That thoroughness on something I enjoy is journey. It’s taking time to smell the roses instead of rushing off to do the next thing. Because there will always be a next thing and a next thing after that.

The things I have been focused on for a really long time have been the things that when I examined why I really did them it was either for some fantasy of recognition–or if that was not the prime motivator, I became dissillusioned when they did not result in recognition. However, when I do things for the pleasure of the journey, it is harder to stick with it. When I look back at previous endevours–and start new ones–I have to keep in mind the pleasure I got and gave along the way and not the inevitable, ingorious endings.

Thanks for your blog, Corin, and for the others that have commented. Its comforting to identify with snippits of myself.

Lilly said something that I think perfectly describes a specific attribute of an INFP (or me at least). “It might look like I’m not getting ahead, but I’m just being more thorough.” — typical INFP, no? Our thoroughness is often seen as inefficiency by many types (*cough*S*cough*). Even my INTJ friends who understand personality type sometimes have a hard time grasping my necessity for thoroughness over just getting something done.

I also enjoyed seeing that I’m not alone in my “journey is more important than the destination” viewpoint. I know that is also typical INFP, but it’s still nice to read it from others. My interests and hobbies change like bee flitting from flower to flower. No one can keep up, but when I’m interested in something, I AM REALLY interested in it. I read the books, I learn the language (or at least some of it), I learn the skill (I don’t master it), I read the series, I take classes (and once I’m finished, I don’t go into that career). Everyone else sees it as a waste of time, and I admit, I did too for a while…but when I look back and see what enjoyment and passion I spent on that interest, even if only for a handful of days, weeks, months, or years, that is what brings my fulfillment. Knowing I was happy in the journey.

Thanks again Corin for your insight and sharing! It really made me think

I can truly say that enjoying dance lead me to becoming a computer programmer, getting married, learning about real estate and a whole slew of other behaviors that couldn’t be predicted by my behaviors that came before dancing.

Reading the bios of members of an excellent Klezmer band that played at an event recently, I see that they are all successful in careers other than music. Most of them will probably continue in the band after they retire from their “day” jobs.

Even that sort of lifetime commitment to a loved activity is not necessary for the type of person who wants to experience many different things. Some of us have a higher need for variety. Society calls it being a dilletante. Leonardo DaVinci, Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin are examples of those who pursued multiple interests over their lives. I hope I never quit exploring. Keirsey says a trait INFP’s share is feeling guilty for not being “authentic” enough.

Other archtypes might find the utility of their compromises to be a satisfying way to live, given the other values that are expressed by raising a family, providing a home, etc.
George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life” made lots of compromises, but had a great life, when he appreciated the glass half ful view.

hmmm… interesting point.

I guess, It’s like a catch 22. If we have nothing to do, we will waste away the time and accomplish nothing. But if we have a lot to do, it will somehow seem as though we have no time to accomplish what we we would otherwise be doing had we had the time!

Well, for me personally, responsibility changes me on so many levels. After college I took a break, during which I had a rather bohemian existence. I was jumping from one pursuit to the next. I joined a fine art class, tried kick-boxing, did 2 internships, took graphic design classes, I traveled a bit… I slept any time I want and woke up in the middle of the day. My day was not planned and so was my life. But after getting a job, I know what I will be doing from 9 to 5 everyday, I know what I’m most likely to be doing 5 years from now.

I see self-similarity in life, I also think that a person is capable of changing their day, and so changing the entire pattern of their life. And just like personality is flexible, so is a person’s daily routine, and so is a person’s general pattern. and I think what responsibility does more than taking up our time, it changes who we are and our priorities and what we choose to pursue in life, it changes our daily routine and so our pattern in life.

Was I more happy searching for a job or after finding one?

Well, In my “quest” to find a career I realized the harsh reality that nobody is willing to hire a graphic designer who has a Bachelor degree in Business Administration and no formal art education. So after a grueling reality check, I decided to apply for regular office jobs. After I got my job, and despite it being the exact opposite of what I imagined myself doing, I seem to be pretty content.

So even though I tried being a graphic designer and failed, it was fun pursing that. and even though sometimes I get tired of doing the “fixed things” my job demands. I still think it’s much better than being unemployed because it gets me out of bed early and forces me to “act” more and also makes me more focused rather than living erratically.

so I guess, personally I like the process of looking for “fixed things to do” because it leads to many new opportunities and experiences, even if I don’t always reach my desired end. and I also like having fixed things to do because I get lazy and unfocused if my day is completely empty.

but I don’t know, I’m at a point in my life where I’m yearning for stability and a sense of direction and I feel that once I achieve certain goals in my career and personal life and have certain fixed things that I do everyday, I will feel more at peace with myself and that way I can focus my energy on all that other soul-searching/artistic endeavors.

but, Is it possible with this temperament to reach self-fulfillment? What about INFPs in their 60s and older, have they got it figured out yet?

As INFPs, we fritter away most of our time anyway and only spend a fraction of it “getting things done.’ The rest of that time is like ether where we’re looking for something to get done that will make us happy.

Everything has a set of fixed things to do. Everyone from bestselling writers to zombie killers have responsibilities and a fixed set of activities. So does looking for fixed things to do make us more happy then actually doing those fixed things?

I guess. whats frustrating is that INFPs are better at seeing an idealised “whole”. but, if they try to change the basic unit to try to reach that idealised whole the result of that change is unpredicatable. So changing simple behaviours, could alter the genral pattern of someone’s life, but the results would be so variable it would be hard to reach the exact vision of that idealised whole.

I think maybe the reason why you feel like you’re looking forward to having “you’re time” might be because having responsiblities affects you’re basic unit. The way you do things as a responsible adult makes the pattern of your life more constricted. You would have to do things in a more effecient, more organised, more timely manner and you would have specific duties or chores that are fixed and have to be perfomed.

The way I picture it, it’s like for someone who has no responsibilities their basic unit is soft and malleable and so the overall pattern of their life is not fixed and can be easily altered. However with more responsibilities, the basic unit hardens and becomes more and more well-defined and difficult to alter, and so achieving an idealised “whole” or changing the entire pattern of one’s life would be more restricted because they have a well-defined basic unit.

but, a more well-defined basic unit, means a clearer vision the overall pattern. An amorphous basic unit makes it really hard to see the whole. So what you have now, is a clear basic shape which can be altered slightly and can be arranged in endless variations.

but I guess, the INFP in you might be yearning for the freedom to envision an idealised whole that isn’t bound by your current basic shape, which is less adaptable then it used to be.

Maybe INFPs, enjoy the journey more then reaching their destination because during the journey it is possible to fantacise, and it’s possible to change you’re destination all together.

I guess, our purpose in life is the “quest”, and maybe the quest seems over once we reach the end, so we need to constantly find new quests. And so we love change, and we are always looking for the meaning in life and what we want. (probably caused by our Ne).