How often do you second guess yourself? | INFJ Forum

How often do you second guess yourself?

dneecey

I am who I am.
Apr 17, 2009
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I do it all the time. Its strange because sometimes I feel like I'm going in circles. I do things I am supposed to do without even realizing I'm doing them, or have done them. Then I keep going on with my tasks and mid task I will think, "Did I do ______ already?" And I can't remember, so I will go back and check, only to find that I've already done it.

Or another thing I do is I'll feel good about something, an answer, or an idea and as I am mid doing it... I will stop and think of every other possible answer and idea and then I'm not sure if I should go with the first one. And then 9 out of 10 times I was right to begin with. And I kick myself for my doubt because I knew I was right to begin with.

Does anyone else do this? Or am I again... just a crazy weirdo. :wink:

Oh and dejavu... I get dejavu all the time... *just a little side note*
 
my intuition is usually right. i doubt it all the time in a sort of Ni-Ti battle for lack of a better definition.

sometimes, doubting can be good as a means of reevaluating something to give you a consistent stance on the issue or as a means of allowing us to renew our perspectives and consider areas in which we would have otherwise overlooked in carrying through single-mindedly.

oh, and you are not a crazy weirdo :)
 
Yup, I do this quite often. I laughed when I read what you said about stopping in the middle of something to check if I did something, only to find I did. I do that A LOT (particularly when I am in the lab).

I have found though I second guess myself much more when I am in a stressful situation, or I have been under a lot of stress recently. I think it has to do with the fact that when I am upset it is usually because I did something wrong. So, when I have to make another big decision on something, my subconscious tells me "be careful, you might fail again" and I am not aware of it. As a consciquence, I question myself and overthink things as a method of compensation, so my subconscious is appeased into thinking I covered all the angles and possibillites. However, that compensation really isn't if you think about it, and it just leads to more stress.
 
You should always follow that gut feeling, but second guessing ourselves is a good thing - it's our mental check.
 
All the time. Sometimes I hate it though. I hate having to justify everything I do so for kicks sometimes I just do it and don't over think it. Good times.. I wish I could do that more often. But my doubt won't let me be for too long. Oh well time to get back at it..lol
 
Well I doubt myself in my actions - ie; did I unplug the hair straightener - due to my OCD tendencies. I don't think that has anything to do with being an INFJ.

Then there is my intuition. My feelings always trump my thoughts, but I have learned recently that I need to apply thought and logic to certain situations, because my intuition isn't always right. So I have to consciously make myself doubt at these times, and I think this gives me a healthier outlook.
 
I have found though I second guess myself much more when I am in a stressful situation, or I have been under a lot of stress recently.

Or, to put an MBTI spin on it, it's because an INFJ under enough stress will promote Ti to higher priority over Ni and Fe. Ti will demand everything be linear, logical, etc - and will often demand a double-check of what was done or not done.

I do this all the time myself, especially when stressed.

I don't get deja-vu all that often, but it happens. Every now and then (like 2 or 3 times a year) I get deja-vu to the point where for the next 10-15 seconds I can literally predict everything that will happen around me like people saying things, entering/leaving rooms, the phone ringing, etc. It's odd. Wish it happened more. ;)
 
About once every second second.
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Yes.

More often than I'd like to admit.
 
I got a debit card for my international trip this summer.

I was so worried I'd lose it. I lose things a lot...it's terrible. My mom never lets me hear the end of things like that. I was constantly checking myself, and I still do.

And there it is. I lost nothing in Argentina. I was so proud of myself. Needless to say mom didn't say much about that...haha.
 
I get lost in second guesses quite a bit. One of the things that I have been struggling with is point/counterpoint. For just about any good point that you can bring up, another good counterpoint probably exists. In essence, your expression is incomplete because it is not all encompassing to fit other pieces of data or ideas that could come up. If this is the case, how can you really prove the validity of your point to yourself or others? What if there are no absolute answers to life's important questions?

Needless to say, these questions have given me a great deal to think about and consider. Coupled with the fact that humans are imperfect (and that certainty is not necessarily the same thing as being correct or valid), I distrust my feelings and intuition to a certain extent.

Think about times that you felt certain of something but you were wrong about the reality of the situation. I'm sure everyone can come up with a time that this has happened.
 
every second. like right now :m197:
 
I have found though I second guess myself much more when I am in a stressful situation, or I have been under a lot of stress recently.

