaneous doers at the same time, which makes them ultimately practical.
Katniss, on the other hand, is neither theoretical in her way of thinking nor particularly spontaneous in her way of doing things. It’s stated countless times in the books that she is completely oblivious and/or careless of the collective social harmony that encompasses her. She always stands out as being cold, standoffish, uncompromising and individualistic in her way of socializing. She has a tendency to keep her emotional side hidden, to engage in unexpressive attitudes – the so-called “resting bitch face” – and relate to others through blunt rationality as a protective wall, which is the exact opposite of how a Ti/Fe user behaves (especially with strangers). Katniss extraverts her thinking side with others, which makes her a Te/Fi user. She fails again and again to realize how social codes actually work and is particularly inept when it comes to decrypt social behaviors, to the point that she spends years of her life without realizing Madge Undersee considered her as a friend all along. It’s extremely clear that she filters her interactions via a Te-based way of interpreting reality. The main difference between Ti and Te stands in the location of the logical framework: Ti users develop it internally, Te users externally. Te users, having this “library” of logical facts outside themselves, project its organization on the external environment and are able to modify it without incurring in overthinking and self-questioning dynamics. Whereas Ti is prone to over-complicate reasoning to look for internalized inconsistencies, Te is prone to over-simplify it to look for a quick external conclusion – hence why, outwardly, Te users appear more confident and decisive than Ti users. Te makes up for a pragmatical way of thinking, and Katniss is as pragmatical as they come.
“Besides, if he wants kids, Gale won’t have any trouble finding a wife. He’s good-looking, he’s strong enough to handle the work in the mines, and he can hunt. You can tell by the way the girls whisper about him when he walks by in school that they want him. It makes me jealous but not for the reason people would think. Good hunting partners are hard to find.”
In fact, she is so pragmatical that in Catching Fire she coldly rationalizes a way to kill everyone in order to ensure Peeta’s survival and she shows no difficulty in conceptualizing human murders as anything more than common animal killings. She shows a natural ability to detach herself from the physical world and conceptualize people, things and actions in symbolic structures, dehumanizing them (Ni). Katniss is also not an extraverted perceiver. She is controlled, collected and measured in how she acts. Everything she does is deliberate, is purposeful. Her resourcefulness comes from her open-minded mental disposition and her quick intuitive ability to select possibilities, other than from her rebellious tendencies; it doesn’t come from being spontaneous or gaining energy in the here and now. In fact, Katniss is a meticulous and constant mental planner on a daily basis, as I will explain later on. She uses Se as a fairly developed inferior function, which she had to learn how to properly hone for survival purposes. But on a cognitive perspective, it’s quite clear it’s not something she naturally uses to perceive reality.
It’s so obvious that people tend to type Katniss as an ISTP purely using dichotomies – she’s Introverted, she is a Thinker, and she is skilled at archery so she has to be a perceiving Sensor, right? Labeling her as an ISTP steams from an extremely superficial reading and interpretation of the character. Katniss is not a Perceiver, nor is she a Ti/Fe user in any way.
Why Katniss is not an ISTJ:
Unlike ISTPs, ISTJs express judgments in the external world through a Te/Fi approach, which suits Katniss more accurately – so, it’s actually much easier to understand why Katniss might be mistyped for an ISTJ. The difference between ISTJs and INTJs lies in how they perceive information. ISTJs are Si users, and Si as a dominant function acts as a collector of sensory data in their concrete, practical essence. Si users have excellent memory regarding details of the physical world. Those details are internalized in the ISTJs’ world-building process according to their factual qualities, not their symbolic ones. This is why they develop an attachment to the past: because for them, experience is not something to analyze and conceptualize, but to preserve and estimate in the concrete, physical effects it had on them. Si users place the value of something in its empirical form; Ni users place it in its idealistic one. Ni users, instead, conceptualize any experience they absorb. They tend to quickly forget the concrete aspect of it and save the conceptual pattern behind it. Ni as a dominant function acts as a collector of intuitive patterns in their abstract form. Those patterns, once fully accessible and narrowed down, are gathered inside the INTJ who, from that moment on, has immediate access to it every time it is recognized in new sensory elements, even ones that superficially can seem completely unrelated (this is why Ni users are said to experience sudden “aha!” moments out of nowhere: because they witnessed the recurrence of a symbolic pattern they previously stored and are now able to access it without being conscious of the process). Si users are uncomfortable with abstract thinking and devalue the intuitive ramifications steaming from the source material (low Ne); Ni users are uncomfortable with practical details and devalue the raw source material that provided intuitive patterns (low Se).
For an ISTJ, every experience is an irreplaceable cornerstone that should be preserved and valued (eyes to the past); for an INTJ, every experience is a possible source of new patterns to be exploited from that moment on (eyes to the future). As a consequence, ISTJs develop a strong trust in established methods, rules and hierarchies, because they perceive them in their concrete efficiency and recognize their merits in letting them live their experiences; INTJs, instead, develop a complementary strong distrust in them, because they perceive them in what they conceptually represent and place value in the patterns underneath, i.e. what let them analyze their experiences.
That said, Katniss Everdeen is an INTJ mostly mistyped as an ISTx because she had to grow up in an environment and live through childhood circumstances that forced her to temporarily suffocate her Ni in order to develop her Se earlier than usual. But she is not a Sensor, and her Ni lens are still predominant in the narrative.
One of the biggest differences between ISTJs and INTJs is the relationship they have with authority and power. Si users see their own value as people in the role they play in the community they belong to; they tend to be the keepers of the established order because it’s what gives them their sense of identity and belonging. And it’s not only about the “overarching” order of things, but also the one that is ever-present even in the smallest of things. They value conformism and respect to those rules, because they made their experiences possible – and those experiences are what their worldview is based upon. Ni users, instead, don’t place their value in a community system, and see themselves as above or independent to its rules. How many times did you happen to read “INTJs are considered the most independent of all the types”? This is why. It’s about mental independence, which is also the source of subversive behaviors and rebellious attitudes, that are very common in Ni users and extremely atypical in Si ones. And Katniss is an extremely independent person under every aspect. Due to this sense of identity projected in their social role, Si user are also exceptionally prone to master social codes and conventions, while Katniss proves to be extremely deficient in this regard, showing a deep inability to grasp the basic norms of human collective interactions despite having been forced to engage in them every day at school and at work for presumably years. Her intuitive nature is particularly obvious in this case, because it shows how she is naturally able to detach herself from the sensory realm and its details, engaging in it exclusively through Te’s pragmatical lens – every interaction becomes a practical exchange, almost an economic proposition with cause-and-effect regulations. But at the same time, she constantly associates people’s actions with symbols (Ni).
“To this day, I can never shake the connection between this boy, Peeta Mellark, and the bread that gave me hope, and the dandelion that reminded me that I was not doomed. And more than once, I have turned in the school hallway and caught his eyes trained on me, only to quickly flit away. I feel like I owe him something, and I hate owing people.”
In order to properly grasp the difference, let’s draw a comparison with another famous ISTJ female character, who also happens to be an archer as well: Susan Pevensie, from The Chronicles of Narnia. Susan shares with Katniss her exterior stubborn, resolute attitude through which she conveys her rationalism, and her pragmatical approach in dealing with unfamiliar situations (Te); she is also emotionally introverted and very much in tone with her own personal values (Fi). Other than that, Susan is also extremely well-mannered and receptive of conventional rules, almost narrow-minded in her persistence in following “by-the-book” etiquette and always incredibly skeptical in evaluating idealistic possibilities when facing the variation of her reality. Her core worldview revolves around the sensory experiences she internalizes, and her own identity gets defined by the rules and the codes she strives to follow by herself, and that she constantly reminds others to follow as well. After the Pevensies are brought away from their mother because of the war, Susan decides to self-impose on herself the social role of “new mother” of her siblings in order to find her new purpose and maintain a pro-active control on her life. Katniss has to do a similar thing after her father’s death, but out of survival purposes because of her mother’s fall into depression. Katniss commits to the process in an INTJ fashion, using her Ni to visualize the conceptual goal (her family’s survival) and rationalizing the most efficient and optimized way to reach it through Te; Susan, on the other hand, commits to it out of no life-or-death obligation, but simply because she feels the need to in order to perceive her identity as validated (Si). She is repetitively dismissive of unconventional situations and finds comfort in a constant tendency to refuge in tried-and-true methods. Both as a Queen in Narnia (before aging back to be a teenager again) and as a growing adult in our world, Susan ends up revolving her life around the sensory experiences she collects; in Narnia she learns to grow accustomed to local rituals and becomes widely known for engaging in traditional lifestyles, whereas in our world she gains new concrete experiences that lead her to “forget” (or more likely, deem as less important) her childhood ones in Narnia. The more her social importance increases here, the more Narnia becomes an idealized fantasy in her mind, i.e. something to be devaluated (low Ne).
Another example of a female Te/Si user is Hermione Granger from Harry Potter, who is an ESTJ. Hermione’s entire knowledge system is completely dependent on a methodical text-book approach of assimilation of notions, which she rarely question or devaluate in any way; outside of what is learnt by the tried-and-true methods, she is discovered to be quite skeptical of the unfamiliar and less comfortable with (but not incapable of) exploring unknown imaginative possibilities (tertiary Ne). She is also extremely reluctant to break the rules, especially in early evolutionary stages, when her third function has yet to develop.
On the contrary, the first thing we learn about Katniss is that she inherited by her father the unconventional way of thinking and the reluctance to be subordinated by the system. She recalls how since she was a child, she had a tendency to engage in subversive language which could have been taken as rebellious if she had been heard by Peacekeepers. Her mother soon took corrective methods and Katniss learnt to keep her observations to herself. But despite that, her subversive nature still remains the core of who she is and will become during the saga. One of Katniss’s most recurrent traits is, indeed, subverting either governmental rules or societal expectations. She does that all the time, and in every way possible. She starts by hunting illegally in prohibited territory and selling the wild game to marketers, showing an independent nature which gains the admiration of her peers; then she volunteers as a tribute to replace her sister (something unprecedented in her district); she rebels against the lack of attention from the Gamemakers in her training evaluation session, intimidating them by showing her skills through insubordination, and gaining the highest score; she rebels against Seneca Crane’s last-minute-rearrangement of the Game’s rules by suggesting she and Peeta ingest the berries at the same time and commit suicide, already foreseeing the successful outcome of her strategy (Ni/Te); she shows insubordinate behavior in front of President Snow himself; she hangs Seneca Crane in front of the Gamemakers; she appears completely unable to obey basic orders that she deems as pointless and dismisses any kind of authority to the point that President Coin targets her rebellious temperament as her most-defining trait and the one she should conquer to be accepted in the Mockingjay mission; in District 13, she never follows social protocol nor she attends half of the events she should partake in. So, not only doesn’t she place her identity value in her community, but she also despises the idea of becoming part of a community at all, because there’s nothing she craves the most than independence, and relying on others is perceived by her as a weakness. This is quite the norm for INTJs.  
Katniss’s archery talent per se is also completely unrelated to how she perceives the world and to her cognitive preferences, because it was something she was forced to develop; but the way she engages in it is very telling. Many INTJs have interests in pursuing solitary physical activities, and their dominant Ni pushes them to apply their perfectionistic tendencies in everything they try to accomplish. This is why Katniss grows to master that practice, becoming an excellent archer (Gale describes her as “the best one he knows”). INTJs can be so obsessed with achieving excellence that they could be reluctant to show their interests, hobbies or activities at all before being sure to hone them completely. Katniss was basically forced to engage in hunting sessions to provide for her family, and this helped her in developing her inferior Se and learning to adjust to the environment around her. Nevertheless, her hunting style is still methodical, calculating and based on strategy tactics and mind games she plays to foresee her prey’s reactions and behaviors and win over them. She is never shown to gain energy and engage in it with the chaotic flexibility that high Se-users would show (as, for instance, Mulan constantly does in the Chinese Army): she is still precise, deliberate and focused in reaching an established goal, i.e. anticipating her opponents. It’s almost like she is playing chess with her preys. She conceptualizes her sensory activities and her body becomes a tool for her mind to use. Being a solitary activity in a solitary environment, Katniss is soon able to thrive because it gives her the opportunity to detach from the real world outside the woods and retreat safely in her mind, where she can perceive herself in control.
