What is Ni's 'contribution'?

[KazeCraven]

Supposedly your socionic type allows you to contribute in a unique way.

Most of these seem rather clear to me, but I'm not quite catching Ni. Seems like my preferred mode of communication is as follows:



And my preferred way of contribution to society is similar to the above.

[KazeCraven]

No, that's not what I meant.

What I meant is that each person seeks out people of particular socionic types because they lack something. Each information element covers a domain of need, and I am trying to elucidate what the information element tends to do well for people.

I am in no way asking people what to do with my life. I am simply trying to get a better idea of what is an effective way of contributing. If I can discern that, then perhaps I can spend my time doing what I really want to do. Making the issues of meeting necessity more efficient will allow more time to focus on what is not necessary for survival.

[redbaron]

here's a contribution I made recently: I have a friend who was divorced about a year ago. It was a horrible divorce, complete with custody battle and threats, etc. Well... as we became friends, I realized he was talking about her all the time. So I pointed it out to him that he still loves her. He was like "no I don't". I mentioned it a couple times over the course of several months. Finally he fessed up to me that he does still indeed love her and miss her and that I made him realize this. So then I told him that it's not too late for them and that she is probably realizing that she was wrong (I have the scoop on what happened between them) and if he can forgive her eventually, they could be together again.

Well, the situation is still in progress. But I view this as a pretty big contribution. Even if they don't get back together, he felt safe enough with me initially to talk to me, which in turn helped me to point some things out to him that he hadn't even realized, that seemed obvious to me and then in turn, show him the potential for what could happen, if that's what he decides he wants. (he is SLE and I think his ex is ESI or some other Se-ego)

I dunno if it's Ni or Fe or NiFe or FeNi or apweoriajweoriajweroiajw but I find myself contributing in this way, if I'm open to honing in on a situation. If I'm too much in my own head and not outward-focused then it doesn't happen and I only wallow in my own world. But I think Ni can contribute in various situations. Once I had another friend who was upset because his business partner bailed. I just said that in the long run he'll be better off without him because now he knows what a jerk the guy was and how he operates and he shouldn't be associated with such a character. Strangely enough, I don't think this person thought of it that way until I said it. So... ?? Maybe Ni contributes by feeling safe enough to say its mind in any given situation. To say the things that feel obvious but which might not be obvious to others.

Er, maybe this isn't what you meant at all. You're meaning a contribution to the economy? I don't think I'm good at anything that contributes to the economy directly. But there are lots of little things that contribute to the quality of life for people, I think. Art, music, writing, etc.

[KazeCraven]

Well, don't you already have things you're good at?

I figured the amount of time it takes to see if I can come up with more efficient strategies far outstrips simply working at what I'm already good at in terms of the possible gains. But I see what you're getting at, and thank you.

@redbaron: Thanks for the ideas. I'm getting a better idea of what some sites have said about focusing on long-term implications.

[golden]

It doesn't even have to be a measurable contribution.

That is, if I'm with someone who is using Se, I just enjoy the Se and it makes me feel really good, and it improves the quality of my days.

And if I'm with someone who enjoys my Ni, same thing.

Ni + Fe, at least--'cause that's what I do and can speak about accurately, I hope--often is a question of me having a large sense of the meaning of life, of a person's place in that large picture, of holding a certain view of them because of that. It can lead to all sorts of actions, but the point is, for me, more qualitative.

If you're with someone who values you simply for who you are, the quality of your Ni will be very positive for them, make the stronger, happier, more balanced.

[KazeCraven]

It doesn't even have to be a measurable contribution.

That is, if I'm with someone who is using Se, I just enjoy the Se and it makes me feel really good, and it improves the quality of my days.

And if I'm with someone who enjoys my Ni, same thing.

Ni + Fe, at least--'cause that's what I do and can speak about accurately, I hope--often is a question of me having a large sense of the meaning of life, of a person's place in that large picture, of holding a certain view of them because of that. It can lead to all sorts of actions, but the point is, for me, more qualitative.

If you're with someone who values you simply for who you are, the quality of your Ni will be very positive for them, make the stronger, happier, more balanced.

Hmmm. The issue I have with that is that it seems that my outer persona is arbitrary, and whether someone appreciates me is dependent on which 'hat' I'm wearing. The only thing that seems to be 'of me' are my opinions and beliefs, and I can state those in a multitude of ways. Though that does give me an idea...

But as for the first part, I suppose it would be interesting to try simply talking in terms of my subjective spiritual views about what the larger picture is.

[Nowisthetime]

I had a good experience with a young ILI this summer. We worked together in gardening, planting trees and stuff. He was very nerdy and introverted, seemed almost autistic and bored or both. At lunch break he used to sit with a piece of paper making some calculations about fractals or something...

But he was great to work with. He seemed like someone who would be bad at cooperation in the team, but he was the best, even though he spoke very little. He magically knew to be in the right place at the right time. When I was doing something he understood what the next step would be and came there to help me with that, even before I had started. It was like that all the time. Almost like he was reading my mind, or reading the situation.

