Podcast - Episode 0219 - 3 Styles Of Cognitive Function Loops (Part 2)

In this podcast you’ll find:

• Car Model
• Part 2 of a 2-part series
• Part 1 is here
• Cognitive functions are mental processes that are part of the wiring of your mind.
• They help you learn information and make decisions.
• A cognitive function loop is when your dominant cognitive function loops with your tertiary function, which can cause issues.
• Last podcast we talked about all the IPs and EJs – Tertiary perceiving functions.
• This podcast we will cover EPs and IJs – Tertiary Judging Functions
• ENFP – ESFP
  • 10 yr old is Extraverted Thinking – “Effectiveness.”
  • ENFP Loop – Extraverted Intuition (“Exploration”) and Extraverted Thinking
  • ESFP Loop – Extraverted Sensing (“Sensation”) and Extraverted Thinking
  • Judging functions are intended to evaluate.
  • We pick up info in the outside world, and we have to make decisions on what that info means to us.
  • What should we be doing?
  • What is important?
  • For EPs, Copilot and 10 yr old are their judging functions.
  • When we get into a loop, we avoid our copilot because the copilot explores a different world than our dominant.
  • Tertiary is the same attitude as the driver, so it looks like an echo chamber.
  • EPs in an extraverted loop are avoiding Introverted Feeling (Fi) – a subjective metric.
  • Fi is a slow process, and it may feel unstable compared to Extraverted Thinking (Te).
  • Instead of resting into their self evaluation, EPs hand over their decision making to others.
  • The outside world is more concrete than the subjective inner world.
  • EFPs have different drivers so their loops will be slightly different.
  • ESFPs drive with Sensation – here and now. Physicality. Being in the moment. Reaction. Responsive. 5 senses. Very kinesthetically aware.
  • ENFPs drive with exploration – messing with the environment to find disparate connections between seemingly unconnected things.
  • Both let the outside world give them the feedback they want.
  • Whether it be a streamlined action (Sensation) or a hidden pattern (Exploration)
  • A loop strategy is a tool we pull off the shelf which can become a lifelong habit.
  • Joel (ENFP) uses anxiety as a motivator when he is in a loop.
  • The First style of looping is an explosive, in the moment, response to something.
  • It can look very random with EFPs. Literal explosions.
  • Whatever the outside world has done to remind them of a personal evaluation they don’t feel good about, they will go into an explosive stance to cast off the trigger as fast as possible.
  • It can look like a verbal or physical explosion to make an in-the-moment impact.
  • They don’t necessarily lash out at people. It is more about lashing out at the environment.
  • When an EFP is looping with their tertiary Te, they can depersonalize people.
  • They are running away from their Copilot which personalizes people.
  • They can intentionally hurt people to get the behavior they want.
  • The second strategy is massive busyness. Can’t slow down.
  • A single overwhelming emotion can suppress all the nuanced emotions that the EFP is avoiding.
  • EFPs tertiary likes to find emotions to support the activity they are doing.
  • They make their copilot support their tertiary, instead of the reverse.
  • The third style of looping is more integrated into the day to day lifestyle and is more difficult to detangle.
  • EFPs aren’t sure how they should be feeling about themselves because they haven’t taken the time to cultivate their Copilot.
  • Usually looks like full sail outsourcing of self-esteem and values.
  • They stop living for themselves and start living for the resource – outside metric.
  • Lots of praise and positive feedback comes from the outer world, so they keep doing it, but it is a hollow existence.
  • No one really knows them. They don’t even know themselves.
  • Noble distractions.
  • The EFP can’t do enough to fill the void inside.
• ENTP – ESTP
  • 10 yr old is Extraverted Feeling – “Harmony.”
  • ENTP Loop – Extraverted Intuition (“Exploration”) and Extraverted Feeling
  • ESTP Loop – Extraverted Sensing (“Sensation”) and Extraverted Feeling
  • Harmony users like to create harmony with everyone. The needs of other people are always on their radar.
  • Harmony as a 10 yr old wants to connect with other people, even when the connection isn’t ideal.
  • Praise is a strong motivator.
  • ETPs Copilot is Introverted Thinking – clean data. Usefulness and truthfulness of info.
  • ETPs bypassing the Copilot is an attempt to avoid cognitive dissonance.
  • The first loop is an explosive emotional stance.
  • Aggressive, angry, blame-casting or joking dismissiveness.
  • Derisive. Mocking.
  • It looks to other people for approval with bullying derision.
  • To get away from whatever inner truth is haunting the ETP.
  • An attempt to manufacture discord so the other person will see the need to create peace.
  • The second loop is compulsive praise seeking.
  • More about status mongering to get large groups of people to like you.
  • Bragging.
  • The ETP seeks praise to separate from a personal evaluation that is harsher than the real world.
  • Intellectual laziness.
  • Takes feedback personally and seeks praise to offset any negative feedback.
  • All the praise in the world doesn’t matter if the ETP isn’t speaking their truth.
  • They can own the negative feedback and amplify it as a protection mechanism.
  • Part of their social identity.
  • Society sometimes rewards assholery.
  • The third style of loop for ETPs is outsourcing their beliefs, ideas, and values to other people.
  • A lifestyle loop.
  • Could be a career or a paradigm.
  • The ETP Outsources their entire life to people’s opinions and ignores the cognitive dissonance of introverted thinking.
