[flyfisherman]

I've considered myself an INTJ for a while but now, I've come to the realization that INFJ is the more appropriate type. (ENFP helped me out of my shell, she helped me come to an epiphany of sorts)

My military experience may have caused a suppression of emotions and forced me into making logical rational decisions (I was a nuclear mechanic on a submarine).

My gut feeling on all this is that I'm an INFJ but I was wondering if this forum would ask me some important INFJ questions.

Thanks all

 

[Raain]

Do you think you are more of a 'dreamer' 'protector' type than 'intellectual' 'scientist' type?

That's all I really go on, apart from having never tested INTJ. I am more INFJ because I am more 'dreamer' or NF orientated than I am 'intellectual' and 'scientist' orientated, although I still have an intellectual and scientist side. I don't see why INTJ's can't have a 'dreamer' or 'idealist' side though and I don't think INFJ's are any more friendly or caring loving or emotional than INTJ's, I think we are pretty much the same on that front.

 

[flyfisherman]

I love intellectual endeavors and science is great but some things just align more with INFJ than INTJ. I have been accused of being too poetic while talking and this one really got me that struck me as INFJ "you are better than anyone at getting into peoples heads more so than anyone I've ever known".

I am studying English/creative writing and I can't stop writing. Metaphor after metaphor, until the complexity reaches a climax of emotion (writing is how I generally have been expressing my emotion). My fascination with fly fishing is something that is incorporated into almost any freestyle writing that I do. And this is part of my dream, (sorry getting excited about going up north this spring). So, do I dream? Yes. All the time.

 

[Killbain]

I've considered myself an INTJ for a while but now, I've come to the realization that INFJ is the more appropriate type. (ENFP helped me out of my shell, she helped me come to an epiphany of sorts)

My military experience may have caused a suppression of emotions and forced me into making logical rational decisions (I was a nuclear mechanic on a submarine).

My gut feeling on all this is that I'm an INFJ but I was wondering if this forum would ask me some important INFJ questions.

Thanks all

I can relate to this. In the military I had to supress the 'intuitive' side if you will and deal with the 'present realities' unable to idealise or analyse situations....just deal with them as they appeared or were presented. Part of giving and taking orders without question I suppose. Under fire there isn't much time or place for idealisation!

On leaving it took several years to return to what is clearly a normal state for me of creativity, analysis and empathising.

 

[Raain]

Then maybe you are more INFJ than INTJ but honestly I am not by any means an MBTI expert but considering how similar INFJ and INTJ seem I don't like to overcomplicate it, I like to simplify it down as much as possible to whether you feel you fit in best as a 'dreamer' or 'intellect' and considering how every one is unique and different regardless of MBTI type I don't think it really matters all that much anyway you probably could have an INTJ that is very poetic as much as you could have an INFJ who is very rational and scientific.

 

[Aizar]

My mom is INTJ, I'm INFJ. The biggest difference is our interest in people. I live in a people world, while she lives in a science world. I'm very concerned about other peoples' feelings, she's so people-illiterate she jokes she's almost Asperger's like my brother is. She never has trouble figuring out what she wants, but does have trouble reading people and figuring out what THEY want. In comparison, I'm the exact opposite.

We both love science and history, though she's more interested in how things work, while I'm more interested in how things impact people and society.

Hope that helps!

 

[WIPerspective]

I once read somewhere that INFJs just happen to be the most logical out of all the NFs. I'm not saying it's true, because when I first read it, I really doubted it.

However, I'm in the same boat with you. I once believed I was an INTJ, but after delving further into the MBTI system (specifically the Jungian functions, which is as accurate as they can be), I realized the function order between the INFJ and the INTJ and I figured out that I am actually an INFJ. Though I will admit, from time to time, I doubt that I am an actual INFJ.

 

[Arclight]

T and F are rational functions..Both are also subjectively rational. That's what human beings are.. Subjectively rational creatures.

T and F simply tell us what criteria we favor when rationalizing. T favors objective criteria and F favors subjective criteria.
It's like the difference between an event in a history text book and a dramatization of the same event.
One will rely more on objective criteria and one more on subjective criteria.. Both kinds of criteria will be present.
So what matters more to you?

