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Impulsivity

chloé

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This is one part of the INTP profile that has me confused. Are we known to be impulsive? Because I sure as hell am. I have always strongly associated that with my procrastination and my inability to finish things that I lose interest in. But I've been getting confused impressions around here.

So, a) would you say you're impulsive?

b) maybe could you describe in some detail the root of your procrastination?


In my case it's like .. the battle of the Ti vs. the shadow Fe. I can't tell if that means my Fe is unusually underdeveloped or unusually overdeveloped.
 

Latro

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1. Inferior != shadow. Shadow is another term in MBTI.
2. Pness can lend itself towards impulsiveness but also flakiness/procrastination.
 

Minuend

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Well. Sometimes when I get an idea or want something, it has to happen NOW. I get really restless and excited. It's hard to quiet that. I try to think before I act, though, I don't want to regret anything. And I need to consider the economical consequences and the....... That's not being impulsive, is it?
My anxiety keeps me from doing a lot of things, sometimes it's hard to tell my anxiety from me. I like doing things like suddenly take off to a big city or something-something. I never do it.

My procrastination is the result of my low self- esteem, when I don't feel like I will be successful. Or if I'm depressed or the anxiety is too strong, then I can't concentrate. But when I'm my old, happy self, motivation is no problem. Then I have the energy to do a lot of things.
 

Wish

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Impulsiveness - Check. I've got a a pretty decent collection of books bought impulsively, and most of them I have barely read. I think a lot of it has to do with thinking of how great something can be and that if I just have it, I'll know all it has to offer!

Procrastination -
 

Jesin

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In my case it's like .. the battle of the Ti vs. the shadow Fe.

No, it isn't. That isn't what Fe is like at all. I think it's just your Ti getting distracted when your Ne finds interesting stuff.

Ti likes figuring things out using logic, it doesn't really care much about getting things done. Te is the one that gets things done.

But no, I'm pretty sure that isn't Fe.
 
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Da Blob

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I do not know but that our impulsive nature is not connected in some way to our being distracted easily. Perhaps that ties into procrastination, in that we procrastinate doing things that are no longer interesting (or distracting?). Something New is always more interesting that something we already know about. I think this is a Strength, it seems as though most people are afraid of the New, viewing it as a change that most likely represents a threat to the status quo. I do not know, it may well be that the INTPian mindset represents a different type of mental status quo - that we are just as protective of as the Others are of their own...
 

chloé

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^I agree, if we get suddenly excited by a new concept, our duties still insist that we stick to something old and uninteresting. It really inhibits creative potential.


The reason I thought impulse might have to do with Fe is that impulse (to me) is such a raw, unexplainable desire, coming from within. Ni provides us with outside material to interpret, but when Ti momentarily loses complete control, the Feeling that we're so unaccustomed to seeing makes a rare appearance. Ni might choose the object of intrigue, but something inside has to want it strongly enough for us to act in defiance of Thinking. I also feel like my impulsiveness is the one part of my psyche that I can't really put my finger on, I can't logically explain where it comes from - which might suggest that such an undisciplined desire must come from an under-developed aspect in an INTP mind.
 

Latro

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INTPs have Ne, not Ni. You've made several substantial theoretical failures, here...you might want to go do some reading and then come back.
 

Jesin

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EDIT: Pretty much what Latro said. :p
 

chloé

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"Ni" was a typo .. and yes I'm an MBTI beginner, I'm not trying to be any authority on it, apologies if this forum is only for experts.


I'm more interested in people's responses about whether they're impulsive, and why they think they are/aren't. As I said, it's an aspect that eludes me.
 

Latro

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"Ni" was a typo .. and yes I'm an MBTI beginner, I'm not trying to be any authority on it, apologies if this forum is only for experts.
It isn't, but you're talking about things and kinda leading us to various "no just no" moments, which really isn't all that productive. It might be more productive for you to go read some more first.
 

Jennywocky

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No, it isn't. That isn't what Fe is like at all. I think it's just your Ti getting distracted when your Ne finds interesting stuff.

This is sort of what I experience.

