What is good about INFJ foresight?

[Satya]

foresight

• providence by virtue of planning prudently for the future
• prevision: seeing ahead; knowing in advance; foreseeing
• the ability to foresee or prepare wisely for the future
• the discipline of developing a forward view in time; link-theme between spiritual dimension and mental dimension

INFJs are credited for having foresight. I know that I look to the future. I'm constantly making plans in my head for things big and small. The problem is that I haven't seen much good coming from it. An INFJ is always thinking about the possible outcomes of their actions. But think of all those instances where that backfires...

All those times you didn't take a risk because you were worried about how it would turn out down the road.
All those times you didn't trust people close to you because you predicted they might betray you.
All those times you suffered anxiety and stress when you didn't know how you were going to accomplish all the things you felt you needed to accomplish.
All those times you used your predictoins as an excuse not to do something that you needed to do.

So what is the good that comes from foresight?

 

[just me]

Satya, with little thought the first thing I can think of is it causes planning and preparation. I have, over the years, enjoyed preparing for things sometimes as much if not more than actually doing them when the time comes. I love weeks of preparation for certain activities I like to participate in.
Sometimes not taking a risk can be a good thing. I have gone without things others had, though, because of what you said. It can be good and it can be quite unfortunate.
Not trusting someone close to you because you think they may betray you is being entirely too careful, because we know how to make it alright afterwards. If we let them get close enough for betrayal and worry about it, maybe we should reexamine ourselves and intentions more closely.
The others I cannot relate to well enough for discussion.
Foresight is best used helping others when possible rather than oneself. Do you agree?

 

[musttry]

I get what you're saying. The idea of mulling things over in our heads is, according to Erckhart Tolle (I know, I know, weird man, but it helped me), the curse of humanity. I guess mulling over things of the future is even more harsh on us because we have no control over them.

I love planning! For example, I've been on the dating scene for a little while now and I've found it very useful. I make little plans on how to approach girls and fuss over date details. Things never work out exactly as planned but at least I know where I'm going!

I guess I would say that foresight is only good if you use it to act now. If you can intuit what might happen AND can act now, then it's very useful. If it just stays in the head, I think it's mental masturbation.

PS. Still learning to tone my messages on the forum. Let me know if I'm abrupt.

 

[bs98r3kjf]

I guess it's a way to prevent ourselves from getting hurt repeatedly. Maybe.

 

[bs98r3kjf]

I guess it also gives us a feeling of security. You sort of feel safer if you know what to expect.

 

[Zanshin]

All those times you didn't take a risk because you were worried about how it would turn out down the road.
All those times you didn't trust people close to you because you predicted they might betray you.
All those times you suffered anxiety and stress when you didn't know how you were going to accomplish all the things you felt you needed to accomplish.
All those times you used your predictoins as an excuse not to do something that you needed to do.

Honestly, I sometimes think about trading foresight for the ability to enjoy each moment as it comes. These four sentences at the bottom of your post sum up quite a few missed experiences I regret. I sometimes wonder what would happen if I didn't let foresight get to me and just took action instead of pondering.

On a positive note, you can learn to use foresight but still have the ability to distinguish when it is not in your best interest to listen to it. Sometimes it takes a kick in the ass by someone or something to realize this. Anyway, preparation is always a good thing if it brings positive feelings. Also, having the ability to know how things will go down most of the time and being able to plan around it is pretty sweet. However, don't let it hinder you.

 

[Satya]

Do you agree?

No. Part of NiFe is that you know what human beings are capable of doing to one another. An injured friend is the bitterest of foes, and so a mistake on your part can lead to a betrayal down the road that shakes you to your core.

PS. Still learning to tone my messages on the forum. Let me know if I'm abrupt.

Have you met Shai Gar yet? Trust me, you have a lot of freedom in what you say before you come off as abrupt. Also, I agree with your other points.

I guess it also gives us a feeling of security. You sort of feel safer if you know what to expect.

It seldom serves that purpose for me. In fact, it can lead me to feeling incredibly insecure and unsafe.

Also, having the ability to know how things will go down most of the time and being able to plan around it is pretty sweet.

I'm starting to think that foresight is pretty useless without a plan or preparation for action. Also, it's good at providing the perception needed for creating strategy, but it fails miserably when it comes down to tactics.

 

[the]

Which type is good at making plans? Perhaps you two should team up.

 

[Zanshin]

I'm starting to think that foresight is pretty useless without a plan or preparation for action. Also, it's good at providing the perception needed for creating strategy, but it fails miserably when it comes down to tactics.

Agreed. INFJs aren't exactly action oriented. However, that doesn't mean that one can't develop the tactics needed to implement the strategy. Just like anything, it takes determination and practice.

 

[anica]

Honestly, I sometimes think about trading foresight for the ability to enjoy each moment as it comes. These four sentences at the bottom of your post sum up quite a few missed experiences I regret. I sometimes wonder what would happen if I didn't let foresight get to me and just took action instead of pondering.

