Sarah The ISFP finally gets around to introducing herself

[sarah]

I can't believe it's friday night and I'm doing laundry -- goes to show you what six years of marriage can tame down your social life..

I just discovered to day that there’s actually a welcome thread in this forum. So maybe I should actually say something about myself....

Actually, I'm shocked to find a number of SPs on this list who are interested in type —for years I thought I was the only one. Wow.

I’m very comfortable around iNtuitives. I grew up in a family run by my ISFJ father and INFJ mother, both of whom are very intellectual and who wanted their daughters to grow up to appreciate reading and learning. (Seriously, they both love to sit in on college classes for fun, and they were the sort of parents who expected their kids to join in on their philosophical discussions at the breakfast table!)

Some people here may know me as “sarah the isfp” from the 16types discussion board, or they may know me as sarah (there’s only one) the token SP from the Yahoo Groups TemperamentTalk.

I’m a children’s librarian. Why the heck would I choose to be a librarian, you ask? Aren’t they a bunch of boring sensible-shoe-wearing, bun-sporting frumps who live for routine and order? Well, chances are if I have to explain what children’s librarians actually DO to you, you probably haven’t been in a busy downtown urban public library lately. Actually, my job gives me endless variety and I get to have a lot of hands-on fun with kids of all ages. Besides, if you ever feel the slightest bit depressed, hang around a bunch of preschoolers and they will make you feel good about yourself again. You might even get a few spontaneous compliments from them in the bargain.

Ways I fit the ISFP stereotype:

I’m artistic. I even majored in fine art in college. I love drawing and collage-making.
I’m shy about starting conversations with strangers.
I make a lot of value-based decisions about stuff, and I don’t bother to figure out whether what I value is completely logical or not.
I’m sensual. I love digging in my garden, I love to cook good food, and I love yummy sensations.
I’m a total environmentalist (treehugger.. yes, literally.) I know.. it's probably a scary thought for most of you.
I love being around animals and kids.
I (heart) creating things of beauty. In fact, my whole life has been one big huge artistic composition. I actually find it hard to STOP daydreaming about how to fix everything around me so that it looks good.
I married an ENFJ (even though we’re supposed to be “opposite” temperaments, I think my NF hubby is perfect for me.)

Ways I don’t fit the ISFP stereotype:

I don’t just sit by Walden Pond and sniff the pretty daisies (a la David Keirsey’s portrait of ISFPs in Please Understand Me)
I’m articulate
I did well in school.
I never did drugs, and although I like alcohol, never drink to get drunk.
I don’t live an extreme lifestyle.
I was never athletic, although I like to keep active through walking, dance and yoga.
I actually like thinking about abstract stuff (gasp) some of the time – like, even personality type.

[Jeffster]

Yo Sarah. :cool:

I have no idea why I am "interested in type", but like most things I get into, once I did I was like an addict, I had to have more! I've been a member of this forum for about 3 months now, and there's already been times I was bored with it, but then it seemed like something would come along that grabbed my interest again! Part of it is I have met some cool people here, and I tend to not want to lose touch with cool people, though I frequently end up doing so anyway.

Anyway, Rock on. :party2:

Oh by the way, in case you care, you can read MY intro thread here. (http://www.typologycentral.com/forums/welcomes-introductions/5891-yo.html)

[Thursday]

Hi.

[AllAboutSoul]

Hi Sarah :hi: Welcome, glad to meet you.

[Falcarius]

Welcome to MBTIc. :bye:

[Athenian200]

I don’t just sit by Walden Pond and sniff the pretty daisies (a la David Keirsey’s portrait of ISFPs in Please Understand Me)
I’m articulate
I did well in school.
I never did drugs, and although I like alcohol, never drink to get drunk.
I don’t live an extreme lifestyle.
I was never athletic, although I like to keep active through walking, dance and yoga.
I actually like thinking about abstract stuff (gasp) some of the time – like, even personality type.

All right then... you're articulate, you don't drink too much, you're smart enough not to live an extreme lifestyle, and you can stomach abstract thought. Wait, why do you think you're an SP again? :thinking:

;)

Kidding aside, welcome. I know very well that the types contradict themselves inherently. NFs use logic to a degree, NTs care about people to a degree, SJs can tolerate change to a degree, and SPs can be responsible to a degree. The problem is deciding at what point one veers into the other's territory. It isn't clearly marked, and depending on how a person looks at their type, they could look like any type. The system is filled with enough room for exceptions and contradictions that you can pretty much call yourself any type you wish. So if you believe you're an ISFP, I believe it too.

I'm still here mainly because of the friends I've made, and the fact that I can't seem to stop thinking about MBTI despite not seeing it as valid after all my research into it. :doh: I've just accepted that it's really just a conceptual toy, and I'm trying to learn to treat it and enjoy it as such rather than taking it too seriously.

