Evening comrades

[KingCrimson]

Just thought I'd join this forum after taking the MBTI assessment yesterday and found myself trawling the internet relating to almost everything I read on my type. (INTP obviously, although I understand many other types are registered here) At first I thought my motives for being so interested in this were egotistical, and that because of my types association with intelligence, I was just trying to prove that I was more clever than I actually am. But then it occurred to me that if I'm even asking that question in the first place then I'm probably not doing it for the sake of narcissism.

So I suppose I could have my first post serve two purposes. One, as an introduction...hello. The second, to ask a question of people who may or may not perceive things in a similar way to me. Do you often feel some sort of aversion to talking about your positive qualities, even with people who know you very well, because you think they may feel that you're just expressing pure ego rather than your opinion? I mean right now, I keep thinking about how telling people that I am suspicious of my motives in and of itself could also be ego, as I might just want to seem down to earth or honest without actually being any of those things. This confession could also be the exact same thing (like an infinite loop of ego-driven honesty)

I've rambled enough, what say you?

 

[Ex-User (9062)]

Welcome.
I can't give you an accurate answer to your question,
because chances are about 50/50.
Time will tell.
Enjoy your stay.

 

[Anktark]

I fall into INTP and am constantly analyzing everything my mind is sufficient (or not) for like it's going out of style. And it is, because of entropy. Not sure where I am going with this in the short term. Oh, I was in the same situation you described in the second half of first paragraph.

Anyway, we seem to be in similar boats, as the only positive qualities I can say I have are analytical/critical thinking. Everything else seems like an unintended indirect insults or boasting. I can't say I am intelligent, because I have nothing to really compare and there are areas where I seem like a victim of perpetual lobotomy. Saying I am honest is pointless and if were to say "I try not to lie unless it's a convenient tool to use that won't cause more harm as far as I am aware or hilarious"... I don't think it would be understood and appreciated.

Basically, I think it hard to tell others about our positive qualities because the concept is rather fuzzy (what makes a quality completely positive?) and well, we are rather introverted so we might lack the practice in translating our thoughts to a viable conversational form.

 

[Polaris]

Welcome to the forum KingCrimson.

I often squirm quite violently when faced with the gruelling task of talking about my positive qualities (I hate job interviews for that reason, ugh...I mean, how about I just show you what I can do...unfortunately that's not how it works, so one has to convince the Inquisitors interviewers), and now I have lost track already as I'm thinking about the last time I had a job interview and how I smiled so awkwardly while thinking that my smile was too awkward, and how it might be perceived as disingenuous...

Uhm...so yes - I know what you mean.

Second guessing and all that.

I mean right now, I keep thinking about how telling people that I am suspicious of my motives in and of itself could also be ego, as I might just want to seem down to earth or honest without actually being any of those things. This confession could also be the exact same thing (like an infinite loop of ego-driven honesty)

Oohh...meta-meta. We might have an understanding.

 

[Seed-Wad]

Funny, I am also often obsessed with not being narcissistic. It's often painstakingly difficult to uncover the underlying motivation for things, and easy to be proud of not being a proud person.

The nice thing of MBTI types, imo, is that advantages and disadvantages are inseparably connected. In fact, I use it whenever I have to list my positive and negative traits, I just go through the stack and list all the personal traits I've come to associate with each function.