Another main trait associable with Ni/Te users is their strategic thinking. Ni’s ability to extract conceptual patterns from sensory elements and Te’s pragmatical approach in decompressing them give INTJs natural access to a pro-active way of interpreting reality and a strong desire to control it in a structured, foreseeable manner. INTJs naturally develop an automatic mental disposition to strategize every action they make in order to them to fit their vision and help them in reaching their desired goals. And it’s not just about the Big Strategies, or the Mastermind Plans: it’s a mental framework and it applies on a day to day basis, sometimes in the most insignificant things, often subconsciously and in extremely basic forms. We get to experience Katniss’s interaction with the outside world during the books, and she constantly strategizes. The first thing she thinks about after volunteering to save her sister (a very Fi-driven act for “the only person she is sure she loves”) is that crying as a response mechanism must be avoided because it would be caught by the Square’s cameras, and that she must not indulge in it even after the Reaping ceremony ends, because there will also be cameras in the train station after the tributes get to give their farewells. This by itself, as spontaneous as she makes it look like, is still a calculating way of thinking. She is used to foresee and evaluate strategically the long-term effects of her actions and choices. When she gets to see her family before leaving, she is distant and controlling: she doesn’t waste time in emotional matters, but straight-forwardly communicates a planning schedule of things to do in order for them to be able to survive without her.
She promises to her sister Prim that she will try to win – which now becomes her Goal – and strictly after that she already shows to be comfortable with the idea of dehumanizing other people to reach that goal. She is so calculating and detached from the sensory rules that she actually believes Peeta Mellark’s spontaneous emotional reaction to be a strategy for the Games, which indirectly underlines that it’s something she would do just for strategy purposes – just like we discover former victor Johanna Mason (ENTJ) did. When the night before the Games Peeta (ENFP) shares with her his open, individualistic unwillingness to be a slave to the Capitol (Ne/Fi), Katniss’s skeptical attitude and strategic focus on what she needs to do to accomplish her Goal makes her keep her inner perspective (Ni/Fi) hidden from him and use Te to provide pragmatical feed-back.
“Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to… to show the Capitol they don’t own me. That I’m more than just a piece in their Games,” says Peeta. “But you’re not,” I say. “None of us are. That’s how the Games work.” “Okay, but within that framework, there’s still you, there’s still me,” he insists. “Don’t you see?” “A little. Only... no offense, but who cares, Peeta?” I say. “I do. I mean, what else am I allowed to care about at this point?” he asks angrily. He’s locked those blue eyes on mine now, demanding an answer. I take a step back. “Care about what Haymitch said. About staying alive.” Peeta smiles at me, sad and mocking. “Okay. Thanks for the tip, sweetheart.” It’s like a slap in the face. His use of Haymitch’s patronizing endearment. “Look, if you want to spend the last hours of your life planning some noble death in the arena, that’s your choice. I want to spend mine in District Twelve.” “Wouldn’t surprise me if you do,” says Peeta. “Give my mother my best when you make it back, will you?” “Count on it,” I say. Then I turn and leave the roof.
Inside the Arena, she avoids human interactions as far as possible, trying to maintain an independence of mind that allows her to function properly. This solitude allows her to focus on her primary Goal so much that she actually forgets she is supposed to be playing a love story with Peeta – something she thinks makes her appear weak. Once she is tracked down by the Favorites, she quickly comes up with a plan able to keep her safe and endanger them at the same time: she climbs a tree, knowing she has much more expertise of any of them in doing so and already picturing them trying to throw their weapons at her once she is out of their reach, hoping to be able to collect one – showing a futuristic and utilitarian approach to the situation.
When dealing with people, she is very selective, trusts her guts and is almost never wrong (Ni). She makes an alliance with Rue here, and shows sympathy for Mags, Beetee and Wiress in the next book, highly distrusting every other tribute. She comes up with another plan involving setting up several fires to distract the Favorites and destroying their supplies by exploiting the underground mines near the Cornucopia. When Seneca Crane announces that there can be two victors from the same district, Katniss decides to incorporate Peeta’s survival in her ultimate Goal, and from that moment she is determined to find him, protect him and carry out their romance as efficiently as she can.
The most emblematic moment where Katniss’s INTJness truly stands out in the first book is at the end, when the rules are changed back and just one victor is allowed. Peeta gets acceptive of the inevitable consequences that it entails, but Katniss can’t find satisfaction in it because she feels like she has been played. She managed to adapt to the Games’ logic and reach both her Goals – keeping her promise to Prim and allowing Peeta to survive with her. And suddenly she has to sacrifice one of them, even though she conquered both? This tyrannical twist aimed at controlling her is what definitely triggers her into attacking the whole system, finding a way to make the Capitol conform to what she wants and not the other way around. If there’s something INTJs hate, that it’s being manipulated and stripped of control. With the trick of the berries, she knows she is subverting the rules and that consequences will arise, but she first and foremost is confident that she will get what she wants out of it. And she does.
Katniss’s dominant Ni (Introverted Intuition) is also evident, through the whole saga, in the constant symbolical associations she makes between objects/people and images/concepts. In her mind, Prim is her “little duck”, Peeta is “the boy with the bread”, the soup in the Arena becomes a linguistic code to decrypt from Haymitch, Rue herself becomes a shadow of her sister, the Mockingjay pin becomes a self-projecting symbol, Snow’s white rose becomes a hidden form of communication between them. She sees items as conceptual containers.
In the second book, she gets visited by President Snow and she studies him, analyzing his behavior and persona and carefully weighting his words.
Perhaps it is the newness of the house or the shock of seeing him or the mutual understanding that he could have me killed in a second that makes me feel like the intruder. As if this is his home and I’m the uninvited party. So I don’t welcome him or offer him a chair. I don’t say anything. In fact, I treat him as if he’s a real snake, the venomous kind. I stand motionless, my eyes locked on him, considering plans of retreat. “I think we’ll make this whole situation a lot simpler by agreeing not to lie to each other,” he says. “What do you think?” I think my tongue has frozen and speech will be impossible, so I surprise myself by answering back in a steady voice, “Yes, I think that would save time.”
During the Victory Tour, despite Snow’s warning against her rebellious tendencies, Katniss shows once again her inability to stick to established procedures and etiquettes by coming up with an individualistic speech about Rue (Fi) that leads to an uprising and public execution. Back in her district, she keeps breaking the rules and attending the woods despite knowing that the President keeps his eyes on her movements.
As soon as the Quarter Quell is announced and the tributes are selected, Katniss decides that this time her long-term Goal will solely be Peeta’s survival, and from now on she takes her ultimate sacrifice for granted in her mental schemes, as a necessary step. Because of her Ni, Katniss develops a curiosity for Beetee (INTP) and Wiress’s intellectual approach to their training session and learns about force fields. Katniss’s archery training here is extremely probative of the mindset she enters into when hunting. She refuges inside her own head and lets her intuition overtake her body and dictate her movements in a harmonious and efficient continuum. She doesn’t lose herself in the environment (high Se), but in her own mind (high Ni), alienating herself from her physical surroundings to the point that she fails to realize she is being observed by everyone and doesn’t catch them applauding her until she sees them after her session is completed.
This time, in the Arena, she ends up being much more assertive – mainly because she has already made peace with the fact that she is not going to get out alive. This certainty is what ultimately suffocates her humanity and lets her approach the competition in a much more cold-blooded way – if she has come to have no problem dying to save Peeta, she surely has no problem killing everyone else as well to do it. She openly discusses with him about betrayal strategies and spends the majority of the time conjecturing ways to kill her temporary allies. She is so intensely focused (in a Ni tunnel-vision fashion) on her own scheme that she fails to notice than a much greater plan, arranged by the rebels, is being implemented by some of the other tributes which involves keeping her alive. Once she realizes that something is wrong with the way they are behaving, she comes up with another plan: she exploits the operative system of the Arena combined with her newly-acquired ability to recognize holes in force fields to throw an electrified arrow into the weak spot of the Arena’s one and provoke the explosion of the entire structure. Katniss shows to be attracted not only to the pragmatical efficiency of the gesture (Te), but to its symbolical connotations as well (Ni), which seem to convey an open declaration of war to Snow himself.
In the third book, she goes back to crave her independence from others, estranging herself from the social activities held in District 13 and developing an intuitive and instinctual distrust in President Coin as an authority figure. She decides to accept her propaganda role as the Mockingjay, symbol of the Revolution, just because it’s the only way to ensure the progression of the rebellious strikes and therefore to aim at Snow’s ultimate defeat – in a not-so-different way from INTJs’ tendency to engage in leadership roles once they conclude it to be the only possible solution to ensure the highest efficiency of a system. In exchange of embracing the role, Katniss provides a list of demands to be accepted – including the claim of President Snow’s execution. This becomes her new Goal.
Having witnessed at first-hand Katniss’s insubordinate nature and fearing for it to become a serious problem, President Coin decides to include a brainwashed Peeta in the Mockingjay mission. Katniss realizes quite instantly that Coin could profit from her death and that she wants to use Peeta as a weapon to control her and potentially get rid of her. Her distrust of Coin increases rapidly, but she keeps being focused on her primary Goal – to the point that, after Boggs’s death and her taking charge of the team, she pretends to know about the existence of a secondary, back-up plan established by Coin and only shared with Boggs and herself aimed at infiltrating the Capitol and killing the President.
Nevertheless, one of the most impactful moments in all the saga happens when the reader gets to experience Katniss’s Ultimate Plan. After District 13 gives order to detonate two groups of bombs from hovercrafts bearing the Capitol seal resulting in a massive genocide of children and rebel medics – including Prim –, Katniss is able to foresee (Ni) Coin’s real intentions of generating an internal conflict in the enemy lines and therefore manages to rationalize the danger she represents for Panem’s future liberty. She realizes that, in order for the people to be ultimately free and for Prim’s death not to be in vain, she needs to find a way to get rid of both Snow and Coin at the same time, because Coin’s thirst for power steams from similar roots of Snow’s, and must be sedated as quickly as possible. So, she meticulously and carefully crafts a strategy to gain Coin’s ultimate trust and then betray it publicly.
Was it like this then? Seventy-five years or so ago? Did a group of people sit around and cast their votes on initiating the Hunger Games? Was there dissent? Did someone make a case for mercy that was beaten down by the calls for the deaths of the districts’ children? The scent of Snow’s rose curls up into my nose, down into my throat, squeezing it tight with despair. All those people I loved, dead, and we are discussing the next Hunger Games in an attempt to avoid wasting life. Nothing has changed. Nothing will ever change now. I weigh my options carefully, think everything through. Keeping my eyes on the rose, I say, “I vote yes . . . for Prim.” “Haymitch, it’s up to you,” says Coin. A furious Peeta hammers Haymitch with the atrocity he could become party to, but I can feel Haymitch watching me. This is the moment, then. When we find out exactly just how alike we are, and how much he truly understands me. “I’m with the Mockingjay,” he says. “Excellent. That carries the vote,” says Coin. “Now we really must take our places for the execution.” As she passes me, I hold up the glass with the rose. “Can you see that Snow’s wearing this? Just over his heart?” Coin smiles. “Of course. And I’ll make sure he knows about the Games.” “Thank you,” I say.
She manipulates her by pretending to agree at the establishment of new Hunger Games in Prim’s memoir while keeping her eyes fixed on Snow’s rose and mentally recalling their conversation in the previous book. Haymitch – who is probably an INTJ as well (with Se-grip problems), since Katniss spends the entire saga stating how alike they are – instantly understands Katniss’s plan and votes in her favor. By doing this, Katniss ultimately gains Coin’s trust, who has no reason now not to arm her and let her execute Snow in a public ceremony. Katniss manipulates Coin even more by making her think that giving him the white rose is an attempt to symbolize revenge, while it actually is a way for Katniss to re-awake in Snow the memory of their previous exchange. Katniss’s attachment to symbology here is extremely evident. When she finally gets to be in front of Snow, she states that he has nowhere to go, no allies left. There is no way for Snow to still be a threat ever again, regardless of her actually executing him in this instance. But on the other hand, now she is given the unique, unrepeatable possibility of erasing Coin’s threat as well. And she grabs it.
