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The Method Actor (infj Subtype)

2.2K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  AnneM  
#1 ·
Does anyone know the workings of this Subtype in detail? They do provide a good explanation about and the functions at work but I wanted to know...what else does this unlock for the INFJ? Can they bounce around roles, musical genres, and art styles with magnificent ease and accuracy as well? How far does the chameleon ability go? Is this what they use when connecting with and understanding people? ( I know this already, just want a more in depth answer) Any knowledge/theories would be great on this.

Read about the Subtype below.

The Method Actor

Thisone right here, my friends, might just be the reason you INFJs have been documented as the rarest of types. Oh the power of the persona, when you project and image, people will create your identity based on that image, regardless of what is actually going on in your head. This marks an extremely uncanny ability that you INFJ folk have. The INFJ can invent an character within their Ni-Fe. They can write an entire story of their life, their family, their experience, their fears, their motivations, their quirks and mannerisms all within their Ni. Then when the time comes, then can channel that character into their Fe and Se to perfectly embody that role, in ways that can be so nuanced that you might not even know you are looking at the same person. Even if acting isn’t your thing, every INFJ still has this in them, and it often comes out in other ways. An INFJ could enter a completely foreign country, and within weeks, or even days, completely master their culture, and maybe even accent.
 
#2 ·
I don't know anyone who masters a culture, a language and an accent in a matter of weeks, never mind days; but I have done so in months on multiple occasions.
 
#3 ·
I've been called a chameleon before. It's a habit I've actually been trying to break, trying to decide what's truly "me" that I want to project and defend. I have a tendency to keep my self somewhat hidden in a more public sense, and I switch up my overall footprint a lot, in fear of being trapped in any one perception or role.

Telling stories and sharing opinions on places like this site helps. It's more anonymous underground nature is what drew me to it as a place for discovery - and I've gradually been pushing myself (or been pushed) to take steps out of anonymity. It's been a literally painful process at times, but I find myself owning my experiences, preferences, likes, dislikes, decisions, etc more. The overall story is what it is and can't be reinvented (other than maybe in how I choose to tell or frame it moving forward).

Not that I've ever really reinvented my stories in a way that wasn't truthful, but I've been able to just cut ties from identities before. The experience I've had with typology has been about trying to bring them together, to find the connecting threads, to force myself to stare down what I've maybe thrown away throughout the years.

In communicating with so many different types at once, it's also more difficult to tailor things to certain groups or individuals, and so they meet more scrutiny, require more thorough inspection, and more self love.

I feel a more relaxed resistance against getting swept along with or taking on certain energies more often now, which could be difficult for me in the past (and can still manifest as stubbornness). I can still adapt, but I feel a little more grounded in it.
 
#4 ·
[...] what else does this unlock for the INFJ? Can they bounce around roles, musical genres, and art styles with magnificent ease and accuracy as well? How far does the chameleon ability go? Is this what they use when connecting with and understanding people? [...]
It will of course vary with the innate and developed talents of the individual INFJ; but ability to assess and respond to the prevailing ethos (i.e., chameleon-like power) in a situation provides easier and more profound entrée into environments and people, expanding experience and ultimately expanding understanding, with resultant benefits. Sometimes the benefits are obvious, sometimes covert. It eases transferences between genres, between people, between concepts, meantime giving new perspectives and seeing how each relates to the others, with whatever implications that might bear. Thinking of Alice in Wonderland: If we need to shrink to be able to go through the door (and so experience Wonderland), we shrink and are able to go through the door; those who can't shrink can't go through the door, and so are denied the experiences which enrich the one who has ability to shape-shift.
 
#5 ·
This is so fascinating in how it's stated! I've joked that I've felt like I've "snuck" into so many worlds that I haven't really felt I belonged in before in my past. Worlds that differed from each other quite a bit and contained people from varying backgrounds that did too. And I do believe I've gained an expanse of understanding in those experiences.

Maybe given my post above, I shouldn't forget what good can come from shape shifting (I definitely want to experience Wonderland please!) Shift my thinking to that the goal isn't to transcend this altogether - if it's at the expense of further enrichment - because Wonderland often does look different from the inside.
 
#6 ·
@infinfj65 I haven't seen that subtyping before. Where did you come across it? I'm curious as to what the others are. Could you post a link or something?
 
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