Slow thinker?

Yes, this happens to me all the time. I don't think we are slow thinkers. I think we are deep thinkers.

The positive side of this is that we will be able to understand things better once we finally do process them. The negative side is that we make things more difficult for ourselves, and so we can have a difficult time with otherwise simple or easy things. If you're prone to frustration, this can be horrible.

I don't concider myself a slow thinker, and neither do my friends really. I think it is because when I am with friends I will think out loud more often then not. I think quickly, the thing is there is alot of reasoning going on my head, which revises conclusions I go to.

I guess it depends. I alternate between slow thinking and extremely fast thing, and it also depends on the subject.

Nope, you're not alone in this. I'd have to agree with what wyote said and add that for myself I will also have trouble finding 'the right words' to respond with. I have difficultly deciding what will properly translate my feelings and thoughts on the matter.

I wouldn't say it's that we're slow thinkers. When I understand the person that's talking I can usually come up with answers quicker than most others. Likely a result of our Ni starting to predict what they're going to say or ask and then working on the upcoming response, and since we know the person its easier for Ni to work with our Fe to come up with a response that we think is suitable.

Whereas with someone we don't know we can have more trouble keeping on top or ahead of the conversation because we don't know them yet. By the time we make all the connections the person is waiting for the response, and because of Fe we can take a little longer to say it due to thinking about how it will be understood by the other person.

Just try talking to someone you know well about a subject you know well and you'll notice the difference.

Sometimes if I'm hearing some new info, like if someone's explaining something to me, like something new/I don't know about, it may take me a while to process the info. I find that I have to think about it thoroughly in my head and make sense out of it myself, or think more about what the person was saying for a while and then I will get it, and yea sometimes it does make me look dumb (because the person may be standing there looking at me weird like, "you still don't get it?"). My mind is usually full of a zillion things (maybe that's another reason why this happens to me sometimes; I already have too many things on my mind).

Does anyone also lose their train of thought? Like you would be talking and then forget what you're about to say next? This happens to me once in a while; my mind would go blank and then after some seconds I would remember, and it can be embarassing. I hear this has to do with things like stress and I also think speaking fast (which I know I do sometimes) has to do with it (and I know when I'm experiencing stress of some sort nd my mind is not at peace about somethin I find myself speaking fast), but I don't know if this happens to other INFJs. Do you find yourself losing your train of thought? How often (once in a while, a lot, never?)

I don't know about being a slow thinker but having a conversation in real time can be like trying to speak a different language. My thoughts also tend to get lost when converting them to speach. They make more sense when they are still in my head, I swear. hwell:

Dragon said:

Yes, this happens to me all the time. I don't think we are slow thinkers. I think we are deep thinkers.

The positive side of this is that we will be able to understand things better once we finally do process them. The negative side is that we make things more difficult for ourselves, and so we can have a difficult time with otherwise simple or easy things. If you're prone to frustration, this can be horrible.

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yeah I agree!!!!


most of the times at school, we usually have this game where the first one who could think of the answer to the teacher's question should say it out loud.....

and i was wondering the same thing becaue i know that i'm not dumb
and i know the answer but it's just......

i have to remember it and think DEEPLY...

yeah i feel dumb sometimes because of this but not TOTALLY DUMB because I KNOW that I REALLY KNOW THE ANSWER..IT JUST DOESN'T COME THAT FAST

AND whenever i argue or explain something deep, sometimes i forget what i'm going to say
i think i forget what i am about to say because i really think DEEP about it.. i want to explain it right and well and mostly about how i feel about it so i guess im trying to find the right words but then because of TOO MUCH THINKING......i FORGET!!! ahahahha

Yeah, I also agree with Wyote and Dragon... it's not that I'm a slow thinker, I'm just a slow processor, because it takes time to work out all the ins, outs, and what-have-yous. if you know what I mean. And I think you do.

it's a relative thing. You can think "fast", but shallow or you can be "slow" but deep.

