Practising my Se

[Beat Mango]

Ok inspired by the person who's doing the planning experiment to work on their J, I've decided I want to tap into my extroverted sensing (Se), and to a lesser extent Fi and Ni because they've been very much ignored up to this point.

See when I was younger (18-24), I had a lot of faith in Ti, even though I didn't call it that. I thought that systematising and categorising everything would enable me to achieve a success and happiness that other people could not. I read self-help books and things like that, and I thought there were a few holes in what they were saying, so I thought if I could get to the heart of the matter, resolve the inconsistencies, then I'd be able to live life most effectively. I'm learning now that Ti is not quite what it's cracked up to be. It is very useful, but has severe limitations and disadvantages if relied upon exclusively.

So yeah, here's how I'm going to develop my Se:

- clean and maybe even polish my car.
- watch tv

That's about all I can think of right no :/ What are other typical Se, Ni or Fi activities? What do Se people think about? I'm thinking dinner parties are good for Se as well, so I might sit through some of them as well without letting myself go into NT mode.

 

[Toad]

Play sports?

 

[Beat Mango]

Well yeah I love sport but it's kind of cheating because it involves a lot of thinking, for me anyway. That's the hard thing I guess for me - even when doing sensing things, I'm always thinking thinking thinking. When exercising, I am always contemplating something. When drinking wine, I am analysing it and comparing it to other wines I've had, looking to categorise it. I've noticed that sensing people don't do any of that, they just take it at face value and enjoy it, they don't really go beneath the surface. That's what I want to practise doing.

 

[Toad]

You know what I noticed about sensing people? When they go to sleep, they are able to do it as soon as they close their eyes! When N's sleep we have to forcefully shut down our brains somehow.

Watching TV doesn't help I don't think. I have watched a lot of tv in my life...and my Se...isn't that great.

 

[Beat Mango]

When I am going to sleep I just daydream about something (usually chicks) and when I start to get lost in it, I know I am falling asleep.

Hah but that's what sensing people do! They just watch tv, read magazines, laugh at things that aren't funny... I really don't get them at all, hence why I want to practise it.

 

[Toad]

Seriously I envy S people. They go around living everday to it's fullest. Only thinking about the now.

N's...we are cursed it seems...Must we always dream and contemplate the future? I want to be able to sleep and not stay up for 2 hours thinking about life and the meaning of life. I used to think about chicks all the time too, but they kind of bore me now.

Sigh...I don't think it is possible to really change your type drastically enough to stop thinking man. I'm sorry.

 

[Beat Mango]

Seriously I envy S people. They go around living everday to it's fullest. Only thinking about the now.

ES sure, but IS are boring man, and not always happy.

Anyway for now I think cleaning my car regularly will be good for me because I will forced to pay attention to something that is not NT at all. I just think we can get lost in our own worlds a bit and we need Se things to ground us, get us out of our heads and into reality, which is usually a lot less fantastic but also a lot less daunting.

 

[Enne]

I need something to overwhelm my Ti (and Ne?)..something with a LOT of sensory input...

I dunno... Go play laser tag? Find a full emersion video game? But a fun one, like some ridiculously tricked out version of Wipeout or Tekken?

...that sounds FUN

 

[Enne]

I need something to overwhelm my Ti (and Ne?)..something with a LOT of sensory input...

I dunno... Go play laser tag? Find a full emersion video game? But a fun one, like some ridiculously tricked out version of Wipeout or Tekken?

...that sounds FUN

I KNOW! Find yourself a roller coaster!

 

[Beat Mango]

Ok just ignoring that Enne replied to herself, cooking is another thing I want to do to practise Se.

 

[Ulysses]

I need something to overwhelm my Ti (and Ne?)..something with a LOT of sensory input...

Let's meet up sometime. I'll show you what sensory input means. ;O

 

[Toad]

Yea I LOVE cooking. Mostly because I love food and eating. Food FTW!!!

 

[brain enclosed in flesh]

Hah but that's what sensing people do! They just watch tv, read magazines, laugh at things that aren't funny... I really don't get them at all, hence why I want to practise it.