I feel the bow purring in my hand. Reach back and grasp the arrow. Position it, aim at the rose, but watch his face. He coughs and a bloody dribble runs down his chin. His tongue flicks over his puffy lips. I search his eyes for the slightest sign of anything, fear, remorse, anger. But there’s only the same look of amusement that ended our last conversation. It’s as if he’s speaking the words again. “Oh, my dear Miss Everdeen. I thought we had agreed not to lie to each other.” He’s right. We did. The point of my arrow shifts upward. I release the string. And President Coin collapses over the side of the balcony and plunges to the ground. Dead.
This execution is almost a by-the-book case of INTJ’s combination of strategic planning and the ability to foresee dangerous future outcomes and prevent them from happening. Katniss’s plan was supposed to end with her suicide, but soon after Coin’s death, Peeta is able to grasp her intentions and stop her in time. Katniss, having already calculated that she was going to be executed as well for Coin’s murder, loses her cool because the final step of her strategy has been prevented, and searches for Gale in the crowd hoping to be mercifully killed by him. But she isn’t. Eventually, she gets quarantined and the newly-established Paylor’s government decides to spare her.
Overall, I think it’s safe to say that the tendency to mistype Katniss as a Sensor steams from an approximative, superficial lecture of her character and the way she operates. People tend to place the “S” label upon her purely because she is an expert in a physical activity and think that is enough for her to be a Sensor – as if there are no Intuitives more than capable of mastering “sensory categories”, which is basically the same as implying that Sensors can not be able to develop a comfortable relationship with conceptual subjects. Typing characters basing personal assumptions on dichotomies and therefore discrediting cognitive functions is an extremely biased and inefficient procedure which leads to great misunderstandings. All it takes is to dive a little bit into the core nature of the character to get a proper picture of how said character perceives the world and engages with it. And with that in mind, Katniss Everdeen can be nothing else but an INTJ.
“To hear Delly describe it, I had next to no friends because I intimidated people by being so exceptional. Not true. I had next to no friends because I wasn’t friendly.”
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kryshka0908 · 3 years
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The ONLY introduction to MBTI that you ever have to read!
I’m Kryshka0908 aka MBTI edgelord. I am NOT a certified MBTI practicactioner, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know my stuff. There are a lot of theories out there and yeah they are great and beautiful and all, but you DO NOT need to waste your time studying studying all of them and being confused ‘cause I’m gonna teach you everything you need to know about MBTI! Yes, it’s literally EVERYTHING you need to understand so LISTEN to every single thing I say and I guarantee you WILL be smarter than the majority of people in MBTI community that are spewing bullshit that doesn’t make any sense whatsoever! So grab your drink or whatever that keeps you focused and let’s get into it!!
“What is MBTI in simple words?”
Many morons assume that MBTI types are their identities.
“Oh yay! I’m an ENFP, so I’m a quirky weirdo unicorn girl that’s always dreamy! I’m basically the same person as Anna from Frozen!”
“Yeah ;) I’m an ESTP now. I’m so manly and cool. I love sports man! And I wanna smash hot chicks every single day of my frickin g life”
“I’m a calculative, evil genius INTJ! I hate everyone and everything in the world.. I love world domination, and I have not heart”
These stereotypes make me SICK!! They literally wanna make me throw the shit up okay??? People need to understand that the only thing that your MBTI types can tell you is your natural cognive processes. It does NOT who you are, not how good/unique of a person you are, what you like and dislike, your traits or statuses.
You can be an ENFP, and absolutely hate unicorns and people.
You can be an ESTP, and doesn’t have any interests in sports and sex.
You can be an INTJ, and be a humanitarian. And feel love towards someone deeply.
You know what? I’m an INTJ myself and I love Disney movies, and working out!!!
Some of you may think...
“But, but.. then MBTI edgelord must be INFP because he likes Disney. Oh wait but also he likes working out, he’s ESFP. But he’s also super annoying.. ESTJ?”
SHUT UP!! JUST SHUT THE F*CK UP!!! MY MBTI type can’t tell me who I am as a person!
“What do Congnitive Processes mean in MBTI?”
The kind of “cognive processes” that MBTI is describing is our attentional manners, which is our ways of paying attention.
We, humans, all pay attention.
When we listen to someone talking, we pay attention to what they are saying.
When we read newspapers, we pay attention to the articles in the newspapers.
MBTI categorizes our various ways of paying attention into into 8 basic modes. They are
Introverted Intuition(Ni),
Extraverted Intuition(Ne),
Introverted Sensing(Si),
Extraverted Sensing(Se),
Introverted Feeling(Fi),
Extraverted Feeling(Fe),
Introverted Thinking(Ti),
and
Extraverted Thinking(Te).
* Definitions of each functions are right below here. For some of them, I directly copied from my Reddit posts.
The difference between Ne and Ni
Ne seeks to look at things from different perspectives and generates/discusses possibilities that are previously unthought of for the sake of novelty. Ne is an abstract function that focuses on metaphysical actions, rather than physical ones, meaning Ne users prefer to “think” about the possible things that they could do in their head or by talking over actually doing stuff in reality. For example, an Ne user may enjoy exploring the possibilities of them being a doctor, a chef and a CEO, but they are less inclined to decide which one is a most likely possiblity and start working on it.
Ni is the opposite of Ne in a way that it likes to make a conclusion on what is the best path. Ni seeks to see linear patterns and connections that lead to one thing in the future. It prefers knowing singular truths over ideation basically. Ni users typically want their life to be aligned with a singular purpose. To simplify, they are more inclined to say “I WILL become a doctor!” than Ne users.
The difference between Se and Si
Se is focused on external sensory information, such as “that car looks cool.”, “This scenery is beautiful” a and so on. As opposed to Si, which is focused on one’s subjective sensory experience, which includes how comfortable your surroundings make you feel internally, and their past experiences. Si things to say would be “This blanket makes me feel warm”, and “This must be true because it already happened to me before”. Because Se is more directly engaged in the outside physical world, people with high Se are very good at making actions in reality. Despite the stereotype that Se doms are party animals, a lot of them can be quite successful because they excel in seizing opportunities in the present moment.
Fi vs.Fe + Ti vs. Te
Fi is about your internal feelings and values. People with high Fi tend to have a sense of what/who they like and dislike. They tend to form judgments about things based on their own ethical values. Fi users seek to be their “authentic selves” in social environments.
•“I love you”,
•“Killing animals feels wrong/immoral”
•“You’re not my friend if you don’t understand the real me”
These statements are all Fi related
Fe, in contrast, is focused on reading and affecting external emotional atmosphere. Fe users observe social cues, such as face expressions and tones of voice, to notice emotional states of others. And they affect the emotional states by words or actions, if they deem it to be necessary. Fe is not about internal/introverted values, but it is about external emotions basically.
• “Are you feeling okay? You seem quite tonight.”
•“You look amazing! Where’d you get that dress!?”
•“That sucks” as opposed to “I don’t like it”(Fi)
Ti is very similar to Fi in a way that it also makes decisions based on your internal judgement. Instead of your feelings, or values though, Ti seeks to make decisions based on what makes sense and what doesn’t make sense to you internally. Ti is about internal understanding of logic. Ti users form logical models that can help them understand why things are the way they are basically. MBTI is also pretty Ti-ish since it models human personality in a way that is logically sound.
Ti statements include
•”You’re contradicting yourself in your own argument. What you say makes no sense”
•”If all humans are mortal, and this individual is immortal, it is impossible that the individual is a human”
•”I don’t want to use math formulas, unless I fully understand why the formulas work”
Te is like Fe because it also sees external data and affect things in the external world. However, unlike Fe, Te pays attention to shared logical facts, instead of shared emotions. Te users like to look at objective statistics and data, and use them to maximize efficiency in order to get from point A to B. Te is not concerned with internal understanding of logic, but it only sees facts as they are, their focus is on how useful or beneficial something is.
Te statements are..
•”If I leave home at 10am, and take the bus that comes at 10:10am, I should be able to get to school by 11:00pm.”
•”I first need to enter my email address, and then my password to log in. Once I log into my account, all I need to do is to put the items I want to buy in my cart and purchase them!”
•”According to this study conducted by Scientist A, it is best to have, at least, 8 hours of sleep for adults to be most active during the day. So I’m going to start doing that!”
To summarize, Fi is about “internal feelings/values”, Fe is about “external emotions and application of them”, Ti is about “internal logical understanding”, and Te is about “external factual accuracy and application”
So now that you know how each function pays attention, let’s look at how the functions manifest in a type!
I use ISFJ as an example. ISFJ’s “function stack”, which describes the order of a type’s preference of cognitive functions, goes..
Si(1st/Dominant)-Fe(2nd/Auxillary)-Ti(3rd/Tertiary)-Ne(4th/Inferior)-Se(5th/Ignoring)-Fi (6th/Demonstrative)-Te(7th/PoLR)-Ni(8th/Balanced)
Look at this table I made that explains definitions of each slot..
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This is the description of ISFJ I wrote..
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These are the function stacks of other personality types...
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Congratulations! Now you should be able to understand how each type uses the 8 cognitive functions. You basically know about how MBTI works more than most people.
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Si rant
I think it’s unfair to peg Si as a function that is “traditional”. Oh, Si users are boooooring and here to enforce the rules on me! I hate my Si mom!!!”
as an Si user, I would define Si as “context”. Si see all the sensory information connected in a great web. How the individual pieces of sensory information are all connected differ between person and person, hence why it is an introverted function. An Si sensory information does not exist independently in the Si’s mind. Every piece of information always has a path that leads to another one, they’re all connected to each other. Compare this with Se. Se sees sensory information as blocks and independent factors , they don’t have such a huge desire for context as Si. (i might make a post in Se later they are really awesome and also kind of misunderstood as the descriptions don’t make them appear as complex as they are)
It’s not stupid “routines” and “traditions” that are here to take away all the fun. It’s a perceiving function, not inferior to Ni and Ne and Se. Simple as that. (if anything, i think people who rely very heavily on strict daily routines are high Ne users trying to control the sensory aspect in their lives) 
This is why intuitives think we’re stubborn and no fun. Si requires context to trust a thing to work. They NEED the factual information, or they’re not gonna fuck with your plan or idea at all. When some Ni dude goes “hey look at this awesome thing!!! conceptually it will work!!!”  Sensors are like “ hey but this physical aspect and that physical aspect and the statistics show that... can you explain why you think your plan will work?”
Ni: “It just will! cause you see this plan is very personal, i’ve been working in this for years, this is my one vision...”
and the Sensor is kind of like 🤨*raises eyebrow*
and the Ni gets kind of offended like : “How DARE you make me responsible for the SENSORY INFORMATION😤Sensors are meanies and they’re NO FUN.”
so yeah.
It’s just cognitive functions, no vendetta against intuitives, they really do hate being responsible for the sensory. It’s the same with Ni, if they ask you, “so where the fuck are you going with this project?” and you can’t answer they will straight up leave. They rely on a clear concept of the idea. 
Also i hate it when people think making observations in the physical world somehow require less intellect and complexity of personality than pure speculation do. It’s almost like intuitives think sensors are incapable of and unwilling to “think about the future” and “talk about philosophy and abstract concepts”, as if intuitives are incapable of collecting sensory information themselves. This is kind of personal tho :p
Oh, and don’t fucking say that this post is sensory bias. Si is not described and depicted correctly in the community and i’m trying to fix that. it doesn’t cost money to not be a dick.
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INTP vs ISTP
I recently got an ask about the differences between an INTP and an ISTP, so I thought I would post this for anyone else who might be interested. :)
Because descriptions are more generalizations, it is often easier to tell your personality by looking at functions stacks.
