“Trying To Maintain A Pleasant State And Avoid An Unpleasant State Is Actually The Cause Of Sorrow.

“The best spiritual instruction is when you wake up in the morning and say, ‘I wonder what’s going to happen today.’ And then carry that kind of curiosity through your life.”

— Pema Chödrön

Street Carpets Painted by Arthur-Louis Ignoré

INTX- Airport

INTJ: Be careful at the airport. You look like someone that they’d pick for those “random” security checks INTP: hey, I make an conscious effort to not look like a sociopath in public

Inert vs. Contact Subtype in a Nutshell

I felt this is useful information that should be more known, so I decided try to dessiminate it myself. 

Guardians

ISTJ:

ISTJ-Si: Courteous, professional, appreciator of comforts, lowkey individualistic

ISTJ-Te: Industrious, severe, impatient, very resourceful within their area of expertise

The latter is apparently rarer and occassionally mistypes as INTJ. I presume the former’s orientation toward comforts can completely turn around/express itself differently depending on enneagram.

ISFJ:

ISFJ-Si: Measured, considerate, unhurried, mildly inquisitive Can be artsy.  

ISFJ-Fe: Lively, friendly, upbeat, sociable, tiny bit cheeky. 

Basically elegant vs adorable. 

ESTJ:

ESTJ-Te: Serious, straightforward, more taciturn, courageous; Can be strict or have no chill 

ESTJ-Si: Enthusiastic, sociable, hospitable, a lot more expressive, does have chill but can be pushy

The stereotype is ovsly more inspired by the former;  The descriptions of the former sound somewhat unflattering, but theoretically, they’d have better acess to their Ne, so there’s that. 

ESFJ:

ESFJ-Fe: Very expressive & social but also temperamental,  wears more “attractive” clothes, can be a bit scattered, opinionated 

ESFJ-Si: More plain but also more practical & dilligent; Lively, charming and helpful, can tend to overwork themselves

The popular stereotype is the former, the descriptions on internet profiles more the latter.

Artisans

ESFP:

ESFP-Se: Proactive, energetic, confident, assertive, can be dramatic, leader material

ESFP-Fi: Charming, team worker, pragmatist, likes having the newest & shiniest toys, not quite as risk-taking

The stereotype is ostensibly more based on the latter. More ppl should remember the former exists before declaring ambiguous cases as ESTP or ENFP.

ESTP:

ESTP-Se: Basically the commonly known “flashy clever bastard” version; Forget the “clever” part at your own risk. Snarky, charming & strong-willed with a soft spot for their favorite people

ESTP-Ti: Much more low-key in clothing & demeanor, collected, suspicious & skeptical,  good with business stuff, cunning behind-the-scenes-y person but notices everything that happens around them

The latter could be mistaken for introvert, or even an intuitive if someone’s going purely by stereotypes. Chances are they’ll have more pronounced Ti-ish speech patterns & expressions. 

ISFP:

ISFP-Fi: modest, gentle, caring, well-mannered, sensitive, can be shy & dislikes to impose, but firm & critical about principles, very perceptive of ppl’s behavior 

ISFP-Se: Tough, fortright, blunt, venturesome and vigilant and adaptable, impressive death glare.

Gentle Flower Child vs. fierce independent adventurer. Descriptions are usually one or the other, leaving at least one half of them miffed. The former can be mistaken for ISFJ, the latter for an extrovert. 

ISTP:

ISTP-Ti: Very discerning & autonomous, likes some degree of preparation, stoic & preseverant, modest & unpretentious but can also be friendly & attentive

ISTP-Se: More restless, gusty & impulsive, though more outwardly courteous & communicative as well, perhaps more sportsy & stylish, bit more sociable

All the “badass vigilante” or “hardcore hobby person” stereotypes sort of reference the former. The latter seems like that stereotypical super chill male friend. (or tomboyish soccer girl.)

(Boy, does socionics as a whole ever have a crush on SPs. If you’re tired of descriptions that were obviously written by NPs, read these ones.)

Diplomats

ENFP:

ENFP-Ne: Super dreamy & outwardly carefree, frequently bookish, maybe a bit more scattered, can alternate between shy & cheerful, chill & energetic, more colorful clothes, forgiving (to an extent), tries to be friendly & understanding toward everybody

ENFP-Fi: Independent, original & artsy. Prefers to work directly with people, (unlike the other subtype), determined clever & purposeful, energetic & sociable, earthy & comfy but still original clothes. Adventurous, romantic, maybe a tad self-critical

The stereotype seems based on the latter. I’ve read somewhere that the former can have sciencey inclinations, and maybe be closer to ENTPs in some respects, though the presence of Fi ultimately makes for a marked difference. 

INFP:

INFP-Fi: Polite, quiet, firm, very serious, very introvertey; Insightful but private about it. Clothing can be minimalistic or reflect inner thoughts somehow (music subculture etc.)

INFP-Ne: Reserved in public but diplomatic & mentor-like in private, bit more openly friendly or dreamy, tends to have a mischievous sense of humor in the manner of other NPs. Modest & unassuming clothes. 

The usual stereotype is very specifically a sx/sp 4w5 base subtype individual, and not a particularly well-adjusted one at that. 

ENFJ-Fe: More moody/passionate, dramatic or flashy, also decisive & a good speaker, very initiative & inclined to solve other’s problems with advice, but can be perceived meddlesome, wants to be seen as serious & respectable and might agonize over responsibility.

