Comments on: My favorite question is: so what?

By: shahin

shahin — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 14:03:58 +0000

i just found your blog… and it explans a lot about me i never quite understood. =D. you know yourself very well apparently! im an INFP aswell, and I’m just 14 so i hope to better my personality weaknesses before they become habituated…
thanks so much for what you’re doing!

By: Corin

Corin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 16:45:30 +0000

This blog is very much a release. It helps me sort out random thoughts about INFP. For example, in game theory there’s something called the Prisoner’s Dilemma.

I have this idea of framing the INFP experience as a Prisoner’s Dilemma where belief is one prisoner and action is another prisoner. If both cooperate then you get the win-win. I have notes and a partial draft, but I haven’t been able to get into words what I’m thinking which means, that I still need more time to let that idea marinate.

Thank you for reading my blog.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:29:58 +0000

I don’t subscribe to more than a few blogs. The main reasons I like yours (and you as a writer) are:
- you write perceptively and originally about stuff that I’m interested in (your content helps me learn things that are important to me now)
- I like your writing style (personal, intimate and with humor) and I enjoy reading your posts
- You interact with readers – the blog is not just a broadcast of you; this is probably the key to creating and maintaining relationships

So relationship I’ve developed with your blog (=you) is based on the quality of your content and your communication/interaction style. And yes, I like the readable format too!

Mike

By: Jennifer M.

Jennifer M. — Mon, 10 May 2010 03:03:04 +0000

I struggle with this too with my blog(s). I’ve started and stopped so many over the years. I try sometimes to make them structured and useful and that never works b/c I’m not particularly structured. Then other times I try to be really personal and say whatever’s on my mind, and that only sort of works b/c then I end up second-guessing my telling complete strangers the inner workings of my heart. Lol.

I currently have settled on a general theme (the fact that I’m in my thirties) and try to give myself the permission to write when I feel led (sometimes 4 times a day, sometimes only 4 times a month), and also to go back and forth between being useful and being personal. I’m starting to realize that it can be both. This flexibility combined with the theme has helped me find focus w/ my writing.

I’ve also tried really hard in this newest blog to actually develop relationships w/ my readers instead of just staying in my own head all the time. It’s very fulfilling to build these relationships and I find myself wanting to tell them things in my blogs that I know they will find interesting. This, for me, gets the blog out of my head and more into doing something for other people, which in turn keeps the blog going longer and feeling more fulfilling. If that makes any sense (I feel like I’m talking in circles here).

By: Jennifer M.

Jennifer M. — Mon, 10 May 2010 02:55:41 +0000

That’s very interesting – I do that too. When someone else is right there with me on exercising or learning a new language, I can totally go for it and do really well. If I’m on my own, I usually fizzle out after a few tries. I wonder why that it?

By: Jennifer M.

Jennifer M. — Mon, 10 May 2010 02:54:05 +0000

Haha. I totally do this too. It must be an INFP thing; I hadn’t even realized that until now. I can’t tell you how many unfinished stories I have sitting in my closet. Mostly I’ve stopped writing them after I share them with someone. That person gets all excited, wanting to hear what comes next… but my momentum is gone and I move on to the next creative challenge w/ o ever finishing the story I was on.

By: ockhamdesign

ockhamdesign — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 04:51:06 +0000

I was like that too until I met my wife. Of course INFPs can succeed in whatever endeavor they set on but why bother if no one is there to share it with you. Why bother if there isn’t someone to watch you go the effort and share the Reward with you.

I didn’t start my web design and development career until after I met my wife. When I met her, I realized that I wanted to take her traveling more than I wanted avoid responsibility and be a free spirit.

By: ockhamdesign

ockhamdesign — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 04:22:05 +0000

All my creative activities are external directed. For me, writing is about communication first and expression second. For the longest time, I felt that if I was writing for external validation then I wasn’t being true to myself. Then I realized that if I wanted to write poetry that no one would read, I wouldn’t tell anyone I wrote poetry.

By: ockhamdesign

ockhamdesign — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 03:37:24 +0000

When I talk about relationships, I mean more than just personal, “I want a friend for life” relationships.

For me, a healthy interaction is a productive interaction where both side are getting their individual needs met. For me, that’s builds long-term relationships even though the interaction between those to parties may be intermittent.

Being useful is the start of the relationships, but maintaining relationships is getting both parties getting what they need whether it’s a professional client or your significant other.

By: Amanda Linehan

Amanda Linehan — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:23:11 +0000

Hi Corin – I really like “So what?” and “Who cares?” I guess they are pretty much the same thing. Doing something just for yourself is nice, but honestly, my “creative activities” are not just for me. They are partially for me because I love doing them, but I’d also like them to be enjoyed by others. Asking these two questions keeps that in perspective. And even if you do something that is just for you, asking “So what?” is still probably a good question. It keeps you honest about why you are actually doing something and what you are hoping to get out of it. (Also, thanks for the link to my post!)