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.
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Loved this article.
I often get frustrated by how the community treats Se as being the only function capable of endowing someone with physical aptitude/spatial awareness so I’m glad that was addressed. It’s like people forget why they’re called COGNITIVE functions to begin with…
That being said Se as it was described here does sound a bit like a superpower to someone like me who is prone to overthinking about the smallest things and being prone to caution. If there’s one thing I admire about the Se users I know it’s their ability to bounce back from any setback and tackle new challenges without feeling bogged down by their past failings.
You made an interesting point about optimism and how Se and Ne differs in that regard. I more or less understand how a Se user may become pessimistic. Could you elaborate a bit on what an overly pessimistic Ne user would seem like and what would trigger such a state?
Thank you! I actually did not write this in response to your recent request, lol. I will get to that at some point.
Ne pessimism tends to be rooted in a struggle to see good possibilities, and focusing in on all of the potential bad outcomes. Stress can be a trigger….which can be caused by just about anything, subjective to the person. There are also naturally more optimistic people out there, and in the reverse, people that are naturally pessimistic. When Si isn’t working well enough to counteract Ne with what is actually real and likely, Ne will run wild… either in the positive or negative direction.
“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.”
UGH, THIS USED TO BE ME, ALL DAY EVERY DAY. I had it mercilessly beaten into me by my family (all Si users).
“All Se needs to do is survive today. If we can endure now, we can reset and endure tomorrow.”
Then my tertiary Se developed. Now this is me, and I’m trying to beat the former out of my family back. It’s working, thank God. They’ve gone from almost 100% clinging to the past as something that has spoiled them forever and irreparably broken them to about 20% of the time just not realizing that they can fix bad habits or not knowing how.
THE PAST IS OVER, PEOPLE. SUCK IT UP AND MOVE ON. YOU AREN’T BROKEN OR SPOILED.
hello, could you please provide an example about how Se remains optimistic or how do we see Se on the field (day to day life)
Se remains optimistic, usually by focusing on positives in their current reality, and not projecting negative future outcomes. The focus on the present moment, rather than thinking about what could happen in the future, can allow someone to maintain a positive outlook. This is why SPs often encourage people to stop overthinking everything. It’s not that SPs are dumb; they just don’t often see a value in dwelling too much on what might happen. By default, they want to enjoy what they have now, and figure they’ll just deal with life as it happens.
(Disclaimer: gripping and/or looping SPs can be pessimistic and paranoid. In addition, mature and well-balanced SPs will recognize when forethought and advanced planning is necessary)