Have you ever had such an experience? Sometimes you will show some behaviors or thoughts that are not consistent with your usual personality. For example, you are usually very outgoing and open, but sometimes you become very introverted and conservative, or you You are usually very rational and objective, but sometimes you become very emotional and subjective? These may be your shadow function personality at work.
What is shadow functional personality? How did it form? What impact does it have on your personality and behavior? How should you understand and use it to achieve self-growth and development? This article will use ENTP as an example to discuss these issues, hoping to give you some inspiration and help.
ENTP is a personality type in the MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator), which represents a combination of the four dimensions of extraversion, intuition, thinking, and perception. MBTI is a personality test based on Jungian psychology. It divides people’s psychological functions into four types: thinking, feeling, intuition and emotion. Each psychological function is divided into two directions: extroversion and introversion, for a total of eight types. psychological functions. Everyone has a dominant function, an auxiliary function, a tertiary function and a fourth function. These four functions constitute a person’s yang functional personality. Yang-side functional personality is the most commonly used and skilled psychological function of a person in daily life. It reflects a person’s personality characteristics and strengths.
PS This article is suitable for readers who already have a basic understanding of the concept of Jung’s Eight Dimensions (MBTI Cognitive Function). If you have not yet understood the related concepts, you can read this article, or search for relevant information by yourself.
What is shadow functional personality?
Shadow functional personality is the opposite of a person’s yang functional personality. It is the least commonly used and least skilled psychological function of a person in daily life. It reflects a person’s potential, repressed or neglected personality characteristics. and potential. Shadow functional personality usually emerges when a person encounters stress, conflict, crisis or challenge, affecting a person’s emotions, cognition and behavior. Shadow functional personality sometimes brings negative consequences, such as anxiety, fear, anger, confusion, impulsivity, etc., but sometimes it also brings positive consequences, such as innovation, insight, empathy, balance, etc.
Different personality types have different shadow functional personalities. The specific transformation rule is that if you replace the first and fourth letters of a personality with the opposite letters, you will get a shadow personality. For example, the shadow functional personality of ENTP is INTJ, the shadow functional personality of ISFJ is ESFP, and so on. Such transformation rules are determined based on the order and opposition of the eight psychological functions of Jungian psychology and the complementary relationship of the four dimensions of MBTI.
The focus of this article is the shadow functional personality of ENTP, which is INTJ. The corresponding relationship between the positive and shadow functions of ENTP and INTJ is as shown in the following table:
| ENTP’s Yang Function | INTJ’s Yang Function | ENTP’s Shadow Function | INTJ’s Shadow Function |
| ———— | ———— | ———— | ———- – |
| Extraverted intuition | Introverted intuition | Introverted sensing | Extraverted sensing |
| Introverted Thinking | Extraverted Thinking | Extraverted Feeling | Introverted Feeling |
| Extraverted Feeling | Introverted Feeling | Introverted Thinking | Extraverted Thinking |
| Introverted Sensing | Extraverted Sensing | Extraverted Intuition | Introverted Intuition |
As can be seen from the table above, ENTP’s shadow function personality is a new personality type obtained by reversing the direction and order of ENTP’s yang function.
What is the shadow function personality of ENTP?
The shadow functional personality of ENTP is an introverted, intuitive, thinking and judgmental personality type. It is very different from the yang functional personality of ENTP. The yang functional personality of ENTP is an extroverted, intuitive, thinking and perceiving personality type. Its characteristics are:
- Extraverted intuition: The dominant function of ENTP is extraverted intuition, which makes ENTP like to explore new possibilities and ideas, seek changes and stimulation, be good at discovering problems and opportunities, and be good at innovation and improvement.
- Introverted thinking: The auxiliary function of ENTP is introverted thinking, which makes ENTP like to analyze and understand the principles and logic of things, seek truth and rationality, be good at debate and criticism, and be good at solving problems and challenges.
- Extraverted Feeling: The third function of ENTP is Extraverted Feeling, which makes ENTP like to communicate and cooperate with others, seek recognition and respect, be good at expression and influence, and be good at social interaction and leadership.
- Introverted Sensing: The fourth function of ENTP is introverted sensing, which makes ENTP like to pay attention to their own feelings and values, seek beauty and enjoyment, be good at appreciation and creation, and be good at art and aesthetics.
The shadow function personality of ENTP is an introverted, intuitive, thinking and judgmental personality type. Its characteristics are:
- Introverted Sensing: The shadow dominant function of ENTP is introverted sensing. It makes ENTPs become very sensitive and emotional during times of stress or crisis, and are easily affected by their own or other people’s feelings and values, making it difficult to be objective and rational. Dealing with problems makes it difficult to appreciate and create beautiful things.
