# Stuck between ESTP and ENTP... Need that little bit of insight



## seeg (Jan 7, 2010)

Alright guys,

I've been having a look at a lot of this MBTI stuff recently and had come to the solid conclusion that I was ENTP. As far as N/S goes, some of my rationale follows: I did well at uni (managed to get a 1st with barely going to any lectures), I can come up to solutions to various things that other people have trouble with, I like to think I can see the bigger picture and join up the dots between everything that is going on. I am tall and thin ( but I'm still muscular/defined if that makes sense, but I don't do anything to promote it such as going to the gym.).
Theres other stuff too, such as the general stuff I'm interested in.

So I figured I'm an N.

However, I am also very good at things such as running fast over rocks and boulders. I can place my feet exactly where they need to be even when running at pretty much full speed. I love things like rollercoasters, bungee jumping, climbing (used to climb lots of random things as a kid) and generally 'doing stuff', although I am more than happy to just sit around doing nothing. I love sensual experiences, riding my motorbike, taking soft drugs and dancing to beaty music etc. I don't think about the future at all, other than what country I want to move to next because I am excited by the culture/lifestyle/people I perceive to be there. This choice will have ultimately changed after 3 days. I feel that I live for the moment without a thought for how my actions might evolve (I only see possible good outcomes)
At uni, I was good, but mainly with programming. The theory bored me. I never really cared for the 'science' behind programming languages, but only how I could use code to make interesting things. I was good at maths, but only applied stuff and mechanics. I didn't care for proving PI or whatever.


Now I hear that ESTPs are the most intuitive SPs and that confused me too. Also, I have changed from when I was in my younger teenage years. I used to not really give a shit what I looked like. Now I care for my appearance and am able to easily talk to girls and am successful with them.

Whenever I do a test, I come out as 50/50 pretty much, with some S traits and some N traits.


My own personal feeling is that I used to be ENTP, but have developed my senses and grounded myself a bit. I used to be completely unaware of what others thought (as in I didn't even consider what they thought, not that I was bad at reading them). Now I can read social situations much better and even craft them to my benefit.

So, is there anyone else out there who might have been an ENTP and gradually felt more Sish overtime? Are my S traits actually just well developed aspects of my ENTP persona? Or is what I think of as N, actually just good S skills combined with a bit of intelligence?

Any one got any ideas or questions that I can answer to make it clear?


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## Grey (Oct 10, 2009)

I can't personally draw a conclusion from your post, but there are a few things I can offer you - firstly, don't consider your performance in school, work, or any of your interests to be an indicator of what your personality type is. Although you may not have meant it in such a way, it's only a slippery slope when considered like that. You may not know of this, but have you considered functions? ENTPs use Ne dominant and ESTPs use Se dominant, which, in definition, are quite different from one another.


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## εmptε (Nov 20, 2008)

*Can you stand on 1 foot without hoping around in the first two minutes, and if you can did you have training in martial arts? If No than you're probably an N.*


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## LeelooDallas (Sep 15, 2009)

join the club OP :crazy:


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## seeg (Jan 7, 2010)

Cheshire Wolf said:


> *Can you stand on 1 foot without hoping around in the first two minutes, and if you can did you have training in martial arts? If No than you're probably an N.*


Some more examples of various things that come to my head.

I can do the balancing on one foot thing, no problem although, although sometimes if distracted I'll have to put a foot down.

I can for example, walk around a room bouncing a ball off a ping pong bat whilst spinning the ping pong bat and even bouncing it off the side of the bat and keep control. I was the best in my class at this as a kid.

I can pick up new skills without any hassle. I went waterskiing and managed to stand up and then ski for 5 minutes the first time I tried. I was told it would be good if I managed to just stand up after 5 attempts.
Was also doing black runs at snow skiing after a couple of days ski practice.


When it comes to clothing, I'm not fashionable in the sense that I look at the exact colours / shape and pattern, but instead I see something and I just think "I like that and I think it looks good". I don't know how it looks good, I just get that idea.

Walking around in the dark: I could easily walk around my house without any lights on.


And Grey, I have looked at se vs. ne loads, but can't work out if I'm just sensing a lot of things and then getting the bigger picture out of that, or if I'm seeing the bigger picture, then trying to fill it in. I might think I am intuiting in my own head, but when compared to someone who actually is, I could be crap. likewise with sensing. Like a person thinking they are good at football because he is good compared to his mates, then walking into a room full of pro footballers. He suddenly isn't as good as he thought he was.

I always assumed I was ne, but now I am just not sure at all! I can't even think of any scenarios in the past to see if I used ne or se. Never mind, not knowing it doesn't change anything in my day to day life so its hardly the end of the world. I will just go on living as normal


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## εmptε (Nov 20, 2008)

Wow, I was joking because Se dominates normally have good hand eye, but wow. Damn, you've almost got perfect balance. That is amazing, bravo.


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## Liontiger (Jun 2, 2009)

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you're an ESTP simply because you remind me of my ESTP friend. She can be extremely intuitive when it comes to reading other people, but she''s still a sensor. Several points you made also point to S: you think only of what you're doing now or something in the immediate future, you consider only good consequences, you don't really like theory for its own sake, and you love to be out and about doing things (especially things that are physical and provide some kind of rush).

