Contrasting Ni and Ne
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posted by Vicky Jo at 3:10 AM
Thursday, June 15, 2006
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- Name: Vicky Jo
- Location: Los Angeles, California, United States
I coach people to identify and develop their natural personality strengths in order to maximize their potential.
Please contact me to arrange a free strategy session -- I would be delighted to speak with you.
Previous Posts
- Truth in Humor
- Process, Results, & E-mail Lists
- More Words
- Another Buzz Word
- Codependence
- Being Unique
- J/P Myths
- Task vs. Process
- Fi or Ni as the Favorite Function
- Statistical Bearing
8 Comments:
Can an INFP tell me what thier reaction to Ni is? I'll admit my initial reactions to Ne were to be mildly exasperated. What is Ni like before an INFP gets used to hearing it's perspective?
I'd like to hear from INFPs also -- but what shows up for me is that they sometimes think, "You can't *know* what's going to happen" or "You don't have all the answers."
AND NOW I WILL... answer my own question. Boy does that make me feel like an idiot.
(I'm an ENFP now. Don't worry. I didn't change again. (jk))
Ni (If it's what I think it is) actually gives me a headache. OK. When I try to come up with forecasts for how, say, a certian storm will effect New England, I start by using my most comfortable processes: comparing computer model forecasts, thinking of past storms, considering the conditions/ components of the storm. And then, if I just get confused, I'd try to very quickly consult some hunch about what I think the event is going to *look* like- I try to REALLY picture the thing, and imagine the storm evolving. But when I do that I actually get a headache. Now, of course, whenever I'm trying to make a forecast, I'm trying to do some form of imagining. But for some reason if I try to make that image the main focus of my thinking, than I instantly get a headache- Plain old Guessing with confidance is something that I CANNOT do confidantly.
-That John Beebe Yawn story still cracks me up.
On a slightly different note, here's a guess of Ne/Ni comparison from film: The guy in Beautiful Mind is an extreeeeeme DomNi, and the guy in Shine is and extreeeeme DomNe. Does that help highlight what those two things would look like?
Has anyone found a really good description of how Ni is experienced by an INFJ?
I've read a few descriptions of it, but they always seem to speak of it terms of certain functions that pop up here and there--not as the constant essential function that it would be for an INFJ.
For instance, I used to not "get" how I used Fe. It bothered me because of the negative tendencies associated with it, and I didn't think I used it as much as say, Ni.
I could notice myself using other functions such as Ni, Ti, Te, Se, etc--because they are less natural, and so I'm more consciously aware of making use of them.
But I couldn't really see Fe in myself until I had the "aha" moment when I suddenly *saw* how absolutely omnipresent it is in my personality. I understood why I couldn't see it before--as my auxiliary function (I'm INFJ) it was so essential to my cognition that it was constant, usually unconscious, and automatic. A massive part of me, but too close to see until the identification of exactly how it was operating "clicked."
I'm assuming the reason that I haven't yet had Ni "click" as to how I use it on a constant basis is for the same reason. It's so essential to my being that I can't imagine its lack, and therefore can't identify it. I need some sort of explanation or description from an INFJ who has had it "click" inside so that I can be pointed in the direction of that "aha" realization regarding Ni.
(As an aside, I wonder if other types have the same experience (I bet they do) where they have a difficult time noticing their own dominant and auxiliary processes because it's difficult for them to isolate something so unconscious and constant as a specific process that others don't experience as constantly as they do.)
-Jason
I wonder -- have you looked at my description of it on www.INFJ.com?
It's at http://www.infj.com/INFJ_iNtuition.htm
I welcome your feedback...
The INFP part sounds right on to me.
The future branches out into many, many possibilities. Not every possible one..4 or 5 become what is "certain" to happen.(all with equal feeling of 'truth') Its really like deja vue..when what happens matches one of those exactly.
But the thought of just one thing happening (Ni)? ...blasphemy!! Why limit your options or plans to just one?
Can an INFP tell me what thier reaction to Ni is?The description of Ni evokes images of "smugness" and detachment. Like it would interfere too much and maybe stop wonderful things that could happen. Like it gets ahead of people. Often I discard what Ni says even if I know it to be true. I will just come back to it later, that's all.
Here is an example. Vicky was my life coach at one point (hi Vicky!). From her I often sensed an enthusiastic urging that I get to this wonderful place of fulfilled potential. Like Vicky knew the me that didn't exist yet (not yet to me, anyway). With her help I was able to explore many aspects of myself in ways I couldn't have before because I could never allow myself to go there. With her help, I was able to agree with a clear vision for myself.
But to me, that's still just a possible, hopefully true future. I still haven't done many of things Vicky and I talked about, and our coaching sessions ended nearly two years ago. But now that I know this wonderful future is within me, I am in no rush to make it happen. I am still bumping around in my Ne way. So for example, through coaching I came to believe that becoming a mediator would be a great career path for me. But I still haven't gone for training. I've done other things instead. It's like I don't want to MAKE the future happen, and I can't naturally push myself to do it. If it is meant to be, then it will. But I am happy that the possibility exists. So although I am more confident than ever that mediator is a good, true path for me...that just makes me slow down even more. Why rush when I'm headed there anyway? So long as I know of a possibility, than I also know I can make it happen at any time, and that is precisely why I am careful not to commit lest I miss out on the journey.
For me, it is not about time, task, or destination. I have exactly as much time as I have, and I can't control that. If I die tomorrow I won't know that I never became a mediator. If something happens and I can't do that, then I am confident that another possibility will arise out of necessity. I have many possible tasks, and I pick and choose from them without any sense of urgency. And I don't care where I'm going, only that I am still going.
Vicky,
First of all I want to thank you for the amazing website you have created. I am still reading through all the content with the hope to become very solid about my preferences. Your website has been providing some much needed clarity. Thank you! :)
Because I feel very connected to visuals, I was working on developing a connection to the two words you have used to describe the difference in processing within the Ne and Ni functions.
As far as I can understand, it sounds like Ni processes via interrelation and Ne through integration. You have used some visuals that have helped me to understand integration (puzzle pieces, webs). Do you think a pie chart (parts of a whole) would also serve as an accurate representation of Ne processing?
As for Ni, I have been trying to figure out a good visual. On your page "How the Processes Show Up" you mentioned "Identifying the inter-relatedness of data" as being a way of identifying one of the key components of the main focus of Ni processing. Would something such as the Venn diagram be a good visual for how Ni focuses on interrelating?
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