His behaviour was even more impressive because he was so detached and spoke so little, he hardly ever asked anything about how to plan the work, what should be done next etc. He didn't explain anything, nothing like "now I'll do this so you do that and then we do that"

Isn't that what Ni is about? Instantly seeing how things are developing in time? Anyway, he was impressive. I learnt a lot from him.

[KazeCraven]

I had a good experience with a young ILI this summer. We worked together in gardening, planting trees and stuff. He was very nerdy and introverted, seemed almost autistic and bored or both. At lunch break he used to sit with a piece of paper making some calculations about fractals or something...

But he was great to work with. He seemed like someone who would be bad at cooperation in the team, but he was the best, even though he spoke very little. He magically knew to be in the right place at the right time. When I was doing something he understood what the next step would be and came there to help me with that, even before I had started. It was like that all the time. Almost like he was reading my mind, or reading the situation.

His behaviour was even more impressive because he was so detached and spoke so little, he hardly ever asked anything about how to plan the work, what should be done next etc. He didn't explain anything, nothing like "now I'll do this so you do that and then we do that"

Isn't that what Ni is about? Instantly seeing how things are developing in time? Anyway, he was impressive. I learnt a lot from him.

I think this is a very pure Ni-Te usage. With more intimidating individuals, I usually ask to make sure I don't get something wrong, but if I don't feel there's someone already imposing a rigid structure on how things should be done, I do basically what he did.

Though I've been around many people who get somehow offended by my not saying anything, so I try to counter that out of courtesy.

[silverchris9]

Working productively in semiotic uncertainty, tracing things backwards and forwards on temporal/causal lines. Making predictions when deduction is insufficient to discover the effect from the cause or vice versa. "Emergent" understanding: given this set of data, coming to a conclusion that as greater than the sum of its parts. Ni is a pioneer of information, often coming to conclusions light-years before other methods, simply because Ni is capable of dealing with limited information. Ni is also good at finding the fundamental aspects of a situation.

Now, because Ni leads to a very abstract mindset (especially for ILIs, with two abstract IMs in their ego), IXIs can often become socially paralyzed (not just ILIs, IEIs too), living entirely in their heads. But for them to make any impact, they have to communicate with others somehow, even if it's only through poetry or something like that, like Emily Dickinson (not making any assertions about her type, just it could go down this way) not saying much but writing all these brilliant thoughts in her poems.

[EyeSeeCold]

- Temperament
The temperament can be relaxing, especially for hyper types. There's something about being calm in the face of danger that makes certain other people feel relieved about the future.

- Understanding
is keen on mental awareness. Information about people, situations, things, even unexperienced and unexplainable phenomena, all this is mixed and churned and to produce a fundamental understanding of the workings of the world. Everything is condensed into the basic archetypes of life which, then, are treated in similar manners.

- Ability
can be utilized to know the most appropriate time to act or to cease action. It can also use archetypes to its advantage in knowing how things will play out, how situations or people would react.

[Lobo]

To me Ni focus is perceiving the world as something abstract and seeing life as a flow of events, also realizing how the individual can affect the grand scheme of events in some way (with support from Te focus, this can become reality based on external validation of causality). Those who focus solely on the function for a long time might get lost in the abstraction, altering their attitude and perception of life in whatever way they feel like. It's a powerful function that can alter the person's perception of the world to their own imagination, making them basically exhibit behavior that disconnects them from their immediate environment. They tend to not react to something immediately, because they just want to observe how not doing anything results in something. When you focus on Ni, you become an observer of the world and think about the the grand scheme of things. While Se seeks to control the external, Ni is about altering how you deal with the world. Imo, Ni by itself does not contribute to anything tangible in the world, yet is something that is key for a person's emotional maturity and life wisdom.

[KazeCraven]

To me Ni focus is perceiving the world as something abstract and seeing life as a flow of events, also realizing how the individual can affect the grand scheme of events in some way (with support from Te focus, this can become reality based on external validation of causality). Those who focus solely on the function for a long time might get lost in the abstraction, altering their attitude and perception of life in whatever way they feel like. It's a powerful function that can alter the person's perception of the world to their own imagination, making them basically exhibit behavior that disconnects them from their immediate environment. They tend to not react to something immediately, because they just want to observe how not doing anything results in something. When you focus on Ni, you become an observer of the world and think about the the grand scheme of things. While Se seeks to control the external, Ni is about altering how you deal with the world. Imo, Ni by itself does not contribute to anything tangible in the world, yet is something that is key for a person's emotional maturity and life wisdom.

You know, this actually resonates with me quite a bit. It's like a consideration of the best perspective to take on things. This plays a lot into the idea of helping people with long term implications, though I suppose this can be a little tricky to help people with tactfully.

Reminds me of something my roommate said when talking about life coaches: "How (the hell) are you going to tell me how to live my life?" That's not even what a life coach is meant to do most of the time, but they deal with things so personal that, well...

[Jarno]

Ni: Forseeing consequences for society. Politics and stuff.