How do you see yourself in various stages of your life | INFJ Forum

How do you see yourself in various stages of your life

Gaze

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Sep 5, 2009
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How do you see yourself in various stages of your life
 
This is a good thread, but I don't like thinking about it.
 
I really don't have a clear image of myself.

What I notice consistently are:
Anger
Protective


See, I can't even list more, because I get too confused and introspective. I view myself very differently than the image I project.

I will say, I am a lot more respectful & reverent to adults than I was as a child, and I now have zero tolerance for those who are not. I also resist being spiteful as often as possible, which I attribute to maturity. I have less patience in my 30s, and I really want to change that. I think my judgement in people is much improved, though I am still too naive, for certain.
 
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I've been through a lot of stages so far and I can say that every stage was a surprise. So, I'm out of the prediction business.
 
I am very excited about getting older. I was reading Aristotle's Rhetoric awhile ago, and he talked about how people reach their highest form around middle age, which makes sense to me- their ideas are developed so they are at the height of their prowess, they are not caught up in petty games [hopefully] and if they have maintained their health then they will be more sexually experienced and confident. They also, hopefully, have built up a household, and in that sense have a solid foundation. This is the hope. I have seen people become more unhealthy or stagnant, but that is usually because they cling tight to identity constructs that are outdated and negative.

I hope, when I am older to have a career as a professor, to be able to speak eloquently and be unafraid to take risks, to have a beautiful house, to continue to be in the relationship I am in now. Currently, it seems like it might be an unrealistic goal to become a professor, as I can't afford schooling, but I think my experience in the "real world" will help me greatly before deciding to plunge into the world of academia.

I want to be an old person who does not close myself off to the world, but who helps younger people make the journey.

The only thing I am unsure about and that still scares me is the idea of having kids. But there is plenty of time to think about that while I am on my journey. I am very much split on the subject. I have a loving partner, and think that we would be able to have children, but because of my past and my family history, I am afraid of having kids because it makes me vulnerable. I want to be able to focus on a career and not be held back by familial obligation. At the same time, I think that later in life, it would be invaluable to have relationships with grandchildren and children.
 
every five years i look back and see how full of shit i was, and how far i've come in those five years. then i laugh knowing that in five years i will look back to this time and see how full of shit i was....and so it goes
 
every five years i look back and see how full of shit i was, and how far i've come in those five years. then i laugh knowing that in five years i will look back to this time and see how full of shit i was....and so it goes

Pretty much this. Even three years ago I was a douche. Two years ago. One year ago. Next year I'll look back and think the same thing. At 30, who knows? I just hope by 30, provided I make it to 30, I have a greater level of fulfillment... time is ticking away.
 
Pretty much this. Even three years ago I was a douche. Two years ago. One year ago. Next year I'll look back and think the same thing. At 30, who knows? I just hope by 30, provided I make it to 30, I have a greater level of fulfillment... time is ticking away.

You'll probably still feel as you do today. Just older. Funny how that works.
But I do hope you no longer see yourself as a douche. lol.
 
You'll probably still feel as you do today. Just older. Funny how that works.
But I do hope you no longer see yourself as a douche. lol.
If I felt the same way I wouldn't make it to 30, I tried to off myself two days ago, keep feeling like this and it's bound to happen again. SO LET'S HOPE FOR SOME CHANGES!
 
If I felt the same way I wouldn't make it to 30, I tried to off myself two days ago, keep feeling like this and it's bound to happen again. SO LET'S HOPE FOR SOME CHANGES!

Sent you a PM.
 
I am very excited about getting older. I was reading Aristotle's Rhetoric awhile ago, and he talked about how people reach their highest form around middle age, which makes sense to me- their ideas are developed so they are at the height of their prowess, they are not caught up in petty games [hopefully] and if they have maintained their health then they will be more sexually experienced and confident.

I agree with him as well. I notice when some people tend to reach a certain age, they become more comfortable and self-aware of who they are, what they represent, what they bring to the world, and pretty much what they need to acquire.