     Both INTPs and ISTPs have Ti (introverted thinking) as their first function which can make them seem similar at first when looking at descriptions. Ti users are constantly incorporating information into an information web in the head: everything is connected into an information complex. They are good at synthesizing and interacting with information. It is also why they may seem uncomfortable with an idea/piece of information, but don’t have a good reason why: it doesn’t fit with their web, but they aren’t sure if it is the model of the information that is wrong.
INTPs and ISTPs first big difference is their Auxiliary function. This is where which one you are is going to be the easiest to see: 
     In INTPs this is Ne (Extroverted intuition). Ne is about the generation of ideas. Ne is future oriented, always asking how something works long term, always looking for patterns within disparate data. Ne and Ti are in conflict, because Ti wants to create information networks based on fact but Ne wants to explore alternative options. This is why INTPs are often indecisive. ISTPs on the other hand use Se. Se focuses on tangible data. Rather than looking for patterns, it focuses on what is right before it to make decisions in the present. It is more about meeting todays needs that needs 10 years in the future. Because of this, Se users are much more perceptive to details in their environment than Ne. An ISTP is much more likely to notice you moved the couch or cut your hair than an INTP, and an ISTP is more likely to care that you moved the couch. The Se also means that they make decisions faster based on what is going on in their environment. INTP tend to lose track of time and where their body is in space. ISTPs, however, are highly aware of where their body is in space because of se, INTPs regularly run into walls.
     As their tertiary function INTPs use introverted sensing. Si passively collects information, but because it is a tertiary function the INTP is not as aware they are collecting this information as the secondary Se of ISTP. Si is good with details, and it generates logical ideas based on sensory input. It is more about ideas in the present based on facts, and it controls Ne to keep it organized. ISTPs use introverted intuition. 
     Both personalities share extroverted feeling as their last function. This is a focus on other peoples’ feeling, but both personalities will struggle to define their own feelings.
    In general, ISTPs are much more connected with their bodies, the present, and what is happening in the world around them. INTPs are a lot less connected with the physical, they tend to be absentminded to the point of oblivion, and rather like it that way. ISTP: quiet daredevil, they love the moment. Think The Mandalorian. INTP: the stereotypical absentminded professor, they are about ideas.
If you guys love functions you should totally shoot @somerandomjibberish or @bigolpotato a message because this is their life passion lol
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New Short Story
Distance is a funny thing. Or rather, perception of distance is a funny thing. Human brains can really truly understand distances of up to about ten miles. Anything longer than that and it’s just math. Driving down a road, if you have 240 miles left and you’re going eighty miles per hour, you have three hours of driving left. You don’t really know what that means, though. It’s just ticking on a clock, and going from landmark to landmark, if there even are landmarks to use. The human mind is always approximating, always recalculating sensory inputs based on past experience It only knows what it’s been designed to know.
Never trust your own mind if you have instruments. Instruments first. If there’s no instruments then don’t trust your two-second gut. Trust your two-minute gut.
I grew up in the Eastern Urban Complex. The night sky was nothingness, a velvety black backdrop to a million lights and and towering buildings stretching up and over.
My parents saved up for a vacation. A proper one outside of the urban complex, not just a trip to a different borough where you didn’t have to do the cooking or cleaning for a week. We went when I was 10. We took a train that had no windows. Passengers who had never lived outside the city experienced agoraphobia and severe confusion. It was better to entertain everybody with screens, caused less panic. The train was luxurious. The chair was comfortable, we were served delicious food by pretty ladies in tidy uniforms and gleaming smiles, their hats perched just so over their immaculate hair.
We took the train out of the city and all the way to the end of the line. If you asked me how many miles we traveled on the train ride, I would have told you about fifty. I looked up how far the trip actually was years later. It was more like seven hundred miles.
Distance is relative. Distance is perception and perception is false. Check your instruments, check them again. If the numbers seem wrong to you check the backups. It’s probably you that’s wrong, though.
As I stepped out of the station, I found the world too big, too open, and I suddenly felt too small. There were people there to help us get acclimated. Focus on ourselves, then let our senses explore this alien experience of openness, of distance, of the desert. We got into a car and were driven out towards the mountains. We couldn’t see the mountains from the train station, but that was what my parents told me. We were driving towards the mountains. I’d never seen mountains in person. I’d looked at pictures in a book, though. I’d heard they were big. When we crested a hill and could suddenly see the mountains, I shrieked. They were coming right up on us and we were going to crash into them.
My parents shushed me, but the driver chuckled and said that was a pretty typical response. Of course, we didn’t crash into the mountains, they were still miles away, and as we got closer, the slopes became gentler, smoother as we got closer, and the road climbed up through a canyon between two peaks. The trees changed. The Eastern Urban Complex has trees in its thousands of pocket parks between buildings, shady trees with broad green leaves that turn golden and orange and red in the fall. The trees here had needles. Very little grew beneath the trees, and the dirt felt more like dust than anything.
We finally got out of the car at a retreat. There were a series of buildings situated around a bigger building. THey were all built out of logs. My mom told me the smaller buildings were called cabins, and the bigger one was called a lodge. I had read about cabins before but didn’t think they looked quite like that.
Perception and reality are often at odds. Instrumentation distills reality into digestible pieces of information we can use to modify our perception to match reality. The instrument says I’ve been “here” for two days, but that feels wrong too. I don’t have any backups to cross-check, though.
 There were other children my age there that I played with, trails to hike, a forest to explore and rocks to climb. I don’t remember a lot of details from my time there. I couldn’t tell you the color of the sheets on the cozy bed. I couldn’t tell you what meals we ate, or the names of the children I played with. There’s a distinct smell, one of dust and pine trees that’s locked in my mind, though, and there’s my first sight of the true night sky. 
My parents let me stay up late, and we would go out and look at the night sky. It was practically littered with stars, big and small. I’d never thought of the sky as an object before. I thought that maybe if I got a good 50-foot ladder, I could climb to the top of that and touch the stars from there.
Examine your thoughts. Why are you thinking what you’re thinking? What’s the basis? Answer these questions honestly to yourself and to others, it can save your life, your crew, and your mission.
That experience planted something deep in me and I strove to find a way to touch the sky. A 50-foot ladder is hard to come by, but if you really want to touch the sky, you need a fusion drive. The best way to get a fusion drive is to join the Naval Scientific Exploration Team, NSET, pronounced “enset” for short. 
I poured myself into my studies. I had never been a slack student, but with a distinct goal in mind I became great. I studied general spaceship engineering and navigation. NSET only takes the best and brightest, so I fought to prove that I was good enough. 
There was an experiment, or demonstration done on every NSET cadet after they were accepted. We were asked a series of “true or false” questions with only a second to answer each one. “An object released in Earth’s atmosphere will fall to the ground”, “Magnets attract opposite poles”, “A ball thrown will approximate a circular trajectory”, Easy, true, true, false.
“The earth revolves around the sun” false. “Orbiting objects experience gravity” false. “The world is flat” true. We all knew the correct answers to those more difficult questions, but without time to think, we grabbed for the convenient, intuitive answer. Answers that are convenient or intuitive are not by definition correct. They are, however, easy to fall prey to, because they fit so neatly into a caveman view of the world. 
Cavemen have never traveled through space, though. Cavemen have never traveled at a million kilometers an hour, or measured distances in light-minutes. Cavemen were never one mistake away from their entire support environment vanishing in a cloud of twisted metal and shattered ceramic. Cavemen never watched their friends desperately fight against nothing and be pulled apart from each other by first order kinematic equations, enacted ignoring losses due to air resistance or friction. At NSET academy, we watched tapes collected from black boxes from early manned explorations deep into the solar system. I can’t sleep sometimes thinking about the panic and terror flooding those people as they were ripped from their venting ship and out into space.
So we had it drilled into our heads that we were unreliable, that trusting our gut could be catastrophic. The first practical exercise in the NSET training program is called “the egg”. It’s a sensory deprivation tank. You feel weightless, with no light, no ambient temperature, no sound. It starts by feeling liberating. The mind is free to wander, to contemplate anything. People outside NSET use sensory deprivation tanks as a meditation aid or a brain-booster, but they get to control when they leave. The Egg isn’t something you pay for, or do to enhance your mind, or leave whenever you want. It’s a test and a demonstration. Some people lose it hard. They get transferred to a different branch of the Navy, or optioned to leave with no shame or dishonor, just getting admitted to NSET is an easy way to join a private spacer corp. NSET isn’t for everybody, and if you can’t handle The Egg, then nobody wants you on their NSET crew.
I didn’t fail The Egg, but I can understand why people do. When all the senses you rely on to provide information don’t have any information to provide, you start losing the more esoteric senses supported by the main five. First, you lose your sense of form as your body dissolves into the nothingness surrounding you. Next, you lose your sense of space entirely, if you don’t have a being, a shape, then how can you know anything to be anywhere? Without space, you lose time. Some people, particularly those living with mental conditions like ADHD or depression can already have a loose grasp of time, but even the most neurotypical hard-ass king of punctuality starts losing their sense of time.
Then, The Egg opens. The light is disorienting, sounds are suddenly back, and you have a shape, a form, a place, there are things happening, which means that time works again. Then comes the question: “How long were you in there?”. Nobody answers that one correctly.
Two days can’t be right. The oxygen and battery indicators haven’t even gone down to 75 percent.
You should not trust your intuition, your internal senses to make decisions for the entire space ship. That is the constant lesson at NSET training. There are tips and mental exercises to help with some of the shortcomings our minds have, but our instruments are always the key. We go back into The Egg on a routine basis, and now that we know what’s coming for us in the prolonged sensory deprivation, we can react. Focus on your breathing, your heartrate, your fingers and toes. Move periodically to pull yourself back into awareness of your body. The heart is not a good clock, but it’s better than no clock. Count your pulse to use it as a rudimentary timepiece. Don’t go with your initial gut feeling. Instead, if everything else is going wrong, think about the information you have available for two minutes and then check your gut. If you’re only given a second to answer, you think the sun goes around the earth, but with two minutes you’ll know that the earth moves around the sun.
Everybody is trained in every function of the ship. There are specializations, but we aren’t running routine trade routes to Mars or microgravity mining operations. NSET’s goals are to travel to the great beyond, past the Oort cloud and set courses to new solar systems. The ships have the latest technology, the best drives, and the best crews.
I’m ostensibly a navigator, helping track progress and plot courses as we travel further than any human ever has. However, if need be, I can pilot the ship, rebuild the reactor, maintain environmental controls and life support, and repair damage to the ship’s hull.
With new drive technology and a different goal in mind, we surpassed the limit of Voyager 1 as the farthest human-made object from earth in just eighteen months. 
The time doesn’t make sense, the O2 and electric readings don’t make sense, checking trajectories. Which way am I headed?
The sun is nothing but the brightest star now, out of millions visible to my naked eye. My repair mission timer is reading three days now. The ship is long gone, I don’t know how I got separated but I did. I’ve been using every trick in the book, but staying out here is almost worse than The Egg. Three days doesn’t make any sense. I had O2 and suit systems batteries good for a five hour repair shift. I started using my heartbeat as a timer, I counted to 3600 beats, an hour, and the gauges haven’t moved, not since I left the ship. 
I’m not cold, but that’s not surprising. The one-second gut reaction is that I should be solid ice by now, but space doesn’t work like that. Heat transfer occurs through three mechanisms: convection, conduction, and radiation. Convection requires a moving fluid, and conduction requires a contact with a surface at a different temperature. The void of space requires neither. The suit is designed to minimize radiation heat loss, so I’m keeping a level temperature, especially now that I’m not exerting myself. I’ll be warm for a long time after I die out here.
I do have to keep myself moving, minimally at least. If I stay still for too long, I can feel myself becoming the universe. My arms and legs melt out from me and start spinning outward and outward. My chest becomes so bright and before I know it I am the universe, I have no form, I have no volume or dimension and I become the galaxy around me, until my suit beeps, or an itch develops on my skin and I snap back into myself, and now the repair mission timer reads four days. Oxygen at 75%, battery at 75%. 
