Opposite Type Outlets

[Elder]

I've been reflecting.

My boyfriend types as intj. He absolutely has the mastermind characteristics. And, he has this really sweet outlet aspect of himself. He developed it with his kids when they were little and it still has outlet in play with me.

It's this little cute alternative identity called "bug". Non-verbal, but incredibly expressive with just two little finger 'antenna'.

He says it's like a manifestation of id.

I'd also say there's a little esfp in there.

It's got me wondering.

Could I develop an outlet like that? Have I?

So, for me, the opposite type would be estp, yes?

Aspects of that would be just dive in, be an adventurer, figure it out as you go, yes?

I have often referred to myself as a little bit of a hoard/purge type.

I get too tired overwhelmed with paperwork/things and just let them pile up if I think I might need it. Then periodically, I just get tired of the mess and start purging everything.

I think about the joy I can get from a nature adventure.

My recent vacation I planned meticulously and then once on the trip, took a much more "we'll figure it out as we go," which even writing that down makes me smile.

I think I can be low energy, lost in thought/worries/planning, and then, periodically I just want to bust out, be free, and do whatever feels right in the moment.

I wonder if this is my version of "bug"? How that other aspect of me expresses and breaths.

I wonder what others think of this or notice in themselves?

 

[Matty]

It isn't clear to me what you're talking about exactly, but gestures can be an easy expressive outlet, at time easier than words or facial expressions for some feelings. For example, a literal thumbs up seems like a better expression of approval and recognition than words.

I'm INTJ, and while I'm nowhere near being expressive in gesture or word, the occasional hand gesture is satisfying in it's efficiency.

 

[Elder]

It isn't clear to me what you're talking about exactly

Fair enough.

For me, I was on a wild dot connecting journey.

We talk about the shadow, inferior function. I started down the road thinking about how these gestures for my boyfriend express a kind of esfp character (opposite to intj).

I started wondering what my (positive) estp outlet might look like.

Wondering about others experience with positive expression of the opposite type in their life.

That said...

gestures can be an easy expressive outlet, at time easier than words or facial expressions for some feelings.

Yes! For sure. And, I know it is a big part of this form of expression for my boyfriend.

the occasional hand gesture is satisfying in it's efficiency.

 

[Impact Character]

How lovely, that is such a cute and fun example of your partner!

One of my first chat-rpg characters in the past was conceptually a bad-guy character, rather wild than civilized, along the lines of instinctual or primordial.
I made her as an opposing force with the goal in mind to entertain friends and push story arcs, and she ended up being very liked despite everything (which I am super thankful of).

I believe that treating shadow aspects (really any) in environments and circumstances of low-pressure, low-urgency, leisure or play serve in ways which you described in your post @Elder . It really can be anything, have any form mixed with other aspects of the self.

 

[Ginny]

I play badminton, which was thoroughly planned in my subconscious, but first was a rather spontaneous idea that I brought up as a non-chlorine alternative to swimming.
It quickly became a habit, with my group of school mates.

It takes the pressure off my emotional valve, when I have to expel the negative energy of the week. Afterwards, I can do some wholesome relaxation at home.
Both the idea and the actual part of doing it feels very ESTP-y to me.

However, while ideas come often enough, I rarely act on them. The wall of inhibition in my mind is too high for me to make the effort, in most cases. It took having enough people supporting the idea to actually go through with it and making a plan.

 

[Asa]

@Ginny's comments about badminton being "very ESTP" are helping me see through this.
In general, it isn't healthy to dwell in shadow functions. This topic may be less about MBTI stacks and more about creating a more balanced person by adding structure to a less-structured person and adding play to a more structured person. In that case, I try to live that way... I'm both playful and serious.

We also all need outlets.

 

[Enkidu]

My opinion: within the Jungian ontology, there is no Manichean concept of atman/ego/self, as typology predicates. Put in other terms: self is manifested personality v. shadow are subsumed traits. In more modern verbiage, conscious personality is an emergent process v. subconsciousness is the autonomic mind and repression. In the process of self-actualization, shadow and self are not a dichotomy at odds, but best pictured in silhouette as a tree with arching branches and deepening roots.

 

[ErikAlberto]

It's this little cute alternative identity called "bug". Non-verbal, but incredibly expressive with just two little finger 'antenna'.

I love this — and the heart of your post here, in general.

I think about the joy I can get from a nature adventure.

I wonder if this is my version of "bug"? How that other aspect of me expresses and breaths.

Same here with nature adventures. Getting out in the woods — especially meandering off trails. Kayaking. Swimming in the lake or ocean. They make me feel nervous…and alive. In everyday life, maybe just exercise in general.

I wonder what others think of this or notice in themselves?

I think in terms of inferior Se desperately needing and wanting an expression in my conscious life — or we become at odds and I begin losing my spark.

In the process of self-actualization, shadow and self are not a dichotomy at odds, but best pictured in silhouette as a tree with arching branches and deepening roots.

Yes. I like that. I’d say in Jung, self + shadow = Self, no?

Also, @Elder — It sounds like you did end up going on that camping vacation with your boys after all Awesome! I hope it was a great time of connection and aliveness for you!

 

[John K]

I wonder what others think of this or notice in themselves?

I think it's very unlikely that this is an experience of the exact opposite type to your boyfriend's, or to your own. It's exceedingly stressful to live in our opposite type out of choice, and it tends to be how we come across when we are stressed out and grippy, and close to psychological or emotional exhaustion.

I do know what you mean though, and I have a theory about it - at least for introverted types. Both of you are dominant Ni, and this is a perceiving function, but for a number of social reasons it isn't easily tolerated in us by other people - and that throws us into our secondary and tertiary functions a lot of the time. Now these are both judging functions, and it's my speculation that we Ni types spend far too much time in our judging functions. Every so often, something deep within us says 'to hell with all that - let's go all P and play. In a way that's reclaiming our intuition in the raw, which is an extremely playful function if we allow it. Because we turn off our F and T, our Ni then teams up with our Se which of course is another P function and we seem to take on a very different personality for a while. Of course Se is our inferior, so we are always going to be very 'left-handed' with it, but that makes it all the more fun if we are not judging at the same time. It can't go on for very long though because it's going to tire us, so we so see the whole episode as a game. I take a lot of my photos this way.

Mind you, my wife might tell you I can sometimes go very estp behind the wheel of a car . Oh those 'sweet' inferior moments ......

 

[Wyote]

 

[Enkidu]

Yes. I like that. I’d say in Jung, self + shadow = Self, no?

Thanks. Yeah, essentially. (Sorry for the terse and non-committal summary) I liked @Elder 's lateral thinking and the OP instantly reminded me of Jung's exploration of dreams and unconscious mind, of, like the title of one of his books, The Undiscovered Self. Shadow really isn't discussed enough in these communities, largely because function stacking is a reinterpretation of that wilder duality.