- Extraverted Thinking: The shadow auxiliary function of ENTP is extraverted thinking. It makes ENTP become very stubborn and critical when encountering conflicts or challenges, and is easily constrained by external rules and standards, making it difficult to analyze and understand things. Principles and logic also make it difficult to innovate and improve things.
- Extraverted Feeling: The third shadow function of ENTP is Extraverted Feeling. It makes ENTP become very cold and distant when communicating or cooperating. They are easily affected by the emotions and attitudes of others and have difficulty expressing and influencing others. , and also have difficulty socializing and leading.
- Introverted intuition: The fourth shadow function of ENTP is introverted intuition. It makes ENTP become very conservative and skeptical when exploring or creative, and are easily affected by their own hunch and intuition, making it difficult to discover problems and opportunities. Difficult to change and stimulation.
Although the shadow functional personality of ENTP is very different from the positive functional personality of ENTP, it also has its own characteristics and advantages. ENTP’s shadow function personality can help ENTP:
- Introverted Sensing: Enhance your emotional intelligence, better understand your own and others’ feelings and values, pay more attention to your physical and mental health and quality of life, and appreciate and create beautiful things more.
- Extraverted thinking: Enhance your execution ability, better comply with external rules and standards, pay more attention to practicality and results, and solve problems and challenges better.
- Extraverted Feeling: Enhance your interpersonal relationships, communicate and cooperate better with others, respect and understand the emotions and attitudes of others more, and express and influence others better.
- Introverted intuition: Enhance your own insight, better listen to your hunches and intuition, think more deeply and comprehensively about problems and opportunities, and be more open to change and stimulation.
How to take advantage of the shadow functional personality?
To give full play to the advantages of the shadow functional personality, ENTP needs to recognize and accept their own shadow, understand its characteristics and advantages, observe its emergence and reasons, adjust its expression and use, and make it harmonious with the yang functional personality, rather than incompatible with it. conflict, thereby achieving self-growth and development. Here are some specific methods and techniques that can help ENTPs do this:
- Understand and accept your own shadow: ENTP can understand the concepts and theories of shadow functional personality, as well as the characteristics and advantages of ENTP’s shadow functional personality by reading relevant books, articles, websites, etc. ENTPs can also take some personality tests to confirm their yang functional personality and shadow functional personality, as well as their strength and development. ENTP should realize that the shadow functional personality is not a flaw or enemy, but a potential, suppressed or ignored resource and strength. It is a part of one’s own personality and an opportunity for one’s own growth.
- Understand its characteristics and advantages: ENTP needs to understand the characteristics and advantages of their own shadow functional personality, as well as their correspondence and complementary relationship with their own yang functional personality. ENTP should understand that every psychological function has its applicable occasions and purposes. There is no absolute good or bad, only suitable or inappropriate. ENTPs must learn to appreciate and utilize the strengths of their shadow function personality instead of denying and resisting them.
- Observe the circumstances and reasons for its emergence: ENTP needs to observe under what circumstances their shadow function personality will emerge, and what causes their emergence. ENTPs should pay attention to changes in their emotions, cognitions, and behaviors, as well as their consistency and differences with their yang-side functional personality. ENTP needs to analyze whether the emergence of their own shadow function personality is due to their own internal pressure, conflict, crisis or challenge, or due to the external environment, interpersonal relationships, events or stimulation, or due to the interaction of the two.
- Adjust its expression and application: ENTP should adjust the expression and application of his shadow functional personality so that it is in harmony with, rather than in conflict with, his yang functional personality. ENTPs must learn to control their emotions and avoid being overly sensitive, stubborn, indifferent or conservative, but instead be appropriately sensitive, flexible, cordial or open. ENTPs must learn to adjust their cognition to avoid being overly emotional, normalized, alienated or skeptical, and instead be appropriately rational, innovative, cooperative or insightful. ENTP must learn to change their behavior and avoid excessive impulsivity, criticism, isolation or rejection, but appropriate balance, solution, communication or acceptance.
Summarize
This article introduces the concept and formation principle of ENTP’s shadow functional personality, analyzes the characteristics and advantages of ENTP’s shadow functional personality, and provides some methods and techniques to help ENTP understand and utilize their own shadow to achieve self-growth and development. Shadow functional personality is not a flaw or enemy, but a potential, suppressed or ignored resource and strength. It is part of one’s own personality and an opportunity for one’s own growth. ENTP must learn to appreciate and utilize the advantages of their shadow functional personality instead of denying and resisting them, so that they can be coordinated with their yang functional personality instead of conflicting with it, so as to achieve their own integrity and balance. In this way, ENTPs can better realize their potential, better cope with various situations in life, and better realize their goals and ideals.
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