"I'm THINKING about it!"?
The Face of a Deviant SP

"I'm THINKING about it!"

Sensory Perceivers. Like my husband (that I'm crazy about) and son (that I'm indescribably proud of). And the President of the United States (that I will not comment on).

Aren't they great?! I'll give you a great example that beautifully demonstrates the personal philosophy and modus operandi of the SP.

When my boy was 5, we were on the city bus. I was bored and anxious, really not wanting to be where I was. When I looked at things outside and people around me, I was unaware of things he was doing, because I was so caught up in my own thoughts and feelings.

So he would pull the cord to indicate that we were getting off at the next stop. The bus would stop and no one would get off. He would giggle. I wondered who was getting off, since the driver looked around and no one moved. Several times he did this, and I was still ignorant until I realized people were glaring at ME! I soon accepted that, true-to-form, my ISTP son was being a troublemaker. So I decided to catch him--beat him at his own game!

I looked away, and the next time he reached up to pull the cord, I quickly turned towards him, looked straight into his eyes and said: "DON'T...........EVEN..........THINK ABOUT IT!" He glared back at me and sat down. He squirmed and I continued to glance in his direction. He was clearly frustrated at first but then slowly, a mischievous grin spread across his face.

"What?" I asked. I was actually concerned that he had moved some object on the other side of the bus with his evil little mind when I wasn't looking. But he just turned his nose up in the air as he said, with indignance: "I'm THINKING about it!"

That's the bottom line: Sensory Perceivers will not be controlled. They will not be told what to do. They will not conform. They are independent and rebellious. They could actually be in the process of doing the very thing that you just told them to do. But the minute that you tell them to do it, they will do the exact opposite--simply to show you (and the world, and themselves) that "You can't make me!"

Sensory Perceivers can be fabulous people. They are resourceful and flexible. They are smart and charismatic. They are spontaneous and fun. They are also potentially very socially irresponsible because they avoid getting into trouble; they can get away with almost anything. They are also potentially some of the worst narcissists for that very reason.

Would I change my son? Not for the world. Because now, at 21, he's intelligent, responsible, accountable, and mature.

Of course, there's still that evil little streak in him to do and be things like Donald Trump. It's never going to go away. But he has learned that in life, he's not the only one that matters. So he controls what he says and does. Of course, there's still that amazing ability to get away with things that other people would have to suffer the consequences for. But he has learned that in life, he's accountable to something higher than himself. So he works to do and be good things for the world and the people in it. I'm proud of who he's become.

4 of my favorite words of all time? "I'm Thinking About It!"



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