- The Ni-Ti processing loop, what is it?
Why is it so bad?
Why do people like Frank James make videos calling it "evil"?
You might be wondering, "Frank, you've covered this topic.
What else is there to say?"
My thoughts have really developed over the last two years
about the Ni-Ti loop, and so I wanted
to talk more in-depth about it.
Why it's not necessarily a bad thing,
but why you can get stuck there in that over-processing,
in that internal like grinding on it, chewing on stuff.
Why we get stuck there and how we can break out of it.
First up, this video is brought to you by BetterHelp.
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and then we're gonna jump into talking
about the INFJ Ni-Ti loop.
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All right, let's get into this video and the Ni-Ti loop.
Let's star off with talking about
what are we even talking about?
Ni-Ti, I really, like for me, this is like, of course,
Ni, I know what that is, but a lot of people are like,
that's like speaking Chinese.
What you talking about?
Introverted intuition is Ni.
That is the dominant function for INFJs
and that is the perceiving function and it's perceiving
the abstract which is basically the meanings.
Not what's on the surface, not like the facts,
but underneath that, what are the meanings?
Introverted thinking is a decision-making function
which is about the logic, and because it's introverted,
it's like what makes sense to me?
Like you can see how putting these two things together,
like the Megazord if you will, is taking something
that's looking at the meanings and the patterns
and the concepts and the truth and what is correct
and fitting the puzzle pieces together
and it's like a rock tumbler inside your brain.
You put in this big issue, this big, messy issue
and you're trying to figure it out
and it's gonna get it down into a nice,
smooth pebble or something.
Stick the pebble in your shoe, you know.
I don't know where I was going with that.
More specifically, introverted intuition
is like narrowing stuff down.
It's like a big funnel, it's taking all the sensory stuff,
the real stuff in the world and trying to bring it down
into like one meaning, one pattern.
It's like if you've ever had different things in your life,
like totally separate things and you were able
to pull it together and say, this is how these are part
of the same pattern.
Everything in life is the same.
That's basically introverted intuition.
Introverted thinking is trying to figure out what works,
what is true, what is correct, what is right,
not in the ethical sense, but right in the logical sense,
and it all has to make sense to me.
I've gotta own it.
I've gotta own the logic.
If I don't own it, then I can't move forward.
Check...
just want to make sure the audio's working.
These two functions being introverted are subjective.
So you see how this is like when you're doubling down
on the introversion, it's like super subjective.
What does it mean to me?
Does it make sense to me?
I don't care about nobody else.
It's all about me in my head.
Now, it's worth pointing out
that this whole Ni-Ti loop and the whole processing loop
thing isn't specific or special to INFJs,
although they do have a specific flavor of it.
Every type has two introverted functions
which they can process stuff with
and there are three other types that do Ni-Ti.
Even ESTPs, they have an Ni-Ti loop as it were.
The difference with the INFJs is they're way out
of whack with the Ni and the Se.
Se is extroverted sensing.
It's just like what is real, what is obvious,
what are the facts?
That's our inferior function so we repress it
and we're trying to go overdrive
on the introverted intuition.
We're like flying by what do things mean?
What are the patterns?
Rather than what's obviously right in front of us.
It's worth pointing out really quick before we go further
in depth is that the cognitive functions
don't cause depression or anxiety or whatever,
and I also want to point out that I never said that
in my first video two years ago,
but a lot of people thought I did.
So I want to just say make it clear.
It's not like these introverted functions cause depression,
but if you come to it already feeling depressed
or feeling anxious or you bring some really bad problem
into this processing 'cause you process this way
all the time.
INFJs, the only way they can process is Ni-Ti, right?
Owning it for themselves, figuring it all out internally,
but when you stay there too long and you get stuck there
and you've brought something negative
to it like being depressed, that's when it gets bad.
It's like you just get stuck grinding your gears.
It's like something good went bad
'cause you just did it too much.
You stayed there and never got out of it.
So the INFJs, the Ni-Ti, blah.
So INFJs, the Ni-Ti loop is like I'm repressing
the extroverted sensing so I don't see the obvious things
very well so I'm grinding on the meanings and the patterns
and in many ways, the introverted intuition
is the worse problem of the two.
The introverted intuition is like the main culprit
of this processing loop and the Ti is just an accessory
to the crime.
So don't blame the introverted thinking too much.
When you get super introverted and withdrawn from people,
like you're already in kind of a bad mental place,
the introverted thinking becomes easier to play around with
because it's not something we really feel comfortable
making decisions with, but when we're all by ourselves,
we can go more to the thinking side
and we're not so concerned with it
'cause the chips aren't down,
like the stakes aren't very high.
We're just by ourselves processing.
So like I said, you process this way all the time.
It's not always bad.
A lot of the Ni-Ti loop is fear that's coming
from that inferior extroverted sensing.
It's like you don't know what's happening
and you've gotta figure out what's happening.
This is like a continual problem INFJs have.
They just don't know what's happening right in front of them
and they're freaked out by it and they're anxious
all the time and trying to figure it out in some kind
of abstract, weird way when they could just look around them
and see what are the facts, but we don't want to do that.
We're INFJs, right?
Anyway, to counteract it, you've gotta get out of your head
and into the outside world using your extroverted functions,
the extroverted feeling and the extroverted sensing.
It's what I call the Fe-Se explosion, you know?
The Fe is easier.