My signature is basically my response to this thread, I need time to process to get an answer (this is usually quick) and I need time to communicate my answer effectively (which is where I get stuck) It's easy to tell when I didn't get to the second step because I tend to stammer, revise points, give sources at the same time I make points, and generally have a bad time communicating. I really need to think before I say something, but i'll get left in the dust if I don't xD

I understand that introverts by nature absorb more information initially and that is why it takes more reflection time to process it.

I think slowly perhaps because there is a great many details my mind is trying to process and distill into its core. I am not able to do quick comebacks socially.

Julia said:

I think slowly perhaps because there is a great many details my mind is trying to process and distill into its core. I am not able to do quick comebacks socially.

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Me too, I sometimes feel like it's so hard to understand how people can come back with such quick wit, often that is just beyond my scope. A lot of times, I'll think of multiple things to say and will have a hard time choosing. Other times (I think usually when I'm nervous or socially anxious), I won't be able to think of anything to say or will only be able to think of a few select things that just don't sound right to me in my head, so I will usually hold off on saying them. I also find that (as another poster stated), I lose my train of thought very easy when speaking even when I've thought through the issue that I'm verbalizing in great depth. Things that seem very fluid and easily depicted in my head, often do not come out that way.

I've found what helps a lot for purifying the mind of all the extraneous stuff that gets in the way of comminucation is meditation. I know that may sound like some hippy-ish ish, but I'm a recently graduated psych major and I've been doing a lot of research into mindfulness and meditation, and I think for a lot of us introverts (in general not just the INFJ personality in particular) it can be indispensible to furthering our communication skills. From what I've found (through research and direct experience) is that it really is a big help in getting to the point of our issues, or producing a sense of clarity. I think what has caused me great anxiety is that, as another poster said, it is often difficult to concencrate or follow conversations, and because of this I often feel that I do not have anything valuable to add to the conversation because I'm so far behind. I think that this issue is less of an introverted issue and more of a mindfulness issue (not being able to follow because you're muddled or weighted down by other processing going on, that is).

With all this said, I do not think it's helpful to try to change yourself, or become something different than what you are- that's not what meditation practices or mindfulness techniques promote either. We are who we are, and the way we think is different and that is totally fine- not superior but certainly not inferior to others.

There's too many to mention but I agree with what most of you are saying.
I give up on quick answers where I work. If someone values my opinions or answers they will wait it out. Where I work there's always an underlying competition going on. If my boss asks a question there's usually quick answers from all directions coming at her. "The first one to answer wins!" seems to be their attitude. It's just nonsense and I stay out of it.
I don't usually spout things out and 'think before you speak' is always flashing across my mind lol People will take that pause to mean a) I don't know the answer b) I'm a slow thinker c) I don't understand what they're saying, and all kinds of wrong things. It's not that we're too slow, it's that they're too fast!

haha I was just thinking about this today!

I noticed that I can think slow or fast depending on the subject or the situation (for example, in math I'm a "slow thinker" , though in philosophy I understand everything pretty quickly)

acuriousmind said:

and yea sometimes it does make me look dumb (because the person may be standing there looking at me weird like, "you still don't get it?"). My mind is usually full of a zillion things (maybe that's another reason why this happens to me sometimes; I already have too many things on my mind).

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ditto

Yep happens to me a lot. The thing is that a lot of people actually believe me to be quite intelligent but when i'm in deep thinker mode (or just being extremely introverted, or am depressed) then I often find that I can't think fast enough to keep up with certain things in the moment, or utilize wit and it makes the problem even worse since I am extremely self-critical most of the time! And can berate myself for being 'dull' or 'slow'. It's a lot different when i'm enjoying myself and not being too self-absorbed -- I can respond to things easily and without deliberation.

Tamagochi said:

it's a relative thing. You can think "fast", but shallow or you can be "slow" but deep.

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Something tells me it's not so black and white.