On a positive note, you can learn to use foresight but still have the ability to distinguish when it is not in your best interest to listen to it. Sometimes it takes a kick in the ass by someone or something to realize this. Anyway, preparation is always a good thing if it brings positive feelings. Also, having the ability to know how things will go down most of the time and being able to plan around it is pretty sweet. However, don't let it hinder you.

Sometimes I find my foresight to be crippling. I do better if I can stay in the moment without too much abticipation about how things will turn out. Yes, they generally turn out as I've foreseen, but there's just as often an unexpected twist to the way in which events arrive at that end that changes everything. Keeping my expectations and anticipation to a minimum leaves me vulnerable but the more I practice it, the more confidence I have in my ability to handle whatever the outcome.

 

[Satya]

Agreed. INFJs aren't exactly action oriented. However, that doesn't mean that one can't develop the tactics needed to implement the strategy. Just like anything, it takes determination and practice.

I agree and I think anica further accentuates the point. If an INFJ is dependent on their foresight then they may not be developing the necessary abilities to deal with things as they come up. And that means foresight could indirectly lead to an extraordinary amount of stress and anxiety. That leads me to believe that foresight should probably be avoided all together unless it is being used for the forumlation of plans.

Conetemplating the future and potetials, without any goal in mind, is like playing the lottery without buying a ticket. Even if you win, all you have done is set yourself up for regret, and anticiparting the outcome, without the investment, is just wasted effort.

 

[just me]

If an INFJ is dependent on their foresight then they may not be developing the necessary abilities to deal with things as they come up.

Conetemplating the future and potetials, without any goal in mind, is like playing the lottery without buying a ticket. Even if you win, all you have done is set yourself up for regret, and anticiparting the outcome, without the investment, is just wasted effort.

Regarding the first part:
I feel this to be contradiction of traits, at least for me.
I know what to do; the abilities are there in place. We don't depend on foresight; we learn to use it as an added instinct.
...and the second....
Why is the focus on the third person so wrong? I agree with what else you are saying, but using our abilities for only our own self seems a bit, well: selfish.

 

[Satya]

Regarding the first part:
I feel this to be contradiction of traits, at least for me.
I know what to do; the abilities are there in place. We don't depend on foresight; we learn to use it as an added instinct.
...and the second....
Why is the focus on the third person so wrong? I agree with what else you are saying, but using our abilities for only our own self seems a bit, well: selfish.

I'm not really sure what you are talking about. What I said had to do with HOW INFJs use their foresight, not for WHO they use it. And INFJs are highly dependent on foresight because it is derived from their dominant function Ni. Introverted intuition means the perception is inherently turned inward.

Ni - introverted iNtuiting
Foreseeing implications and likely effects without external data; realizing “what will be”; conceptualizing new ways of seeing things; envisioning transformations; getting an image of profound meaning or far-reaching symbols.

Now I don't mean any offense by asking, but are you certain you are an INFJ? You don't sound like you use introverted intution as your dominant function.

 

[acd]

I was driving and thinking the other day about foresight.. And I wondered, in hindsight.. if it was really foresight at all.. or if I was just doing the whole self-fulfilling prophesy thing.. Then again, I am a silly INFP..

 

[Satya]

I was driving and thinking the other day about foresight.. And I wondered, in hindsight.. if was really foresight at all.. or if I was just doing the whole self-fulfilling prophesy thing.. Then again, I am a silly INFP..

It definitely happens. I don't think INFJs are psychics, I think we are just fond of estimating. An estimate is just a guess, a prediction, an approximate calculation of potential worth or possibility. I think a lot of INFJs take their estimates too serously.

 

[bs98r3kjf]

It seldom serves that purpose for me. In fact, it can lead me to feeling incredibly insecure and unsafe.

Sorry, I should have been clearer. I meant foresight makes me feel secure because it motivates me to make plans, its not the mere foresight that makes me feel that way.

 

[just me]

If it takes discipline to develop a forward view in time, maybe over the years it seems natural to me rather than one's having to develop it. Views and such as relating to time I still fight with because I question everything is part of space and time. I know I learned little studying scriptures without talking my mind and speaking my peace...questioning things. Time seems to be of little concern to me anymore, as I am seeking understanding.
I want to learn so I question things, knowing beyond the shadow of a doubt you in one of your threads will question my thoughts and words in a manner to help me better understand these things. It is not foreseeing to me; pure logic. What about extroverted feeling? I seem to be able to better communicate now that this computer is here. Yes, there were times in the past writing was easy. Sharing my feelings is so easy now that I feel I am with others that feel and think in ways I feel comfortable around. If caring about others is not part of what I think I am, then I must be something else. You said how we use foresight, not for whom we use it. You said you were constantly making plans in your head to use it. My being older may have something to do with it, growing up and becoming a senior citizen without knowing about these things. I see it more as blending together the
ni as you call it with the fe as you call it; conceptualizing new ways of seeing things to help not just everyone else or myself, but to help us all.
"All we", if I may say so, has become a part of what I focus on because my heart, not my mind, tells me to do so. Where does my heart fall into these categories of time? Trust me; I am not questioning your understanding;
I am reaching for it.