ENFJ-Ni: More reflective, deliberate/purposeful, very sociable in a inquisitive sort of way, boundless interest in people, eloquent & good at “selling” their ideas & beliefs or describing feelings in a detailed distinctive manner, can have a more latent kind of temper

“Hero” vs. “Teacher”. Stereotype wise I can’t so much discern a general tendency. Interestingly & perhaps amusingly, the descriptions suggest either variety is very creative with their clothing. 

INFJ:

INFJ-Ni: Quiet, dreamy & contemplative, romantic & melancholic, significantly more withdrawn & observer-like

INFJ-Fe: Artistic & charming, more socially involved, very persuasive & excellent at picking up & shifting the mood around them, can come off somewhat bohemian & have surprisingly good crisis reactions.

The former can mistake themselves for NTPs or INFPs, the latter could be confused with extroverts.

Rationals

ENTJ:

ENTJ-Te: Less expressive, decisive & forward  despite a tendency to think & reflect, quick to abruptly spring into action, serious & dignified, persistent & tenacious, not that extroverted, values honesty, bit more pragmatic & cautious 

ENTJ-Ni: Bold & charming with a well-developed sense of humor, good sense for opportunities, naturally constructs plans that are far-reaching yet concrete, bit wider interests, ponders the big questions

I wonder how this correlates with wether they’re 8s, 3s or 1s.

INTJ:

INTJ-Ni: Way more lowkey in terms of ambitions, spends much time with contemplation & reading, calm, reserved & distanced, can be grumbly, reserved lifestyle, small & stable circle of friends, well-developed imagination, less confident

INTJ-Te: Ambitious, tries to improve on/ methodical about everything, dislikes inefficiency, good at forming wide circle business connections, tries to be knowledgeable on a variety of issues & shows creativity in practical matters

Again, here the stereotype is pretty specifically a Te-subtype 5w6, making it a bit harder to identify the base subtype ones, even more so if they’re one of the rarer enneagram combinations. 

ENTP:

ENTP-Ne: Very curious about all manner of unusual topics, has a certain childlike naivity & helpfulness about them, loves to share exciting discoveries with others, tends to be more scattered but can be thorough when they find something they’re truly passionate about

ENTP-Ti: More savy & self-assured, but can come off sharp & inconsiderate at times. Can be impatient. Vigorous, strategic Debater, good a turning vague ideas into workable plans, could be leader material

The “trololol” Stereotype seems like an exaggeration of the latter variety. The former seems almost too cute to exist but I think I’ve encountered a few examples. 

And last but not least: INTP!

INTP-Ti: Calm, serious & uncompromising, remains silent and austere if uninterested, correct, proper & strict, dislikes leghty discourse.  Erudite & specialized, frequently math-y, more persistent, hard-working & meticulous

INTP-Ne: More into breadth of knowledge, creative, soft, funny & excitable when in the right mood but also a lot more scattered & procrastinatey, rarely as absolute in statements, but very much in action,  can be stuborn.

The former seems more represented in descriptions whereas the latter seems more frequent on tumblr. I am an example of this… (^^°)

—

Incidentally, this (along with enneagram-related variations) probably contributes to varying degrees/shadings of introversion vs extroversion (”social introverts”, “introspective extroverts”, introverts who present with fairly forward personalities in private etc.) 

You can do further reading here or here  to determine which one you or your aquaintances are, it gets pretty detailed complete with body language. Also, here’s some theory behind it; 

The Tl;Dr of that article is  (as far as I get it) basically that for brain science reasons, there’s either a positive or negative feedback reaction when you use your 1st 2 functions, resulting in a slight emphasis of all other odd- or even numbered functions, and that this is why there is such a thing as an unusually sciencey ENFP, also why some ppl might actually be better at their role function than their tertiary. (For what little good that does.) 

Feel free to tag/post which one you are or something.

As usual corrections & additions by actual experts are always appreciated. 

“Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires.”

— Clarissa Pinkola Estés

I don’t understand but I agree.

“I’ve found that growing up means being honest. About what I want. What I need. What I feel. Who I am.”

—

Epiphany

An analemma, a composite image taken from the same spot at the same time over the course of a year, from the village of Callanish in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland, UK. Equinoxes are the middle points

via reddit

MBTI: reasons to live

Okay so this is a bit more serious than my usual posts which are literally about memes and procrastination, but I thought it would be sorta nice to give each type a reason why they should stay alive. These sorts of things are important :)

INFP: there are so many books left for you to read

INFJ: you see things differently and the world needs people like that

INTP: live for that discovery you’ll make a decade from now

INTJ: you haven’t truly left your mark yet

ENFP: there are animals who need you

ENFJ: who will campaign for change without you?

ENTP: you’re gonna do something big, just wait

ENTJ: you are the one thing holding some groups/organisations together

ISTP: you haven’t visited every continent yet

ISTJ: the world needs your innovation

ISFP: there’s so many beautiful things you haven’t seen

ISFJ: trust me, your friends need you

ESFP: you brighten up the lives of everyone you meet

ESFJ: one day, you’ll be so in love that you’ll be glad you’re alive

ESTP: there are so many experiences left for you to feel

ESTJ: you may not know it, but people are relying on you

“Only the gentle are ever really strong.”

— James Dean