12 ENTPs Share The Piece Of Wisdom That Turned Their Lives Around
"Freedom has nothing to do with your physical confines or situation. It's a state of mind."
By 
Heidi Priebe
This week on my MBTI Facebook Page, I asked each type to share a personal epiphany they’d had that had significantly impacted their lives. Here’s what 12 ENTPs had to say about the particular piece of wisdom that turned things around for them.
1. “Pretty much at least 50% of what someone else thinks of you or gives you feedback for is nothing to do with you and everything to do with them and their perspective on life.”
2. “There’s no ‘The One’. Or maybe there is, who knows. But in life, you meet people, spend some time with them, a few months to years, you learn from them, gain knowledge, change as a person, grow, have fun, then maybe you break up and do it all over again with someone else. Maybe one of those people will be there forever, maybe not. No big deal, it hurts a little when it’s over but not for too long.”
3. “Freedom has nothing to do with your physical confines or situation. It’s a state of mind. Contentment, which, for me, stems from freedom is dependent only on maintaining a free mind, independent of circumstance. You could be locked away in a tiny box and still be more free than the richest man in the world as long as you both feel, and allow yourself to be, unfettered.”
4. “I am the hare and will always be the hare. I’ve tried being a 15 minute a day person and it has never worked. I binge and then get sick on whatever project I’m working on: fitness, math, drawing, etc etc. Once I accepted this fact I’ve learned to work my life around it. I know when I’m on a high and when I’m about to crash. I try to maximise momentum instead of belittling myself for not doing things in a sensible tortoise like fashion.”
5. “The realisation that I will not have enough time to do even half the things on my bucket list has helped me to make the most of where I am, right now.”
6. “An important realization I’ve had is that I’m not always right and I don’t always have to argue my point. A while back, a friend of mine became an Avon Lady, selling beauty products out of a catalogue. I was all ready to shoot it down, until I found out she’d already had orders come in, and it was the perfect way to generate a bit of extra income as a new Mum. And I was so proud of her (and angry at myself for having been so ready to pick holes in her new venture). Instead I was able to go into full on Ne and help her to choose which samples to get and come up with ideas of how to grow her sales (but also to be careful not to spend all her earnings on things in the catalogue!) The desire to see my friend succeed far outweighs the satisfaction of playing devil’s advocate.”
7. “An epiphany I had regarding relationships is that the value of a relationship isn’t in how easy it is to be in that relationship but in how much effort I am willing to put in the relationship. Along the same lines, intimacy, and relationships in general, will always be uncomfortable, inconvenient, and more or less annoying. It doesn’t mean they’re not worthwhile.”
8. “Other people have their own opinions and experiences, and that’s okay, damn it! I always want to know what people think, but more importantly, why they think that. Often times another people’s opinions come from subjective, personal experiences and they can’t give a rational answer and it drives me crazy, but it’s important to realize that a lack of rationality doesn’t necessarily invalidate a belief. Not everything fits into a box – I know that much of what makes me, me doesn’t, and I’m not the exception either.”
9. “As an ENTP, I usually excel at most things pretty naturally…whether it’s a mediocre task, a more complex problem, or even a relationship issue. I’ve mostly been pretty lucky. But, as I’ve gotten older if there’s some adversarial occurrence that creeps up, and I can’t conquer it almost without effort – I lose all focus and mentality, and I can’t *physically* make myself do or work towards whatever is plaguing me. I’ll ignore the issue almost till implosion, and rationalize why it’s fruitless and pointless. It’s kind of a drawn out response to say that my epiphany is – if it doesn’t come naturally, easily, or with some intelligent fun, there’s a great chance it’ll be left in the dust. But boredom is a selfish and wasted state of mind. There’s always so much we can do, see, learn, and soak up. Life is full of endless possibilities and endless people…boredom is just what gets in the way of our living.”
10. “An important realization I’ve had is that my emotions are just as important as my analytical thoughts. It was so easy to ignore my feelings in favor of rational thinking but giving myself permission to explore and relish in my feelings has been the transformative experience of my life. Getting in touch with the suppressed side of me has allowed me to explore parts of myself that I always seemed less worthy. I undervalued my artistic side and my connections with people but have recently come to appreciate these things and couldn’t be happier with the change!”
11. “A great thing I’ve realized that being argumentative is actually okay (hear me out, folks) if it is productive for the other person or for you OR if the other person is willing to engage in it (those are the best kind of friends).”
12. “I’ve discovered that emotional intelligence can be learned and developed – just like any other skill a well motivated ENTP sets his/her sights on.”