But alas, I still see that lifestyles seem to be changing in the US. In the Roman times, most of the civilians had one profession and that lasted throughout their whole life. They were lucky if they even got to survive past the ages of 30-50. Nowadays, our life expectancy has almost doubled and we're expected to live to 70-90. So it brings up the question of... Did he define mid-age at around the 20s and how would those societal age differences be applicable today? (I have yet to read Rhetoric yet.) Especially since, in the US, a person can completely change their life and profession at any age... and sometimes that brings up a lot of self-doubt and the need to explore oneself. I also notice that senior citizens tend to do this when they retire as well. My grandma got remarried at 79, eloped to Nova Scotia without the family knowing, went on a nationwide road-trip with her new husband, and brought herself a Harley-Davison so she could "learn something new".

Yeah, my gma is a resident badass lol.
 
0-9: I don't know or care about what others think about me-- life is good. I want to grow up and have a good job and a wife and kids.

10-23: What others think about things is more important to me than what I think about things. Think I still want marriage and children but it looks like it might be harder than I thought.

24-26: Crisis. No marriage? No children? No job? No future? LOSER.

27-30: Self-discovery-- exploring, making up for all the wasted time in my late teens/early 20s… so very incredibly happy that I'm not married and don't have kids… pay off debts, start saving, spend lots on vacations while I'm still young enough to enjoy it… cuz why the hell not?

31-33: Now I don't know or care about what others think about me-- I know what I like and I know what I want… not sure how to find it. Understand more about what life is. Overall, I'm alright… but could stand to be better… still not sure about kids, but married would be better.

34-45: I'm hoping things will get better… I do need to watch my health, though… but yeah, I'm hoping for good things. I also want to make a film at some point.

45-60: Hopefully I'll be doing something on my own… probably a small business somewhere in SE Asia.

60-death: Lots of meditation, and keep pushing myself until I'm dead-- hopefully go into outer space at least once. No hospitals for me.
 
0-9: I don't know or care about what others think about me-- life is good. I want to grow up and have a good job and a wife and kids.

10-23: What others think about things is more important to me than what I think about things. Think I still want marriage and children but it looks like it might be harder than I thought.

24-26: Crisis. No marriage? No children? No job? No future? LOSER.

27-30: Self-discovery-- exploring, making up for all the wasted time in my late teens/early 20s… so very incredibly happy that I'm not married and don't have kids… pay off debts, start saving, spend lots on vacations while I'm still young enough to enjoy it… cuz why the hell not?

31-33: Now I don't know or care about what others think about me-- I know what I like and I know what I want… not sure how to find it. Understand more about what life is. Overall, I'm alright… but could stand to be better… still not sure about kids, but married would be better.

34-45: I'm hoping things will get better… I do need to watch my health, though… but yeah, I'm hoping for good things. I also want to make a film at some point.

45-60: Hopefully I'll be doing something on my own… probably a small business somewhere in SE Asia.

60-death: Lots of meditation, and keep pushing myself until I'm dead-- hopefully go into outer space at least once. No hospitals for me.


0:9. I have intense self discovery. Don't have the words or even the desire to explain it to anyone. But have started my plot for world domination and more will be revealed.

10:23. Life is a series of maladjusted experiences. Some good but mostly intense. it started by trying to interact with other people my age only to learn we are just different people. Get to see a dark side of life and not sure I will survive it. Pretty sure I don't want to survive it.

24:26 met a person that changed things in the most profound ways.

27-40 working toward understanding this life. Not sure I'm supposed to understand as much as I'm supposed to do certain things. I'm looking back and am starting to understand there is a reason and am scared I will fail. I work very hard to do my best but don't often feel I succeeded. Maybe I could have done better. But it's not about me. It has almost nothing to do with me. But I don't know this yet.

41:46 Can see things take form. Which helps me understand why things happen, but still don't think understanding is important to anyone or anything except me, and it has very little to do with me. not certain of where it's going. So much is behind me and starting to prepare for the next adventure. But it's still too soon. There are maybe things I am supposed to do, unfolded laundry. Facebook closed a lot of chapters and helped them become whatever they were supposed to become. Feels like setting the stage for another life. But still attached to this one. Pretty sure there are a lot of surprises left. A little scared of what I know must happen. But more than anything know this is the way it's supposed to be. The only promises are the ones I created in my head. Life or existence just seems to be waiting. Not for me, maybe for us. It doesn't care I don't think. It doesn't seem to have feelings. Almost like what do feeling have to do anything I'm hoping I get to figure it out. But then I don't want to know too much.