 

[Satya]

If it takes discipline to develop a forward view in time, maybe over the years it seems natural to me rather than one's having to develop it. Views and such as relating to time I still fight with because I question everything is part of space and time. I know I learned little studying scriptures without talking my mind and speaking my peace...questioning things. Time seems to be of little concern to me anymore, as I am seeking understanding.
I want to learn so I question things, knowing beyond the shadow of a doubt you in one of your threads will question my thoughts and words in a manner to help me better understand these things. It is not foreseeing to me; pure logic. What about extroverted feeling? I seem to be able to better communicate now that this computer is here. Yes, there were times in the past writing was easy. Sharing my feelings is so easy now that I feel I am with others that feel and think in ways I feel comfortable around. If caring about others is not part of what I think I am, then I must be something else. You said how we use foresight, not for whom we use it. You said you were constantly making plans in your head to use it. My being older may have something to do with it, growing up and becoming a senior citizen without knowing about these things. I see it more as blending together the
ni as you call it with the fe as you call it; conceptualizing new ways of seeing things to help not just everyone else or myself, but to help us all.
"All we", if I may say so, has become a part of what I focus on because my heart, not my mind, tells me to do so. Where does my heart fall into these categories of time? Trust me; I am not questioning your understanding;
I am reaching for it.

Scripture has a way of polluting the mind and robbing people of their potential, but the spirit always knows what it needs. Spirit, or heart, or soul, or whatever you want to call it is the constant of people. It does not experience time. It just is. That is my understanding.

If you are much older, then your way of thinking is profoundly different than mine, and it would be even if we are the same personality type. You seem to enjoy intuiting for the sake of intuiting, much as I did when I was younger. You are self assured, and I'm naturally cynical of that, but I won't get anywhere by criticizing you for it. In essence, you are what you are.

 

[just me]

My words may have a touch of wisdom that has been gathered with time, but " self-assured " is your way of seeing what you call a "polluted mind robbed of its potential" when in actuality I have denied myself. The assurance you see is not that of my own; I live assured from what I believe dwells within me.
My potential has no bounds because of that. I take no offense in what you are saying and mean none to anyone. There are things you see in me and do not connect with; it is because my heart has been tempered to think of you and the others on this forum differently than I used to think of others when I was much younger. I was never, as a very young man, self-assured unless I was in left field. It was a place it was just me and the ball, and the ball wasn't allowed there as far as I was concerned. That came from many years of teaching and practice from my Father. Thank you for listening....or reading; whatever. We are what we are.

 

[KingOfSpades]

You know it may be difficult to think of the advantages of foresight because of the fact that we live in social settings where the more mystical components of it are not given room to flourish.

I know that when I focus my foresight on other people it is quite possible to come up with very accurate predictions concerning their future. This has nothing to do with being psychic but has everything to do with using intuition as a compass towards future outcomes.

You can look at other people's behavior and just know, deep down, whether something they're doing is a bad idea, or what will happen if they continue down a certain road.

When turned inwards I agree this lends itself to anxiety. If used too much the whole world seems like a tightrope and one tiny slip could lead to ruin.

I would wager that more keen observers turn this foresight into a social exercise. There is no room for prophets in the modern world, but in the past and with more "primitive" peoples (I hate that word but it's an easy word to use and everyone knows what it means) it was the duty of the prophet to counsel others concerning where things could go wrong in their lives if they didn't change; and also their duty to counsel the entire social group of its potentially bad practices.

Empirically INFJs are considered 1% of the population. If you think about small hunter-gatherer groups, they usually numbered between 60 to 300 people in terms of their primary band, which would mean about 1 or 2 people in the group then who would display INFJ traits. So the role of the "prophet" or "shaman" would be occupied by a person like the INFJ. Of course, this assumes some type of biological component to personality, and that INFJ personality trait is a universal human marker. Interestingly, schizophrenia is a disease that marks 1% of human populations in all cultures -- perhaps the genes involved serve some socio-evolutionary purpose related to the social roles of prophecy, foresight, medicine-men, etc.

Of course there is no longer room for shamans/medicine-men in modern societies but they were around for much longer than modern consumer societies (by an order of many thousands of years).

Genuine foresight has been replaced with standard answers from legal codes and religious texts of a variety of sort. Some of these are more antiquated than others, more corrupted by the influence of power than others. But there is still wisdom in religious texts, buried deep down under the centuries of manipulation, at least in my opinion. It takes patience and free thinking, but it's there. That wisdom is probably the fruit of their foresight.