[Etchingsunderthecarpet]

I find much inspiration from the self help field... although I try not to. I also am very interested in biographies and such because learning about someone else's struggles and journeys gives me strength to go on. So with an INFP being the way he/she is, do you guys find yourselves suckers for self help goods as a means to self improvement or inspiration????

 

[OmarFW]

INFP's love understanding themselves and how people work

They're also often emotional masochists without knowing it

Makes sense that they would like something that allowed them to gush emotion and wallow in it

 

[Angel1412kaitou]

Yeah, I love self-help books, and anything that has to do with the human mind.
Or improving conditions. I'm going to be a psychiatrist one day, so something that will let me wallow and whine about my emotions would be nice. ^^ I love to read in general, self-help books are to expand my horizons if I feel as if I'm limiting myself in some way.

 

[starflower]

'Self-help addicts' seems such a derogatory term. I think self-help is perfect for me because I don't like to bother other people with my problems. I need to think about problems (or whatever) before I understand them enough to talk about them. But by the time I understand my problems, I no longer need to talk about them. So, self-help fits me nicely. I don't agree with much of the 'self-help' stuff out there, but understanding different people's ideas about life is interesting and helpful.

 

[Etchingsunderthecarpet]

'Self-help addicts' seems such a derogatory term. I think self-help is perfect for me because I don't like to bother other people with my problems. I need to think about problems (or whatever) before I understand them enough to talk about them. But by the time I understand my problems, I no longer need to talk about them. So, self-help fits me nicely. I don't agree with much of the 'self-help' stuff out there, but understanding different people's ideas about life is interesting and helpful.

haha yes yes. And I don't mean to be derogatory. I obviously find myself reading self help things as well, whether at a book store or the internet or wherever. Actually, Tony Robbins is a personal favorite. He can be cheesy but he is very inspiring. I think my pessimism about the self-help industry is because of all the shit that we all know is out there. But the more we read, the more perspective we have.

 

[SpaceAble]

I find much inspiration from the self help field... although I try not to. I also am very interested in biographies and such because learning about someone else's struggles and journeys gives me strength to go on. So with an INFP being the way he/she is, do you guys find yourselves suckers for self help goods as a means to self improvement or inspiration????

Pretty much

 

[Paradigm]

I kind of am. I try to supress my interest in it because my parents (and everyone else, really) tend to give me the look whenever they see me reading that kind of stuff. Even about the MBTI/Enneagram books I've been reading get that look.

I mostly like the more psychological stuff rather than the "five steps to change your life" inspirational books. Inspiration annoys me.

 

[minkaybell]

guy, i think so. I would be an ENTP if not for all this introspective crap :crazy:

 

[Memphisto]

I read non-stop...anything I can find about the human mind...I love it and am totally fascinated by all things psychological in nature.... Knowledge is power...

 

[caraez]

YES!

I love self-help, but I try to hide it because of that look mentioned earlier. People would be like "are you depressed or something" and I'm like, nah, its just psychology. Just some people don't understand my fascination with psychology.

One thing I like is nutrition, interestingly enough. Improve your health! You know.

I think INFPs have a general attracting to the notion of improving themselves, therefore, the self help book thing.

 

[xezene]

Yeah, I've always been interested in other people's journeys, to learn from them. I suppose that could be characterized as self-help.

But I stay away from books that label themselves as "self-help." I've found that INFPs can be easily manipulated, especially by self-help books, and at a younger age I would have been very manipulated by such books. So I stay away from those.

 

[minkaybell]

xezene; i agree

although, i've always been interested in going on my own journeys as well, as I find those to be the most rewarding kinds of self discovery.

 

[infpblog]

I discovered Tony Robbins at 20. I can honestly say he changed my views on how to live. I never got depressed again after reading him because I understood that I really could change my life and it was up to me. Knowing and doing are two different things and since then I've found other methodology that works better for my personality. I still do a bunch of his exercises though.

One of Tony's rules to success is don't re-invent the wheel. Anything you want, someone has already done so don't keep doing it by trial and error if someone already did it. Figure out what they did and do that. Self-help falls under not re-inventing the wheel. Any problem we have has already been solved by other people in our situation. We can keep trying stuff and hoping it works and find someone who's actually solved the problem to help.

 

[kanhje]

Yes, but I always hate when MBTI books are categorized as "self-help" or when they give them annoying titles. I enjoy reading them for the same reasons you all said: I love figuring out how the mind works, how we form relationships and such.

But like xezene said, I was definitely one of those INFP kids who looked for answers in books and kind of kept expecting there to be one method that would make everything better and everything work. Now I know better.

 

[sarek]

Psychology, both for the sake of understanding others and myself has been my latest and biggest interest for the last two years or so.
That has mostly included figuring out various disorders but I have delved into MBTI recently.

 

[greatexpectations]

yeah but thats good... too many people are caught up in shallow things... id much rather talk about meaningful matters than talk gossip.. i hate gossip....

 

[Etchingsunderthecarpet]

yes yes. Its so nice to see I'm not the only one

 

[audrey551]

I kind of am. I try to supress my interest in it because my parents (and everyone else, really) tend to give me the look whenever they see me reading that kind of stuff. Even about the MBTI/Enneagram books I've been reading get that look.

Oh yes, the look. The look that says 'why don't you start doing something really useful?'

Yes, I love self-exploration of all sorts, including self help books. It's mostly boring and repetitive, but still...I also like reading up on self suficiency, do it yourself kind of thing. I fantasize about building my own cabin, like Thoreau.

I love talking to old folks, hearing their stories and how they dealt with shit in their lives. Pretty universal stuff.

 

[Halcy0n]

I LOVE self help things!! I listen regularly to recordings of positive affirmations, and I love to find moments for myself where I can reassure myself that I am good, and that I have rights and such. I really think that the self-help field has a lot of potential and good in it.