There is typically a battle. Ti is very methodical, wants to make sure everything is balanced neatly, everything makes sense. If it's used without restraint, I tend to not do things at all until I thoroughly understand them (if that is even possible) and otherwise refuse to take risks. It tries to control all of my speech and behavior and make sure my choices are entirely coherent and interlocking. It basically gives me strategy for tasks, if anything, but no inclination to actually carry it out -- developing the strategy itself is the goal.

Ne is sort of the opposite, it is just this radiation of arrows in every direction at once, and I am sort of dragged long behind each one of them to see where each one goes.

Prime example: go on the internet with one focus and a general time limit to find it (Ti, thinking logically) and three hours later I still haven't finished my task because I got dragged off on all these new tangents. Ti actually likes information, so it is pleasured to some degree by the introduction of new mental models built on all these new possibilities I just explored; but at the same time I am frustrated because I couldn't really afford to do that exploration and in terms of priority those new ideas weren't as important as some other things I should have been doing.

Ti likes figuring things out using logic, it doesn't really care much about getting things done. Te is the one that gets things done.

Ti sort of creates a mental model where everything is prioritized correctly. In the establishment of balance of that model, Ti will say certain things have to get done and thus you do them, but in general the closure is reached by the finished design and clarification of the inner model regardless of how much of it is enacted physically.

Te is far more concerned about achieving practical tasks and reaching closure in the external world.
 

thiagomdo

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b) maybe could you describe in some detail the root of your procrastination?



I think this is my problem (inductive logic):

1. Its hard to believe in people when they say this or that is urgent, as it almost always is missing the context that justifies these statements.

2. I dont need more than the immediate pleasures give me, thinking that this way I keep myself balanced and that balance is the last search of all human beings. Therefore, the attitude of giving up an immediate pleasure with the intention of obtaining greater pleasure in a future occasion does not attract me much.

3. Most problems are not seen by me as real problems, but as the demands of social masks of the people, which in 99% of cases does not fit any of my interests.

4. I'm pretty independent. So there are few cases where I have to act to get something in return, namely a bit of money, sex and rock and roll, and over one thing or another.

5. Its not easy to deceive me. Hence my motivation is much lower than that of most people (assuming that most of the attitudes of most people are motivated by illusions, for example, "if I have more comfort, my life will be better").

6. I dont have gods, concretes or abstracts, to trust, whose suggestions to fulfill tasks that bring me personal merits have no influence over me.

7. I dont see how to be afraid of the future, that is, about the possibility of "lean years" because I have a strong awareness that my destruction will happen one way or another, no matter how I strive against it. You can only delay death for a short time. And the time you spend doing it, is rewarded when you're old, in conditions far worse. So I delay things that are part of the group "taking care of the future".

8. I dont know what's the point of human life. I am almost sure that it doesnt exist. Therefore all our actions are a way to balance to avoid suffering, and only. And we feel the pain as individuals and not as a collectivity. So I dont see a reason to sacrifice myself for something else other than my own good. So I procrastinate when my suffering would cause the "welfare" of my neighbor without giving me anything in return, that is, without bringing the collective balance that would be good for me.
 
 
The big picture of all of this would be:
"I procrastinate a lot, because I know that most of the demands that come to me, in my view, are unnecessary for me."


_
 

thiagomdo

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I think this is my problem (inductive logic):



"I procrastinate a lot, because I know that most of the demands that come to me, in my view, are unnecessary for me."


_




However, I feel very attracted to things like this:
 

[FONT=DMFGKO+TimesNewRoman]"Fusion, inner unity, is obtained by means of 'friction,' by the struggle between 'yes' and 'no' in man. If a man lives without inner struggle, if everything happens in him without opposition, if he goes wherever he is drawn or wherever the wind blows, he will remain such as he is. But if a struggle begins in him, and particularly if there is a definite line in this struggle, then, gradually, permanent traits begin to form themselves, he begins to 'crystallize.' But crystallization is possible on a right foundation and it is possible on a wrong foundation. 'Friction,' the struggle between 'yes' and 'no,' can easily take place on a wrong foundation. For instance, a fanatical belief in some or other idea, or the 'fear of sin,' can evoke a terribly intense struggle between 'yes' and 'no,' and a man may crystallize on these foundations. But this would be a wrong, incomplete crystallization. Such a man will not possess the possibility of further development. In order to make further development possible he must be melted down again, and this can be accomplished only through terrible suffering.[/FONT]

