Reflections on a description of the INFP

Came across this description of the INFP not too long ago - on Wikipedia, of course - and found it interestingly familiar/accurate. (Before we go any further, if you're not familiar with the MBTI [Myers-Briggs Type Indicator], do yourself a favour and acquaint yourself. Here.) Thr full description is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INFP I thought I might comment on a few of the points that it makes, and how they relate - or don't - to me. I've gotten INFP on the MBTI for the past while now.

INFP (introversion, intuition, feeling, perception) is an abbreviation used in the publications of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to refer to one of sixteen personality types. INFPs are one of the rarer types, accounting for about 4-5% of the population.

Just some background for you. Yay for being the minority! I think it's nearly the rarest.

I – Introversion preferred to extraversion: INFPs tend to be quiet and reserved. They generally prefer interacting with a few close friends rather than a wide circle of acquaintances, and they expend energy in social situations (whereas extraverts gain energy).

Quiet and reserved: check. (Though I can be pretty radical if I want to be. Queue link to me wearing a clown costume/lycra/gorilla suit.) Few close friends: check. (Though I do have a lot of people I call friends, but I prefer hanging out with a few rather than lots.) Expending energy in social situations: hasn't happened too often, but yes it has happened. I certainly don't gain energy.

N – Intuition preferred to sensing: INFPs tend to be more abstract than concrete. They focus their attention on the big picture rather than the details, and on future possibilities rather than immediate realities.

Abstract rather than concrete: hence why I like metaphors and stories a lot. Big picture rather than details: I often have problems with remembering the details, though I can sometimes be a perfectionist. Not too often. Future possibilities vs immediate realities: heck yes. I'll spend all my time daydreaming about some far-flung story in the future, and miss what's happening in front of my face. Not really meaning something specific there, just a general trend.

F – Feeling preferred to thinking: INFPs tend to value personal considerations above objective criteria. When making decisions, they often give more weight to social implications than to logic.

Personal considerations above objective criteria: aye. Though, as I've mentioned in other posts, I do have part of me that rather likes the objective/logic side of things, and will argue that until it is blue in the face. Social implications vs logic: similarly.

P – Perception preferred to judgment: INFPs tend to withhold judgment and delay important decisions, preferring to "keep their options open" should circumstances change.

Ha. Er, yes. Short answer there.

According to Myers-Briggs, INFPs focus much of their energy on an inner world dominated by intense feeling and deeply held ethics. They seek an external life that is in keeping with these values. Loyal to the people and causes important to them, INFPs can quickly spot opportunities to implement their ideals. They are curious to understand those around them, and so are accepting and flexible except when their values are threatened.

Intense feeling and deeply held ethics: yes. I might seem a bit apathetic/shrugging off/nonchalant at times - but trust me, I'm not. That's a face I present, to some extent. If I reacted how I would like to to everything - I would effectively be an instant quivering heap on the ground. But part of my brain doesn't let me respond like that, so I don't. There are times when I will, but I generally don't break down. Seeking an external life in keeping with these values: yes. Hence why I won't work at Maccas or similar, why I had an issue with monetising my Youtube, etc. Loyal: yes. But you have to get me first. Curious to understand others: heck yes. Curiosity is one of the bigger things I have. Accepting and flexible: more than most I know. Except when their values are threatened: and there's little many can do to really threaten them.

The polite, reserved exterior of INFPs can at first make them difficult to get to know. They enjoy conversation, however, taking particular delight in the unusual. When INFPs are in a sociable mood, their humor and charm shine through. Disposed to like people and to avoid conflict, INFPs tend to make pleasant company.

Polite, reserved exterior, therefore difficult to get to know: can certainly be the case. I don't generally just tell people things about myself, you have to ask. Sometimes quite specifically, which can be difficult when you don't know what to ask about. Enjoy conversation, esp. unusual: most certainly. I delight in an interesting conversation - not small talk. Humour and charm shine through: I would hope so, but I can't really comment on that. Disposed to like people and avoid conflict: definitely. I will call everyone a friend that I meet. A few I call acquaintances, but most I will call friends, even if we've just met. Pleasant company: again, I hope so.

Devoted to those in their inner circle, INFPs guard the emotional well-being of others, consoling those in distress. Guided by their desire for harmony, INFPs prefer to be flexible unless their ethics are violated. Then, they become passionate advocates for their beliefs. They are often able to sway the opinions of others through tact, diplomacy, and an ability to see varying sides of an issue.

