Enneagram type 4's... a curse?
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It doesn't feel like much of a prize, does it? I'm a 4 too, and the description is disgustingly accurate. I actually think not wanting to be a 4 is a trait of a 4. It's not unique enough or something. Personally, when I found out I was a 4 I was kind of ticked because I don't like the number - it's too common and not aesthetically pleasing. Upon research, I realized those thoughts actually confirmed my fourness.
You have to remember that the Enneagram focuses on the flaws of the types - I read most of the descriptions and a few other level 9 types were said to result in suicide.
You have to remember that the Enneagram focuses on the flaws of the types - I read most of the descriptions and a few other level 9 types were said to result in suicide.
It all depends on how you look at it. Someone like you describe is probably a 1 (anyone can correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not that well versed in the Enneagram) and would get done a lot of physical tasks or things for other people. Through the views of our modern society, ones look much more accomplished than fours on the surface.
But a trait unique to fours is our ability to process our emotions and accept ourselves in our raw form no matter how unsightly it may be. Other types might be hiding behind a façade and not even realize it themselves. Through processing our emotions, healthy fours can reach superior emotional heights and truly understand ourselves and our motivations. So in that sense, I guess what I'm trying to say is that we do get stuff done but it just might not look like to others.
If what I've said actually makes sense, I hope it helps you think of being a four as less of a curse. xD
But a trait unique to fours is our ability to process our emotions and accept ourselves in our raw form no matter how unsightly it may be. Other types might be hiding behind a façade and not even realize it themselves. Through processing our emotions, healthy fours can reach superior emotional heights and truly understand ourselves and our motivations. So in that sense, I guess what I'm trying to say is that we do get stuff done but it just might not look like to others.
If what I've said actually makes sense, I hope it helps you think of being a four as less of a curse. xD
I am a 4w3 (Individualist/Achiever combination)
Of added note, I am Pisces and INFJ (supposedly)
But lately I've realized that cheesy life lesson that it's okay to be yourself
I find those who dislike me simply for being myself aren't worthy of my respect in return
I know I'm not hurting anyone
My individuality is power
Of added note, I am Pisces and INFJ (supposedly)
This happened, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I went 'gothy' in high school and I've never really snapped out of it
But lately I've realized that cheesy life lesson that it's okay to be yourself
I find those who dislike me simply for being myself aren't worthy of my respect in return
I know I'm not hurting anyone
My individuality is power
#4 ... the individualist ... the artist ... hmm you sure you are an INFJ and not INFP? sounds like something an INFP might struggle with and many a people mis-test between the two MBTI types
for INFJs it is common to test type 1 the perfectionist due to our dominant unifying Ni, type 2 the servant due to our Fe that makes us want to conform and please people as times, type 5 the thinker due to our tertiary Ti, and also type 9 the peacemaker which is like combination of Ni and Fe and Ti to some extent ... type 4 really sounds like INFP-ish kind of thing
for INFJs it is common to test type 1 the perfectionist due to our dominant unifying Ni, type 2 the servant due to our Fe that makes us want to conform and please people as times, type 5 the thinker due to our tertiary Ti, and also type 9 the peacemaker which is like combination of Ni and Fe and Ti to some extent ... type 4 really sounds like INFP-ish kind of thing
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The mixup here is completely understandable. Enneagram doesn't correspond directly to Jung types or MBTI. It speaks very much in terms of behavior but says little about cognitive processes and motivation.
INFJ is not a person - it is a list of cognitive preferences. I'm an IT professional working in supercomputing, but I'm also a writer, an artist, a roller skater and a father. Where is that on the Enneagram? Answer: It doesn't exist.
I test as Enneagram 4, but I take it with a huge grain of salt. Type is all about cognitive functions and the directionality of the functions in an INFJ are quite different than in an INFP. Behavior is just behavior - type is cognition.
I don't understand the MBTI system entirely. I don't mind not being an INFJ if it meant life would suck less, yes I wouldn't mind that. I tested as an INFJ on a consistent basis though? So I'm not sure, maybe I could be a P.. but if I was being honest with myself.. I'm a pretty judgemental person...
I am not saying it is impossible for INFJ to test type 4 but if I tested 4 I would be somewhat suspicious of myself being an INFJ and go an extra mile to confirm it. All I am trying to relay here.
Enneagram by itself does not exist but the qualities it describes exist, they are real within the person who is experiencing them as has been described in the original post.
btw are you sure you are an INFJ and not an INTP?
... i already had a debate with one of the INTPs about how yes verbal labels for things don't really exist, but that we invent them in order to communicate with each other, nevertheless those objects and concepts we label with words do exist in reality
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I agree with that. It also pertains to the way that Jungian types are usually presented which is as a series of profiles. These can serve as a kind of useful shorthand - but the meat of the matter is cognition.
I have strongly developed Ti but real NTs can usually out me pretty quickly. They see through my habit of filtering Ti through Fe. They can spot it almost instantly. All attempts on my part to join their ranks have been rejected on the basis of me being too squishy in the head and too soft in the heart.btw are you sure you are an INFJ and not an INTP?
Well, I hope to be soft in the heart. Life stinks if you can't love and be loved.
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I don't really find it all that depressing. I think it's stating the obvious. I should probably get over it. It depends on the day. Like right now... it's like... why do I have to be me? I'm from another freaking dimension half the time. I get people... because I'm out of the realm of humanity. I don't want to be the same, but I don't want to be so ... very odd...
Well I retook the mypersonality.info quiz and here's the results:
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So I guess I'm pretty much split between the J and P? I've gotten a different percentage scale before too where the J was heavier. I think over the years I've just been alot less J because I was pretty unhappy being J. I judged people so heavily in my younger years and blah.. bad times.
I wonder if I'm slowly developing into an INFP =)
So I guess I'm pretty much split between the J and P? I've gotten a different percentage scale before too where the J was heavier. I think over the years I've just been alot less J because I was pretty unhappy being J. I judged people so heavily in my younger years and blah.. bad times.
I wonder if I'm slowly developing into an INFP =)
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All "feelers" have the potential to be "judgemental" because Feeling is a judging function. But that is not really the same thing as what J and P mean in a lineup of Jungian functions like INFJ.
J and P have to do with the directionality of the cognitive functions - and the hemispheric division of labor in the brain.
MBTI Brain Types | Lenore Thomson Bentz
The J in INFJ doesn't mean you are a judgmental person. It means you have the cognitive preferences of Ni-Fe-Ti-Se --- that lineup places our leading functions in the left hemisphere of the brain which predisposes us to desire closure. That's all it means.
Think about how others relate to you. Here's a shorthand for the Introverted Intuitives
INFP: Soft on the inside / Soft on the outside
INFJ: Soft on the inside / Firm on the outside
INTP: Firm on the inside / Soft on the outside
INTJ: Firm on the inside / Firm on the outside
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its not a curse, its very good to be a 4, oh yeah we are unique
LOL my best friend (INTJ) wrote a poem about me... and how I was from a different time/age? Flattering.
*HUUUUUGS*
*puts tin foils on our heads*
^--- do people still do that? Write between asterisks, pretending that we're occupying the same space IRL :crazy:
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From what i hear it is fairly common for both INFJs, ISFPs INFPs to be type 4s. It is also somewhat common for ENFPs too. I don't think MBTI can be lined up directly with the Enneagram, and that there are lots of combinations. type 4 is very idealistic and is connected to both type 4 and type 1 and type 4 is said to line up with Ni in the books I've read. I can see how the other types fit as you described them but I personally wouldn't eliminate 4 from that.
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