Faith in our INTPness

[LucasM]

Does our constant questioning of ourselves create a lack of faith of the inherent power within each of us to effect the lives of others? So that, when we can, and should act to better the lives of others and ourselves, we draw back, question ourselves, and do nothing. Thus falling in a cycle of 'meh'.
And if the above answers true, what steps can we as INTP's take to further develop our INTPness to avert this crisis?

 

[Ermine]

Perhaps appreciate the best aspects of being INTP? For the sake of contrast, here are 2 possible INTP self images.

I don't care about people and I don't know how to deal with them. I'm out of touch and scatterbrained and can't understand anyone. I'm insensitive and can't bring myself to do anything.

I'm always making connections between things to gain a further understanding. I'm playful, spontaneous. I don't follow the crowd so I'm not enslaved by other people's wishes and I know what I am. And I'm smart.

I just appreciate what I have and try to make the best of it.

 

[loveofreason]

I like your second image, Ermine. But if you have the play and spontaneity beaten out of you as a child, either figuratively or literally, it becomes hard to behave that way in the real world and easier instead to identify as the first option.

I think developing confidence or self-acceptance would be a better way of putting it than 'faith', but regardless, I've found this little on-line community of INTPs to be the best source of self-enlightenment. It is a good place to recover any attributes that circumstances may have stolen.

And the silly threads prove their worth here! Play is serious business!!!

 

[boku]

Is questioning my INTPness considered a lack of faith in my INTPness?

(Sidetracking a bit, goodness, I didn't realise Ermine is only 5 days older than me.)

 

[Raku]

Perhaps appreciate the best aspects of being INTP? For the sake of contrast, here are 2 possible INTP self images.

I don't care about people and I don't know how to deal with them. I'm out of touch and scatterbrained and can't understand anyone. I'm insensitive and can't bring myself to do anything.

I'm always making connections between things to gain a further understanding. I'm playful, spontaneous. I don't follow the crowd so I'm not enslaved by other people's wishes and I know what I am. And I'm smart.

I just appreciate what I have and try to make the best of it.

A few years ago I had a lot of selfdoubt, faith issues if you will. I was home a lot, behind the computer reading stuff, or doing other random thing. Also stare at the ceiling. The self doubt of mine led to me questioning if it was wrong to live my life that way. Everybody else was outside, having 'fun', going out, being sociable and so on. I always tried to keep to myself a lot, make sure others didn't knew I was home that much. Sounds irrational doesn't it?

Well, this past year I developed the first image. It really helps alot to deal with outside influences that don't understand and get really judgemental. Knowing you are 'strange', knowing its normal for you. Those are things I didn't have faith in, but do now.

 

[sagewolf]

I doubt myself a lot. I do have something close to the second self-image that Ermine quoted, but now I'm doubting the quality of everything I come up with on my own. Since, in the real world, I just get a blank stare or wind up being made fun of half the time when I put an idea of mine forward, I don't see the point in putting those ideas forward anymore.

I don't want to try and fail, but I doubt my ability to succeed, so I can't bring myself to try. That's my problem. And I think it's my own task to overcome it. I also can't take help, but I get the feeling that this isn't a good 'kill two birds with one rock' situation.

 

[ChatNoir]

I doubt myself a lot.

Yes, I also doubt myself a lot. I can be very insecure and simultaneously think that I am more intelligent than those who surround me. Does that make me arrogant?

 

[Kuu]

Yes, I also doubt myself a lot. I can be very insecure and simultaneously think that I am more intelligent than those who surround me. Does that make me arrogant?

No. Arrogance is excess of confidence. You can't be both constantly doubting yourself and arrogant...



Hmm regarding the 2 self images.

Are they mutually exclusive? I think not.

A truly dangerous thought: going against all traditional values, and accepting the first of those images as positive. Could the crooked path be the better one?

 

[Vrecknidj]

Self-doubt, and deeper doubt (see Mother Teresa, for instance), is actually fertile ground for future blossoming, should it be survived.