• INTJ – ISTJ
  • 10 yr old is Introverted Feeling – “Authenticity”
  • INTJ Loop – Introverted Intuition (“Perspectives”) and Introverted Feeling
  • ISTJ Loop – Introverted Sensing (“Memory”) and Introverted Feeling
  • ITJs copilot is Extraverted Thinking “Effectiveness.”
  • Avoidant question is What is good enough?
  • All of us need to do some work at dialing in our evaluations.
  • IJs are trying to determine what is good enough for the outside world.
  • Because they are introverts, they over-rely on their subjective criteria to determine what is good enough.
  • With IJs, they consult their inner calibration to determine what is enough instead of using external measurements.
  • Extraverted Thinking is about getting into action in the outer world.
  • First explosive loop, is pride with hurt underneath.
  • They don’t want to do something. They fear something won’t work.
  • Authenticity, when done well, is great at reading intent.
  • ITJs will often use this as a projection of bad intent upon others.
  • “You Can’t tell me to do that. You don’t have good intent. You just want what is best for you.”
  • “You can’t make me do anything. I know what is good for me.”
  • It ends up looking like a shutdown.
  • The walls go up, and they become impenetrable and unreachable while they stew in their pride.
  • It doesn’t necessarily have to show up as bad pride. It can be conviction about something.
  • It may still be an avoidance of action.
  • One of the challenges some types have is that the outside world rewards their loops.
  • ITJs may look strong and get rewarded for it when in reality they are just lazy.
  • A lot of times this shows up in relationships because Effectiveness isn’t always encouraged in relationships.
  • The second style of loop can look like a feeling of overwhelm or avoidance.
  • Effectiveness avoids over complicating things. It wants to set up a system and forget about it.
  • If an ITJ hasn’t set up an effective system and they don’t want to, they will get stubbornly avoidant.
  • Most ITJs do a lot of mental work as they think through the systems before implementation.
  • But they may never set up the system.
  • They may be waiting for someone else to set up the system.
  • Then they get criticism from the outside world and get overwhelmed.
  • They hit this event horizon of persistent inaction which only becomes more overwhelming and usually results in total shut down.
  • Analysis paralysis.
  • They will dig in their heels and refuse to act.
  • They may break contracts or avoid people.
  • The third long-term loop looks perfectionistic.
  • “This has to be perfect. Once it is perfected, I will get into action.”
  • Nothing is ever perfect. So seeking perfection keeps you in perpetual inaction.
  • ITJs are smart enough to know when they can fool others. Perfection is a great one.
  • To other people, perfection looks noble.
  • In reality, they are fooling themselves.
  • They don’t want to rely on outer world feedback for pass/fail metrics.
  • They aren’t sure what good is because they haven’t developed that skill yet.
  • Authenticity tends to be idealistic as it is, so ITJs lean on an idealized concept of themselves.
  • Time won’t wait. Effectiveness realizes that time is limited. But Authenticity isn’t tapped into time.
  • ITJs waste extraordinary amounts of time in the desire to be an idealized version of oneself.
  • We have been harsher with judging functions because our “should” statements lie in the judging functions.
  • These loops can be a lot harder to break.
• INFJ – ISFJ
  • 10 yr old is Introverted Thinking – “Accuracy.”
  • INFJ Loop – Introverted Intuition (“Perspectives”) and Introverted Thinking
  • ISFJ Loop – Introverted Sensing (“Memory”) and Introverted Thinking
  • Both IFJs are avoiding their Copilot of Extraverted Feeling “Harmony.”
  • Harmony is about understanding the social culture of the world.
  • Very much about emotional expression.
  • Introverted Thinking is about data collection. It is about being right.
  • The first style of explosive loop is cold for an IFJ.
  • They get too overwhelmed with emotion, and they haven’t built enough skill to be able to get through conflict to harmony.
  • The emotion overwhelms the IFJ, and they go to a cold, critical place.
  • The walls come up.
  • Not a bad strategy if it didn’t also come with judgment.
  • Not about boundaries. It is about avoidance.
  • Cold burn instead of hot burn.
  • Door slam
  • The second loop is less about judgment and more about research and righteousness.
  • Both IFJ types have a scientific side. They like info and data.
  • But if they are overwhelmed with relationships, they hide away in books or DIY projects.
  • This can look like righteousness.
  • “Nobody else is doing things right. I’m going to get more info about how things should be done; then I’m going to project that righteousness onto the world.
  • This doesn’t create harmony. It creates divisions.
  • The third style of loop is perfectionism, like the ITJs.
  • ITJs pursue an idealized version of self.
  • IFJs perfectionism is more technical.
  • Like the IFJ who puts plastic on their furniture to keep their home looking pristine.
  • That strategy doesn’t create true harmony because it prevents people from being comfortable.
  • They take this same concept and lay it over every relationship.
  • The belief that everything needs to be perfect.
  • So, it creates a lot of discomfort with other people, which is the opposite of Harmony.
  • Harmony creates warmth and welcome.
  • Accuracy creates a plastic environment.
  • It forces people out of your life because they don’t know how to engage with you.
  • Engagement is only acceptable on a synthesized level.
  • Can result in loneliness.
  • Not just a self-perfectionistic streak but can come across as critical of others.
• Other people have a hard time calling you on your loop.
• You are the only one who knows if you are living in a loop.
• You may be getting praise for these loops, which reinforces your behavior even when you know it isn’t you at your best.
• Have patience with yourself and get good at spotting your loops.
• Then figure out what the point of your Copilot is so you can get back into it to avoid the loop.
• The Copilot has the map.