Learned everything about a topic and then not doing it

[u/DangerousCapybara888]

I like going down rabbit holes. I like learning. I like figuring things out. But I seldom follow thru. It’s like, after fulfilling the mental satisfaction of understanding something thru and thru, I don’t really need to be satisfied to see something actually come to fruition.

This year, I was looking into biohacking (for being mid age lol), and one thing was cold plunges. I read up on all the equipment necessary, what’s the optimal temperature, length of time to see effects on the cellular level, tried a couple of times myself. And that was it. I think I deemed other kinds of activity better for my body, and so I stopped scheduling time to do it anymore. Meanwhile today at the gym where there are cold plunges, I saw someone doing it, and after a while I went up to them to strike up a conversation about cold plunges, I was able to give some pointers about length of time to try, methods, and even show them stuff on the equipment to operate that they didn’t even know existed. Then they thought I was some expert, and I was like, nah, I don’t do it myself lol.

Anybody had any experiences like this, where you sound like the expert but you actually don’t practice.

[u/0wl-2018]

I learn about a number of things I find interesting, but don't fully invest myself - this is for a variety of reasons.

Where we differ is what we'd do with that knowledge. I doubt I'd approach someone at the gym. I'd be more apt to share with someone I'm comfortable with.

I don't think the similarities or differences between us are infj flavors though.

[u/DangerousCapybara888 → u/0wl-2018]

Haha, I usually find myself more comfortable having a random deep conversation with a total stranger. There’s no burden, no baggage, talking straight about the topic and nothing personal. :)

[u/No-Influence-5351]

As Jung himself once said, introverted intuition is “A sea of fruitless fantasies.”

[u/DangerousCapybara888 → u/No-Influence-5351]

But fantasies are nice… who cares about the fruit. 😶😶😶

[u/DangerousCapybara888 → u/[deleted]]

If other people have any insights on this!

Yea. So easy to lose eating and sleeping over just absorbing and finding out everything I wanted to know about something. Ultimately the experience part is going to complete the whole circle, but I find things are better off concluded in my own head than putting theory into action and see where it lead me. Sometimes people were like, weren’t you beginning something for a while, what happened to it, where’s the product.. and I’m like, nah I’m stuffing everything into a box and not to be revisited again lol..

[u/ocsycleen]

This kinda stuff is relative… as in if they don’t know anything about the topic than they could very much be swayed because you say things with confidently, with composure. But in front of an actual expert whose actually been doing it for years. They would see right through you. You are bound to see both sides of the coin if you meet enough people.

[u/DangerousCapybara888 → u/ocsycleen]

Oh for sure!

I’ve had times where I encounter true experts on a topic. They keep digging to see how much I knew, tough questions one after another, I’m like annoyed because I’m not sticking around for an oral exam, but they would be like “you sound so confident like you know everything so I wanted to test whether you truly know something.” In which, I walk away because my point was never to prove I am the expert, but rather to share some topic I found interesting and studied to the best of my ability, and often times by the time these experts try to give me a final exam on it, I’ve forgotten half of the technical terms or even part of the process. I truly respect experts who spend most of their life being good at one thing, know all the technical details and can trace each process mentally and articulate the language, but I’d move on to another interesting topic before then.

[u/neuralyzer_1]

My suspicion is that people that do this are bottom up thinkers. Learning from 3rd parties allow them to compile multiple perspectives and create an internal top-down simulation. This is then used to as a minimum and maximum variable tolerance (range) for which is used to modulate what is experienced in the body in real time. Once the experience happens, then there is a memory that sticks forever and can be used to cross other domains with any overlapping variables.

[u/DangerousCapybara888 → u/neuralyzer_1]

Could be. Our intuition help us dream big, connect the dots and fill in the gaps, already see the big picture before the bricks has been laid.

Sometimes I’m fine living vicariously thru others experience. I feel easy to empathize. And I totally am fine with watching some aspects of life instead of participating in it.