In calculus, when the teacher was repeating subjects to the rest of the class that I already understood, I would contemplate infinity. Calculus deals often with infinity and zero, and I would contemplate just how large infinity was. I would try to fit it into the room with me. Over there, in a corner, there’s a tiny speck. That speck contains all human knowledge. I make it just a little bit larger and add another infinity inside the infinite volume of the room. I add all the functions that have a derivative, the speck grows infinitessimally. I add all the functions for which no symbolic integral exists, the speck grows less. This whole vast room is everything we don’t know and do know and even then it’s merely vast, not infinite. Now I’m experiencing just how wrong I was. Infinity stretches out from me in all directions and I cannot see all of it. The stars slowly rotate around me and maybe if I had a really good fifty-foot ladder I could climb up that and touch them. 
I’m traveling at close to a million kilometers every hour, every 3600 heartbeats, more or less. I may as well be going nowhere. The stars aren’t changing, nothing is changing. I’m only going a million kilometers an hour compared to earth. There are all kinds of things that I’m traveling slower than, or I’m in lockstep with. Motion is relative, distance is relative. I don’t have instruments that can tell me where I’m headed or how quickly, or if anything is coming.
Day five, and I remember that I haven’t had a drink of water since before I left. Two hours before I left I took final hydration, then I peed before getting in the suit because I hate peeing in the suit. I haven’t peed either, I haven’t felt the need. Haven’t taken a shit. Haven’t felt the need.
I flex my fingers and toes. Then I roll my head and smile and frown and squint and stick my tongue out. I say a few words, mostly to practice words.
The word “planet” is ancient greek for “traveler”. Technically, then, everybody on the ship is a planet, the ship itself is a planet, and I’ve somehow become a planet all my own. I’d have to call myself a rocky planet. I have a crust, and underneath that I’m liquid, and all my heat comes from the core of me. I haven’t eaten food in five days, either. No food, no water, oxygen at 75%, battery at 75%.
It took me a while to notice the dark spot in the sky. The void of stars, where there was nothingness. There hadn’t been nothingness there before but now there is. Day five and a half, another star just vanished behind the penumbra. A rogue planet, it must be. I’m traveling so fast compared to earth, I’m probably still going pretty fast compared to this rogue planet as well. I’m on a pretty direct approach with this black nothingness. Not a black hole, there’s no accretion disc, there’s no gravitational lensing, just black. A dark planet just as lost as I am. I wonder if I set foot on it, will it drain all my heat through my feet and leave me a frozen husk in an instant? Will I be alive for long on this?
Strangely, I will be the first NSET crewmate to make physical contact with a planet not of our solar system.
I’m getting closer to the planet, I can feel something happening, a tug leading me to the planet. Two-second gut reaction is that I’m caught in the planet’s gravity. Two-minute gut reaction is that I won’t really feel the gravity until I’ve got something resisting me. I’m in freefall, but without an atmosphere there’s nothing to perceive the pull of gravity.
So why am I feeling this pulling force?
Just under half of my vision is complete void. In my slow spin I can see the stars in half the field of view, and the rest is simply blackness. I don’t have enough light to tell if anything is rushing up on me. I can’t tell how close the ground is now of this pitch-black planet.
Then, impact as my body touches the surface. Not feather-light and gentle, but not so hard it hurts. And then, I sink, and the cold rushes into my suit, and the blackness consumes me and I feel nothing once again.
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iamjjmmma · 4 years
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My Own MBTI Test (Yes, You Can Call It JJ’s MBTI Test)
Usually, I only use this account for SU purposes. However, I don’t have any other ideas as to where to post this other than my own website I don’t have the time or mental wherewithal to create as of now, and I really don’t want it hanging around in my docs in the chance of being deleted. 
Basically, I made this due to the idea that MBTI tests you can find on the Internet tend to be clunky and long. Sure, they allow for variety, which allows for complexity in discerning your personality, but this also makes for what can be a frustratingly long experience. That being said, because of this test’s binary nature, it may not be completely accurate. However, it will make an attempt to distinguish both your general MBTI type and your specific composition of each of the four letters. As usual, let me know if you find anything wrong with the test.
Without further ado, let’s begin. For ease of taking the test, you can copy and paste, open a new post, and then bold what applies to you before reblogging it. Make sure to credit me. 
General (this is used to obtain your type. Because of the binary nature of types, you must pick the one that most closely applies to you).
It’s been a long, mind-numbing, draining day at work. Your friends call and ask you to join them for a night on the town, with them covering all the costs. What do you say?
A: “No, thank you!”. Then, you settle in for a nice night of watching movies, eating comfort food, and having a hot bath. (Introvert)
B: “Sure!”. You then have fun with your friends. (Extrovert)
Would you rather have a career in which you work with your...
A: Hands (Sensory)
or
B: Mind (iNtuitive)? 
Head or heart?
A: Head (Thinking)
B: Heart (Feeling)
Would you say that you’re quick to jump to conclusions (this includes if you’re prone to saying, “I don’t know all the information and can’t form a perfect conclusion from that, BUT here’s the conclusion I do have…”), or is it more natural to you not to form an opinion until you’ve examined every possible source? Be honest. 
A: The Former (Judging)
B: The Latter (Perceiving)
The capital letter at the beginning determines your type (except for iNtuitive). For example, if you picked B, B, B, A, then your letters would be E, N, F, and J (ENFJ). Go back through the test now, see what you picked, and write your letters down accordingly. 
Now, if you’d like a specific composition of how introverted and extroverted you are, then you need to take four more tests. (Don’t worry, it’ll still be shorter, and easier, than the vast majority of MBTI tests you find online.) 
The Introvert/Extrovert Composition Test:
Which would you prefer to do on the weekends with no prior plans?
A: Have a deep, personal, one-on-one day spent with your best friend
B: Have a fun, but not too personal, outing spent with a group of friends
Where are you more productive?
A: Someplace quiet
B: Someplace loud
How would you describe yourself in terms of your speech?
A: Reserved, taciturn, reticent
B: Outgoing, talkative, jovial
When you want a friendship, you..
A: Wait for someone to take the initiative for you, and then eagerly join that friendship
B: Take the initiative yourself
In general, which are you more prone to feeling in social situations?
A: Overwhelmed, overstimulated
B: Bored, understimulated
Where would you prefer to be?
A: In the background, where you can lie low
B: In the center of attention, where you can show off
How do you feel when talking to people you’ve never met before?
A: Awkward
B: Energized
You tend to get more joy out of...
A: Reading a book at home
B: Watching a movie at a movie theater
At work, you’re seen as someone who’s..
A: Timid and meek
B: Brash and perhaps seen by others as overbearing
Finally, in general, after social interaction, you feel...
A: Drained
B: Satisfied/wanting more
Obviously, if you chose A more often, you’re more introverted, and if you chose B more often, you’re more extroverted. But add the number of times you circle A and B. For example, if you, in that ENFJ example, circle A 3 times and B 7 times, then your introvert/extrovert composition would be 30% introverted, 70% extroverted. (Note: If you choose 5 and 5, don’t automatically assume you’re an ambivert. True ambiverts are in fact incredibly rare, and you’re better off going with what you chose on good ol’ question 10 to determine whether or not you’re an introvert or an extrovert. You just swing very slightly that way and may have ambiverted functions, that’s all. In addition, pure introverts and pure extroverts are incredibly rare, which means that if you circled 10 on either side, you’re probably closer to being 95-99% of one or the other instead of 100%. Bottom line: everyone has some introversion and some extroversion.)
The Sensory/iNtuition Composition Test
How well do you tend to remember events from your past?
A: Very well
B: Poorly
In general, do you focus on the here and now, or do you tend to get distracted by other timeframes?
A: Here and now
B: Other timeframes
Do you often dwell on the past?
A: No 
B: Yes
Do you often dwell on the future?
A: No
B: Yes
Which of the following beliefs best applies to you?
A: “I am who I am thanks to the past, and there’s nothing I can do to change it.”
B: “Who I am now is who I am now. The past doesn’t matter.”
Your romantic relationships with others are mostly driven by?
A: Your differences from the other person
B: Your similarities to the other person
What grades did you/are you getting in school?
A: Mostly C’s, D’s, F’s 
B: Mostly C’s, B’s, A’s 
Someone who is fundamentally incompetent in your field, but very high-ranking, and someone who is very low-ranking, but is shown to be fundamentally very competent in skills related to your field, are both making conversation with you, acting very condescending in the process. Which one would you kick out of the room first?
A: The low-ranking one
B: The one who is fundamentally incompetent in your field
Would you describe yourself as more results-oriented or more process-oriented?
A: Process-oriented
B: Results-oriented
Finally, would you describe yourself as someone who prefers to be more concrete or more abstract?
A: Concrete
B: Abstract
Again, if you chose A more often, you’re more sensory, and if you chose B more often, you’re more intuitive. But add the number of times you circle A and B. For example, if the ENFJ example chose A 1 time and B 9 times, then their sensory/intuitive composition would be 10/90. (Note: If you choose 5 and 5, you’re in the right for assuming that you’re an even split between the both of them… in fact, this is the most common even split in all of these tests, and, surprisingly, these won’t fundamentally affect your personality in any drastic way. You simply prefer to have a completely even balance of sensory input and intuition. In addition, pure sensors and pure intuitives are incredibly rare, which means that if you circled 10 on either side, you’re probably closer to being 95-99% of one or the other instead of 100%. Bottom line, just like in the introverted/extroverted test: everyone has some sensory and some intuitive preferences.)
The Thinking/Feeling Test. Possibly the easiest test you’ll take among these four. 
You have an unlikely dream you want to pursue, such as being a famous musician without any income to help get you off the ground. Do you pursue it?
A: No
B: Yes
Would you rather be in a relationship with someone who’s guaranteed to give you a financially stable existence or be in a relationship with someone that you’re completely, utterly, madly in love with?
A: The former
B: The latter
Your business is doing poorly, and one of your employees is in danger of being laid off. You have just enough money in your bank account to keep him afloat in your company, but that’s just about all the money that you have. What do you do?
A: Fire him. It’s the tough choice, but the choice you’ll have to make for the good of everyone involved, including the employee. 
B: Give him the money. It’s what he would’ve done for you, and there’s always ways to find more money through your family and friends.
Would you rather be alone forever or settle with a partner who is less than ideal for you?
A: Be alone forever
B: Settle for a partner who is less than ideal for me
Your friends invite you for a surprise trip across the country, visiting all of the places on everyone’s bucket list! However, this will require you taking 3-4 weeks off of work, as well as paying for all of your travel expenses, and perhaps some of your friends’, out of pocket. What do you do?
A: Decline the offer.
B: Accept the offer.
How do you react when you’re grieving?
A: I do my best to suppress my emotions and get myself and my family out of this crisis. I can go through my emotions later.
B: Go through my emotions as soon as I can. The sooner I do that, the sooner I can move on and help others move on as well.
Would you describe yourself as more liberal or conservative? (If you’re a centrist, just pick the closest one you lean to.)
A: Conservative
B: Liberal
Do you believe in soulmates?
A: No- there are over 4 billion adults on this planet. Statistically, there’s no way I can possibly meet them all, let alone whittle it down to the one person out of everyone who’s most ideal for me.
B: Yes, of course! Why else would someone choose to spend the rest of their lives with someone else?
It’s a Saturday night, you’re exhausted, and all you want to do is watch a movie. Which genre do you pick?
A: Something thought-provoking and based off of real events and concepts, such as a documentary or movies based on a true story.
B: Something unrealistic, but always sends you over the moon, such as a comedy or a romance. 
Finally, what would you say personally rules over you the most?
