By Akanksha Sharma
The ESFP decision making process can be fraught with anxiety, uncertainty, emotional distress and a lot of back and forth. ESFPs, with Se (Extraverted Sensing) Hero have a tendency to gather a lot of information through this perception function. Extraverted Sensing Hero is constantly trying to find out what other people are doing, and the choices they have made with respect to careers, personal life, buying a home, deciding where to live etc. among many other areas. If you’d like to know more details about ESFPs, watch this video by C.S. Joseph on YouTube called ‘Who Are the ESFPs?’.
Through their Fi (Introverted Feeling) parent function, ESFPs know how they feel about the information that they gather. The Extraverted Thinking (Te) child function helps them organize the Se information into categories and mental models (ways of thinking about the world). One of the biggest pain points for ESFPs can be their Introverted Intuition (Ni) inferior function. The Introverted Intuition (Ni) Inferior function, predisposes them to being fearful about their future. It can manifest as Decision Making Anxiety (or DMA), and experiencing continuous anxiety and worry about the future, can be very demoralizing and debilitating for an ESFP. When individuals of ‘The Duelist’ personality type (as named by C.S. Joseph) are undergoing DMA, they have a tendency to ask a large number of people about their experiences and opinions. Having Introverted Thinking (Ti) as a Trickster function, makes them seek out the truth from other people. In extreme cases, they do so with an almost feverish intensity.
When I consider the DMA faced by ESFPs, I am reminded of two important concepts in mainstream psychology, which I would like to briefly share below:
As they are gathering copious amounts of information with their Se hero function, they can be worried that they may be missing out on a better prospect if they settle upon any option. Also, this large amount of information in front of them, makes them prone to inaction, because it is cognitively very difficult to weight the pros and cons of each path forward, and then to make an informed decision. Thus, ESFPs can get caught into the trap of inaction.
Here are some ways in which ‘The Duelist’ personality type, can think about the future and its possibilities, that may relieve some decision making anxiety:
Thank you very much for taking the time out and reading this article. I hope it was of some use to you. If you are an ESFP, and if you’re looking for Psychological Counselling that is tailored to your Personality Type, then do write to me at akanksha.sharma158@gmail.com, to schedule an appointment.
About Me
Apart from being the Founder at Indspire Me, I am a Psychological Counsellor, an Author & a Researcher. Currently, I am pursuing an M.Sc. in Psychology from the University of Madras. I have been a life long learner in the field of Psychology. I also hold two diplomas – one in Psychological Counselling, and one in Relationship Counselling from the KEW Training Academy, UK (accredited by CTAA, UK). If you would like to contact me, you can e-mail me at akanksha.sharma158@gmail.com .
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