But then again, this is just based on your first post. Try looking at functions like Grey said. Here are some pages that I have found really useful in explaining functions. Parts of it are really abstract, but they do provide some concrete examples:

http://greenlightwiki.com/lenore-exegesis/Extraverted_Sensation
http://greenlightwiki.com/lenore-exegesis/Extraverted_Intuition


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## Korvyna (Dec 4, 2009)

I'm not sure if it's just the way I learn or if it's an ESTP thing... But I tend to learn better by using hands on methods rather than just reading a textbook. I always thought it was an S thing to prefer the hands on approach to learning (since it appeals to our senses), as opposed to an N gathering information better by reading about it.

All sorts of personality types can be good at athletic stuff, so I wouldn't gather that just based on your abilities... I would consider how much you enjoy the feel of the wind on your skin when you are leaping from rock to rock without missing a step... Or how that rock feels under your foot as you glide across it. If you truly enjoy all the elements that are surrounding your senses then you are probably an ESTP. When I took up running I loved the burn in my chest after that first mile. It made me feel alive and I knew I was doing my body some good by exercising... I loved the feel of the wind ripping through my hair and across my skin... 

Hope that helps some. :happy:


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## Grey (Oct 10, 2009)

It appears you're judging Ne and Se by the basic S vs. N stereotypes - don't think anything about the tree or the forest. What Ne does is make conscious connections through perception, which, when relaying the information perceived to others, can seem like a garbled mess. This is because the connections Ne makes is so natural that it's more like a system of webs than anything (i.e., Mona Lisa connects to art connects to artist connects to Renaissance artist connects to Renaissance life connects to Renaissance courtesan connects to courtier, et all.). Se appears to be more straightforward, in that it takes in information without necessarily connecting it to anything right off of the bat. This does not make Ne somehow superior, but this can lead to a wide differentiation between the two functions.


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## Karen (Jul 17, 2009)

Grey said:


> ...don't consider your performance in school, work, or any of your interests to be an indicator of what your personality type is. Although you may not have meant it in such a way, it's only a slippery slope when considered like that.


I agree. I had an ESTP boyfriend who had a masters in civil engineering from Stanford, and he occasionally taught graduate engineering classes.

If this isn't right, someone can set me straight. I have an ENTP relative who has a masters in mechanical engineering. The ESTP and ENTP are both excitable people, but the ENTP seems to focus more on her projects with the excitement secondary while the ESTP is focused more on the excitement connected to his projects, and in fact spends his life looking for excitement, such as skiing volcanoes or looking at beautiful scenery.


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## entpreter (Aug 5, 2009)

Karen said:


> I agree. I had an ESTP boyfriend who had a masters in civil engineering from Stanford, and he occasionally taught graduate engineering classes.
> 
> If this isn't right, someone can set me straight. I have an ENTP relative who has a masters in mechanical engineering. The ESTP and ENTP are both excitable people, but the ENTP seems to focus more on her projects with the excitement secondary while the ESTP is focused more on the excitement connected to his projects, and in fact spends his life looking for excitement, such as skiing volcanoes or looking at beautiful scenery.


I would have to say that this description may be the most clear! 

My brother is an ESTP and I am an ENTP, and we have many similarities, especially because he is my older brother and I've always wanted to do what he wanted to do. But the older I get, the more I, and everyone else, notices the differences. We both like action and adventures, but we like them for different reasons.

He would do the same activity that I would, but I would have less patience with the physical aspect of it. For example, if we both went for a hike, he would focus on the hike and doing his best and being athletic or pushing himself physically. I would hardly be paying attention to my surroundings, although I find the forests and rivers beautiful and love being around them, but I constantly find myself connecting nature with things seemingly unconnected the entire time I'm hiking (ex: is this what the forest has looked like since the time of the dinosaurs or how much have we affected it, or why does bark look like this and what is the evolutionary cause behind it. I may even want to discuss this stuff. My brother is smart and will listen and give his opinions, but only to a degree and then he gets bored with me and will want to continue with the strenuous hike and pushing himself physically. 

I guess you can say I'm more spacey and he's more in the here and now.


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## LeelooDallas (Sep 15, 2009)

Karen said:


> I agree. I had an ESTP boyfriend who had a masters in civil engineering from Stanford, and he occasionally taught graduate engineering classes.
> 
> If this isn't right, someone can set me straight. I have an ENTP relative who has a masters in mechanical engineering. The ESTP and ENTP are both excitable people, but the ENTP seems to focus more on her projects with the excitement secondary while the ESTP is focused more on the excitement connected to his projects, and in fact spends his life looking for excitement, such as skiing volcanoes or looking at beautiful scenery.


could enneagram have something to do with this as well? i'm a 7w8 ENTP so i'm also all about looking for and doing exciting things ...or maybe i really am an ESTP?


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## Grey (Oct 10, 2009)

I don't think Enneagram has such an honest correlation to MBTI. You may be an ESTP, but it isn't really accounted for within tendencies of the types to be certain Enneagrams.


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