Brain is here to fill you in, Banana! I am married to an ESTP, so I know what the hell I'm talking about. (And Red Toad is correct. They fall asleep the second they close their eyes, if not before. And don't EVER give them a book to read while lying down. It is completely pointless. They will fall asleep before they even read the title. )

A typical day in the life of my husband:

1. Wakes up with a boner and attempts to have sex.
2. His lame INTP wife typically refuses him.
3. Denied, he jumps out of bed and starts jumping up and down, kicking his legs in the air. (Jumping is the best exercise EVER, or so he tells me.) Then he does push ups and crunches.
4. Goes to bathroom while reading a skateboard magazine. Showers.
5. Comes out to the kitchen and slaps his wife's ass and tries to make out. His lame INTP wife rolls her eyes and gives him a worthless peck.
6. Breakfast and laptop in tow, he tries to make out with his wife again and assures her that he can be a little late for work, it's not that big of a deal. His lame INTP wife rolls her eyes again and says something in sarcastic monotone.

7. Work: fifty websites about skateboarding and indie rock opened at the same time, he google chats with ten friends and texts twelve others. In addition to his 'real' job, he works on his 'fun' job, which is owning a skateboard company.

8. After work: comes home, instantly falls asleep on the couch. His kids crawl all over him. Then it's dinner, which is coupled with non-stop incoming texts and phone calls. After dinner, he'll play basketball or baseball or soccer or hide and seek or wrestle with the kids. After that, he'll go skateboard for four hours, maybe follow it up with a few beers with his skate friends. Then he'll come home and try to have sex with his wife. Her being a lame INTP, she will typically refuse. Although sometimes... so it could happen, right?!?

My husband completely blows me away. I have no idea how he can do all he does on a daily basis without having a nervous breakdown. But he has to, or else he feels like he's throwing his life away. He refuses to waste a single second of play time.

Oh, ps: he never watches TV, except NBA playoffs. TV is wasted time.

 

[Toad]

LoL Brain. My gf is an ESTP too! For some reason...she does not try to seduce me all the time with sex. Maybe because I'm a slut and she knows she can get me anytime she wants.

My gf works and goes to school like there is no tomorrow. She rarely ever just sits down and relaxes with me. She is not into the MBTI thing at all. Once, when I was testing her, she fell asleep. After she woke up and finally finished, she didn't even really bother reading her description.

Well anyways, I forgot to ask you, why do you want to enhance your Se?

 

[brain enclosed in flesh]

Red Toad... funny. Yeah my husband thinks the MBTI is completely pointless. He did the test to humor me, but got exactly 50% on everything.

Anyway, he's very smart too at things I am not smart at (Calculus, figuring out how to solve problems with multi-million dollar printers- his job).

Being with an ESTP is good. They force you out into the sensory world. And they can be a whole lot of fun.

 

[brain enclosed in flesh]

Oh, something else I wanted to add- my husband's dreams are always active. He's always jumping over a cliff or flying or skateboarding or, yes, having sex. So that's something else to focus on, Mango. You also need to be active in your dreams.

 

[Ermine]

Wow. I'm surprised you can live with this guy. But what do I know...

 

[Toad]

The thing I like about my gf is that I can go do stuff with her when I feel like it, but when I feel introverted and want to stay home she can just leave me and go hang out with her friends.

I gotta say when she is around she is kind of clingy, but she is usually pretty busy doing her own thing.

 

[brain enclosed in flesh]

The thing I like about my gf is that I can go do stuff with her when I feel like it, but when I feel introverted and want to stay home she can just leave me and go hang out with her friends.

That's it exactly. If he were less active and more introverted, he would be around quite a bit more and I'd have very little alone time and THAT would drive me nuts, Ermine. But when I want to do something, I have someone who is more than willing, which is nice. I don't have to exert any effort to be social- he makes all of the plans and phone calls and I just go along. Fortunately we like a lot of the same music, so we typically go to shows when we do something together- it's our common ground.

 

[Toad]

Cheers to ESxP's!

 

[Beat Mango]

This is why I want to practise my Se Toad:

I just think we can get lost in our own worlds a bit and we need Se things to ground us, get us out of our heads and into reality, which is usually a lot less fantastic but also a lot less daunting.

The other reason is that I just met this ISFP (I think) girl and I can't understand her whatsoever. We seem similar on the surface but are actually polar opposite. I read a description that INTPs and ISFPs are both deep, but in very different ways. That made sense. I used to judge S types as being boring and shallow but I want to try to understand them more.

That's it exactly. If he were less active and more introverted, he would be around quite a bit more and I'd have very little alone time and THAT would drive me nuts, Ermine. But when I want to do something, I have someone who is more than willing, which is nice. I don't have to exert any effort to be social- he makes all of the plans and phone calls and I just go along. Fortunately we like a lot of the same music, so we typically go to shows when we do something together- it's our common ground.