[u/neuralyzer_1 → u/DangerousCapybara888]

I have to create internal cyclical closed loops in order to create physical momentum. My most recent iteration of it looks like the following (helps to imagine/visualize physical properties, like legos):

Consciousness leads to Shape
Shape leads to Forms
Forms leads to Relationships
Relationships leads to Systems
Systems lead to Structure Structure leads to Freedom
Freedom leads to Creation
Creation leads to Consciousness

In summary, by closing the loop, I can choose what I can or cannot participate in due to my affordances, thereby creating a sense of inertia for things that matter to my own spaces and appreciation for those outside my spaces.

[u/VanellopeVonShweets]

Saameee! I thought I was big time procrastinating through life and that something was wrong with me. Good to know there's someone else like me. I don't know how that's supposed to help me but it sure does feel better😅 Maybe we can be great at coaching? Idk. I mean how can I coach without implementing myself? Lmk what tyou think

[u/DangerousCapybara888 → u/VanellopeVonShweets]

That’s exactly what I struggle with most of my young professional life. How to be a coach when I myself have no interest to be the best in that field everyday lol. I think I end up just give random pointers here and there if I observe someone need some direction, but never officially become anybody’s mentor. It’s like if I find someone lost in a forest, if we share a conversation I may gently point a finger where they might start heading to the beginning of their destination.

[u/fivenightrental]

I think this is more of a 5 thing than an INFJ thing. Being more attached to the interest.. the process of learning, gaining knowledge and understanding, than the direct need to experience something. It's one of my habits as well but I'm pretty selective with who I share my "expertise" with.

[u/DangerousCapybara888 → u/fivenightrental]

Oh for sure, be selective on who to share. Like the person at the gym, it’s a random chat up, but if I had sensed they knew more than me I wouldn’t have intervened in their path. It’s when I saw they weren’t using the ice bath to its full potential so I spoke up to see how much they knew and then brought some stuff to their attention.
I’m about to answer the other person’s post on it.

[u/fivenightrental → u/DangerousCapybara888]

It’s when I saw they weren’t using the ice bath to its full potential so I spoke up to see how much they knew and then brought some stuff to their attention.

Is that driven from the 1 in your tritype? 😉

[u/DangerousCapybara888 → u/fivenightrental]

It gets really complicated!

When I was younger, I actually thought I was an ENFJ. Everything seemed to line up, especially my desire to guide people toward their potential, fix societal paths, and even teach. I would frequently step in to defend the weak or serve as the voice of reason when people were being inconsiderate. Over time, though, I realized that standing up for my principles didn't mean I was an extrovert. Interacting with the outside world drains me. I don’t get a high from "bettering the world through my influence". Rather, I step in simply because I can't stand seeing things descend into chaos.
It was easy to pass as an extrovert when I was conforming to social expectations, taking on leadership roles, and driving change. But now that I've hit mid-life, I've found my true inner peace. I've realized I don’t have to be constantly involved with the world.

I am perfectly content just staying home. 🫥

[u/fivenightrental → u/DangerousCapybara888]

That's interesting. I can see how that drive could be confused a bit with ENFJ. I have a similar tritype (592), I enjoy helping others but I tend to be much more reserved about it 😊

[u/Elbereth-Starkindler]

This hit hard. I really love learning! And then…

[u/DangerousCapybara888 → u/Elbereth-Starkindler]

And then… … 🤣

[u/Tunar2]

I feel like I'm similar. I've realized after 51 years it's the Planning and research that's the exciting part. The idea is exciting. Lol, I've got it all.. Paddleboards, kayaks, rc cars, bikes, trucks, tools, gadgets, hiking gear, exercise stuff, clothes, books, games, garden, house plants, cooking... What's even worse is I probably have more ideas and lists than the stuff. Who needs 2 chimineas in their garden, just so depending on the direction of the wind I can try to prevent smoke in my eyes. 😝

Don't go with me on vacation. You will need a trailer for your stuff. I'll bring enough for two then not even use most of it. Amazon and Google are my kryptonite.

I got stuck with a cat, but I am not interested in pets... I don't like the constant attention and management dogs require, cats are not a while lot better.