[FONT=DMFGKO+TimesNewRoman][FONT=DMFGKO+TimesNewRoman]"Crystallization is possible on any foundation. Take for example a brigand, a really good, genuine brigand. I knew such brigands in the Caucasus. He will stand with a rifle behind a stone by the roadside for eight hours without stirring. Could you do this? All the time, mind you, a struggle is going on in him. He is thirsty and hot, and flies are biting him; but he stands still. Another is a monk; he is afraid of the devil; all night long he beats his head on the floor and prays. Thus crystallization is achieved. In such ways people can generate in themselves an enormous inner strength; they can endure torture; they can get what they want. This means that there is now in them something solid, something permanent. Such people can become immortal.[/FONT][FONT=DMFGKO+TimesNewRoman]" Ouspensky[/FONT]
[/FONT]
 

ohrtonz

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Maybe we only seem impulsive to the observer as we may have been thinking about it for hours or days, every angle. For a couple of days I said to various people and my mom "omg omg this camera is cool i been researching it omg i want it". It may seem impulsive because of my excitement at each stage of research.
 

warryer

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@thiagomdo

That's an interesting concept. I have found myself in situations like what you described. Usually, they don't last very long because something immediately is happening that requires my action. It seems to be summed up by mind over matter.

I looked up who Ouspensky was. I then realized that I have some e-books on Fourth Way and am now wondering if this is worth a read?

So I'm not off topic:

I am not very impulsive because I have 'buyer's remorse.' I usually feel regret after I do things without thinking. Regret implies something negative. Of course if something positive happens the opposite is true in those times I am glad for impulsiveness.

If we are talking about learning about stuff; yes I am very impulsive. This drive will last for a few hours-days before I realize this isn't really something I care about.
 
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What is impulsivity? (Rhetorical)

I'd posit that impulsivity is the product of having a pre-formed circumstance-based logical structure in the unconscious that is used to respond to stimuli.

Consider this structure like a wrench. When it encounters a nut or bolt that is compatible, it jumps at the chance to be used. Impulsive people simply have more wrenches of various sizes at the ready.
[bimgx=600]http://home.comcast.net/~alloy-artifacts/Photos/tools/indestro_chicago_x3_f_cropped.jpg[/bimgx]
So actually, impulsivity is ultimately a form of pre-organization, and can be beneficial.

Does that mean procrastination is... good?
 
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What is impulsivity? (Rhetorical)

I'd posit that impulsivity is the product of having a pre-formed circumstance-based logical structure in the unconscious that is used to respond to stimuli.

Actually I've just read an excellent article about emotions and how they are linked to the thinking process. Some signals can byepass regions of the brain to stimulate the body directly. Similar to catching a falling glass instinctively.

The wrenches are a great example for that.

When it comes to thinking and emotions, the Prefrontal cortex plays a major role, but depending on the culture, emotions and how humans can perceive emotions quite differently.

But enough offtopic ^^ I wanted to share this article but it's in German...
 

nebnobla

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I'm impulsive like the animals we were designed to be; luckily my mind can operate simultaneously.
 

mu is mu

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This is one part of the INTP profile that has me confused. Are we known to be impulsive? Because I sure as hell am. I have always strongly associated that with my procrastination and my inability to finish things that I lose interest in. But I've been getting confused impressions around here.

So, a) would you say you're impulsive?

b) maybe could you describe in some detail the root of your procrastination?


In my case it's like .. the battle of the Ti vs. the shadow Fe. I can't tell if that means my Fe is unusually underdeveloped or unusually overdeveloped.

I was incredibly impulsive until 21. That was when I realized, after much reflection, that my efforts directed at any serious long-term goals would be inhibited by such behavior. This realization sparked the related realization that my incompetence in pursuing long-term goals would prevent me from helping people with my full potential, which was/is my chief goal in life. Once I realized this contradiction between my impulsiveness and long-term goals, procrastination in my life ceased almost instantly.

Apparently variations of the above scenario are somewhat common, with people becoming responsible whenever obligations and circumstances encourage or necessitate such a change.
 
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