That makes sense to me. I'm pretty sure some of my closer friends would have been ESXPs for the same reasons. I think INTPs are good at mirroring too and I can go along with their flow which is fun. They don't kind of notice my Ti which is good - the worst is someone like an ESTJ who notices you're in your own world and judges you for it.

Just hypothesising about the INTPs Se capacity for those who know more about the MBTI: is it possible that because the Se is down the pecking order for us, that we need more stimulus to activate it? Nietzsche to me is a classic and somewhat extreme INT, and he talked about the value of danger - maybe for the same reason? That we need to be in difficult or edgy situations for our Se to activate?

 

[Beat Mango]

Let's meet up sometime. I'll show you what sensory input means. ;O

Hey back off! Enne is mine!

 

[brain enclosed in flesh]

Just hypothesising about the INTPs Se capacity for those who know more about the MBTI: is it possible that because the Se is down the pecking order for us, that we need more stimulus to activate it? Nietzsche to me is a classic and somewhat extreme INT, and he talked about the value of danger - maybe for the same reason? That we need to be in difficult or edgy situations for our Se to activate?

That would be possible. I know that in the past I was very risky- free climbing, back country snowboarding off large cornices, and when I was child I found climbing to the tops of trees exhilarating. Maybe it has to go along with the all or nothing attitude/approach we INTPs are supposed to have. Even now- and I know this isn't risky- but I can't deal with just strolling around the neighborhood, it makes my skin crawl- I only want to walk around if I'm someplace new, with new, different stimuli- ideally someplace like New York where there's tons to look at. And I love the ocean. I love diving into the waves and just letting them take me wherever they want to. I suppose you could say the same for drinking, drugs- I could never have one or two drinks, never one bong hit. Now I'm learning moderation, but it doesn't come easily or naturally. I suppose all of this would be why I get along with ESXPs. When I let go, I really let go.

 

[Toad]

I agree. I think many INTP's are missing out by being inactive.

I used to be very inactive when I was younger, but then one day I went snowboarding. I LOVED IT. I realized I love the rush of adrenaline. So I started doing other stuff like surfing, zip track riding, and well...pretty much anything where I can go fast. I still am pretty inactive most of the time, but when I go do something I love adventure.

I also have moderation problems. My solution is if I am not able to go all the way with something, I won't bother doing it at all. If I know I can't get piss drunk, I won't even start the first beer. I think Ermine pointed out that that is the second law of thermodynamics? lol I'm not sure.

 

[Enne]

I think Ermine pointed out that that is the second law of thermodynamics? lol I'm not sure.

That was me. That was just for your room, because it was increasing in disorder, which is a natural state for all things in the universe.

 

[Enne]

Ok just ignoring that Enne replied to herself, cooking is another thing I want to do to practise Se.

Well excuuuuuse me. Just trying to help with your life. Or something.

 

[Beat Mango]

Well excuuuuuse me. Just trying to help with your life. Or something.

Aww come on... give me a hug

 

[Enne]

*eyes warily* *relents*

 

[echoplex]

My advice would be to simply make an effort to really take in sensory input. Instead of just eating, really smell the food before you eat it. Going outdoors? Smell the flowers and admire the scenery. I also think that things like exercise, sports, and driving any sort of automobile can help. Although with any of this, the key is really to try to be aware of what your senses pick up.

I can't say I've really tried to develop Se too much, but I'm sure I've developed it somewhat without knowing it. Life kinda forces you to, to a point.

 

[Enne]

That's it exactly. If he were less active and more introverted, he would be around quite a bit more and I'd have very little alone time and THAT would drive me nuts, Ermine. But when I want to do something, I have someone who is more than willing, which is nice. I don't have to exert any effort to be social- he makes all of the plans and phone calls and I just go along. Fortunately we like a lot of the same music, so we typically go to shows when we do something together- it's our common ground.

Don't you ever find that overbearing? The game for anything aspect sounds fun, but what if you wanted to do something that he wasn't up for? Do you ever want to guide the course of action?

 

[brain enclosed in flesh]

I suggest things from time to time- just not as frequently as he does. And I do do things that he's not up for- he's not my sole outlet to life or anything. And if I'm not interested in doing something that he wants to do, I just don't do it.

He always asks if I'm interested in doing a particular thing- he doesn't just assume or anything like that.

 

[Enne]

I suggest things from time to time- just not as frequently as he does. And I do do things that he's not up for- he's not my sole outlet to life or anything. And if I'm not interested in doing something that he wants to do, I just don't do it.

He always asks if I'm interested in doing a particular thing- he doesn't just assume or anything like that.

Oh ok.