A: My head
B: My heart
Again, if you chose A more often, you’re more thinking, and if you chose B more often, you’re more feeling. But add the number of times you circle A and B. For example, if the ENFJ example chose A 5 times and B 5 times, then their thinking/feeling composition would be 50/50. (Note: If you choose 5 and 5, you’re in the right for assuming that you’re an even split between the both of them… in fact, this is the second most common even split in all of these tests, and, surprisingly, these won’t fundamentally affect your personality in any drastic way. You simply prefer to have a completely even balance of being ruled by logic and being ruled by your emotions. In addition, pure thinkers and pure feelers are incredibly rare and are more caricatures than anything, which means that if you circled 10 on either side, you’re probably closer to being 95-99% of one or the other instead of 100%. Bottom line, just like before- everyone is ruled to some capacity by logic, and to some capacity by their emotions.)
Finally, the Judging/Perceiving Composition Test.
You’ve just woken up in the morning, and you’re deciding what to do for the day. What are you most likely to do?
A: Make a to-do list
B: Just stay in tune with yourself and do whatever you’d like to do
You’ve just planned a trip to the East Coast, but a hurricane suddenly hits, as it often does, and all your plans for what you’re going to do for these next three days are ruined. How do you react to this?
A: With anger, constantly checking in to see if the hurricane will end, and making plans B, C, and D
B: In stride- hey, there was always a chance this could happen, and besides, this is a chance to stay in and play board games!
How do you approach work?
A: As work. Play can be saved for later.
B: As play- sometimes, I make it a game to see how quickly I can do tasks, see how many coffee breaks I can take without others noticing, or see what potential pranks i can lay on people. 
In terms of priorities, how do you approach work?
A: Work is always first-priority. That way, what I want to do can be saved for later without further interruptions.
B: Work is always as far back in the priority list as possible- I don’t want to be a killjoy. 
A new goal appears in front of you. How blind are you to things such as your immediate surroundings, new information, and the names and details of new people that come across you during this time?
A: Very
B: Not very much so; I can keep everything scoped in front of me
How do others tend to perceive you?
A: No-nonsense, structured, and rigid
B: Flexible, relaxed, and open for anything
Which of the following is closest to your work style?
A: In long-term efforts, with short breaks in between
B: In short bursts, with long breaks in between
An approaching deadline looms for one of your school assignments. What is your reaction?
A: Calm...I’ve done this assignment two weeks ago, and can now work ahead to work due later this month. 
B: Panic...I’ve only gotten this halfway done, and I only have a few hours to do the rest!
Do you tend to make decisions the moment they’re needed?
A: Yes
B: No- often, I’m so busy sorting through the given information that I miss it when it happens
Finally, do you see yourself as someone who quickly makes judgements on certain issues, or someone who takes care to view every side of the argument before voicing an opinion?
A: The former
B: The latter
Again, if you chose A more often, you’re more judging, and if you chose B more often, you’re more perceiving. But add the number of times you circle A and B. For example, if the ENFJ example chose A 7 times and B 3 times, then their judging/perceiving composition would be 70/30. (Note: If you choose 5 and 5, you’re in the right for assuming that you’re an even split  between the both of them… in fact, this is the third most common even split in all of these tests. However, this will end up changing your personality drastically, and may change most of your functioning style to the point where people sometimes see you as unpredictable or chaotic. In addition, pure judgers and pure perceivers are actually somewhat common. However, you should also take into consideration if that happens that if you circled 10 on either side, you’re still probably closer to being 95-99% of one or the other instead of 100%. Bottom line, just like before- everyone judges, and everyone perceives.)
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funkymbtifiction · 3 years
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Are intuitive extroverts less extroverted than sensor extroverts?
Hello!
First of all I would like to thank for the in-depth mbti analysis that you provide on this blog. I have read for 3 years now, I enjoy it very much!
I was thinking about the extroversion/introversion levels of the types and I was wondering if there was a difference between intuitive and sensor energy levels. If being a sensor means finding information in reality and extroversion gaining energy from the outside world, is it possible that the sensory/intuitive axis influences the extroversion/introversion axis?
So we would have from the most to the less extroverted: extrovert sensors -> extrovert intuitives -> introvert sensors -> introvert intuitives
Yes, but it also depends on the individual. I know an ENFJ who can't stand to be alone, she starts going crazy and desperately starts texting people just to feel connected. I know another ENFJ who is the opposite, who socializes for about five hours and is tired, then goes home and wants to be alone for the rest of the day. Then too, it depends on what activities we are talking about. Fe-doms get energized by people / connections / relationships, so they are more extroverted than ENP types, whose Ne swiftly gets drained by any interactions that don't require or stimulate Ne (create new ideas, perspectives, involve philosophical discussions, etc). N's need and want intellectual stimulation and without it, they soon tire -- because any social interaction, especially in a sensory environment, requires them to draw on their lower functions to socialize -- an ENFJ who can't be in Ni must use Fe/Se (tiring). An ENFP has to use Te to talk about things (tiring) or Si to be present in the moment (hard).
The type I identify with the most is ENFJ (ENFJ 2w1 so/sp, maybe 6 or 7 fix), previously self typed ENFP and I even have been typed as ESFP based on my behavior. I tend to live for my friends, family and social interactions (I fear solitude too) and I have usually a very busy life but I found myself needing time daydreaming and rest from social interactions. It came to a point where planning something caused me anxiety, but two days of daydreaming and chill with my roommates I'm right back on my feet. Hence my thoughts about the need of "in my head time" from intuitive extroverts.
To me, that sounds pretty extroverted, but needing "down time" in Ni is normal for an ENFJ. They like to recenter themselves after too much sensory stimulation (even so, "chill with my roommates" is still BEING AROUND PEOPLE, unlike an introvert who might disappear into their room for a week before they are ready to engage again).
Looking at myself, I am fairly introverted in terms of behavior. I can be around people for about four hours and then my energy burns out. I need to come home and recharge (by writing, reading, watching a movie, listening to music, or doing housework)... but after a couple of hours I am "recharged" and ready to socialize again, unless I really am super tired physically. I get super cranky if no one is around to chat with online, even though I live alone. Spending too much time alone puts me in a depressive state of mind, but I also don't want people all around me, talking to me, all the time. I have stuff I want to do, that requires me to focus on it, ALONE. (Someone once proposed we move in together so we could write books in the same room, and I was like HELL NO. I need an empty house to write, thanks.)
Introversion can be on a "sliding scale," but the difference is, after a few hours to recharge, the extrovert is ready and wants to engage again -- and the introvert is still recharging.
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random-esfp · 4 years
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FACING INTUITIVE BIAS AND MBTI STEREOTYPES: ESFP EDITION
Hello, some already know my blog since it attracted attention for being one of the few MBTI blogs run by a sensor, especially an ESFP. I have always claimed to be pretty different from ESFP stereotypes, though I enjoy MBTI stereotyped memes and shitty posts. But there is one thing I can’t cope with: ignorance towards our type. 
I am a strong Se (extraverted sensing) function defender, and I keep finding shallow and over stereotyped descriptions on how we use it and how do ESxPs portray and represent it. This originates a blurred vision of ESxPs in particular (all sensors are badly perceived in general) which affect us, especially because the most common believing among the MBIT community it’s that we are the dumbest.
First thing you have to learn about MBTI: IT CAN’T determine the IQ or cleverness of ANYBODY. 
Fine, with that being clear, let’s continue.
I have been posting little call outs and statements about ESFPs being wronged as other types when being perfectionistic and having leadership skills etcetera but I think the time has come for making an appropriate post of how a non-stereotypical ESFP can be. I know my case it’s not common, since I am an ambivert and that affects my behavior but I’ll try to be objective. 
Usually, ESFPs in fiction are portrayed as the flamboyant hero or the funny sidekick. Anyway, we are always seen as the bright, carefree, funny, attractive and badass characters, but in real life, we are more complex than that. 
HOW ARE HEALTHY AND NON-STEREOTYPICAL ESFPs IN REAL LIFE: 
Because of Dominant Se: 
The first thing you have to think regarding Extraverted Sensing is experience and engagement. Sure you have already heard about this but it doesn’t mean we crave every day to be high or to hit all the parties. Life is beyond physical pleasures. Even for us, who feel comfortable with sensorial stimuli the most because we need them to create our safe and accurate visión of the world around us. 
An ESFP will most likely say yes to everything. That’s, in part, because many of us are insecure and indulgent or pleasant with people. ESFPs can struggle a lot with assertiveness, swinging between being extremely obliging or aggressive-reactive (usually ESFP enneagram 2  o 3 are the first ones, while enneagram 6-7-8 are the last ones). But a     healthy ESFP will eventually address this tendency to “say yes because of  FOMO” (we have A LOT of FOMO) and will start seeking out what’s more convenient for them.
Se encourages us to live in the moment and take any opportunity or experience we can, but let’s remember we have another three functions. So a balanced ESFP knows when to engage with the flow and when to keep away from it. Of course, we are more willing to take risks but that doesn’t make us reckless in any way.
Instead, we use Se to manage our time and energy efficiently, and this is very important. You know how it is said that INxx types are the most likely to procrastinate while Te types are the ones who “get the shit done”? Well, ESFPs are somewhat in the middle. That’s because ESFPs are impatient. Our Se hurries us to take the task and finish it as soon as possible to engage with something else sooner than later. That’s also why it is said we “only care” about the present. It’s not that we don’t care about the rest. It’s that we are ENGAGED with the present.
ESFPs like to economize time. We’d rather lose money than time. Because time means experience. But we don’t concentrate that easily. Stimuli chase us and beg us to pay attention to them, not to the task. Still, we want to maximize that time, so manly this tension reflects on us as being very capable of working under pressure. When we are given little time to do something, we somewhat get more relaxed because that means maximizing time to the fullest. And THAT is also Se.
Of course, we are also all that beautiful descriptions we find over here: aesthetically selective and sensitive, very observant, can notice when the mood changes in a room, we are very sensitive to the lighting and the sounds etcetera. I’ll drop over here some Se posts very accurate and flattering because trust me, Se is not about jumping off a cliff or fly off from a bullet. That’s fiction (or you have mistaken us for ISTPs lol)
https://random-esfp.tumblr.com/post/140982329002/se-is-not-a-shallow-function
https://random-esfp.tumblr.com/post/141091312137/building-blocks-of-personality-type-extraverted
https://random-esfp.tumblr.com/post/142229288882/entj-girl-personalityplop-what-stereotypes
Because of Auxiliar Fi: 
Fi can be a very upsetting function especially when Dominant. We aren’t “that idealist bitch” but we usually have a full sense of what is wrong and what is right for us (well, that is literally Fi). This means we can be reactive and susceptible when feeling     attacked (and trust me, we DO feel attacked easily). We come across as social butterflies but being with insensitive or negative people can use up our energies. However, healthy ESFPs are usually more realists than optimistic rays of sunshine. Let’s not forget we are truly sensors, we crave for outer stimuli and although we can have our mystical believings, usually we trust what we see, touch and hear. What we can prove. The tangible. 
We are people-oriented so these observations lean mostly on those who surround us. Making us empathic and, somewhat, INTUITIVE. Yes! ESFPs are very intuitive when it comes to interpersonal     intelligence. In my group, I am the most likely to realize or notice when someone is a little more upset than usual, or when someone has changed anything on their image. 
We engage the moment, the action, and that includes voice tones and gestures of people, which we use to complete our vision of the world, make conclusions basing on those observations and take action on it as sociable beings. (Gosh this point it’s the most confusing. We can come across as ENFJs). 
INTERESTING REMARK: Why Se+Fi sometimes seems like Fe?
I have been struggling with this for months. I was so sure I use Se and Fi. I am individualistic and I don’t care if my opinions go against the crowd. I always say what I think. Sometimes I’m brutally honest. I don’t personally seek harmony. I’d rather be honest with myself. So… why do I sometimes feel extremely empathic to the point to think I am using Fe? 
I think it’s basically because of what I have said earlier. The vivid observation makes us both sensitive and intuitive about people’s emotions, moods, and thoughts. ESFP’s minds can be very quick analyzing external stimuli to get to a conclusion. Basically, that is Se, and when it gets in touch with our emotional patterns, we spot the change, we comprehend it, and then we decide how to act based on our mental outline. Sometimes we won’t feel anything for them; sometimes we will feel exactly as them, and THEN is when Se+Fi looks like Fe, but we are just empathizing with people. And Fe isn’t exactly that. Fe users are known for their empathy BUT they also project other people’s emotions, suffering with them even with no clue that people may be actually feeling that. This post (by an xxFJ type) explains if perfectly, it made me realize I have mistaken my empathy with Fe for so long.
