Might INFPs be the most indecisive type?
I know that as an introverted feeler, my inferior function is extroverted thinking, which is central to deciding things, implementing them, and in general, being in active, effective person.
These days I find myself about to make a major life decision and it isn't easy to know what is right, and how things will turn out. I find myself quite naturally sinking into myself and looking for a value I can stand by, something that can invigorate me to tolerate any of the anxieties and difficulties on whichever path I choose, but such a value is hard to come by.
Often, when the difficulties of one path become clear to me, I tend to be overwhelmed by those and forget the advantages of that path, or the difficulties of the other path. Life sometimes feels like Edvard Munch's painting - the Scream.
I know that whatever I decide, I am going to survive - even if sometimes it feels otherwise - and have a richer life as a result of the decisions I made.
I know that my friends - an INFJ, an ESFP, two ESFJs, an ESTP, an ENFP - these would have an easier time deciding, especially the ESFJs and the ESTP. They would just pick one option and stick to it, and if it goes wrong, they would mend it if they can. Else, they would just live with it and work on coming to terms with the regret.
I get some inspiration from Existentialist writings - Paul Tillich, Rollo May, Martin Buber, etc. The anxiety of making a decision reminds one of the absurdity of your situation, where one decision could set off the trajectory of your life on two entirely different paths. It is not just absurd, it also reminds one of the fragility of one's life, if it can be propelled into such different directions by a mere decision - a decision that is controlled by economic, social, and unconscious psychological forces that you do not have much control over. The very fragility of my life gives me the impetus to affirm my being. By reminding me of how close non-being is, it impels me to assert my being, in whatever decision I make. I particularly like Rollo May's definition of anxiety - 'anxiety is the experience of being asserting itself against the threat of non-being'.
My therapist thinks of this as mere intellectualization meant to ward off my true feelings, but I don't think it is.
Are other INFPs so indecisive? What helps you make a decision?
I know that as an introverted feeler, my inferior function is extroverted thinking, which is central to deciding things, implementing them, and in general, being in active, effective person.
These days I find myself about to make a major life decision and it isn't easy to know what is right, and how things will turn out. I find myself quite naturally sinking into myself and looking for a value I can stand by, something that can invigorate me to tolerate any of the anxieties and difficulties on whichever path I choose, but such a value is hard to come by.
Often, when the difficulties of one path become clear to me, I tend to be overwhelmed by those and forget the advantages of that path, or the difficulties of the other path. Life sometimes feels like Edvard Munch's painting - the Scream.
I know that whatever I decide, I am going to survive - even if sometimes it feels otherwise - and have a richer life as a result of the decisions I made.
I know that my friends - an INFJ, an ESFP, two ESFJs, an ESTP, an ENFP - these would have an easier time deciding, especially the ESFJs and the ESTP. They would just pick one option and stick to it, and if it goes wrong, they would mend it if they can. Else, they would just live with it and work on coming to terms with the regret.
I get some inspiration from Existentialist writings - Paul Tillich, Rollo May, Martin Buber, etc. The anxiety of making a decision reminds one of the absurdity of your situation, where one decision could set off the trajectory of your life on two entirely different paths. It is not just absurd, it also reminds one of the fragility of one's life, if it can be propelled into such different directions by a mere decision - a decision that is controlled by economic, social, and unconscious psychological forces that you do not have much control over. The very fragility of my life gives me the impetus to affirm my being. By reminding me of how close non-being is, it impels me to assert my being, in whatever decision I make. I particularly like Rollo May's definition of anxiety - 'anxiety is the experience of being asserting itself against the threat of non-being'.
My therapist thinks of this as mere intellectualization meant to ward off my true feelings, but I don't think it is.
Are other INFPs so indecisive? What helps you make a decision?