Like I said, INFJs prefer extroverted feeling
to make decisions and extroverted feeling is basically
what does everyone else think is good?
Hey everyone, what's good?
The best way to kick your extroverted feeling back
into gear is to get around some people.
Now, historical note for this video,
we're all in self-isolation because of a worldwide pandemic,
so getting around some people is not the easiest thing
to do ATM, at the moment, but you can still connect
with people through the Internet.
You know that thing that you're watching this video on?
Call someone, text them, FaceTime them, whatever,
to get back around other people 'cause as soon
as the INFJ becomes aware of other people around them,
they have to focus on them.
It's like, I gotta know what are you guys feeling?
I gotta know.
Now look, maybe you don't have a social group.
Maybe you can't reconnect with friends
'cause you just don't have any, in which case you need
to make it a priority to get a social group.
Now I know, it's easier said than done, right?
It's not like you just go out tomorrow
and find a group of friends immediately,
but I think that's part of the problem is
when you're looking for friends, you put too much pressure
on yourself and other people to find forever friends.
Don't look for friends, just look for people you can hang
out with for a little while and be social.
That's it, you're just trying
to surround yourself with some people.
That could be a volunteering opportunity.
You know, it could be taking a class,
could be playing a recreational sport.
Recreational softball, I've done that.
You know me, I'm not terribly athletic,
but I threw a guy out from the outfield unassisted.
He was going home, I got him.
It's one of the highlights of my life.
Now, were any of the people
on that softball team forever friends for me?
No, I don't keep in touch with them anymore,
but for that time, it was a social circle
that I had to look forward to.
Now, extroverted feeling also gives you kind
of an obligation to feel like I should talk
about my emotions a bit, but when you are
in that introverted, super introverted loop state,
the problem is that you get out of practice a bit
and you've bottled stuff up, you've pent it up.
You need to talk it out.
You need to talk to a friend, you need to talk
to someone you trust about how you're feeling.
If you're anxious, if you're depressed about stuff,
therapy, I bring it up all the time.
Therapy and counseling is a great way to talk
about your emotions, to use your extroverted feeling.
That's why I felt good about having BetterHelp as a sponsor
for this video, and like I said, betterhelp.com/frankjames
for 10% off, but it's a great option.
Now, extroverted sensing is tougher
because it's our inferior function.
We really don't want to do it.
We don't want to engage in it.
Our whole personality is about repressing it.
Part of the problem is in repressing it,
we can also engage in it irresponsibly
through overindulging, like drinking too much,
like eating too much, that sort of thing.
So if you're overindulging in the extroverted sensing
in a weird way because you're an INFJ,
you've gotta pull it back.
You've gotta be responsible about it.
Be responsible for that sensing.
Don't go overboard 'cause honestly,
like those kind of crutches just make things worse,
especially something like alcohol
where your mood will just slowly over time plummet
and it's really hard to get back up to a normal baseline
if you're overindulging in alcohol.
Healthy ways of engaging your extroverted sensing
could just be taking a walk out in nature
and just experiencing life as it is,
not ascribing meaning to things, not trying to make sense
of things and put it into some pattern,
just being like, oh, the sun is out.
Be in the moment.
You can also meditate.
That's a way of being in the moment.
You can do stuff like exercising is good.
I felt really angry when I realized
that exercise is actually good for your state of mind.
I was like, crap, everyone was right.
Darn it, now I've gotta keep exercising, but it's true.
Like you feel like 200% better at least
when you start exercising regularly and it doesn't have
to be anything big, just like a little bit of something here
and there, and trying to be spontaneous every once
in a while 'cause extroverted sensing is spontaneous.
It doesn't want a plan.
It doesn't want to keep things penned in.
So when you engage in spontaneous stuff, whatever it is,
you just decide, I'm gonna do this right now, whatever,
or if people say, hey, let's do this, you're like,
all right, I'm with it, that's a great way
of just getting out of your head and going with the flow.
That's a lot of what the whole Ni-Ti being
in your head thing is is like resisting the flow
of what's actually happening.
You're just like, no, this is what I want,
this is how things should be, I'm trying to work it out
for myself, but it's like, yeah, life doesn't care.
The outside world doesn't care.
It's like, okay, you're figuring it out.
Good for you, I guess, but what does it matter
if you're resisting everything?
So many philosophies and religions are centered
around this whole thing of if you resist the way
that life is going, you're gonna make yourself miserable
so you've gotta learn to kind of go with it,
be more spontaneous, be more extroverted sensing.
Sometimes, we just generally need something to do.
We need to find something that we're building up
that we're working towards
because when you really feel stuck,
it's 'cause you don't feel forward motion in any way
and a good way to feel forward motion is to have something
in the outside world that you're building
and working toward, whatever it is.
It doesn't have to be big, doesn't have to be grandiose,
it just has to be something.
I brought it up in my last video about INFJs,
like learn how to play guitar.
Like something simple where it's like a goal
where I can reach it and I can be like, yes,
I can see in the outside world how I did it.
Once again, this video is sponsored by BetterHelp.
Betterhelp.com/frankjames for 10% off.
Thanks so much for watching.
Hit the thumbs up button if you enjoyed it.
Hit subscribe if you want to see more videos,
and check out some more of my videos over here.
Up here's the one from last week that I mentioned
about I don't know what to do with my life.
It's something that a lot of us can relate to,
and then here's another one over here.
Could be a funny one, might not be.
I'm not sure, but there you go.
'Til next time, stay cool and attractive.