Because of Tertiary Te
Healthy ESFPs are real pragmatists, down to Earth people. They are those who in a brainstorm may not participate the most but will show support and excitement for those ideas that seem feasible.     But with those who don’t… well. Let’s say we have already reached a decent assertiveness point… we’ll tell you when your thoughts or ideas are unviable, out of context or unnecessary. Sorry but that’s it. 
As I said,  we value time, we value DOING, not eternal thinking (Se again). So, why do I  have to waste 3 hours of my time discussing this fifteen surreal ideas for our project if we don’t have even put into action at least ONE of the plausible ones, Brenda??? (Brenda is ENxP sorry)
Oh, gosh, I REALLY love Se+Te healthily used. It’s!!! So!!!! Useful!!!
Let’s say it straight: we can be very efficient CEOs. I’m kinda into that at the moment actually. The difference between ENTJs and ESFPs (there are A LOT of differences but I mean in the CEO context since they share all 4 functions) is that ESFPs aren’t used to Te as primary function, and Se will always take the lead, so ESFPs may think less of the consequences of their decisions because they lack that Ni “vision”. Also they have a more “soft” leadership style that can lead them to stressful situations who may end up in loops or grips that aren’t funny at all.
Anyway. Realists. We put things into action. We are quick at decision making and enjoy dynamic jobs where we can train this trait. ESFPs may not have 100 ideas per minute but they will have 2 o 3 that actually are possible and they will just get the shit done. 
BONUS POINTS If they have overcome their insecurities and reached     assertiveness. 
Oh, does it seem like an ENTJ to you? We don’t have that “vision” because Ni is our frenemy, but what is real is that a healthy Te use, especially in mature stages of life, distance ESFPs from that     “dumb party animal look-who-just-broke-the-table-dancing to-Beyonce” type of persona and it makes them effective leaders. Real doers. (Without losing their flamboyant temperament!)
Because of Inferior Ni
I can only think about shitty Ni grips at the moment but I’ll try to be objective.
Healthy inferior functions. This is a very good post about it. It says that inferior Ni: “May display delusional and grandiose thinking” and “Can turn gloomy when life circumstances don’t go their way”. Well, yes, that’s me. That’s ESFPs. Inferior functions aren’t funny. And because of that, the not-so-funny side of ESFPs relays here.
ESFPs can be pretty gloomy even when healthy. As very emotional types, ESFPs project their dark thoughts about the future on Ni. As I said, they naturally engage with the moment and like to take action, but Ni is that subtle but insistent voice in their head that goes like: you should think about this… and that… and what are we gonna do about this thing? Where are you gonna live in ten years? Who are you gonna name your baby after? 
We refuse to think about the long term but when we are forced to do so because of #adulting ESFPs can take two ways:
Keep refusing thinking long term. Which can lead them to immaturity, dissociation of reality, avoidance and some other mental disorders.
Keep it serious and do it. We will complain about it. We will refuse to talk about what we haven’t made up yet, but we’ll try. 
A healthy ESFP who decides to confront Ni and try to use it becomes more focused, serious and driven. Of course, we will have our mental breakdowns because we aren’t comfortable with it, but that is part of life. 
ESFPs who are private about their lives, who are hesitant and reflective… are struggling with Ni. Because we know we need it. And it makes us feel uneasy because Ni requires depth and details and we prefer to improvise and get-by-doing. Ni also demands using all the time Se don’t wanna “waste”. But it’s not time wasted, it’s invested (although too dilated in time for us to appreciate it). However, when we see our goals reached we appreciate the effort we’ve made. 
TO SUM UP:
How are ESFPs usually defined: dumb, reckless, shallow, overly-sensitive, can’t think in detail, bubbly, too much sociable.
How are ESFPs non-stereotypically: observant, doers, quick-minded, leading to action, perfectionist, efficient.
Well, that was almost 2k words about ESFPs in depth. And I could say much more, but for now, I think it’s enough. 
I invite any underrated or extremely stereotyped MBTI type to do their Edition. Or to make some feedback. 
Hope this was useful and/or revealing for you. 
Thank you! 
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metamemory · 5 years
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What would the roles of each MBTI type have been when humanity as a species were still largely hunter-gatherers?
To lay down some groundwork for context before I begin:
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First of all, I suspect that the reason why SJs represent 40% of the population is because Si as a function lends itself to traditional and ‘safe’ behaviors. SJs don’t really want to venture too far outside of their comfort zone; the caution-seeking component of Si would much rather be safe than sorry. This type of built-in aversion to risk would have led to SJs being much more likely to survive long enough to propagate their genes, and pass on their Si tendencies (assuming that personality traits can, at least to some extent, be passed on genetically).
Likewise, the same logic that explains why high Si users (SJs) would have been more likely to survive environmental risks can also be used to explain why low Se users (NJs) are four of the rarest types. Se is the function that notices and responds to external sensory stimuli - like, for example, an angry tiger defending her young; and higher-order Se users (SPs) process and react to this input much more quickly than lower-order Se users (NJs) do. My younger brother and one of my best friends are both Se-doms (ESTP and ESFP, respectively), and in the time I can even begin stumbling my way through trying to figure out what’s going on around me, they’ve already managed to both process and respond to whatever it is that’s just happened. In humanity’s early world of survival based on the ability to adapt and respond to threats, it’s not hard to imagine how being cognitively less aware of your environment could put you at a disadvantage when it comes to avoiding danger. I suspect that a huge part of the reason why Ni-doms are so rare comes down to the fact that we just simply aren’t as efficient as other types are when it comes to being aware of life-threatening situations.
Contrary to NJs, SPs - who are high Se users - thrive in environments that necessitate a quick response. ‘High risk, high reward’ is the name of the game for Se; because the same adventurous spirit that helps them find new resources while they roam far and wide can also contribute to their downfall in the form of their compunction for diving head-first into novel - yet potentially dangerous - sensory experiences. This trait is helpful during times of scarcity, but it can also make them impulsive, and prone to placing themselves in harm’s way. Personally, I suspect this is the reason why ESTPs are the rarest sensor type - their foolhardy and devil may care attitude towards risk sees them placing themselves in harm’s way more than any other type.
I think the large disparity between thinking and feeling functions for men and women (75% of women are feelers, compared to only 45% of men - despite the fact that all other dichotomies (I/E, N/S, and P/J) are relatively even) can be explained by how they’ve adapted differently in response to selective pressures. Women have always had a greater incentive for learning and displaying pro-social behavior: getting along with other women (and members of your tribe in general) was imperative to early humans, who used to raise their children communally (a tendency which can still be observed in non-Western cultures even today). Women are also, and always have been, the primary caregivers when it comes to child-rearing - it isn’t hard to figure out why it would’ve been advantageous for them to have a more natural and inborn capacity for emotional intelligence when they essentially have to devote half of their entire existence to interpreting and responding to the needs of another person (especially when that person is a small child who depends upon you entirely for their survival, all while trying to learn how to human). The much greater female requirement for being empathetic, nurturing, and understanding is, I think, why 3 in 4 women are feelers. At the same time, if you bothered to take a look at the second chart that I posted above, you may have noticed that the type ratio for men is much more even than the type ratio for women. Yes, some types are more common than others (although I think that can mostly be explained by type-specific strengths and weaknesses), but it’s clearly much more evened out. Personally, I think this phenomenon can be explained by two different things: a) the fact that men (who are generally the “doers” of the human race) probably require a broader skillset in order to venture out in search of resources to bring home for the group, and b) because natural diversity in men likely increases their individual chances of finding a mate, since they won’t be competing with each other over women who all have a preference for the exact same type of men.
This is kind of a random and subjective (and mostly unfounded) observation, but based on distribution- and gender-related type statistics, it seems like the most “ideal” type to be (in terms of social and environmental survival) is ISFP. Most of the reason why I think this is because of how evenly balanced the type seems to be among both men and women - ISFPs represent about 7.6% of men, and 9.9% of women.
People seem to gravitate towards romantic partners who “complete” them, in the sense of having strengths in the areas where they’re weak. For some reason, though, there seems to be a different pattern here for sensors and iNtuitives: sensors tend to stick to dating within their Kiersey temperament cluster (ex. SJs date other SJs, and SPs date other SPs), whereas iNtuitives seem to cross the aisle between NTs and NFs more often than not. I’m not really sure why this is (outside of a post I wrote about the symbiosis between Ne users (NPs) and Ni users (NJs); here it is, if you want to read it), so it’s hard for me to speculate; but my Se-dom brother (ESTP) and closest female friend (ESFP) joke together all the time about how complementary our skill sets are, despite how dramatically different we are on the outside. I’ve also noticed the same thing when it comes to introversion and extroversion, and (tentatively) enneagram types as well - there seems to be a natural affinity there for being attracted to people who naturally complement our personalities.
I could be completely wrong about this (if interacting with other people online has given me the false impression that iNtuitives are more common in this day and age than they’ve been at any other point in human history), but it seems to me like the population (at least in Western countries) is starting to become more evenly proportionate in terms of the balance between sensors and iNtuitives. If this perception is correct, then this phenomenon may just come down to the fact that mankind has NEVER been as peaceful and prosperous as we are at this point in history. Our current quality of life as a species is completely unprecedented - medical, technological, social, and agricultural advances mean that more people are surviving into adulthood than ever before, and the types that would have been less likely to avoid the culling process of natural selection (i.e. iNtuitives in general) are now surviving much more easily in the modern world of comforts and conveniences. If I’m right about this, then the historical and biological tide may be shifting towards evolution favoring iNtuitives over sensors in future generations.
Cultural shifts traditional gender roles may also influence the type ratios between men and women.
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hearthhhh · 4 years
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Hi can I get a black butler matchup please. I’m Mai (she/her) - bisexual - ENTP. I’m a pretty laid-back person, I mostly hang out with introverts. I love watching movies (especially horror movies), musical theatre, and anime. I also listen to a lot of music, my favourites are Queen, David Bowie, and Lady Gaga. Finally, my fashion sense tends to be very chic. Thankyou! ^‿^
I pair you with...
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🥢 I feel like you'd get along with Agni! He's really chill and laid back, but to an extent. He's still able to be sociable and welcoming, and is overall is just a pleasant person to be around.
🥢 Agni is definitely a Sensory type considering Myers Brigs, and I find that these people matchup well with Intuitive (N) and Thinker (T) types, especially when those two types are together. I hope that made sense. But basically, people with this combination tend to be a little more difficult to read. Thinker types tend to be more reserved, and it's a little more difficult to read them. When this is paired with people who are Intuitive rather than Sensory, these individuals tend to be more indifferent, and for a lack of better words, daydreamy.
🥢 To try to put this a little more simply, Agni is able to read people really well. Even though you're an Extrovert, your other qualities make your feelings and thoughts more difficult to pinpoint. But the thing about Agni is that he specializes in reading people and finding their individual talents, and I think he'd be perfect for you.
🥢 It's a little difficult to say how you two would meet. Maybe you met while you were on your way to a theatre performance, and you'd got lost and asked people around you for directions.
🥢 Prince Soma is usually glued to Agni's hip, so it isn't hard to imagine they're both together when you approach Agni for directions.
🥢 Agni is quick to notice that you're more comfortable speaking to him than Soma. It isn't a very long conversation, maybe a couple sentences, but he quickly deduces you're more fond of introverts. He just has some sort of sixth sense, he's so good at reading people.
🥢 From your brief description I can imagine you stopping on the side of the street when you see a street performer who catches your eye. They're flamboyant and their vocals are pretty strong, and they're overall just unique.
🥢 This is when you see Agni a second time. Maybe on a grocery run for the Phantomhive manor early in the morning, that's the only time I can see him parting from Soma. He's a bit surprised to see you actually enjoying the performance, and he stands by you and talks briefly.