That is the easiest way to difference between T and F.. Both types can be emotional idiots and/or intellectual geniuses.
A T can be extremely empathetic and emotionally aware but it still wont trump the value it places on more objective criteria.

I see this between my INTP lady love and myself all the time. She will hurt my feelings and genuinely be sorry she did. She will do everything she can to comfort me .. But if what hurts me is truth and accurate.. She will not make an exception for my feelings.
They are simply too subjective in the light of objective fact. Justice over mercy .

T says people are a part of this organization.. F says people are the organization. See?

Another example is my boss.. He is very Te.. He does not see his staff as an asset that makes him money.. but rather as an expense that costs him money.
Both are true.. How do you feel about that?

Hope this helps

 

[flyfisherman]

I am concerned with others feelings, I feel empathy and can relate to others. This is somehow what the ENFP taught me, this perspective. I'm not people illiterate, I want to remove misery and replace it with some other positive emotion. Doesn't always work out, especially those who don't want help. I'm sure that this might be due to my misgivings in approach, my lack of practice and intensity.

 

[Aizar]

I am concerned with others feelings, I feel empathy and can relate to others. This is somehow what the ENFP taught me, this perspective. I'm not people illiterate, I want to remove misery and replace it with some other positive emotion. Doesn't always work out, especially those who don't want help. I'm sure that this might be due to my misgivings in approach, my lack of practice and intensity.

Something to keep in mind: INTJ's are just as capable of well-wishing as the next person. It's just not as easy for them to act on it. My mom is very warm and loving in her own way. But in contrast to me, she's bad at showing it (Fi) and it doesn't always occur to her that she should (Te). While my empathy and me using it is natural, hers was learned--I think a lot of it from dealing with me as an angsty teen, lol. She'd always ask me things like "What does that body language mean?" or "What do you do for a person who's acting/feeling this way?" or "Why did he go and do that?"

 

[CptKickerCutleg]

I myself have ceased to adhere strongly to these "types", I know several INTJs (oddly enough none of them are mentally stable, 2 are psychopaths and one is a schizophrenic), but calling myself an INFJ just seems to be self-glorification.
If I am an INFJ, then I am, if that is what I strive to be, then I am not, if I call myself an INFJ, I think it leads to my own self-fulfilling prophecy.

It is a label I would apply to myself, and constrain myself to, I am me, you are you, and we don't need a bracket to fit into other than for our own comfort.

Saying all that, INFJs in general are cool people, but INTJs are (in my experience) a more interesting bunch.

Both of my INTJ psychopath friends find it "impossibly difficult" to see inside my head, whereas I can make semi-accurate estimations on their motives and the reasoning behind them. It may be because I may be an F and they are a T, but I think it goes deeper than that because I am both F and T in many cases.

I believe myself fundamentally differing to virtually every other human I meet (and I have met several INFJs), because I think in a detailed big picture where humanity is both near the bottom of the priorities, but the most essential factor in my plans, the forefront of my mind is dedicated to several things:
• The fate of the environment we destroy
• The fate of the animals who lived in that environment
• What I can do to keep humanity from destroying environments
• How can I keep the Internet a place of freedom and peace, not corporate interests

Those are my main concerns, and they are all rather large ones which I work towards.
I know I have little chance of making a difference, but by setting an example of myself, perhaps others will follow.


If this is INFJ behaviour, then I guess I may be an INFJ, but I am not an expert on cognitive functions or behaviours.
Apply to yourself at your discretion, and take it with a pinch of salt.

- Kicker

 

[Vivid Melody]

"Thanks all "

Your Fe is showing

 

[flyfisherman]

"Thanks all "

Your Fe is showing

I think this has caused some disharmony with that ENFP I mentioned, but this is another post in the future when things get sorted out. I am a "nice guy" and even to a flaw, perhaps I just need to redevelop it in a more positive way. I've been accused of being to generous, and I give just to damned much. Not because I think it will get me anything by the way, or to demand reciprocation but because of whatever is going on inside.