---
I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?locxjq
 
0-36 Follow the rules of duty and everything will be ok. Found out that was wrong.
36-50 I think everything I learn means I know more and become very arrogant and prideful. Found out that was wrong.
50 - 55. In shedding my arrogance of knowledge I discover unconditional love for every single entity in my sphere of influence. Found out this was right.

Soon to be 56: Hmmm.... still shredding me - as painful as that is. One day - hopefully soon - "I" will no longer exist. Looking forward to that day. Yes indeed....looking forward to that. :nod:
 
I am very excited about getting older. I was reading Aristotle's Rhetoric awhile ago, and he talked about how people reach their highest form around middle age, which makes sense to me- their ideas are developed so they are at the height of their prowess, they are not caught up in petty games [hopefully] and if they have maintained their health then they will be more sexually experienced and confident. They also, hopefully, have built up a household, and in that sense have a solid foundation. This is the hope. I have seen people become more unhealthy or stagnant, but that is usually because they cling tight to identity constructs that are outdated and negative.

I hope, when I am older to have a career as a professor, to be able to speak eloquently and be unafraid to take risks, to have a beautiful house, to continue to be in the relationship I am in now. Currently, it seems like it might be an unrealistic goal to become a professor, as I can't afford schooling, but I think my experience in the "real world" will help me greatly before deciding to plunge into the world of academia.

I want to be an old person who does not close myself off to the world, but who helps younger people make the journey.

The only thing I am unsure about and that still scares me is the idea of having kids. But there is plenty of time to think about that while I am on my journey. I am very much split on the subject. I have a loving partner, and think that we would be able to have children, but because of my past and my family history, I am afraid of having kids because it makes me vulnerable. I want to be able to focus on a career and not be held back by familial obligation. At the same time, I think that later in life, it would be invaluable to have relationships with grandchildren and children.

iI really enjoyed reading this. I too am working toward being a professor, it requires me to work on my portfolio and apply for schools. I'm impateint with my goals when I cannot see them come to reality faster, im working on that.
 
Thought I'd responded to this one. All the threads are becoming a blur of GTKY.

I'll be a roamer for a while yet. Next decade, maybe. I don't feel a need to settle. My behavior is at odds with my nature and that needs to work itself out.

People tell me I'm professorial in nature. I've figured it's because I'm not patient enough for coddling and I do and express things a certain way. Looking to make people independent, I suppose. Stop being so subservient. Fuck that. So I think I'll end up in a mentoring role when I get to the settled phase. A role that helps someone find what they do well and expand upon it. Not sure in what field or the capacity. Just what my gut tells me.
 
I don't remember much about being in the egg
Larval stage sucked. Squirming around and crap without appendages was tough
Being in that freaking cocoon was stuffy and cramped
But oh man, the flying.....the best
 
Well I haven't been on this planet for too long, but I think that my teenage years were the times where I was embracing self-discovery, and became interested in psychology. Compared to the person I was when I was 15, I've definitely come a long way.

At the moment I'm trying to figure out what I want to do with my life career wise. I feel directionless and it makes me a little anxious, mostly because I always thought I was sure about what I wanted. I'm also exploring my relationship with God, and am trying to become a more 'go-with-the-flow' kinda person (which will hopefully make me less neurotic!). Ideally, I'd like to get married in the sort-of-near future (within the next 5-10 years). But I don't know, I don't want to put too much pressure on myself to achieve something by a certain age (ie. be married by 25) because it may not happen. I don't know if I can see myself having kids, but I think as I grow up and mature a bit more I'll get a clearer picture of what I do want. Although in saying that, what I do want is to be able to grow old with someone... seeing those cute old couples always makes me happy!

I just hope that I'll be able to look back on the life i've lived and be satisfied that it was a meaningful existence.