Devoted to the inner circle: certainly. Good luck guessing who they are, however. Consoling: I try, at least. I don't get many opportunities to do so, but hopefully where I have, it's helped somewhat. Desire for harmony: always. Passionate advocates for beliefs: well, in my head. I tend to be fairly backward in coming forward in practicality. Able to sway opinions through various means: I would hope so; I think I can usually at least help people to see a point differently.

INFPs develop these insights through reflection, and they require substantial time alone to ponder and process new information. While they can be quite patient with complex material, they are generally bored by routine. Though not always organized, INFPs are meticulous about things they value. Perfectionists, they may have trouble completing a task because it cannot meet their high standards. They may even go back to a completed project after the deadline so they can improve it.

Developing insights through reflection: I sometimes remark to myself that my rear-view mirror is 20/20, while my windscreen is ridiculously fogged. Substantial time alone to ponder/process: not really something I do consciously that much. Generally I reach a conclusion pretty quickly. If not, I usually don't reach one through thinking it out consciously. Bored by routine, patient with complex material: ha. Bit of a problem here. My mind hates routine, but I can't function properly without it, and I can never get into it. :P Not organised: er, yeah. Meticulous about valued things: certainly. Perfectionists, trouble completing tasks: certainly in my writing, it's a difficulty I've had.

INFPs are creative types and often have a gift for language. As introverts, they may prefer to express themselves through writing. Their dominant Feeling drives their desire to communicate, while their auxiliary intuition supplies the imagination. Having a talent for symbolism, they enjoy metaphors and similes. They continually seek new ideas and adapt well to change. They prefer working in an environment that values these gifts and allows them to make a positive difference in the world, according to their personal beliefs.

Gift for language: haven't had much opportunity to find out, but I've seemed to do pretty well with what I have done. Prefer to express through writing: hmmm. Sort of. I want to talk to people, but I'm bad at it. So instead of being chatty in real life, I'm chatty on the page/web/etc. Desire to communicate: yep. So much. Supplied imagination: You have no idea. Talent for symbolism: oh yes. Semiotics is a particular interest of mine. Seek new ideas/adapt to change: on one level, yes; though I've often found I like sitting in the now a bit. Prefer working in an environment that works with this: heck yes. Hence why I'm picky :P

That's most of it. There's more in the original, but most of it is already here. Hope that's interesting/revealing/thought-provoking/etc. Might give people a bit of insight into me.

An argument against an exclusively functional relationship.

Note before I start: I'm not arguing that a functional relationship is bad. I'm arguing that if that's all it is, it might be missing something. Just to clarify.

There's a bit of an idea in some circles of the 'functional' type of marriage. Think arranged marriage, but in a good way. There are statistics and such that suggest that arranged marriages, and this sort of 'functional' marriage (which I'll expand on momentarily) often results in lower divorce rates and the like. Which is fantastic, of course, not arguing one bit against that.

Now, to those who aren't really savvy to the idea of a functional relationship, it's basically the more old-fashioned style of things. The relationship didn't start off with romance. It started off with, they were a nice person, honest, tidy, etc. Romance barely even came into it. That's what the functional relationship is. And there are certainly advantages - as the low divorce rate testifies.

In some cases, this can also extend to the attitude on sex - that is, that it is purely for the purpose of procreation. That's all it was meant for, and that's all it's supposed to be. Maybe enjoy it a bit while you're doing it, but the point is the procreation.
I would myself argue that sex can have either purpose - either of procreation or of enjoyment, and not necessarily exclusively one or the other. To exclude the idea of enjoying sex is ignoring the nature of what it is; to exclude procreation - well, there can be specific reasons for this, but to have children is an amazing blessing, and not one to be pushed aside.

However, I would also ponder that it could use a little of the romance sort of thing. Especially in the world of today, a purely functional relationship is going to come under fire; if you don't have those sort of feelings for the other person, then you're going to start having feelings for other people, and start getting a bit torn. It might not happen, but the world of today certainly provides a very fertile soil for it.

As well as this, I would speculate that the best of love is that which loves someone despite their weaknesses, bringing in that agape love that God is so well known for. If it's purely functional love, that might not be there. Admittedly, if it's purely romantic, it may not be either. You need a combination of the philia, agape and eros loves that are described to have a full, deep and rich relationship. It's not just about the romance; it's not just about serving a purpose; it's about putting each other above themselves, loving unconditionally, with a mind of sacrificial service.

