Great Pumpkin Distraction Archives - A Little Bit of Personality

“If the Great Pumpkin comes, I’ll still put in a good word for you!
Good grief! I said ‘if’! I meant, ‘when’ he comes! I’m doomed.
One little slip like that could cause the Great Pumpkin to pass you by.”
Linus van Pelt, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

“The Great Pumpkin Distraction” is INFP’s way of coping with the fear that their deep delvings into the realms of meaning and philosophical ponderings make them too out of touch with reality to be of value. INFP’s specialty is exploring conceptual meaning, loving to ask hard questions and explore the nuances of philosophy and understanding, and they excel at that. But their IP deep subject diving can make them feel like the world is passing them by, and with principles being their last and weakest cognition step, an INFP might try and prove that they can apply the specific details they’ve gleaned in their exploration, to the entire world. But since INFPs are good at asking questions, but aren’t naturally good at answering them universally, when an INFP forces an understanding of a principle it’s likely to be an oversimplified truism that doesn’t actually apply in practice and is comprised of lots of little details and exceptions, rather than an elegant function that works with any variable. This can make them look even more out of touch than they were afraid of in the first place.

But the INFP needs to give themselves a break and recognize that they don’t have to do it all. The world needs more healthy INFPs to explore meaning and find possibilities that no one else would have found, understanding the fine details of meaning going on in a situation. INFPs need permission to specialize more, not less. As an INFP doesn’t feel pressure to be in charge of discovering universal principles, they can instead feel excellent in their specialty of exploration and question asking, and let other types be good at their specialties of principles, each needing and learning from the other. 🙂

Examples:
Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter
Screech Powers, Saved by the Bell
and so many more…

Click here for an in-depth look at INFP The Ranger!

There’s an age-old outlook, put blatantly by Syndrome of The Incredibles in his Moriarty Fear, that if everyone is special, then *no one* will be. To this longstanding catch-22, I offer the following rebuttal: What if everyone is special in a way that is both utterly unique and utterly essential?

What if, like colors, genders or flavors, Personality Types create a beautiful cornucopia of complexity and balance, where each member contributes to the whole, an equal and necessary component, without which there would be a gaping hole? And what if becoming special is simply a matter of owning who you are and choosing to pursue the very thing *you* love most?

These are Type Specializations.

This topic is one of my very favorite things about personality typing because it’s so wrapped up in what every type *is* and not only what every type specializes in, but what *drives* every type. It’s easy to focus on cursory traits that may or may not come with a certain type – yes, ISTJs are usually fond of rules and yes, ENTPs often like taking risks; yes, INFPs spend a lot of time exploring inside their own heads and yes, ESFJs can often be found being great hosts and hostesses – but why? What is that common thread that laces itself through a personality type? What means the world to *your* personality?

Type Specializations are made up of two components, Scope and Objective. Continue reading