Self-doubt, like other suffering, if explored and experienced, is strengthening.

Dave

 

[Fiaria]

That is the exact reason why I lurked so long before registering and feel so apprehensive about posting. I constantly rethink weather or not my comment was worth saying, forget where I was going with the comment and then get lazy and not post the comment at all.

 

[bdubs]

Self-doubt has always been part of my life. I think I fall under Ermine's first description much of the time, but I aspire to fit under the second. Which I fall under depends how mentally fatigued I am.

 

[bdz]

Perhaps appreciate the best aspects of being INTP? For the sake of contrast, here are 2 possible INTP self images.

I don't care about people and I don't know how to deal with them. I'm out of touch and scatterbrained and can't understand anyone. I'm insensitive and can't bring myself to do anything.

I'm always making connections between things to gain a further understanding. I'm playful, spontaneous. I don't follow the crowd so I'm not enslaved by other people's wishes and I know what I am. And I'm smart.

I just appreciate what I have and try to make the best of it.

Please, explain how one can adopt that second image?

I relate very much with the first image, bar the fact that I think I know how to deal with people to a degree, but I don't care about them.

That said, I want to be just like my extroverted peers to a frightening degree. What complicates things is feeling that I have 2 parts to myself, one that begs to change and one that simply has no desire to change and the belief that change is difficult, worthless etc (this feels a lot more sub-conscious though). This lends itself to falling back into one's comfort zone, a place I've been at for 99% of my life.

 

[Weliddryn]

I can easily relate with anybody who posted on this; doubting, second guessing myself, wary of being arrogant, but impatient with the frivolous conversations of the callow people around me.... I don't know how I got to be who I am today, whether by genetics or environmental factors, but know that I know that there others like me, I can get on with my life and make the most of it. It hasn't been easy, especially not being a female, but this forum has given me enough confidence to just be myself.

-Weliddryn

 

[Ermine]

Please, explain how one can adopt that second image?

I relate very much with the first image, bar the fact that I think I know how to deal with people to a degree, but I don't care about them.

That said, I want to be just like my extroverted peers to a frightening degree. What complicates things is feeling that I have 2 parts to myself, one that begs to change and one that simply has no desire to change and the belief that change is difficult, worthless etc (this feels a lot more sub-conscious though). This lends itself to falling back into one's comfort zone, a place I've been at for 99% of my life.

For me, I am both of these. I've gone closer to the second image by recognizing I have the characteristics of the first image, but playing up the second. For example, I usually don't care about people much. However, I still flex my spontaneity and wit by gradually inserting myself into conversations and making jokes and witty observations. I also observe how a lot of people are pushed around by what their friends and significant others want them to do. I take that into account and count my blessings. I've found that humor, helping people, and gratitude are really helpful in adopting a positive self image. If my inadequacy shows through, I laugh about it. If I feel helpless, I find a way to laugh about it. If I'm disadvantaged, I help someone who is even more disadvantaged.

And eventually, though this exercise of gratitude was mainly for myself, it has helped me find interesting people to befriend.

 

[EditorOne]

Ummm.

"Do not take counsel of your fears."

or another hoary maxim:

"Taking action if there is a chance of success is better than avoiding action if there is a possibility of failure."

Neither is original with me, but both are reasoning rather than emotion so perhaps they will resonate.

The first was a personal philosophy note of an eminently successful military man, Thomas Jackson, and the second is my paraphrase of the Royal Navy's position on anything it tackles; it is what the RN officers are supposed to use as a basis for decisionmaking, one favoring boldness in support of a plan to accomplish some goal or other. Or were, in the old days, anyway. Overcoming "meh" seems to be the underlying point of the original post, hence this essay.

INTPs can't help but doubt themselves to the point of immobility. Either of these two maxims seems to move the ball forward for me in a lot of situations, especially when it's clear it's my ball, my team, and we're somehow better off if the ball moves.