ENTPs - 12 Rules for Life

要点：

• Detach yourself, but remember it can be a double-edged sword.
• Small victories in arguments might lead to bigger losses in relationships.
• Pay attention to the small details to avoid bigger problems later.
• Know your working style and embrace it for maximum productivity.
• Invest in relationships that inspire growth, even if they feel burdensome at times.
• Sometimes you need to pivot from potential to a specific direction.

These rules are a combination of advice I'd give to ENTPs but also things that you can learn from them, that is rules that ENTPs would benefit from and advocate. So it's a mixture of both.

Number one Detachment is a double edged sword. A lot of the abilities and strengths of ENTPs come from the fact that they can play both sides. They are detached. Vantage point affords them the ability to critique others, pick their arguments apart and see all of the exceptions to and flaws in what a person is saying. They don't have skin in the game so they don't fall victim to the same personal biases. However at some point in life, either by choice or by circumstance you will have to take a side or a stance. That isn't the problem though. ENTPs have plenty of opinions that they'll defend in arguments and will stand by them. The problem is that life will conspire in such a way that at some point you will have to adopt a compromised position. You will have to hold a view that isn't ideal, one that you yourself realizes flawed in certain ways, one that can be rightly criticized by other people. A view of philosophy or belief or approach that suddenly makes you look like a biased or intellectually suspect person. It's like when a surgeon finds themselves on the operating table. It's not fun but it's life. So it's always good to bear in mind that detachment can be a double edged sword.

Number two Lose the battle to win the war. Any victory gained through argument will probably be short lived, superficial and counterproductive long term. It's an archetypical example of winning the battle and potentially losing the war. People don't like to lose arguments and people can have long memories too. This becomes more of a consideration when it comes to people that you're going to be interacting with regularly. But it's always good to bear in mind this isn't an anti rhetoric mindset. The point of rhetoric after all should be to convince people. When used correctly, it's educational and informative. Winning an argument is often a hollow victory, so be mindful not to trade that for an actual victory.

Number three sweat the small stuff. ENTPs have introverted sensing as their inferior function, so they can neglect small but often important details in their life. This can result in a mountain of postponed or ignored things piling up, followed by an avalanche crashing down upon them. Whether it's an unpaid bill or fine or some bureaucratic box needs to be checked, or some procedure that needs to be followed, these are things that can catch the ENTPs out and derail much bigger plans. Grand ideas are at the mercy of the small details.

Number four Embrace the hair in life. Some people are tortoises, okay, I just remembered how Americans say that word. The comments are gonna be fun on that one. Anyway, some people are tortoises and other people are hairs. ENTPs are very much the latter. Grinding away with diligent consistency day in and day out in a scheduled and precisely measured way is unlikely to light a fire under ENTPs unless they get so bored by that approach that they actually start lighting fires for fun. When ENTPs get into that state of flow, they can achieve much more than they would have by plugging away at things. So it's important to be aware of what working style matches your energy levels best and lean into that also. Yes, you might be an exception to this and find that the accountability that structure brings actually helps you, in which case lean that direction instead.

Number five Invest in and see the true value of relationships. Sometimes the obligations and hardships of relationships can feel like a particularly heavy burden for a freedom loving type such as the ENTPs. But the value of a relationship is not always in what it gives, but rather what it inspires you to give. A strong and healthy relationship of any kind is something that will bring out the best in ENTPs. It won't necessarily be easy or even enjoyable at times, but it will be worth it.

Number six sometimes you need to force the direction. I have ENTPs classified as a Reactive and adaptive type. By this I mean a type who likes to adjust to the situation, to navigate changing terrain with their adaptable nature. I've described them in the past as the positional chess players of life who place their pieces, so to speak, where they have the most options to change direction and the greatest maneuverability. This is in contrast to people who take a more direct and precise approach to planning, people who want a very specific goal or outcome to occur and then focus all of their energy into bringing that about. Lots of the time ENTPs will decide to take the path that keeps as many options open as possible to orient themselves into positions of potential. But sometimes in life you need to force the action and direction of things to let go of potential in favour of actualizing one specific outcome. It's important for ENTPs to recognize when to do this.

