infjs in sports and competition | INFJ Forum

infjs in sports and competition

Vegscara

Vegscara

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Apr 15, 2009
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As an infj male i too find myself to be somwhat femine. at least in my mannerisms anyway. Around most people im laid back and rarely assertive. i dont try to be macho like alot of other guys i know.

But when of playing a sport or competeing in somthing im conpletely different. I play basketball, a bit of tennis, and football and I love the feeling i get playing them. Im still quiet but I play very agressively which is very out of character for me. i think whaen I play sports, especially basketball, I let out all of the intense emotions i kepp inside and it effects how I play.

But off the field im still the typical male-infj. Id like to know if any other infjs, male or female, who play sports or compete in somthing feel the same way i do.
 
I dislike competition. I am just not a competitive person at all. By and large, I could care less about winning or loosing, particularly in sports. I will be competitive in acedemics, but no one knows because it is all internal with myself. I also don't really like sports (I have a very low Se) The only sport I am really passionate about is skiing. When I ski, I am either by myself doing what I want, or with a friend when we are doing tricky stuff (cause then it is too dangerous to be on your own). We will push each other to do better but that is simply because the friend that I always go with is extremely competitive.

The only other "sports" (which are really just playground games) where I get competitive is stuff like tag or capture the flag. Because it takes very little skill, everyone can play, and it is very light hearted by nature.
 
I really don't get into team sports (playing them or following them in TV/news) at all, with the exception ultimate frisbee.

I much prefer solo sports/exercise. Weight lifting, swimming, cycling, mountain biking.

I'm pretty much the typical INFJ-male as well. I wouldn't same I'm effeminate by any stretch of the word but I'm certainly not the 'macho guy'. I'm not a very competitive guy any any arena - sports, academics... anything.

For some reason though, ultimate frisbee is different. I'm really competitive there. On the field, my role is to be competitive so I'm OK with going for it. I think part of it is that, aside from the fact that I'm goog at it, people don't expect me to come out of my shell there, so I really get a lot of satisfaction from surprising people (pwning them). I'm only 5'5", so in many sports I have a height disadvantage this doesn't really apply so much with ultimate frisbee. It's all about being in the right place at the right time, speed, and agility.

On a side-note, I doubt people would guess that I'm a mild-mannered INFJ by my physique. I'm fairly muscular, which gives people the wrong impression that I am macho when I'm really not at all... *shrug*
Again, in the weight room, that's part of the deal, looking macho, so it doesn't bother me to 'come across that way', although it's not on purpose perse.
 
Usually I dislike competition - whether it's in sports or at the workplace. I hated that part back at school when boys would compete physically among themselves for various reasons. Somehow it has never interested me.

But if I find a right kind of sport for me - like tennis, martial arts, jogging - I can be very passionate about it. Definatelly not macho.
 
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Tamagochi said:
I hated that part back at school when boys would compete physically among themselves for various reasons. Somehow it has never interested me.
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Saaaame here. Man, the jocks that are so full of themselves. Cracks me up how ridiculous they can get. Well they should live it up while they can. Most of them end up out of shape and living vicariously through their children.
 
My Se must be high.

I played Soccer for a while as well as baseball. I liked em. Tennis is good, I do competitive sparring sometimes in Tae Kwon Do.(With protective gear on) Don't usually do that one though, too worried about hurting someone.

Used to be in wrestling too for a while until I didn't fit into a weight class. Was 1st place in every meet my first year.

Nowadays I usually just hike/bike/walk/jog, or play golf.

Football always seemed way too physical though. Jumping on people/being jumped on by people never really appealed to me.
 
I'm not competitive in the least. I always hated when we played group sports in P.E. class because all the kids would be so into it and get really fired up and I just didn't care... I especially didn't like getting screamed at by everyone for dropping the ball or something. It's just a game. Sheesh. Why can't we all go do some crafts or something? I know how to turn plastic soda bottles into fish.

There's just no inner flame for me and sports. Like Wyst, I don't mind solo sporting activities. I like longboarding, bicycle riding, or tossing a Frisbee in the park. Anything else in unappealing. I'm too meek for sports I guess.
 
I'm clumsy. People don't get that I really can't improve this. I barely navigate everyday life sometimes. I gave up trying that way nobody expects anything from me and I can enjoy peace and quite.
I dislike competition. Even when I can do a sport fairly well. I did zone swimming twice and failed almost on purpose coz I didn't like the atmosphere and spending time there made me shitty. (competitive parents with competitive kids and such)
I work better independantly.
 
I'm not good at sports because it seems arbitrary (although I understand that it is good exercise, develops skill and social interaction etc.) At the moment that I and someone else is going for the ball, my inner dialog concludes that they seem to want it far more than I do, so it only makes sense to let them have it. All that happens in a split second.

I'm in the performing arts which is crazy competitive, and I'm not competitive by nature. My lack of competitiveness is not just from being "too nice". It is largely because it doesn't make sense to me especially when it is constructed based on appearances. I tend to look beneath the surface, so posturing and bragging don't have much influence on me. Because of this, I find it unnatural to attempt it myself. Also, in the end it doesn't matter whether I performed the best or someone else did. When you think outside the context of self, then both results are equivalent and in both instances the world received the same gift. I can enjoy a display of skill or communication of meaning whether I created it or someone else did.

I see the world in terms of connectedness and not as "self" vs. everything else. It is a fluid way of relating and interacting, but makes the boundary of "self" vs. "other", which is the backbone of competition, to make little sense.
 
