
| 5iiiii | Jan 20, 2007 7:58am | I wanted to write here some pro and contras being a INFP, but I have too many thoughts and its not easy to express them in written word, but the quintessence is easy: It sucks to be a INFP (don't take it too serious) ;-)
What do you like about being a INFP and what not? |
|
| 
| starlow3 | Jan 20, 2007 7:53pm | | I really don't like the fact that I can't talk to people or deal with people in the "real world". My social skills are forced at best. Deep down, I think I despise people. I don't know how much of that has to do with being INFP, I know being an introvert has something to do with it though. |
|
| 
| Cavale | Jan 20, 2007 8:07pm | I like being INFP as I truly enjoy being "weird."
But I know what you mean about forced social skills. Sometimes when I'm talking to people, it's like the words are coming out of their mouth and being beamed up to space where it's re-interpreted by alien life forms, then beamed back down into a ping-pong machine before it's sent flying out and into my ears. It's like... we're just not speaking the same language and they'll just look at me like they've just asked the simplest question in the world and I'm just completely at a loss. I have no idea what they want from me. |
|
|  Sponsor | Entranced | Jan 20, 2007 8:11pm | 3~ I can't believe you said that! That is exactly it!
I do my best not to engage in too much conversation.
I tend to trust too easily. Working on that one. |
|
| 
| pinkfloyd85 | Jan 21, 2007 4:35am | It bothered me once that I could not retain longlasting and/or deep friendships/relationships with others, but now I just don't care. It's probably because people tend to talk about trivia, and get scared off easily when you start discussing deeper stuff.
Being INFP is like having 0 blood type = able to give to (understand) others, able to receive (be understtod by) a select few...
We understand the needs of extroverts and extroverts... well they just don't give a damn in general ;] |
|
|  Sponsor | rumisong | Jan 21, 2007 6:36am | theres an SU group called HSP, I dont know if you all are aware of ... this group may find some camaraderie in your company ...
as for me, I dont think "sensitivity" is the domain of the Introvert exclusively ... I swing between I and E, but I think (???) I default to E ... the strange thing is, I feel like a 2 year old at times, in that, what ever you put me in front of, that is what I will engage in, and happily so, in a hyper-focused kind of way ... this extends to the E/I dynamic too ... if Im put into a 'social' arena, Im totally "E", and do very well there ... as an ENFP, I need the recharge though ... if I get "caught" in too much recharge, I will completely forget there is anything 'outside' and this can run for years ... so for years, I will be an INFP - the past two years now in fact ... these past two months, Ive been out of the house for groceries, and nothing else ... and dread needing to change this routine, and return to the work world soon ... but I know I can make the shift - just dont want too now ...
as for the label 'HSP' - at times I feel too sensitive, for all that sensitivity ... it seems like things can get mixed up in such discussions, between what is the I/E dynamic, and what is sensitivity ... and between what is feeling different in this world, and what is sensitivity ... I find I still look out for what is sensitivity ...
a question I have for the group here, do you suppose this E/INFP personality, is the exception to the rule "opposites attract"? ... I find that I really do need to be around someone like me, and not someone from the opposite end of these spectra ... I would rather be alone, than to have to deal with a xxTJ stance ... (I have heavily weighted xNxP scores) |
|
| 
| pinkfloyd85 | Jan 21, 2007 6:57am | | heh I have similar experiences. I haven't got problems with communicating with other people on a daily basis, (except those pesky long term relationships :P) the only thing is... I despise it most of the time :D The funny part with me is that sometimes I seek loneliness within a crowd. I sit on a park bench or at a dimly lit cafe and just watch other people. This 'detached observer' mode gives me both: the E and I charge I need... So I guess I is stronger within me, yet sometimes I do like to get out of hiding for a while. Being INFP gives me the ability of silent observation without the need to be jabbering off about it simultaneously, which is kinda cool(, wouldn't you say?)... ;] |
|
|  Sponsor | rumisong | Jan 21, 2007 7:13am | "kinda cool(, wouldn't you say?"
wouldnt know ;) hehe
actually, the truth is, I dont know ... Im not sure if I talk more or less than others these days ... this is a fascinating thing to consider ... when I was younger, I was told I did, but Id be damned if I could agree/know/be-aware of that - guess thats still true ...
this reminds me a bit of when people call me a "pessimist" ... at first, I sort of took offense, defending that I wasnt at all ...
now, I see something that is true, and that extends into many other ways of looking at things ... that is this:
in order to look pessimistically at anything ... one needs an ocean of optimism underneath that looking ...
the folks who were saying that to me, just werent looking underneath, is all ...
the same may apply here, to what we are calling the I/E dynamic ... |
|
|  Sponsor | Entranced | Jan 21, 2007 8:58am | 7~"I seek loneliness within a crowd"
I can very much relate to this. I used to go to huge clubs in my 20s and find the most remote area to sit and take in all that was going on. One of them was a grand ballroom with an ornate furnished ladies waiting room. It had massive velvet sofas and gilt mirrors. I sometimes even brought a book. When a song came on that I liked I would run out, have my dance and seek solace again in the dark corners of these places. My friends never questioned why I was so. |
|
|  Sponsor | pixiequix | Jan 22, 2007 12:59am | I really like this particular paragraph from the Keirsy INFP profile, I feel it highlights some of the darker aspects of having this type of personality very well...
"INFPs seek unity in their lives, unity of body and mind, emotions and intellect. They often have a subtle tragic motif running through their lives, but others seldom detect this inner minor key. The deep commitment of INFPs to the positive and the good causes them to be alert to the negative and the evil, which can take the form of a fascination with the profane. Thus INFPs may live a paradox, drawn toward purity and unity but looking over the shoulder toward the sullied and desecrated. When INFPs believe that they have yielded to an impure temptation, they may be given to acts of self-sacrifice in atonement. The atonement, however, is within the INFP, who does not feel compelled to make public the issue." |
| |
| |