Anyway... how did you come to be interested in Internet message boards in general (not just ones about type)?

[Economica]

Welcome, sarah! :bye:

Actually, I'm shocked to find a number of SPs on this list who are interested in type —for years I thought I was the only one. Wow.

Tell me about it (with the exception of ISTPs)! I've tried to interest three intelligent ISFPs who are willing to humor me in type, and it just doesn't take. They've been real "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink" experiences. :dry: It's good to know the lack of interest is not set in stone for ISFPs. :)

[sarah]

...The system is filled with enough room for exceptions and contradictions that you can pretty much call yourself any type you wish. So if you believe you're an ISFP, I believe it too.

Well, I did "try on" other types for size, and I've been interested in this for the past five years, but nothing else seems to fit. It was the type descriptions at Best-Fit Type : Exploring the Multiple Models of Personality Type (http://www.bestfittype.com) and in books written by Linda Berens/Dario Nardi that finally convinced me that it's not really your contextual behavior, but about the overall theme.

...I'm still here mainly because of the friends I've made, and the fact that I can't seem to stop thinking about MBTI despite not seeing it as valid after all my research into it. :doh: I've just accepted that it's really just a conceptual toy, and I'm trying to learn to treat it and enjoy it as such rather than taking it too seriously. Anyway... how did you come to be interested in Internet message boards in general (not just ones about type)?

I'm not. I just got interseted in type because I wanted a better relationship with my (INFJ) mom, and I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask about type, and nobody to ask. None of my friends was really all that interested in the subject, so I joined a couple of internet discussion groups. For everything else, I prefer socializing with people face to face. :)

[Lithium]

halooo

[Athenian200]

Well, I did "try on" other types for size, and I've been interested in this for the past five years, but nothing else seems to fit. It was the type descriptions at Best-Fit Type : Exploring the Multiple Models of Personality Type (http://www.bestfittype.com) and in books written by Linda Berens/Dario Nardi that finally convinced me that it's not really your contextual behavior, but about the overall theme.

Yeah... that makes sense. But how are you supposed to perceive a theme as opposed to just contextual behavior? Especially if you haven't exactly been in a variety of life situations? Oh, well. I suspect I'm just not psychologically mature enough to really have established a type yet. I have been rather sheltered.

It sounds like you've really studied this carefully. You seem to know what you're talking about.

I'm not. I just got interseted in type because I wanted a better relationship with my (INFJ) mom, and I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask about type, and nobody to ask. None of my friends was really all that interested in the subject, so I joined a couple of internet discussion groups. For everything else, I prefer socializing with people face to face. :)

I see. That sounds like a good reason. I'm glad to have the opportunity to meet SPs on here... so that I can see how they are. I don't get out much, and I generally don't have a strong enough constitution for most of the places SPs like to be.

[JAVO]

I can't believe it's friday night and I'm doing laundry -- goes to show you what six years of marriage can tame down your social life..
Just wait until you see what 12 years does! :D

I don’t just sit by Walden Pond and sniff the pretty daisies (a la David Keirsey’s portrait of ISFPs in Please Understand Me)

Stop messing with our stereotypes! :steam: We'll all be confused with our more accurate, but less well-defined, picture of reality. :D

[Eric B]

Hi Sarah!

That's so funny, because I was just this morning wondering if you would ever show up over here. (Patrick is over here too, now!) I had just started a topic in the NT section on math and the thinking attitudes, and it made me think of how either you or Sue call it "mathS". (Keep getting you two mixed up, but now thanks to all the librarian stuff, I'm remembering better. And I think it must have been Sue who says "maths". Obviously a non-USA spelling).

So welcome!

[sarah]

Yeah... that makes sense. But how are you supposed to perceive a theme as opposed to just contextual behavior? Especially if you haven't exactly been in a variety of life situations? Oh, well. I suspect I'm just not psychologically mature enough to really have established a type yet. I have been rather sheltered..

I had a lot of difficulty with this beause a lot of what's written about INFPs seemed to fit me too, but it was reading the Berens/Nardi books that helped me understand that type and temperament are really about the way your brain works when it's on auto-pilot -- in other words, what do you have trouble NOT thinking about, instead of what could you think about if you put your mind to it.

