Cognition is the result of where you naturally focus your attention, your desires, and your interests. Regardless of what your momentary desires or interests may be, each of us has certain deep, secret hopes that mean more to us than anything. While moods and opinions may change, these deepest desires are such a pure reflection of who we really are. In a world where there is so much to do, so much to experience, so much need and so many discoveries waiting to be found, we each inadvertently focus the most on some things over others. The things that we focus on most of all reflect what we want most out of life, deep down. This comes out through cognition, as the unique specialization of your cognitive type.
As the INFP Ranger, perhaps nothing is more important to you than exploring and understanding the deepest corners of meaning, whether in philosophy, humor, or just life in general. Cognitively, you focus on the meaningful potential (NF) of details and situations (IP). This causes you to think of everything in terms of how it applies to theoretical people, to the lives of the human race overall. What matters most to you, deep down, is ranging far and wide to explore meaning, ask questions, and shine a light of understanding to others.
This gives Rangers a strong propensity to develop hidden worlds of personal meaning. This often manifests through artistic pursuits, including design and decoration. Writing is also particularly common among Rangers, who find poetry, fiction, or written debate to be powerful tools to discover, express, and categorize things of significance. Like the ancient and noble race of Dúnedain Rangers from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth, INFP Rangers carry a hidden light gained from delving deep into the philosophical what-ifs of meaning. And with so many compelling and meaningful questions on their minds, Rangers can be especially goofy as a sort of outlet and anchor back to the world of everyone else. As an INFP you may be bombastic at some times and quiet at others, but always you want to understand the meaning of every situation and detail within the context of everything else.
None of this means that your specialization of discovering hidden meaning comes easy for you. You have to work at it, just as much as anyone else would. The difference between you and other types is that you care to work at this, above all else. Some may say that it’s just easier for you to be thoughtful and observant of the meaning in everyday situations, but that’s not true; you simply care enough about seeking out that meaning, that you’re willing to work much harder at it.
No cognitive type has it easy; every type has to work just as hard at their specialization as anyone else would have to. And every type has to deal with social pressure that tries to make them feel ashamed or embarrassed of their unique specialization. This pressure results in unhappiness and deep, internal conflict, as people feel tempted to ignore their specialization in an effort to not stand out, rock the boat, or look foolish or make anyone else uncomfortable. When we try to ignore our own deepest desires, the reflection of who we really are and really can be, we feel torn, frustrated, and unfulfilled.
This is why understanding our own cognition is so important! As we come to understand what we already wanted in the first place, we learn how to get out of our own way. We learn to let ourselves shine, rather than hiding our light. The world needs what each of us can uniquely offer. We need all the strengths of all the types; each is special at the same time, because each is special in a different way. You don’t do anyone any good when you hide your unique strength, even if you’re afraid it will make others feel uncomfortable. Let yourself be the enlightened Ranger you are, raise your light to others, and do it in your own personal way. As you do, you’ll implicitly give others permission to follow your lead and find the meaningful light burning within themselves.
Recent Comments