This is my first time posting so it may be a little rough but bear with me. I was wondering how other INFJs feel about people in general and whether or not people are naturally good. This question comes about because when I was younger I used to think that everyone was, for the most part, good. I was always the one who believed that people tried their best to be decent people and that this trying was enough to mean they were good people.
Now that I've gotten older I've become far more cynical in my view of human beings and how our brains work. I hold the view that as humans we're stuck in this horrible point in our evolution. On one hand we're still greatly influenced by animal impulses and the need for survival. We used to have the common animal desire to preserve our species but now that we've reached this point of overpopulation, this isn't something we need to worry about. Instead this drive seems to have been transferred to our selfish desire to raise ourselves up above others. We want what we want and we're willing to ignore or hurt others to reach our goals.
On the other hand I feel like our social awareness and mental capacity is large enough that we SHOULD be able to understand how our actions have a negative effect on others. If you sat and thought it through for a little while it should be clear how you hurt someone or at least the fact that you potentially hurt them. Unfortunately I feel like most people choose not to exercise this part of their brains. There have been many moments in my life where people have knowingly betrayed my trust. They made conscious decisions that ended up hurting me and benefiting them and later claimed that they didn't think I would be hurt. Maybe I would have believed them before but now I feel like they do it because they assume with how passive I am that I would simple forgive them and back down. Instead it just showed me that no one can ever be fully trusted because we'll all act selfishly at the expense of others.
I've started honestly believing that most people are bad. This of course also applies to me. I know I act selfishly and sometimes choose not to help people when I should so I do consider myself to be a bad person. Thinking this way makes life and making new connections very difficult because I constantly struggle with wondering when someone will hurt me, what secret motive they have behind their actions or are they trying to take advantage of me as well as wondering why I can't be a better person. I was wondering if other INFJs found themselves thinking in similar ways or having a similar shift in perspective and opinion as they got older.
Now that I've gotten older I've become far more cynical in my view of human beings and how our brains work. I hold the view that as humans we're stuck in this horrible point in our evolution. On one hand we're still greatly influenced by animal impulses and the need for survival. We used to have the common animal desire to preserve our species but now that we've reached this point of overpopulation, this isn't something we need to worry about. Instead this drive seems to have been transferred to our selfish desire to raise ourselves up above others. We want what we want and we're willing to ignore or hurt others to reach our goals.
On the other hand I feel like our social awareness and mental capacity is large enough that we SHOULD be able to understand how our actions have a negative effect on others. If you sat and thought it through for a little while it should be clear how you hurt someone or at least the fact that you potentially hurt them. Unfortunately I feel like most people choose not to exercise this part of their brains. There have been many moments in my life where people have knowingly betrayed my trust. They made conscious decisions that ended up hurting me and benefiting them and later claimed that they didn't think I would be hurt. Maybe I would have believed them before but now I feel like they do it because they assume with how passive I am that I would simple forgive them and back down. Instead it just showed me that no one can ever be fully trusted because we'll all act selfishly at the expense of others.
I've started honestly believing that most people are bad. This of course also applies to me. I know I act selfishly and sometimes choose not to help people when I should so I do consider myself to be a bad person. Thinking this way makes life and making new connections very difficult because I constantly struggle with wondering when someone will hurt me, what secret motive they have behind their actions or are they trying to take advantage of me as well as wondering why I can't be a better person. I was wondering if other INFJs found themselves thinking in similar ways or having a similar shift in perspective and opinion as they got older.
