Do INFJs become less idealistic as they age?

Awesome topic.

Personally, I'm rather fond of my idealistic notions. But as a man of twenty something, I'm also on a quest to be more rooted in my Ti. Reason being, it helps me balance out my Ni and Fe, and brings a sort of stability to my decision making process. I guess you could say that I'm slowly learning how to care less and be more selective with what battles I fight here later in life.

I can only speak personally. I haven't become less idealistic just more seasoned in my understanding that human beings are less than perfect.

I am not sure about idealism. Probably so. But I think most people tend to become less idealistic in the process of living in the world as an adult, so this may not be an INFJ thing at all. I have become less perfectionist and more crotchety with age.

I am still pretty idealistic despite getting older.

I think it changes, but not necessarily goes away.

There is idealism to be found in everything. Maybe I lose the idealism in big picture stuff, maybe my ideals crumble for people I feel close to. But instead I gain more idealism in what I expect out of myself, or a specific task at hand. Or my morning routine. Or my likes and expectations for things I want to enjoy more deeply (like food, mmm).

Maybe in the future I'll be surrounded by truly inspiring people, and my ideals might shift to include them.

I'm 36 and still idealistic. I often see things and say to myself, "if only." As I've gotten older, I realize that most things that suck are due to people being not emotionally/psychologically/spiritually ready or are unwilling or unable to change things. I guess I would say, though I'm still idealistic, I'm more willing to accept bullshit as it is and change only what I can with the hope that my actions, however small will eventually make a difference. Fin.

If anything, I have become increasingly idealistic; and the more I age, the more I can put those thoughts into action to result in the rapid manifestation of those ideas to see the end product.

What you think is what you become, quite literally. What you hold inside is what will come to manifest on the outside.

OP: You may be in a little slump. Sometimes I get that way, and I think we all do. I notice when my vibration is suffering below a certain degree, I have to do everything to get back on track, and continue that mindset with little rest. I'm addicted to productivity, though. I just don't like to casually exist. I need to always be doing something.

Nope. Still awfully idealistic, see the best in people and the optimistic side of almost every situation. In other words, I am still a naive idiot.

I have become much more realistic with age and my idealism seems dormant much of the time now. And yet, it will stir within me like a fire igniting from smoldering coals and burn fiercely and more intensely than it ever has before with certain things... but only certain things. And my passions are not so easily excited anymore. My once perpetual optimism is devolving into something curmudgeon-like in my daily attitude. When once, even though I knew most people were selfish assholes, I'd still give them a hundred chances to prove me wrong, now I have far less patience for the bullshit of others. I don't necessarily see that as losing my idealism, though, I see that as a boon. Few things are worse than something that wastes my time.

I was never idealistic \:D/

I don't think I'm less idealistic. I'm just more cynical.

Hi Everyone,

Thanks Artemisia for this thread. This is probably one of my first posts on this forum and I'm happy that it happens on this specific topic. There are days where I can feel strongly my infj type and others where I'm being numb to it and keep going with my surrounding world.
I'm also in my 30's and my conception of an ideal world has reduced itself to an ideal personal life. I believe that lots of facts in life contribute to a change in our idealism such as griefs, loss of friends, work and education not turning out the way we wanted, negative environments, and so on (these are personal but I'm sure they also relate to others)...
These days, once I finish work, I enjoy coming home to my cats and getting active inside. Closing the door behind me feels like I'm leaving the urban jungle full of predators and sneaky creatures trying to hurt me.
Somehow, I discovered the same thing as you did, that I actually enjoyed certain things I was reluctant to do in my early years like cooking, taking on home improvement projects, teaching myself music. I find the time to do these activities and they help me to forget about the rest.
However, I tried to adapt to other people's idealism in so many ways that it ends up very conflicting in certain situations. I am very tolerant with others, but others are not. I always end up being the weakest one to break down (not that I don't push hard, as a matter of fact I push myself so hard that when I hit my limit with others I hit rock bottom really hard).
There are values and ethics I don't agree with, but I still need to manage them in my life to get through like many other ones in here I guess.

I came across a quote lately that sums up a bit our feeling:
"If you are not an idealist by the time you are twenty you have no heart, but if you are still an idealist by the time you are thirty, you don't have a head."
Randolph Bourne

I find my ideals being conflicted within themselves as i grow old.

I'm not sure whether or not I'm just getting lazier as I get older (I'm 34), but all of my ideals have suffered in the last few years.

I was a firm believer and fighter for vegetarianism/veganism and animal rights in my 20s. In the last few years I have eaten fish and recently introduced a bit of red meat back into my diet. I was more ambitious in my 20s; desperate to work in bird conservation and make a difference. I've lost my will to fight now.

I'm just a lot more relaxed about things these days and, like someone else said, I've realised that no one is perfect. We're all fighting our own battles. Nothing is black or white either. There's a lot of grey.

"Fuck it" is my new mantra

I think idealism is about working towards something that I believe in with the intention of actualising our vision of it. No, I don't think I have become less idealistic. I believe we can make a difference.

I think this would be true of every type as you age, I mean think of all the shit we experience over time~

When we're children many things are ideal and/or even have a magical quality to them... add twenty years + and I'm pretty sure you're going to have a fair amount of realism thrown into your worldview.

I agree that this isn't necessarily related to type. I think idealism, realism, pessimism, etc., and how they degrade over time is largely related to our individual experiences with trust. E.g., to be idealistic, you have to trust that things will be okay, that they'll turn out for the best. If you've had your trust repeatedly trampled on and broken throughout the course of your life, it'll be difficult to be idealistic, to trust that things will turn out optimally. You can't generalize this of course, because we all respond to life experiences differently, but it makes it harder.