Same with me, when I am stressed, I second guess myself much more. Though I do that and in other situation. Depends what and why. With some thing I am quite sure. I usually do that more when my decision reflects on other people.
 
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Oh yes, I get deja vu pretty frequently.

Although I'm one of those weirdos who doesn't buy any of the scientific explanations.

I also second guess myself frequently, but It's mostly due to my lazyness, which often results in bad decisions just so I won't have to do certain things.
 
I get lost in second guesses quite a bit. One of the things that I have been struggling with is point/counterpoint. For just about any good point that you can bring up, another good counterpoint probably exists. In essence, your expression is incomplete because it is not all encompassing to fit other pieces of data or ideas that could come up. If this is the case, how can you really prove the validity of your point to yourself or others? What if there are no absolute answers to life's important questions?

Needless to say, these questions have given me a great deal to think about and consider. Coupled with the fact that humans are imperfect (and that certainty is not necessarily the same thing as being correct or valid), I distrust my feelings and intuition to a certain extent.

Think about times that you felt certain of something but you were wrong about the reality of the situation. I'm sure everyone can come up with a time that this has happened.
Your posting this made me remember something recently that I would have forgotten other wise. Thank You!
Well there's no doubt that's there's no absolute answers about life's important questions that people can agree upon (You've seen how religion and science devides the world) And I'm pretty confident I can say that absolutely. :] But that doesn't mean that you personally can't feel as though found the anwsers to lifes important ?s and in a case so personal as this one, who really cares if others agree with you or not?
I'm sure its hard to back up your ideas if all that your going off of is raw intuition. However sometimes there really is some logical reasoning backing your emotions and being pushed with counter point will help you uncover what your really trying to say, an absolute opinion which others can understand and agree upon.
The eg. of this that happened to me recently (And I would have completley forgotten otherwise. So often I'm put through stress to uncover "my meaning" and then I forget it 5 minuets after I've figured it out. =P) is I was trying to explain to my older sister why I disliked Katie Perry. My sister is an INTP who loves debate just for the sake of it (in addition to being a Katie Perry fan :)) so she started finding counter point arguments to everything I said. I too when I'm thinking out how I feel about something I tend to speak in absolutes, a habit which drives my sister to anger as well as gives her something to easily contradict me on. But, after a few minutes of stress and me reconsidering my words I finally came to my "true meaning" an absolute, logical opinion that others can either agree or disagree with but at that point it would just be there opinion because my reasoning has been made clear.
It turns out that I don't like Katie Perry because her claim to fame was made by intentionally doing something shocking and typical (I Kissed a Girl an I Liked It) instead of strictly from their talent. It makes me suspicious that they're art is made merely a means to an end (fame) and sometimes I feel like I'd even be a sucker to appreciate it because now I think it disingenuos, or suspect that it might be. I just disrespect people who do this because so often I feel that in order to be shocking enough to catch the media's attention, you end up degrading yourself or a whole group of people, not to mention just about any talentless shmuck can do this. I feel like its unfair for those who are talented and got famous the traditional way- through luck and hardwork. I feel like such people are cheating the system in some way, tho with our crude and ADD media, that's practically how the system works now.
To sum it up in a way that a TJ can appreciate: I dislike people who have become famous by shock as opposed to talent.
Wouldn't you agree?
I don't really know why people would want fame anyway, its purely surface appeal. In Ecclesiastes it says "All is vanity and chasing after wind." I'm not sure if that's true of everything but that's certanly true of fame which is practically a synonym for vanity. All these fickel strangers claim to love you with out even knowing you; all it really does is seperate you from ppl who'll be real with you and aren't trying to use you. You'd become distrusting of others and also overly cautious and insecure not wanting to do something to make you go out of the publics favor but then there's really no point because there will always be a million assholes online with nothing better to do than bash you all day for no reason. . .I'm sure it would be quite disheartening not to mention you'd loose you're privacy.
Anyway, back to what I was saying before, It was very satisfying because once I properly explain what I meant she grudgingly agreed. :) Score for debates won- her:2345657 me:5 Yesss!!!
Anyway, back to what I was saying a half hour ago BEFORE I started talking about Katie Perry lol is that while its hard to find absolutes applicable for the entire world, but you mayfind with effort some of your opinions (remember to use the disclaimer of I feel or imo) can be summoned into absolute opinions. I know it can be very challenging to articulate and justify your feelings in argument but doing so can help get to the heart of a matter and is often necessary to convince your thinker opponent.
Sry so long. I hope this was helpful :)