Positive Inferior Fe from the mind of an ISTP

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MBTI and Myers-Briggs related content

A long while ago, I wrote an article called Inferior Fe from the mind of an ISTP about my experiences with inferior Fe, and how it manifested in my life. I’ve always been hyper aware of my inferior function because of the negative effect it has on my life, but more recently, I’ve come to learn more about the positive effect that it actually has on my life. I usually spend a lot of time emphasizing to people that their inferior function is their weakness, but perhaps I don’t spend enough time considering how an inferior function can be developed or turned into a strength. Granted, one is unlikely to develop their inferior function to the extent that a dominant user of the same function. However, inferior use can have its own unique advantages. … But I’m rambling now, so let me move on to the point of this article.

My Positive Inferior Fe

Fe is a group oriented function, focused on social dynamics and harmony. Inferior Fe can run completely counter to that notion, fighting against the social group whenever pressure is felt to conform. I’ve always been like that. I don’t mind following along, as long as I felt I was given the option to not, meaning that I had been free to choose. When I feel as if an unreasonable level of group loyalty is being demanded of me, that’s when I have a problem. Of course, this can lead to a rebellious nature, if I’m not careful. However, on the flip side, it makes it easier for me to fight against the group when it is necessary.

I was relaying a couple of stories to an INFJ friend of mine (stories which I’m going to repeat a little further down) and she interpreted them in a interesting way. (By the way, said friend has a YouTube channel that you should totally check out here: Type Talks.) Basically, my inferior Fe leads me to want to protect the individuality of others. (I originally phrased it as extending anti-group protection to others, but I think I like her wording better, ha ha.) In other words, I protect not only myself from being controlled but other people as well. I’ve seen certain people assume that loyalty is based in either Fi or Si; however, Fe brings about its own breed of loyalty as well, even inferior Fe. Some people naturally associate high Ti users with the morally gray trope that we see in the movies. It’s like we’re made out to be rogues who are unwilling to be loyal to anyone but ourselves. Supposedly, we flip flop between the side of light and dark on a whim, doing whatever selfishly suits us best. And, perhaps an inferior Fe user who has not at all developed that Fe will lack loyalty to anyone but themselves. However, that is not my personal experience. I can be very loyal, to certain people and certain principles.

Inferior Fe is known for snapping out suddenly and emotionally after being pent up for a long time. The combination of Se-Fe specifically is probably even more prone to doing this. Personally, while I can snap at someone in defense of myself, I more often than not just shrug my shoulders and walk away, refusing to comply. I occasionally snap if I feel enough peer pressure or frustration. However, my inferior Fe will more often snap out really angry when it has to do with defending someone else. I’ve snapped at people on many occasions when I’ve seen someone being subjected to undo peer pressure, which usually shocks the culprit because I basically go from perfectly calm to extremely angry in a matter of a split second.

Let me share a couple of examples and then I’ll end this article.

1. I was a leader/creator of an activity-based group once. (I’m avoiding specifics since… well, I’m an inferior Fe who doesn’t really want anyone to know anything about me. :P) Anyhow, certain people got all excited about this group, and went around convincing others to join. A probable EXTJ specifically began pressuring this one lady whom I shall refer to as Laura. Seeing this happen irritated me, because I personally hate when people do that kind of stuff to me. So, one day, I was at a meeting that involved most of these people, including that EXTJ. I spoke up and said that I had spoken to Laura. (And, I wasn’t lying, by the way. I had spoken to Laura.) The EXTJ perked up and said, “Oh, is she finally going to join?” Glaring directly at the EXTJ, I responded with, “No, I told her that she didn’t have to.”

2. I had an intern once. I was very protective of her, probably more so than she realized. She was originally working in a different department in the office, but asked me if there was a possibility of interning in my department, since she was a college student and it was related to her intended degree. I immediately told her, “no”. I didn’t really believe my superiors would go for it, and I didn’t want to get her hopes up. However, I did present a case to my manager almost immediately after for bringing her on board. Needless to say, she was shocked when a little while later, she was being offered an internship position under me.

On her first day at work, I pulled her into a loud, isolated comms closet. (I was a Systems Administrator.) I was very straightforward with her, and explained that in our job, everyone was looking to blame us whenever something went wrong. I told her that since I knew what I was doing, I was allowed to take risks, but since she didn’t, she wasn’t. As long as she did what I said, I would cover for any mistakes she made, since ultimately I was responsible for every mistake she made anyway. From then on, I always talked her up in front of my bosses, and never said a single negative thing about her, because I could tell that she was trying. Sure, I could occasionally get critical when dealing directly with her, but as far as our superiors were concerned, she was gold. She ultimately left the company shortly after I did, for a variety of reasons, one of which being that the idiot who replaced me started stealing all of her credit. (Because I had actually taught her how to do her job well.)

In conclusion…

I hope this article has given you all a different perspective on inferior Fe that I may have failed to provide before. As I’ve mentioned in other inferior function related articles, if you’d like to submit an article or story of your own personal experience with your inferior function, Ryan and I would love to publish them here to give people practical examples to learn from. (Of course, we will give you credit, and provide a link to your own site, if you have your own blog, YouTube channel, or etc. that you’d like to promote.) Thanks for reading!

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