1) Whatever type you are, you are who you are. That will not change, irrespective of your type. Only way it will, is if you decide that because of what some test told you, that you should change who you are. So rule: You are who you are.
Your MBTI type is defined by what best fits with who you are, what you do, how you think, etc, and
never the other way around.
Capiche?
So, figure out who you are. Write down a whole load of your common characteristics, your quirks, etc. Then read up on the different types. Then the ones that seem most like you, probably are
close to you. But they are not always right. At that point, visit the sites of the types of people you think are the likely candidates. Then do not post. Read what THEY write. Decide if you would have written that way. After reading several posts, it will become clear, that you either feel "at home" (I would have written that! And that! And that! I would have written that. But much better.) Or you will not be at home (What? Doesn't that guy think/feel/sense at all? How could anyone come up with problems/ideas like that? These people are aliens. I could make better sense of a Martian!)
2) Your type does not define your life. There are plenty of stereotypes about what certain types are supposed to be. But at the end of the day, your life is to a large extent, a product of how you act, and react to situations. If your type has a problem, and you had the same problem, then that was there the whole time, and you just didn't notice. At least, now you know what you were oblivious to, for decades. So now you can improve the situation. Or, maybe you never had the problem. Not everything that is true about a type, is true about all of that type. Most INTPs say they are very messy, and don't care. I'm a neat freak. But I was a neat freak before I ever heard of MBTI. Should I try to live in mess, even though I hate to do so, because of 4 letters?
Whatever was a problem, was a problem, but not because of MBTI. Whatever was not a problem, still is not a problem.
If you suddenly feel like being an introvert holds you back, you were always being held back. Either you were completely out of touch, or, you were simply aware that you had one or two problems, and you made compensations for it, and you didn't mind, because other people had their own problems, and so they weren't really that better off anyway.
So, if you didn't feel held back when you thought you were an ENTP, that is probably the case, and you learned to deal with your introversion in a positive manner, that made it not a problem.
1) I have read hundreds of posts on the difference between Ni and Ne. Can someone provide an example of each in action?
Not much point. Jung described Ni as a intuition that focusses on internal images, and Ne as intuition that focusses on external images. The intuition is the same in both cases. It's the source of the images and the direction of the results, that differentiates between the 2.
Ni is more like "(I have) ice cubes, and (I have) a blender, makes snowcones (that I like)."
As you well know, when we think about the things we know about, and the things we are interested in, we all tend to know them much better than anyone else. So we can think about them all day inside our head. Only when we have got something to say that we really think is worth telling other people, because telling other people will affect a change in them that we want to see happen, is it worth it to say it. Usually, with such ideas, it's just better to act on it ourselves. However, they are all about us. Often we assume they apply to everyone, when they only apply to us, and to people like us.
Ne is more like "Cars (most people have them), and wings (are everywhere on birds), makes flying cars (everyone wants them)."
When we think about the things most people know about and have access to, and the things most people know about, we get a very objective view, that appeals to a wide range of people. But different people think about things differently. People know about different things. People have access to different things. People have different goals in mind. So there is much less consistency with such things. So we really can't work it out that easily, not without a lot of input from others. So we tell other people, to get feedback, and then we feed that feedback back into Ne, via Ti, to
2) I am obsessed with gathering external sources of information via the internet, books, magazines, and sometimes talking with other people. I think this is my Ne in action. I also spend a lot of time analyzing this information and applying it to whatever problem is at hand. I believe this is a constant NeTi loop, but I don't know how to tell which comes first and is thus dominant... Ti or Ne? Can anyone help me determine my dominant?
Ti-Ne: Ti = "Think of all the possible things that can go wrong in the future." Ne = "Find a solution that deals with all of Ti's potential problems, and works for everyone."
If your attitude to any problem, is to think of all the possible things that might go wrong, not just now, but at any time in the future, and you then look for solutions that deal with all the problems, for everyone, making for a system that is bullet-proof, and that anyone can use, then you're doing INTP.
Hello. I am back. Several of your posts inspired me to begin what has amounted to obsessive research on MBTI. Thus I return with a much better understanding of cognitive functions, however I don't feel much closer to determining my type. I continue to test as an INTP, however I still toy with the possibility of ENTP and INFJ. My uncertainty is founded on my inability to identify my dominant function and some confusion about Ni versus Ne. The functions I know for sure are Ti and Fe (with Fe due to my excessive facial expressions when speaking). Although I have been able to develop my Fe pretty well in my late 30's, it has always been an Achille's Heel of sorts for me. I have this love-hate relationship with my inferior.
All us INTPs feel the same way. Our Fe is one of our strongest points. Fe makes us check that what we do, is what everyone loves. How we solve this, is by future-proofing anything, by making sure that any future problems are already solved, and by making sure that anyone can use our system, so everyone who uses our system will find it easy to use, and will almost never have problems with it. Then, whatever we do, makes everyone else's lives really, really easy, and continues to do so, for as long as people use our system. So everyone loves us, and continues to love us.
ENTPs do things the other way around. They try to invent things that work for everyone, and then once it is built and being used, they continue to look for potential problems that might occur in the future. Because their systems are put into motion with many potential problems still there, they get their systems out there much quicker than us, but they also have to deal with a lot of complaints when their systems stop working.
INFJs do things totally differently. They focus on Ni. They solve problems that work well for them, but not so great for most people. That works great for sorting out things themselves. But they always have to fix it themselves, because their solutions don't work for anyone else. They in turn apply their solutions in an Fe way. So they tend to use their solutions to make other people feel better. This immediately lends itself to being a psychotherapist, and any job involving people, where one is always hands-on, and where your solutions are addressed towards dealing with other people's feelings.
3) Are there any emotionally mature INTPs who have been able to develop their Fe over time to the point that it functions pretty well? Or is this the giveaway that I am not an INTP? Keep in my mind, when I was younger, I was clueless with Fe and easily offended people and never knew it. My Fe was a big blind spot for me, and also a weakness.
Yup. A lot of the older INTPs have developed their Fe pretty well. Maybe not as well as perfection, because us INTPs love perfection. But still, it's pretty good. It takes time and effort. But it is well worth it.