Number seven being overwhelmed is better than being bored. ENTPs are types who can often take on too much, start too many projects and say yes with a certain level of reckless expectation that they can cram everything into their lives. This causes many problems. Spinning lots of plates leads to lots of smashed plates. But difficult and inadvisable as this approach can be, it's always better than being bored for ENTPs. So yes, moderating and limiting yourself is an important life skill, but when the choice is between too much or not enough it's a no brainer.

Number eight you can't make an omelette without breaking a few rules or something like that. Yes, it took me until point 8 to realize I'm giving 12 rules to the type least likely to follow them. Sometimes rules need to be broken or bent to breaking point. But even when doing that it is important to first understand why those rules exist. Even if they are irrational or illogical, they were created for some reason. Being aware of that will assist you in getting away with breaking those rules.

Number nine look for what others miss. I'm going to condense and simplify this story for the purposes of this video. The Jewish Hungarian mathematician Abraham Wald was part of a group put together during World War II to, amongst other things, figure out what parts of American planes should have extra armor on them. This was because American planes coming back from engagements over Europe were riddled with bullet holes. You don't want your planes to get shot down by enemy fighters, so you armor them. But armor makes the plane heavier and heavier. Planes are less maneuverable and use more fuel, so there's an efficient balance to be struck. So where do you add the extra armor? The fuel system, the wings, the tail end? Lots of parts were getting hit a great deal. As opposed to the engine of the planes, for example, which didn't get hit that much at all. After analysis, they concluded they would put the armor around the parts of the plane that were getting hit the most. That's where the armor would surely be most effective after all. Upon hearing this conclusion, Abraham Wald said the armor doesn't go where the bullet holes are, it goes where the bullet holes aren't. That is on the engines. Wald's insight was to not simply see what was there, but to see what was missing. What happened to the planes that didn't come back? The answer in this case was that as he worked out, they'd been hit in the engines. That's why there were hardly any bullet holes in that area of the plane, because the ones that were hit there a lot never came back. The function of any, especially in combination with Ti, is excellent at seeing alternative perspectives, at finding exceptions to the rules, ways to circumvent systems, and to see what others miss or what others might not even be looking at in the first place. All types have gifts, and this one is afforded to ENTPs. It can be used in what I personally consider to be quite a cheap way at times, in debates and arguments, but it's something that can be and ought to be used for much more as well. So if you're an ENTP, lean into this ability and use it well.

Number ten when you have an idea, try it before telling people about it. Telling someone about an idea, plan, or project is enjoyable, too enjoyable to the point where that dopamine hit and satisfaction that you get from telling people makes the subsequent boring grind of implementing that idea very anticlimactic by comparison. So if you have an idea that you think might actually be worth pursuing, pursue it first, even a tiny bit. Then mention it to people. That way you'll have something tangible to point to if people are skeptical or dismissive about what you're saying.

Number eleven outsource and collaborate. Although it's important to improve your tolerance for the small details and paperwork of life, the best way to solve these things is to have other people do them for you. Find people who enjoy these things, whose strengths happen to be your weaknesses. Then connect and collaborate with them.

Number twelve sometimes stay in your comfort zone for a while. ENTPs are people who take bold risks. They push the envelope and challenge themselves. Settling somewhere too long, be that in a field of study or a literal geographical location, feels uncomfortable to them. They are easily restless. This means they are capable of living lives of immense growth. However, as I've mentioned before, although growth does indeed come from stepping outside your comfort zone, lots of productivity comes from returning to it and making use of what you've learned. So sometimes the ENTPs need to make sure that they actually settle down periodically and make use of the growth they've achieved.

If you're an ENTP, feel free to subscribe to the channel if you enjoyed the video and I'll be sure to make more ENTP videos. Also, check out the various links below to the Love Who Discord server and my personal social media.