Comparing the two type themes from Berens' book on the 16 types: (also on
ISFP (http://www.cognitiveprocesses.com/isfp.html) )

ISFP: Theme is composing, using whatever is at hand to get a harmonious, aesthetic result. Talents lie in combining, varying, and improvising, frequently in the arts but also in business and elsewhere. With their senses keenly tuned in they become totally absorbed in the action of the moment, finding just what fits the situation or the composition. Thrive on having the freedom to vary what they do until they get just the right effect. Take action to help others and demonstrate values. Kind and sensitive to the suffering of others.

vs

INFP: Theme is advocacy and integrity. Talents lie in helping people clarify issues, values, and identity. Support anything that allows the unfolding of the person. Encourage growth and development with quiet enthusiasm. Loyal advocates and champions, caring deeply about their causes and a few special people. Interested in contemplating life’s mysteries, virtues, and vices in their search for wholeness. Thrive on healing conflicts, within and between, and taking people to the center of themselves.

It seemed obvious to me that when my brain's just "doing business as usual" instead of trying to be accomodating to others, it fits the ISFP theme. The same is true for the temperament pattern. The latter requires diplomatic intelligence (NF), the former tactical intelligence (SP) :)


I see. That sounds like a good reason. I'm glad to have the opportunity to meet SPs on here... so that I can see how they are. I don't get out much, and I generally don't have a strong enough constitution for most of the places SPs like to be.

hahah! Well, we aren't all scary party animals/daredevils. Some of us are quiet and non-threatening. ;)

Sarah

[sarah]

Hi Sarah!

That's so funny, because I was just this morning wondering if you would ever show up over here. (Patrick is over here too, now!) I had just started a topic in the NT section on math and the thinking attitudes, and it made me think of how either you or Sue call it "mathS". (Keep getting you two mixed up, but now thanks to all the librarian stuff, I'm remembering better. And I think it must have been Sue who says "maths". Obviously a non-USA spelling).

So welcome!

Hey, Eric! (waves hi) :)

I hadn't planned to join this list but I occasionally read messages here, and I saw a thread on the SP forum that I couldn't resist replying to. So I joined.

(waves hi to Patrick too)

Ooooo yeah, I did make a rather memorable post or two about librarians on TemperamentTalk, didn't I.. Hah! I forgot about that.

Sarah

[runvardh]

I had a lot of difficulty with this beause a lot of what's written about INFPs seemed to fit me too, but it was reading the Berens/Nardi books that helped me understand that type and temperament are really about the way your brain works when it's on auto-pilot -- in other words, what do you have trouble NOT thinking about, instead of what could you think about if you put your mind to it.

Comparing the two type themes from Berens' book on the 16 types: (also on
ISFP (http://www.cognitiveprocesses.com/isfp.html) )

ISFP: Theme is composing, using whatever is at hand to get a harmonious, aesthetic result. Talents lie in combining, varying, and improvising, frequently in the arts but also in business and elsewhere. With their senses keenly tuned in they become totally absorbed in the action of the moment, finding just what fits the situation or the composition. Thrive on having the freedom to vary what they do until they get just the right effect. Take action to help others and demonstrate values. Kind and sensitive to the suffering of others.

vs

INFP: Theme is advocacy and integrity. Talents lie in helping people clarify issues, values, and identity. Support anything that allows the unfolding of the person. Encourage growth and development with quiet enthusiasm. Loyal advocates and champions, caring deeply about their causes and a few special people. Interested in contemplating life’s mysteries, virtues, and vices in their search for wholeness. Thrive on healing conflicts, within and between, and taking people to the center of themselves.

It seemed obvious to me that when my brain's just "doing business as usual" instead of trying to be accomodating to others, it fits the ISFP theme. The same is true for the temperament pattern. The latter requires diplomatic intelligence (NF), the former tactical intelligence (SP) :)

Now I really know I'm INFP.

hahah! Well, we aren't all scary party animals/daredevils. Some of us are quiet and non-threatening. ;)


I had an ISFP girlfriend who was the quiet non-threatening kind - too bad she was an only child daddy's girl...

By the way, welcome to the nuthouse.

[SaltyWench]

Hiya Sarah!

[Gabe]

Hey There!

[sarah]

Hi, Gabe, Salty Wench and everybody else who said hi! :hi:

[Peguy]

Welcome. Hope you enjoy your stay. :)

Very interesting story of yours. I've thought about being a librarian myself, but then again I'd probably bury myself in books rather than do my job. LOL!


I grew up in a family run by my ISFJ father and INFJ mother, both of whom are very intellectual and who wanted their daughters to grow up to appreciate reading and learning. (Seriously, they both love to sit in on college classes for fun, and they were the sort of parents who expected their kids to join in on their philosophical discussions at the breakfast table!)

Well you were certainly very lucky then. I often have problems of relating my own philosophical thoughts to my family. They're not stupid, just not the philosophical types.

[Mo_(operalover)]

Velkoom too ze nathaus!

[Sunshine]

I'm glad you're here, Sarah.

[sarah]

I'm glad you're here, Sarah.

Awww, thanks, everybody, for the welcome. :)