Julia said:
Also, in the end it doesn't matter whether I performed the best or someone else did. When you think outside the context of self, then both results are equivalent and in both instances the world received the same gift. I can enjoy a display of skill or communication of meaning whether I created it or someone else did.

I see the world in terms of connectedness and not as "self" vs. everything else. It is a fluid way of relating and interacting, but makes the boundary of "self" vs. "other", which is the backbone of competition, to make little sense.
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i just deleted my post to quote yours, because that's exactly how i feel about the matter

i would add that this does not prevent me from striving to attain or contribute skills/knowledge in an area of interest. competition does not necessarily centre on the sheer drive of exceeding others more than it involves an individual feat of refining oneself (to a certain inner level of competency) in order to bring something of distinct value to the world.

i realize the OP was in reference to sports but, as people have different areas of interest wherein they place higher value and invariably find other areas irrelevant or of lower priority, competition also depends on the context of the situation which determines the orientation of your competitive energy (e.g. to beat others in a team sport? to beat one's own record in track?).
 
I love playing pickup games of soccer with my friends. We get pretty competitive/physical during the games but after the game's over we take it pretty lightheartedly. We play in a style that's pretty much one continuous game with no real score and new teams each time.

We also disc golf a lot. And by a lot I mean almost every day after work. We very rarely compete with this, it's just to relax and unwind with friends. We almost never keep score and if we do it's usually a scramble. A friend and I once did enter an amateur doubles tournament and took second place. We went into it not caring how we place but were pretty proud when we took second. That's probably the most competitive I get in sports.
 
I dislike competition and prefer working out on my own or smaller groups of 1-2 people. However, I find that if I get lazy and stop working out, I get incredibly depressed! Exercise/movement/fitness seems to have a direct relation to my mood, it only takes a few days of inactivity before the funk sets in. Does anyone else experience this?
 
Wyst said:
I really don't get into team sports (playing them or following them in TV/news) at all, with the exception ultimate frisbee.

I much prefer solo sports/exercise. Weight lifting, swimming, cycling, mountain biking.

I'm pretty much the typical INFJ-male as well. I wouldn't same I'm effeminate by any stretch of the word but I'm certainly not the 'macho guy'. I'm not a very competitive guy any any arena - sports, academics... anything.

For some reason though, ultimate frisbee is different. I'm really competitive there. On the field, my role is to be competitive so I'm OK with going for it. I think part of it is that, aside from the fact that I'm goog at it, people don't expect me to come out of my shell there, so I really get a lot of satisfaction from surprising people (pwning them). I'm only 5'5", so in many sports I have a height disadvantage this doesn't really apply so much with ultimate frisbee. It's all about being in the right place at the right time, speed, and agility.

On a side-note, I doubt people would guess that I'm a mild-mannered INFJ by my physique. I'm fairly muscular, which gives people the wrong impression that I am macho when I'm really not at all... *shrug*
Again, in the weight room, that's part of the deal, looking macho, so it doesn't bother me to 'come across that way', although it's not on purpose perse.
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I feel much the same way about alot of things you said im pretty muscular and no one would guess im an infj by looking at me. And your right about most jocks they are full of themselves. Thats why I never hang out with most of my teammates. Durring practices and when im on the bench Im still that quiet kid who seems lost in thought but when im in the act of playing im conpletely different. But what you said about being expected to play well being the reason you play well does not apply to me. When I play well is when I play with emotion and confidence.

As for what ive seen posted so far it doesn't seem as if most of you who do compete in verious things have the same kind of drive I do. Its staring to make me think Im actualy another type or somthing. someone metioned somthing about not being competitive becaues they have a low Se. Thats my lowest function (I think) so that wouldn't make sense to me. Oh well.
 
Vegscara said:
But what you said about being expected to play well being the reason you play well does not apply to me. When I play well is when I play with emotion and confidence.
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Ah, I think I didn't write very well what I meant to say.

I didn't mean that it's because I'm expected to play well that I do play well. It's simply because on the field, you (the player) can be competitive. It's 'ok' to express that passion and let those emotions out - for me, it's an acceptable outlet to let that happen.

Contrastingly, when I'm in the gym lifting, even though it's 'ok' to look/come across macho, I don't feel comfortable doing it. I'm still the quiet, brooding INFJ that has his head phones on and hopes no one will bother him.

I'm competitive in ultimate frisbee because I like it. The competitiveness of the sport itself helps free me up to be let loose in a way I can't in other arenas - it's not so much because I'm expected to play well/competitively.
 
I am a very tenacious sports participant. Very aggressive on the field which is contrary to my off the field persona.
 
I was sporty but my coaches complained that I didn't take competition very seriously. I'm not competitive, but I liked being physical a lot. I regret one thing though, the fencing coach REPEATEDLY trued to get me to join the team because I had a natural propensity for it (crazy reflexes I have). But i thought all the helmets smelled like feet and I already had enough on my plate. I'm thinking of taking it up again.
 
When it comes to sports I can be extraordinary competitive because I take it personally and as a reflection on me. I have issues playing sports, particularly contact sports. I guess I'm too serious to be rough, and if someone hurts me, even in the context of a sport, it is still personal.

I've always wanted to play sports, but I've also always been too afraid to get involved. I'm in college now and it seems like it is too late for me.
 
I dont compete for anything except for who can clean thier plate the fastest.
 
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