Nature abhors the vacuum; so the more you give the more you seem to have. It is like a river and it is small at first, just a trickle but with enough time it can move mountains and shape each individual that finds themselves knee deep in its shallows casting upstream in search of a hopeful strike from an uneducated brown trout. Just to let them go back, a catch and release.

 

[emerald sea]

@flyfisherman :

the major difference between T and F is: what takes priority in making decisions. both thinking and feeling are judging functions - which means they determine how you "judge" what is the right decision to make, in whatever situation. thinking vs. feeling is not a dichotomy between the absence and the presence of emotions (feelings). human beings are built as emotional creatures - some people repress their emotions, but everyone is born with them. [side note: some people who repress their emotions end up feeling them as anger or irritation (which, ironically, is also an emotion although many people who are angry often do not consider themselves "emotional").] thinking and feeling are preferences, which means that a feeling type can "think" and a thinking type can "feel," however the individual leans more towards one than towards the other (they "prefer" it). by MBTI definition, someone with a thinking (T) preference makes decisions based on what makes logical sense (regardless of how it may affect others), and someone with a feeling (F) preference makes decisions based on how it will affect others (this does not mean they do not think rationally or realize what makes logical sense).

for instance, say that there was an employee who wasn't doing the greatest at his job...he was capable, but not knowledgeable enough in his field, and it would cost the company an expense to train him, so he would be knowledgeable enough to do well at his job. his wife had recently lost her job (due to layoff because of the bad economy) and they had two young children. two bosses - one an F type, and one a T type - were deciding whether to keep him or fire him. the T type would take into consideration: what value is he to the company, what is the cost difference between training him and hiring someone else who already knows what he doesn't know...and would make a decision based on those factors, regardless of how being fired might affect the employee or his wife and kids. the F type would likely take into consideration the exact same factors as the T type did, but would ultimately make his decision about whether to keep or fire the employee based on how his staying/leaving the company would affect him personally (how hard it would be to find another job in the bad economy) and his wife and kids (since they no longer had any other income). if it were determined that it would cost less to fire him and hire someone more knowledgeable than to keep him and train him....all other things being equal, if both the F type boss and the T type boss had full authority to make whatever decision they desired, the F type would be likely to make some kind of sacrifice elsewhere in the company budget in order to keep the employee and train him further, just to protect him and his family from the bad effects of being fired, while the T type would be likely to let him go and find another more knowledgeable employee, in order to do what was most cost-efficient for the company (without trying to find another way to be cost efficient without hurting anyone, like the F type did, because he doesn't top-prioritize how his decisions affect people). see what i mean?

so, the question to ask yourself here is: what takes priority in my decision-making - how it affects people (F) or whether it makes logical sense (T)...if the choice is between what makes logical sense and what could potentially hurt a person (or people)? this is the crucial differentiating question if you want to know if you are a T or an F type.

 

[flyfisherman]

:
so, the question to ask yourself here is: what takes priority in my decision-making - how it affects people (F) or whether it makes logical sense (T)...if the choice is between what makes logical sense and what could potentially hurt a person (or people)? this is the crucial differentiating question if you want to know if you are a T or an F type.

Well, I would say whatever would make people happier, smile, or find some strength/silver lining in a logical method. I do this all the time I suppose. So, I'm not sure. Would I intentionally hurt someone with my choices? No. Fuck no, in fact I put to much damned thought worrying I have hurt someone. Probably irrationally I might add. But logically sound in my own head...Hmm.

I'm lost.

 

[emerald sea]

Well, I would say whatever would make people happier, smile, or find some strength/silver lining in a logical method. I do this all the time I suppose. So, I'm not sure. Would I intentionally hurt someone with my choices? No. Fuck no, in fact I put to much damned thought worrying I have hurt someone. Probably irrationally I might add. But logically sound in my own head...Hmm.

I'm lost.

that makes you an F (feeling) type.

 

[flyfisherman]

As I suspected.

One issue solved. Now, "If you know yourself but do not know your enemy you will lose half the time"

Time to figure out those ENFPs or ENTPs...

 

[Xistiller]

Saying all that, INFJs in general are cool people, but INTJs are (in my experience) a more interesting bunch.

This.
It's a shame that OP is an INFJ, in my eyes. That's one less person in the world to fascinate me.