Acting and schtuff.

So, had another rehearsal at this acting thing yesterday. (9 - 5, as well, so nice and long!) And it is really coming along now :D I don't want to say too much, because then would be giving stuff away - but the duck. That's all I'm saying. The duck. ;)
And we also had a nice cream cake splatter, which is always amusing.

Unfortunately, we've also got one of our actors who was in hospital yesterday having surgery done. So hopefully they'll be up and better soon. And we had someone else who had sprained their ankle, but it didn't seem to worry them too much.

So, yes. It's getting a bit more exciting. And a lot closer...

Pain and Torture.

There seem to be a lot of people about the place that enjoy, in some way or another, either inflicting pain, or seeing other people in pain, getting others to inflict pain....people seem to like pain. It's one of the reasons that Funniest Home Videos is so successful. And many of these people wouldn't call themselves sadistic. It's just...expected, almost. Laughing at other people's hurts and pains.

And even more extreme, when you look at things like war. You get different sorts of people, in a war - people that are there because they have to be, and those that are there because they choose to be, they want to be. The former just kill people quickly. The latter cause people pain, torture people, hurt people. Waterboarding is a technique that has come under scrutiny before, unsurprisingly. I'm not sure what the last word on that was, or even if there can be a last word with that sort of thing.

But with all these sort of things - it's wrong. It's just wrong. It doesn't matter what they, their family, their friends, country, whatever, have done to you/your family/friends/country, it doesn't mean that you hurt them back. An eye for an eye, or fighting fire with fire, will just leave everyone burning and blind. It's not a good world to live in. Don't cause other people pain. There is only one instance in when people can - and that is when, in doing so, they are preventing a greater pain from being done. But even then, they do so with the least pain they can. None at all, if possible. Pain is not a weapon we were meant to wield.

But the thing is, of course, there's not just physical pain and torture. There is emotional. Spiritual. Mental. Social. And I'm sure there are others as well. And many people are masters at causing these sorts of pain, sometimes more so than the physical. And these are just as bad, sometimes worse. Usually, you can see a bruise, a scar, a gash. You might not be able to see when someone is hurting emotionally, or mentally.

But the same principle applies here. Don't cause other people pain. Any sort of pain. Love people, don't hate them. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. And this, my friends, is the path to the dark side, that shadowy place. That's beyond our borders. You must never go there, Simba. ;)

Keep On Laughing.

The slight disadvantage to Google + next few posts.

Something I found out today. A couple of times before, I've mentioned an acting thing that I was in, and I wrote the name of it down. Which meant that it popped up on Google, which wasn't so good. And I didn't even realise that would happen....

Makes me realise I need to be a bit more careful about names and such, so people can't just use Google-fu and find it. Most of the time, it shouldn't be a problem, but this time it was a bit awkward. As such, for the moment, while it's going, I've removed those posts. I think Google will still show them, but it should come up with the link not working or something, so that's all good.

Also, thought I'd just list my next few posts here so that I don't forget them:
As mentioned, Pain and Torture;
Reflections on a description of the INFP;
An argument against a purely functional relationship;
P versus J.

A quickie.

Just a quick one this time, next one will be longer.

So, the previous week, I was away at Mid-Year Conference. It was pretty cool, and if I can manage to collect my thoughts at some point, I'll probably do a post or two on some points on it. Yep.

Also, sorry for the absence of posts recently. I've been quite...lax with them, I guess. Hopefully, I'll be getting posts up slightly more frequently in future.

This acting thing is continuing to be slightly amusing. They're asking me to react, be real and not act it....when I have nothing to react to, it's anything but real for me, so I have to act it. Yeah. :P It's certainly getting better, though. I'm a bit worried that we won't quite make it, however. I think it'll be decent. But I think we'll look like a young school drama group or something, rather than a proper production. And I remember the last school drama thing I was in.....that is, the drama night, not the last school drama production. The production was good. What we did at the drama night left something to be desired.

I managed to get all the tutes I wanted for this coming semester, thanks to my amazing ninja skills. True story, bro. Should be interesting.

And I've started looking for a job of some description. That's markedly better than my current one. To clarify; my current job is a good job. Not a great job, but a good job, in a good place. I'm just not good for it. So hoping to get one that I'm actually good for.

