How do other IEEs find motivation?

[GallopingQwerty]

Howdy all!

My friends who are really into socionics have been bugging me for years to take a look. I'm sure you're all completely shocked that it took me this long to remember and/or get around to it, with all the bright shiny things to do in this world.

Er... what was I talking about? Oh yeah!

One of the first things I (forced myself to) notice about my type is that we apparently lack motivation for finishing long term goals. How simultaneously depressing that it's true, and also cheering because I am not alone.

So the question is, how do other IEEs get their butts in gear and focused on finishing something for the long haul? Surely not ALL of us are out there chasing the shiny things.

Thanks!

[Mattie]

To be blunt, that's a gross over-generalization of an aspect about NeFi. I feel very capable about being able to achieve goals of any caliber, as long as they are realistic. This sort of "A.D.D." and ineffectual stereotype isn't something that is unique to NeFi or any type. I find it easy to be motivated by things I find interesting at the moment, and if they aren't pressing matters, they'll sit on the shelf. Through the test of time, if they are good ideas, they will resurface again.

[GallopingQwerty]

To be blunt, that's a gross over-generalization of an aspect about NeFi.

Yeah that was my first reaction too, until I realized how very true it is for me personally. For me, it's not about not being able to do ANYthing... it's just really, really difficult for any one thing to keep my attention past a certain stage, no matter how excited, committed, outraged, or interested I am in the beginning. This is the quote that really summed it up for me:

"Because of fluctuating interest levels in self-pursuits, these tasks are difficult to sustain. These tasks include (but are not limited to) staying motivated to keep a workout regimen, sticking with a diet, sticking to a routine of doing a particular errand at the same time periodically, and other similar tasks. If the willpower is not there, it cannot be artificially manufactured to get the IEE to "push through". Concordantly, attempts by other people to get the IEE to "push through" is met with resistance."

Of course this could apply to other folks, and realistically just about anything on any socionics descriptor page could. But... I know this exact problem has been a major thing in my own life, and I am not the only ENFP that I know of that *really* has to struggle with it.

But hey, if any other types have the same problem and have other ways of dealing with the issue, by all means let me know!

[somavision]

Howdy all!

My friends who are really into socionics have been bugging me for years to take a look. I'm sure you're all completely shocked that it took me this long to remember and/or get around to it, with all the bright shiny things to do in this world.

Er... what was I talking about? Oh yeah!

One of the first things I (forced myself to) notice about my type is that we apparently lack motivation for finishing long term goals. How simultaneously depressing that it's true, and also cheering because I am not alone.

So the question is, how do other IEEs get their butts in gear and focused on finishing something for the long haul? Surely not ALL of us are out there chasing the shiny things.

Thanks!

most likely you will achive your goals twenty years later than you expected and in some way that you did not realise, after going on some ridiculous rambling journey through life.

possibly the thing that I think is most important is to make sure that the goals are genuinely yours and you are not setting goals that you think are desriable to society or your peers or family. If it's something you really want you will do it.

I think that there is a very nice Walden quote on one of the sites (i can't remebder the exact one) but it's about a drummer marching to his own beat.

[Satan]

maybe you should try amphetamines... they seemed to kind of work for joy... but her face looked mental.

[Slacker]

I don't have much in the way of internal motivation, but there are always external reasons why things have to get done. If I don't cook dinner, my family doesn't eat. If I don't do laundry, no one has anything to wear. If I don't clean the house, I'll get embarrassed when people stop by.

I'm not a goal maker so I don't worry about that, but I did finish college at some point, and I got a job after it. For me, it's just about looking at the potential consequences and not wanting to have to face them.

[DirectorAbbie]

My dad rewarded himself with food when he was in college.

[consentingadult]

IEEs don't find motivation, it simply happens to them!

j/k. If you want to find motivation to do all the required stuff you really do not want to do, eliminate all stress factors.But this will take quite a while for things to start taking effect.

[jewels]

I have this problem as well, so I focus on the end result. Working for myself, if I didn't learn to do this I'd probably go insane and get nothing done. I think us IEEs are more easily motivated by external things, so learning to be more internally motivated is not an easy thing to do.

Anyway, if I go to the grocery store Tuesday at 9pm instead of Sunday at 5, does it really matter? No. If I feel like NOT going Sunday, and I go on Tuesday instead, who cares?

If I miss the gym on Wed and Thurs out of laziness, but then play a sport for 3 hours that weekend, ok fine.