🥢 After that I can imagine you two meeting by that same street performer. They're pretty good, and they perform at relatively the same times throughout the week. You and Agni meet and speak while you listen to them belt out tunes, and conversation comes out naturally.
🥢 Agni's observant nature makes it easy for him to find similar interests. That awkward icebreaker stage is practically non-existent.
🥢 It'd take a really long time for Agni to fall for you. Or even realize his feelings. Again, his loyalty for Soma blinds him in the sense that he doesn't think any feeling can top his respect for his Prince. But then he gets to know you, and he can't believe he can admire two people so much. Sometimes he even thinks his feelings for you rival his respect for Soma.
🥢 After Prince Soma saved his life, I don't think Agni would ever openly seek a romance life or anything. So that's why he's a bit scared of the feelings he's starting to gain for you. Agni is completely aware of how he feels and can read himself just as easily as another.
🥢 I feel like Agni would express his concerns to Prince Soma, who's a bit confused with the situation but just wants Agni to be happy. He tells Agni to just go hang out with you, who cares? If you make him happy then go for it. If he wants a relationship, that's cool! Soma would be a supporter, as long as Agni's happy he is too.
🥢 Agni asking you out would be really cute, but also just a bit heart-wrenching.
🥢 He asks you out in front of that same street performer. Tears cloud his vision, and he's telling you this overly long speech he's planned. He tells you of his admiration for Prince Soma, which has now been overruled by his feelings for you. It's scary, and this is all unfamiliar and new, but he does really like you. You two get along really well, and he'd love to pursue a proper relationship with you. Agni definitely leaves room for a rejection, a mature one so that he'd be able to continue being your friend.
🥢 Overall being told a speech sounds a bit intimidating. But it's just like those casual conversations you've had in the past. Agni speaks to you like he's your second half, and it's so understanding and sweet. There's no guilt-tripping or anything, he praises you and gives you room to reject him, and overall Agni's just fucking great.
🥢 Do I even need to say that Agni would be the best boyfriend ever?
🥢 He cooks and brings you surprise dishes. He'd wake up early and make you breakfast. Surprise back rubs, the best buddy to rant to. You rarely have to tell Agni what's wrong or what you need. He's able to read you so well he's one step ahead of you. Agni can sometimes bring you things before you even know you need it.
🥢 It's not just a giving relationship. Agni likes talking heart to heart, and he doesn't like having any barriers between you two. It means a lot to him when you tell him secrets or how you feel, and it doesn't matter how observant he is or how well he knows you, words from the heart are the best present you could ever give Agni.
🥢 I can't really imagine Agni going on very expensive dates. I can imagine something more mundane, with him making you food and it's just a casual and really welcoming vibe. It's more intimate and a whole lot personal, and it's a lot different from going out in public. But in a good way.
🥢 He'd sing to you casually, humming while cuddling or absentmindedly while he's doing something. Agni only ever really does this when you're around, more so because he knows you like music rather than out of boredom.
🥢 He likes watching street performers with you! That one street performer would also become personal, and you two would probably end up befriending them.
🥢 But eventually, you guys move on to other street performers. You and Agni never find a singer who you get as emotionally attached to, but you still like trying to find talent that stands out.
🥢 I don't see Agni liking to do anything too formal. He's taken up being a servant of Prince Soma so naturally, I think he'd feel out of place. He'd have to ease into going to theatre performances, but he'd definitely enjoy them. Especially since you like them so much.
🥢 Anything you like comes naturally to Agni. It's not just because you like things, it's the happiness they bring you. Agni likes seeing you happy and by extension, likes anything that makes you happy.
I pair you with…
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🥢 "Madame Red" or better yet, Angelina, is a social extrovert. While she's frivolous and talkative in social situations, she's not the type to specifically seek out conversation. She lets it come to her and embraces everything openly.
🥢  I also feel like your aesthetics would match pretty well. Angelina’s a bit more extravagant, I feel like you two would still be really cute side by side.
🥢 ENTP's are people that embrace thinking and are very innovative. While you'd have a career that includes being unique and incorporates your individual thoughts, you'd also want something that exercises your mind and challenges you.
🥢 In this time period, medicine is still relatively new. While in our current time period I can't quite see you being a doctor; there'd be a lot of learning other people's methods and your thoughts would be constricted to think how others would. In the past you'd be paving your own road, and you'd be discovering new methods of medicine as you go.
🥢 Being a pediatric surgeon is difficult even in our day and time. The patients are always different sizes because they're still developing, and the smaller they are the more difficult it gets. But the size of the child varies, and it'd be really different compared to treating adults. I feel like you'd thrive in the unpredictability of the patients you're receiving, while also paving the road for pediatric medicine as you go. You're able to make the standards because there's very little to go by at that point.
🥢 Especially since you're a Thinker type, you're less likely to act on your feelings. Therefore, less likely to get attached to patients. It'd make the job a little bit easier.
🥢 But anyway, sorry for the ramble!
🥢 Being a pediatric surgeon would make it easy to meet Angelina!
🥢 I was looking into Angelina's job, and I couldn't really figure out what type of doctor she was exactly. She did abortions, but I looked into it and found out real doctors don't actually do abortions, and they're just called abortionists. Also, if I recall, weren't abortions illegal in the past?
🥢 Looking past all of that!
🥢 You'd both work at the same hospital, and you'd work together fairly closely. You do consultations together, and you're familiar with each other.
🥢 There'd have to be something that changes your colleague relationship.
🥢 Angelina is eventually widowed, and she takes a lot of time off of work.
🥢 She contacts you to deal with the rest of her patients. She's upset and can't think straight and she'd isolating herself really badly. She feels bad about the patients she's giving up on, and Angelina checks up with you occasionally through letters.
🥢 Then her sister, brother-in-law, and (supposedly) nephew die in a fucking fire.
🥢 Angelina is going through so much at once and she's overwhelmed with grief at this point.
🥢 It's easy to talk to you, though. As Angelina isolates herself, she finds you're the only person she can talk to. You don't see each other face to face while she mourns, and she needs someone to talk to so she can let off some steam.
🥢 Angelina doesn't tell you she's coming back to work, she's just there one day early in the morning, smiling as if she hadn't gone and disappeared for what felt like an eternity.
🥢 The exchange of letters brought you two closer. Angelina spends a lot of time with you, and your consults become less to the point and prolonged a bit unnecessarily, and you spend your meals together.
🥢 I can imagine Angelina being a fan of theatre too. She'd ask you to go with her after being at work for a bit. They're tickets she'd gotten from a friend, and as much as Angelina didn't want to go, they'd insisted.
🥢 So you two go and you two bond, and Angelina doesn't want to like you but she does.
🥢 Angelina's love life has been a disaster, and seeing you happy makes her heart throb in that familiar way she's hated so much.
🥢 Then Ciel is back. He's back with some intimidating butler, but God, Angelina's gotten something.
🥢 Ciel coming back makes Angelina surge with confidence. Something is finally going her way, she's finally met with a positive over her long length of failures.
🥢 Shortly after Angelina tells you about her feelings.
🥢 She's feeling great after seeing her nephew is alive, and while she's afraid to ruin her happiness, she doesn't want to lose the confidence she's feeling, so Angelina acts on impulse.
🥢 Angelina is surprisingly not too big about it all. She tells you she has feelings for you as if she's commenting on the weather. It's casual and she's trying not to make a big deal out of it all (although Angelina gets so attached way too easily, this confession means so much to her but she's terrified to show it). I don't even think she can make eye contact with you because she's too afraid of crying. The only way she visibly shows her nervousness is the way her hands wring her dress.
🥢 A relationship with Angelina certainly isn't like being with Agni.
🥢 Angelina is a lot more reserved in the romantic aspects of your relationship. While she doesn't necessarily distance herself from you, she's still just so afraid of losing you. Getting further in the relationship means getting even more attached, and she's just really afraid of commitment and the way it'll enhance her feelings for you.
🥢 She likes going on dates. Angelina loves trying out different restaurants, but I can also imagine her loving to watch shows with you! Musical performances, theatre, she's down for just about anything.
🥢 While Angelina isn't as affectionate, any affection from you makes her knees weak. She's a sucker for cuddles and flirting, and it stops her right in her tracks. She's really interested in the mushy aspects of romance and lives for words of praise, as much as she's afraid of it.
🥢 Angelina is absolutely crushed after losing everyone she's loved. So yeah, she isn't as affectionate with you, but that doesn't mean she doesn't love you! She tries her best to show it, but she's so terrified of losing you.
Alternate Matchup: Joanne Harcourt
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sirena-perdu-blog · 4 years
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Redirection
For humans (or any variant of sentient being), life is a long and contradicting experience: a learning process with many adjustable habits to take upon. Following specific cues can lead us to understand the next step when we receive new information or feeling. Specific cues can be bodily indications like when a feeling arises that tells one to leave a space or to write down thoughts. It can be really specific intuitive directions, like to be careful around a specific person, situation, or energy. Now, many people follow psychological and spiritual resources on social media platforms, where one can find information such as specific speech filters, self-reparenting tips, breathwork guides, etc.
Often people will act based upon auto-pilot behavior, which can result in undesired outcomes. It is often this way because there is a lessening of power and less sense of self-direction; and intention can create real results and action. In order to proceed, even if it is to feel pain or other emotions of devastation, it is better to ground oneself and do other inner redirections, to move forward. Forward can mean finding solutions. It does not mean there will not be moments of regression, or moments of feeling the same pain, or moments of re-thinking direction! Re-guiding oneself to the body, just means that there are more present, immediate responses available rather than numb or escapist tendencies.
Everyone will find specific maneuvers that work for them, in navigating emotional sensory information. First of all, breathwork is something that anyone can often do in order to redirect the body, to understand the most essential human mechanism that occurs on a reoccurring rhythmic scale within many beings. Meditation uses this technique for a reason! When listening to meditation often one will hear “listen to your breath... feel it in your solar plexus... feel the rise of your chest and stomach, and notice the space in between the inhale and the exhale... exhale, and notice the stomach leaning down.” This helps because it is basically indicating any person to see the body and how it functions, in its' cyclic majesty. The body keeps many humans alive and provides energy and oxygen circulation. It can help to even visualize specific intentions or qualities within the breath: often in meditation, a silver light of energy is used – the breath of inhalation, can be used in synchronization with an image of silver-colored energy that enters the human through the top of the head and keeps traveling down to the toes, which release unwanted feelings or energies upon exhaling.
This is just an example, but it helps ground the soul, mind, and body together into the same place, as emotions can take us far onto journeys that start on slippery slopes.
One can take these techniques and use them in other situations, frequently and abundantly, as breathing is a frequent and abundant gift.
Another technique used by the writer is, simply changing spaces. As the mind wanders and often follows some yellow stepping stones onto red water, it is better to move and physically disperse the energy. Often, it helps to leave a room, leave a person who has caused you emotional distress (it is something to do in order to prevent unwanted emotional turmoil: it can be enough to calmly announce, “I must leave, and later we can speak when I feel ready.” To some, it may selfish or escapist, but sometimes, following one's intuition means leaving a specific space and situation in order to process information and emotion. And of course, it can help to also think of how the other person feels, which sometimes on the whim with much energy brewing with emotional heat, can be hard to even imagine. But sometimes, it is necessary to stay and talk even with that energy because some creative solutions can be found in the midst of the arguing/discussion. It can come in the form of even just listening to the other person and taking a deep breath.
There is also movement that can help, which goes with bodily movements that accompany energetic intentions. There are many different systems of energetic movements that can fit everyone differently, but there can also be ones created on the spot. An example can be, in the midst of starting an energetic drain, taking the right hand and chopping the thought and stopping the chain. Literally, picking up the right hand and slicing it down and cutting the chain of thought. There are so many resources online that can direct different types of needs and mental personalities. It takes work and trial and error, but it is worth it as life is a long, budding seed with many seasons.
Combining all of these behaviors and resources can help daily and beyond daily goals, such as combatting laziness or learned helplessness. It can be helped even with goal journals or other methods of self-visualization.
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