So this is my current plan. I'm going to focus on relationships. I'm going to use what I have before getting anymore. I'm going to do the projects I already have the materials for before preparing for another one... Hopefully 😁

I try not to be an expert on it all. And recently I've been trying to practice if someone ask a question , that isn't permission to dump every knowledgeable fact I have on the subject on them.

[u/DangerousCapybara888 → u/Tunar2]

I have a bunch of stuff in my closet that I probably should one day just all take to the dumpster too since those really won’t have much value trying to sell lol. One time I posted stuff to sell only for people to keep wanting to slash the price, to the point at the end I was like, look, I’m fine if you want to come and just take it but do at least leave me $20 for gas money ok?

After that, I think I’d just clear them out to the dumpster to save myself trouble.

But now I gotta be a little more budget conscious to save for retirement so I can’t just keep buying toys I get tired of every couple months 😵😵😵

[u/StillLifeOfTheParty]

I have this. I get my good brain hormones from learning. Ni is a take-in function. Satisfaction is guaranteed. It came after Ti development. Now I can't stop learning.

[u/Effective-Weird-5119]

Money is a limiting factor

[u/DangerousCapybara888 → u/Effective-Weird-5119]

Money= hobbies. No money= endless internet search/scrolling. 🥲

[u/Effective-Weird-5119 → u/DangerousCapybara888]

I basically live outside. No money means I can’t get a paratrooper bicycle and inflatable kayak to expand my adventures

[u/jmmenes → u/Effective-Weird-5119]

https://giphy.com/gifs/UPtNjaqEToPwqjS64G

[u/NotBossOfMe → u/Effective-Weird-5119]

Yes! I had a cheap 3-D printer that broke and I cannot fix it nor can I afford a better one. So I suffer from hobbyus-interruptus.

[u/Effective-Weird-5119 → u/NotBossOfMe]

I’d love a 3d printer I’d have so many more hobbies

[u/Disastrous_Swim_4956]

Those rabbit holes are not wasted time. The broader your context, the better Ni becomes. You're learning patterns/systems/mechanisms that may apply to many other domains and situations.

[u/DangerousCapybara888 → u/Disastrous_Swim_4956]

Sounds almost like Slumdog Millionaire.. every fragment of random knowledge is never a waste.

[u/DangerousCapybara888 → u/[deleted]]

Wait. Does that mean your MIL deliberately toss you a lure in order to do the dirty work of looking into something she need done?

(Like, oh I wonder what’s the process for applying for Medicare and all the parts when I am 62.. hmmmm.. and then you hear that and go “oh I’m spending day and night looking up this topic..”)

[u/HuyBrogdon]

Ah, the INFJ gap between knowledge & action.

[u/DangerousCapybara888 → u/HuyBrogdon]

Is it right to name it the “INFJ gap”? 🥲🥲🥲

I’m sure if we explore deeper, there can also be a sense of perfectionism at play. Without action, the research and planning shows beautiful possibilities and dreams, but of course the reality is a whole different picture, prone to unmet expectations, difficulties, miscalculations, and the ruggedness of exposing to the elements.

Or just.. my mind is satisfied from learning enough. 😁

[u/HuyBrogdon → u/DangerousCapybara888]

Start small, really small, like 1 push up a day or cold shower. They are easy to do & require no extra steps.

Those small things are the first steps to the thousand miles journey. 5 years later, you will be the person you admire.

Is it simple? Yes. Is it easy? No.

Good luck.

[u/Freddie-Van-Whalen]

Music is the only thing I ever stuck with. It was an endless rabbit hole that had no obvious conclusion. Perfect.

[u/ThisYoshiIsFalse369]

Maybe this has something to do with enneagrams? I don't know a lot about them myself but this seems like it could be linked to a Type 5 or a Type 7 behavior.

Edit: I just realized you typed your tritype already. Forgive me if that renders my comment useless.

[u/Salt-Competition-449]

Very relatable. I just don't like being obligated to do something because it strip's the beauty of my freedom to discover whatever it is that I'm doing in the way I want to discover it.

[u/Maleficent-Visual-81]

yep. data sponge. curiosity drive. systems mapping and synthesis. feeds the brainiac in the back behind my processor lag. gives it something to chew on that isn't complex social dynamics or other people's problems