[LawyersAdvocate]

Do other ENTPs ever feel like the only thing that keeps you from going to a certain extreme is being around people who are even more extreme in that particular regard?

Sometimes I think the only reason I'm as stable as I am (meh...) is because I've been around enough people whose behavior made me say to myself "I hope I'm never like that."

Hypothetical Examples:
- Not becoming an embarrassing drunk because you don't want to be like your alcoholic friend that everyone in the group feels sorry for.
- Not becoming a complete recluse because you have a roommate who is a recluse, so you'll never let yourself get that bad.
- Not talking about your SO too much because you once had a friend who did that, and it was really annoying.

[Shinji Mimura]

For me, and I realize you said hypothetical but whatever, it's not that I have extreme friends, rather, it's that I see extreme people and realize that I do not want to become one.

I don't think there's ever any extreme I've even come close to considering except for suicide (which isn't a personality trait, and it also isn't something I deal with anymore, for life is great), so, I'm also not being kept in check by others.

So...yeah all in all no and no. If I witness somebody with bad behavior, I tend to not emulate it.

[danlikesgirls]

Yes I was becoming pretty cynical and then I hung out with this guy who was way more cynical. One of those "all people suck blah blah blah" type folks it really made me change my mind about being negative about the future or people in general.

[chwoey]

Uh, I was the recluse and the super drunk... I stopped because life was generally just getting shittier and shittier.

I've usually always been the most extreme out of all of my friends.

[bellisaurius]

Heh, a devil's advocate protective reflex (I might do this thing, but I refuse to do exactly it like you.)

[FigureSkater]

When ever I start doing something in extreme, If I know someone who has acted like that I just think to myself "oh no, I'm starting to act like so-and-so. I have to stop because so-and-so is out of control!"