The Value of Extraverted Sensing (Se)

Se, or Extraverted Sensing, gets associated with so many things. Good reflexes. Physical Skills. Athletics. Observation. Truthfully, much of this is anecdotal, and unfair to other types. Are we really going to say that other types can’t have skills? That’s stupid. We can all receive training, and improve our reflexes. As we (PracticalTyping) say over and over again, Se is a cognitive function, so the root of it lies in the cognition behind it. That’s where the true value in Se lies. So, what is Se truly good at? How is it useful to have?

Well, as with many things, Se’s greatest strength lies in it’s greatest weakness. What does Se get the worst rap for? Living in the moment and not thinking beyond it. Se users are known for repeating mistakes over and over again, and just flat out doing dumb things. Blockheads. Meatheads. Dashing forward without thinking and getting into trouble. So, does that make us more courageous? Certainly not. That’s another virtue no one function can claim. But let’s dial Se back for a second. What do we know it to be?

Extraverted sensing. Extraverted functions are objective. Se sees everything in front of it exactly as it is. No filters. No preconceived notions. No prejudgements. (Bear in mind that I’m referring to Se in a vacuum, separate from the influence of all other functions in one’s stack.) Se is not interested in reading beyond what’s there into what could be. Some people see/hear that and view Se as simplistic, and Se users as dumb or shallow, but setting aside for a second that Se users do have Ni that they can tap into and choose to develop, try to think for a second about what it would mean to actually live with Se.

I think extraverted sensing gets unfairly associated with some very Si-esque things. Sensors get melded together into one chaotic mess of traits that usually gets summed up as “those people who lack creativity and intuition.” However, Se and Si are distinct and unique from each other. No, it’s not a simple matter of “Si users are past-oriented, and Se user are present-oriented.” Se users are focused on objective reality. Si users are impressionistic. Si overlays everything with an internal filter. Se does not.

What does this mean? Extraverted sensing doesn’t look at something and see all of the times it disappointed them in the past. Se approaches each thing fresh. Barring extreme situations, Se doesn’t see an apple and remember how the last apple they ate was disappointing. Se doesn’t write off an experience because it went badly once. In many ways, Se is not picky. Se doesn’t envision the perfect experience and try to achieve it. Se just wants an experience. Se wants the experience it can have today, right now.

What was a Se users greatest weakness? Living in the moment and not thinking beyond it? Think about how that’s a strength. While many Se users use their focus on the moment to over-indulge and avoid anything undesirable, think about how living moment by moment can be channeled for the positive. Some people look at a bleak situation, and as each day goes by, it gets worse and worse and worse, because each new negative experience is grouped onto the previous. The day isn’t approached as a fresh day; it’s a culmination of previous days. Or, some people look ahead and see how many months or years of a bad day is going to repeat itself. To truly live moment by moment means that you don’t have to do that. You can just focus on now.

All Se needs to do is survive today. If we can endure now, we can reset and endure tomorrow. There’s no sense thinking of tomorrow, when there’s today. Se doesn’t want to think about what might happen, or everything that could happen. Se wants to deal with one immediate problem at a time. Why take on the extra stress? Why open yourself up to the disappointment, frustration, or anxiety of tomorrow? Or next week, next month, next year, etc. It’s not that Se users don’t or can’t think. Be careful not to make that assumption. Se users are not inherently dumb or unintelligent. They just oftentimes choose not to think. They choose not to overthink the small things, the past disappointments, the inevitable future mishaps, etc. They dig their heels stubbornly into now, so they can continue on forward, and be free to experience life unhindered.

Obviously, extraverted sensors are not superhuman. My intent is not to describe them as such. Se users are subject to disappointments, and frustrations. Se users can get down and out when everything they see around them is bleak, and they start seeing only negative. They can drown in the negatives of now. That’s often when you see the unhealthy over-indulgence, the detrimental habits that take over their life. However, barring extreme situations, Se users are often not as easy to really disappoint. They’re often fairly good at setting things aside so that they can focus on the now, and live life in spite of everything that’s happened.

To pull a Ne contrast here, Ne users typically remain optimistic by focusing on all the positive things that could happen. Dreaming of tomorrow’s possibilities. Se users remain optimistic by focusing on the good of now and/or enjoying what they can enjoy now. Sometimes, it can take conscious, active effort to find positives. However, when the Se user can find and focus on those positive things that exist now, it plays to their strengths and helps motivate them. In addition, that little bit of lower Ni might slip in there to give them a light at the end of the tunnel, a potential to drive them forward, but extraverted sensing is more energized by the positive that it can see now, because that’s what Se sees: pure, unfiltered now.

From the “now”, may spring the awareness of sensory detail, or the desire for sensory immersion. It may prompt good reflexes to develop, or athletic talent, or physical skills. But those aren’t things that are limited to Se; they just may commonly spring from it. At it’s core, Se is about seeing an object for exactly what it is, about seeing each moment distinct from the last and from the next, about blocking everything out around it and focusing on right here and now.