Now, sometimes things can't be delayed. This form is due NOW or face bad consequences. If I don't take the trash downstairs tonight it will smell in the morning, etc. In those cases, I use that bad possible result to ensure it's definitely finished by the deadline. So I've never had trouble meeting deadlines because of that fear of them.

I would sometimes miss details and feel horrible about it, so I started using my cell phone calendar which has an alarm. I'd write a reminder the day before something so I remembered to go to it the next day. I keep just about everything on that one calendar and it works well for me.

Also, I have a running long list of tasks that I check off whenever I feel like doing them. And I keep all of that stuff in one little box where I can see bills to be paid, etc., or anything else that has to be done. Otherwise I lose all of it and forget to do it.

I used to have a huge problem w/ things that never "needed" to be done, such as keeping my place clean. When single, no one stopped by, except maybe once a year. So it would get horrid, because I had NO motivation to clean. Then, my motivation became the horrid depression I'd feel when it was disgusting and no one was coming over, so I started to clean just for myself. And now I clean every day regardless of if anyone will see it.

I did the same thing w/ work and other stuff...trying to find my own discomfort as a good enough motivation for doing it. It seems to work pretty well, and it means I now do hated tasks more easily. Not always w/ a strict schedule, but in an end result this needs to be done sorta way.

[GallopingQwerty]

Mariella: I hear ya on that one, the only thing that motivates me to clean my house is knowing how bad it would seem to people stopping by. And, being a rather sociable person, people are *always* dropping by (half the time totally unexpectedly since I keep issuing open invitations) so the house better be clean all the time! Especially since I have pets: who wants to visit a house that smells like wet dog fur and cat litter?

A great source of amusement to me is, I have a friend who lives downstairs that constantly calls me OCD about keeping the house clean and that Martha Stewart wouldn't have my high standards. Hah, if she only knew!

Re: college, the only thing that keeps me going is that I like the subject matter. I am dreading going through a couple of the required basics that don't interest me, it's going to be hell getting through it and keeping my focus long enough to understand and remember the subject matter. For now, though, I cheerfully discuss transgender psychology to stunned fellow students in my counseling classes, bring up Irish indentured slavery in the US in my social problems class, and persuade my music class groups to do tone poems instead of Bach quartets. Ah, it's the little things in life...

Jewels: great suggestions! I just need to find a physical activity that I actually like well enough to do it on the weekends (and that doesn't have a set class schedule), and I am set.

Thanks again guys, love the suggestions! It's so nice to find folks who see the problem the same way I do, instead of others thinking I am too lazy (or overly motivated if they only see me when I'm in my go-go mode).

[GallopingQwerty]

Mmm, tone poems...the one we did in band is still my favorite piece we ever performed.

Argh! Thank you for reminding me, I have been meaning to get a tape copy of my high school performance for about 5 years now. I am writing myself a note right this minute!

Where it will go on my stack of other similar notes. Dang. Maybe I should just Facebook message my old band teacher's son? Hmm.

[Suz]

I have this problem as well, so I focus on the end result. Working for myself, if I didn't learn to do this I'd probably go insane and get nothing done. I think us IEEs are more easily motivated by external things, so learning to be more internally motivated is not an easy thing to do.

Anyway, if I go to the grocery store Tuesday at 9pm instead of Sunday at 5, does it really matter? No. If I feel like NOT going Sunday, and I go on Tuesday instead, who cares?

If I miss the gym on Wed and Thurs out of laziness, but then play a sport for 3 hours that weekend, ok fine.

Now, sometimes things can't be delayed. This form is due NOW or face bad consequences. If I don't take the trash downstairs tonight it will smell in the morning, etc. In those cases, I use that bad possible result to ensure it's definitely finished by the deadline. So I've never had trouble meeting deadlines because of that fear of them.

I would sometimes miss details and feel horrible about it, so I started using my cell phone calendar which has an alarm. I'd write a reminder the day before something so I remembered to go to it the next day. I keep just about everything on that one calendar and it works well for me.

Also, I have a running long list of tasks that I check off whenever I feel like doing them. And I keep all of that stuff in one little box where I can see bills to be paid, etc., or anything else that has to be done. Otherwise I lose all of it and forget to do it.

I used to have a huge problem w/ things that never "needed" to be done, such as keeping my place clean. When single, no one stopped by, except maybe once a year. So it would get horrid, because I had NO motivation to clean. Then, my motivation became the horrid depression I'd feel when it was disgusting and no one was coming over, so I started to clean just for myself. And now I clean every day regardless of if anyone will see it.

I did the same thing w/ work and other stuff...trying to find my own discomfort as a good enough motivation for doing it. It seems to work pretty well, and it means I now do hated tasks more easily. Not always w/ a strict schedule, but in an end result this needs to be done sorta way.

