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 ISFP Explorer, perhaps nothing is more important to you than cherishing, experiencing, and protecting the things you love. Cognitively, you focus on the meaning (F) of details and situations (IP) as they already are (S). 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 exploring and collecting and cherishing the preciousness of things and keeping them safe as they are.
This gives Explorers a beautiful understanding of details and their importance, an intimate appreciation of the elusive human happiness that all types pursue. Treasuring life’s little things is the Explorer’s deep love, seeking to gather and protect objects, memories, and situations that give life its meaning. ISFPs explore the experience of every moment, getting the most meaning out of every new adventure. As IP question askers, they care about finding out how each moment matters, each object is precious, and each situation brings out new meaning. This pursuit of the details of meaning lends to an in-the-moment sort of goofiness, an exuberant immersion in each experience and every private treasure. As an ISFP Explorer, you can feel free to really immerse yourself into whatever situations, surprises, and personal adventures that may come your way.
None of this means that your specialization of appreciating life’s little things 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 value and accumulate your magnificent collections or special things, but that’s not true; you simply care enough about treasuring your world, 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 Explorer you are, gather and enjoy all the things you love, and do it in your own personal way. As you do, you’ll implicitly give others permission to find, protect, and enjoy their own special places in the world.
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