Another proposal for the problem of INTP laziness

[Ex-User (8886)]

I'm not as knowledgeable as Architect, but I found something different.
My post also would be much smaller.

Know I was thinking about my future, and I concluded, that I want be programmer and be the best at it. There are some reasons why I concluded this. But then, I thought, that I have an hour of free time, and I can use this time to learn something, for example make some little program. And I can't do this, because I think it's not important. It won't change anything. Why writing one program can have meaning for my very ambitious plan, where I would have to spend thousends of hours to reach my goal.

And there is conclusion:
Architect was writing about his ISTJ mate and about Si. Ne supports Ti, and says, that every detail doesn't mean to big picture. Why not develop Si, which thinks that every detail is important. From details become big picture.

I don't say that we should reject Ne, but in current world, Si is better option for common INTP. It's time to reject a bit stereotypes, and become more practical.

If you have any suggestions, or if someone already posted this, please write it.

 

[Architect]

Ah, if I follow your post yes you're talking about another problem of INTP's, which is the problem of The Muskrat (Moomintroll), who as a philosopher believes that everything is pointless. Believe it or not I think that's a problem of not enough Ne. That kind of thinking is when a person 'expands out' with their ideation, and then stops. For example, an INTP typically learns about the universe, and time, and lifespan, all using Ne ideation sniffing out things, then Ti comes in and being a judger wants a hard conclusion, so it says "well it's all pointless". Ti, being the strongest, suppresses the weaker Ne from looking into more ideas. Like, maybe we'll find a way to live forever, or maybe it's human society that is important, or ...

Same thing with your idea to work on something. Ne immediately took it to the largest extreme and Ti made a decision. The problem was that Ne didn't continue to explore other ideas. Like, "well, maybe this would be a stepping stone that I would enjoy doing now, and would help me later?". Or, "maybe it would be the beginning of a program I can use to help people later", and so on.

I hope that makes sense. It's common for INTP's to too easily draw conclusions, which is the fault of Ne not doing its job.

 

[Ex-User (8886)]

Hmm, I think I was writing about something different. That what you said is another problem, maybe often overlap with what I was trying to say.
For me, some things have meaning, but only if they're perfect. So I hate drawing, because when I get my final result, it's not perfect, because my drawing skills are not sufficient, and I get angry, because I imagined something much better. Also I feel bad, because I realize that I'm weak and my skills are low. Then it restrain me from practicing, because I still can see only big ideal picture.

Next, I want to be as much knowledgeable and skillful in programming as possible, but can't accept my current unperfect skills. So I doubt if I'm able to reach my goals, and think that everything is pointless.

I think it's too much developed Ne. My cousin ISxJ can be pleased with average effect and do much more stuff. He don't want to win everytime, he is happy when he is making progress. I want win everytime, and even if I am much more intelligent than him, learning much more faster, he still do more. Because he can work for 12 hours for day, and I only for 1h. If only I could working for 12h per day...

(he is lazy too, everyone is lazy, but he has something special, he never give up and can sustain his concentration far longer than me);

 

[manishboy]

The problem is not that you have only a "big picture ideal," it's that you have a poor strategy for moving closer to the ideal. Imagining or taking in a scene, then trying to draw it, is a fine strategy for a skilled artist, who has a toolkit of skills. But if you have zero skill this approach is a recipe for the kind of frustration you're experiencing. Get interested where you can. If the human face or a tree is too difficult, start with a basic shape. Find better strategies. I think this is what Architect means by being more divergent in your thinking. Evolving a good strategy requires loads of possibilities. Grow first, then prune, and soon you will have something useful and surprising.

Let's say you find a few good strategies, you need one more thing. You need to find joy in the process. I think this is where the Si bit comes in. You need to experience the buzz of doing your activity and then be able to recall that sense later on so you can get back to it.

Just before I read your post, I was just having this very conversation with myself--why am I uber-focused and good at a few activities but can't seem to even begin on others. One of our discoveries was that those activities we excel at are the ones where we have both a flexible approach and a joy in doing. I'm now searching (!) for ways of translating this finding into other activities that are not inherently enjoyable (like organizing and executing projects) but that I need to do. I may find that there is simply a mismatch between innate preference and task, but I'm hopeful that I can replicate the successful pattern within the as of yet unsuccessful areas.