Think that's about it. Next post I'm planning is on the topic of torture and pain. We'll see how that goes.

On opportunity.

I'm a bit of a weird sort of person. Anyone can tell you that, pretty much. But I'm also a bit of a smart person. Also a commonly known attribute of mine.
The thing that I find annoying is this: I could be Einstein, and without getting some sort of experience or degree, my job choice could well be limited to choice of fast food or retail outlet to work at.

Sure, you will get some who catch a "lucky break", as such. You'll get people that have amazing stories about being hired from a bus stop.
But they're the minority. Almost every job you'll ever go for will require either previous experience in an almost identical job, or half a dozen qualifications.

And that annoys me, honestly. Because I know that for me, personally, I could do amazingly well at some jobs. I mean, to some degree, I don't know, because I've never done them. But I find it annoying that you can't go straight into a decent job without having experience, if you've got the skills and brain for it.

Suppose I'd like an opportunity, really. An opportunity to prove what I can do. Because I know that I can do well. But without having an opportunity to show that, it's a bit hard to see.

On being a hypocritical, non-Bible reading idiot...

There was a post on Facebook today made by a friend of mine, listing some of the things that the Bible bans which aren't really thought of today. I've put the list, complete with verses, just below.


Shaving - "Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard." Leviticus 19:27
Cursing - "Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving." Ephesians 5:4
Gossip - "Do not go about spreading slander among your people." Leviticus 19:16

Football on Saturdays - "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy." Exodus 20:8 (The Jewish Sabbath is Saturday; and it basically says you can't do any work, in which sport would be included.)
Eating lobster - "But all the creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales....you must not eat their meat and you must detest their carcasses." Leviticus 11:10
Eating pork - "And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you." Leviticus 11:7
Cotton/polyester blends - "Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material." Leviticus 19:19
Associating with women during their period - "When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening. Anything she lies on during her period will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean." Leviticus 15:19-20


Now, this proceeded to get remarked on by a friend of his. They said that most Christians probably don't even read the Bible (properly), and that 99% of dumb people are Christians (though they did say that not all Christians were dumb, so that's something). I believe the phrase "mindless idiots" was mentioned.

Of course, the thing is, there are elements of truth here. You do get Christians that are....a bit thick, and don't really get it. They probably don't know that much of the Bible, and - chances are - think they just need to be a "good person". Thankfully, that's a minority. At least, all of those put together is. A lot of the Christians that I know are very smart, know their Bibles pretty darn well, and get the whys and the hows.

Now, as you may have noticed, most of the references above are from the Old Testament. And some Christians will essentially say, well, Jesus died so we didn't have to do the Old Testament stuff. And yet, he says: "I have not come to abolish the law, but fulfill it." That often confuses people.

As you may have noticed, most of the references are from Leviticus. Leviticus is a book of the Bible that is essentially God telling Moses a whole list of laws, decrees, guidelines, and ways to do things. For the Israelites.

Does this mean that we can just ignore them? Well, no. Sure, there are some rules there that are very specifically for the Israelites and their situation - for example, what the priests should do - but there are some that can be useful for us as well. Respect your parents; leave some food for the poor and refugees; don't steal, lie or deceive people; don't be mean to deaf or blind people - I mean, some of these rules are part and parcel of the ideal today. As for the two that aren't in Leviticus - namely, cursing and...er....football - the latter is simply the Sabbath. There are a few different ideas about how the Sabbath works post-Jesus; but essentially, the idea of Sabbath is a day of rest, and Jesus brought a partial rest, to be completed when we go to heaven. The former, cursing, is from Ephesians, and the words of Paul. Within the same passage, he also says that there should be no sexual immorality or greed, and anyone who does any of these things has no inheritance in the kingdom of God.

Now, I can tell you right now, there would have been people in the church with those problems. Struggling with these things, trying to get better, striving for that goal. Because that's what they are. A goal to aim for. Paul knew that; he says that nobody is perfect. We are all human. If even just these three criteria were used to decide who would go to be with God, the number would be very small.

I did actually do a post on swearing/cursing a while back, when I tackled some similar issues every now and then. If you want to have a look, it's here: http://modnarama.blogspot.com.au/2011/01/myths-of-biblical-proportion.html

So yeah. Essentially, we're not (all) idiots, we do actually know our Bibles (mostly), and we attempt not to be hypocrites (usually).