OMG, so me. . .

The other big motivator for me in college or for anything graded has always been the possibility of failing. And I'm not one of those people who is able to judge studying just enough to get a B or to pass or something, I convince myself i have to go all out, to make sure I dont fail and I have all these grand plans of going through 20 books and doing 2000 problems. Of course, I always end up overestimating how much i can do or how fast I can read, and I tend to daydream while I study (except when it's last minute and i'm HIGHLY stressed), so I end up getting a lot less studying done than I planned. And hence my life consumed in work.

[thePirate]

To be blunt, that's a gross over-generalization of an aspect about NeFi. I feel very capable about being able to achieve goals of any caliber, as long as they are realistic. This sort of "A.D.D." and ineffectual stereotype isn't something that is unique to NeFi or any type. I find it easy to be motivated by things I find interesting at the moment, and if they aren't pressing matters, they'll sit on the shelf. Through the test of time, if they are good ideas, they will resurface again.

how is this a 'gross over-generalization' of NeFi?

The posts in this thread from IEEs have basically confirmed what she said, she said nothing of the capability to achieve something but rather the motivation in which it is well known that IEEs struggle with. That being said, I personally do feel that serves as a detriment to progress and as such has very close relationship with capability. Part of being capable, is being able to focus on something long enough to see it through no? not that other types dont have their shit to struggle with, but I just found YOUR post a gross misinterpretation.

[Simon Ssmall]

Anything that is related to work I usually finish in time. Mostly because there is no other way, there are things like weekly reports, project managers, plans and all that fancy stuff to keep me always on track.

When it comes to more personal stuff where I have to manage everything myself then it gets trickier. I finish most things on the last minute due to a simple reason I try to leave all the unpleasant things till the last moment. Then in two days I do two weeks work or worse.

When it comes to my hobbies I am usually very motivated in the start and not so much at the end. Usually I dont finish what I start. Not that I am bothered by it.

I went to Spanish classes, I enjoyed it very much and learned a lot in the begining, started listening to spanish radio daily and things like that. When I got bored I droped it. I did not enjoy it anymore so why should I bother? I did it for myself anyways.

There are many things I started, there are many things I dropped. Most things that I finished are due to other people helping me with it or it being simply unavoidable. There is enjoyment in finishing something, but I dont see myself changing in a way so I would do so on every ocassion. I am sane enough to finish most thing on which wellbeing of others depends on. I am not sane enough to finish things MY wellbeing depends on. But oh well, at least I enjoy my life.

[Simon Ssmall]

To be blunt, that's a gross over-generalization of an aspect about NeFi. I feel very capable about being able to achieve goals of any caliber, as long as they are realistic. This sort of "A.D.D." and ineffectual stereotype isn't something that is unique to NeFi or any type. I find it easy to be motivated by things I find interesting at the moment, and if they aren't pressing matters, they'll sit on the shelf. Through the test of time, if they are good ideas, they will resurface again.

I do not think it is over-generalization. Its great you are different and it does not mean that every NeFi has to be like that, but the fact is it is quite common among NeFi's.

Also being motivated that you find interesting is all cool and obvious, don't think many people are not like that. But how do you maintain interest? One is interest in a subject which can be constant, but what about interest in activity, which can come and go as hours pass.

[Beautiful sky]

Yeah that was my first reaction too, until I realized how very true it is for me personally. For me, it's not about not being able to do ANYthing... it's just really, really difficult for any one thing to keep my attention past a certain stage, no matter how excited, committed, outraged, or interested I am in the beginning. This is the quote that really summed it up for me:

Of course this could apply to other folks, and realistically just about anything on any socionics descriptor page could. But... I know this exact problem has been a major thing in my own life, and I am not the only ENFP that I know of that *really* has to struggle with it.

But hey, if any other types have the same problem and have other ways of dealing with the issue, by all means let me know!

What tasks do you have a hard time focusing on and what task you don't? Or, is it all tasks? and what is your avatar of (what cartoon series)?

[GallopingQwerty]

What tasks do you have a hard time focusing on and what task you don't? Or, is it all tasks? and what is your avatar of (what cartoon series)?

The avatar is from ShoeBoxBlog.com (I just love the idea of wearing a super hero outfit to work!).

And tasks... really short term repetitive stuff isn't so bad, once I motivate myself to do it. Anything that will require longer than 20 minutes is really tough, though... unless it's something new and interesting, in which case my interest could span days. And then I will totally forget I was ever interested, unless it comes up at a party somewhere in the future.