Comments on: What Does It Mean

By: ockhamdesign

ockhamdesign — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 07:43:29 +0000

It’s great to hear from you Catherine. When younger INFPs ask me about career advice, I tell them to volunteer or intern with someone who’s currently doing what they want to be doing. If they can’t stand the day-to-day, they won’t like the job no matter how rewarding it is. It’s better to find out now instead of wasting 4+ years of college going for some job they idealized as perfect and then get there and realize it wasn’t as great as they thought.

By: toothfairy94

toothfairy94 — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 00:43:32 +0000

I found your blog through Personality Cafe. The OP asked a question about a career decision that I thought coincided with your blog entry. I have been researching new careers as well. Marcus Buckingham (featured on Oprah) is a career counselor that advises clients to mold their career based on accentuating their strengths and downplaying their weaknesses. He says people ask three questions when considering a new job: “Why is this job important to me?” “Who will I be working with?” and “What will I be doing?” Most people will take the job because of the “why”, stay with the job because of the “who”, and leave the job because of the “what”. His analysis is that if you don’t like the “what”, it will adversely affect the “who” and “why”. All of this info is on the Oprah website.

The reason I am mentioning this is because I think INFPs like the “why” “who” and “what” to always be in perfect alignment and that is often very unrealistic. Other personality types may be more forgiving, but you are right in that we like to exist in a perfect world in which we are using all of our natural talent in a great work environment for a wonderful cause. Another good point you brought up is that we should find something we are good at and attach the meaning later. There are lots of occupations that embody good ideals but can force a person to perform tasks that drain them instead of make them feel energized.

BTW Catherine, I didn’t know I was INFP until I was 38. It was such a life-changing event that has had nothing but positive consequences.

By: Catherine Vibert

Catherine Vibert — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 21:28:30 +0000

Ach! Corin, I’m glad you are writing this stuff. I loved the fool Tarot analogy. That is PERFECT for us. JUST PERFECT! I wish I’d known I was INFP in my 20′s but didn’t figure it out until late 40′s. I think it really helps to get real with that dog at your heals to understand this and the, yes, meaning of it. How it relates. There is much more joy in life understanding the common pitfalls of this type, and helps us realize that we are not alone in dealing with it when we know others we can talk to about it. Who get it. That’s why I love meeting other INFPs, it is a blessing. Meaningful. And yes, I’m a fool and getting to be feeling more and more comfortable about that. Thanks for your writings. Will be by to read more.

By: bicicletaazul

bicicletaazul — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 20:47:00 +0000

Yes…I totally relate to the fool as a wise idealist.. a bit naive perhaps but not out-of-touch. I willingly fall into my adventures, but do seem to pay a price some of the time–mostly because the choice made other people uncomfortable and I felt bad about that.

I like your comment about not caring if our dreams are unrealistic. Heck–it’s still worth pursuing– cos you never know! What else IS there?

Re: grounding force—Same with my husband….he appreciates my creative impulses, and helps me to do what needs to be done to move on. The yapping interrupts the dreaming stage sometimes , though. It’s more of matter of communication at that point. But grounding is definitely needed.

By: ockhamdesign

ockhamdesign — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 16:04:52 +0000

I think it’s the interpretation of the Fool as wisdom without reason that attracts me. I never saw the Fool is ignorant. I think the Fool knows the cliff is there and that his grand journey is always on the edge falling over. I think INFPs know that some of our dreams and notions may be a bit out there, but we just don’t care if they are unrealistic.

It’s nice to have a grounding force. My wife never tells me that I’m being unrealistic. She’s always asking me about my next step, forcing me to stop dreaming and start doing.

By: bicicletaazul

bicicletaazul — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 14:39:22 +0000

My goodness..the fool is such an apt avatar! I dug out the tarot deck I have had in a drawer for years and… there I was!.. with the little dog (my husband, thank the goddess for him!)yapping at my oblivious heels, warning of impending, unexpected flight.

While I usually believe that the flight will be a great and worthy adventure, I’m almost always caught off-guard and pretty much horrified when I find my feet no longer feeling earth! I find myself thinking “OH F*** not THIS again! What was I thinking??” Of course, I “learn and grow” from the experience, EXCEPT when I get into an obsession mode where I can’t seem to quite forgive myself for being such a fool…and I replay the idiocy over and over, hoping that this will keep me from reenacting whatever goofy endeavor I engaged in–which felt like a high spiritual mission at the time. I seem so good at self-delusion (in the name of high-purpose, as you suggested)——And as annoying as the yapping little dog can be, I can’t imagine a grounded life without him there. Thanks for listening, and I appreciate your thoughtful discourse. So glad I found your blog:-)

By: ockhamdesign

ockhamdesign — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 03:11:08 +0000

The Fool on the right side is from Melissa Launay's Golden Tarot deck.

By: elfee

elfee — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 18:49:09 +0000

Hi! I was just wondering if you could let me know which deck the right-side Fool card on the picture is from.

Thanks!

By: WorldWithoutEnd

WorldWithoutEnd — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 18:29:02 +0000

Sorry, just to add that I found two of the most useful sentences from Ms Nichols’ book are one of her passing definitions of the Fool – “a vague creature of rainbow possibilities with a penchant for madness” – which I have now taken as my bio on Twitter, and the line “When the ego is immobilised, intuitions are free to soar” from her chapter on The Star. That last sentence has proved wonderfully liberating.
Toodle-pip

By: WorldWithoutEnd

WorldWithoutEnd — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 18:15:05 +0000

I shouldn’t keep being surprised by how squarely you seem to hit the nail on the head – there’s always been something a bit spooky about other INFPs – but I’d like to commend to you the book “Jung and Tarot: An Archetypal Journey” by Sallie Nichols. I won’t be surprised to hear if you’ve already read and moved beyond it, but I had it lying open in front of me even as I arrived at your page today so I had to say something. If we can read it with the right balance of cynicism and intuition, as INFPs are particularly good at doing, it can provide a remarkable roadmap through some of The Stuff That Happens To Us. In fact I’ve spent the last month looking for a version of The Fool card to use as my userpic. I suspect any ordinary picture of me will suffice!

Thank you, Corin, for your insights. I’ve never thought of the Fool as the INFP card but it makes excellent sense and p’rhaps explains why the Tarot has fitted me so well.

And happy birthday blog! Encore!