Those who may be new to this blog or to type theory in general may already be feeling lost at my use of the term inferior preference. My October post explained how to determine which letter in your type code is the inferior preference, and we looked at what it is and what happens when it is misbehaving during times of stress. My November post was primarily about the auxiliary preference, but also covered the inferior preference's role in the family of four preferences which make up a type code and a personality.
In October I shared that as a dominant Intuitive, my natural focus on the future sometimes gets out of hand during periods of stress. During those times my dominant preference gets exaggerated, and I start imagining and worrying about all manner of negative things that could happen. But though the holiday season can indeed be overly busy and stressful, it doesn't seem to trigger in me the negative reactions that other periods of stress do.
In fact, the activities associated with Christmas, which I've always enjoyed, seem to put my inferior preference in a happy mood rather than the anxious one I wrote about in October. These activities center me on living in the moment and using my five senses. I'm guessing that since Christmas activities are usually enjoyable, during the holidays my inferior preference gets associated with fun and is less likely to erupt during periods of holiday stress. Also my dominant Intuition is less likely to get exaggerated, which usually happens before the inferior preference erupts.
It probably helps that for the past few years I've tried never to mindlessly decorate my tree as just a task to be done and checked off a list. I try to think about each ornament, where it came from and what it means to me. The very act of focusing on what's right in front of me seems to prevent me from worrying about the future.
Listening to live or recorded Christmas music has the same effect on me. Perhaps I get carried away into a perception of how pleasing the sounds are. Or perhaps I drift off into memories associated with the piece I'm listening to. Sometimes memories of a time a band or chorus I was in performed that piece wash over me, or I think about its significance to me. But almost never do I worry about the future while listening to (or playing on my organ or harmonica) beautiful Christmas music!
Other Christmas activities such as shopping, whether for gifts, ornaments or other decorations, keep me focused on the present and on the search for the items I'm eagerly hunting for. I may think about the enjoyment I hope to bring the recipients of my gift purchases. There may be some moments of frustration when I'm not able to find the items I want at prices I'm comfortable with. But rarely does Christmas shopping lead me to worry about my own future well - being.
Another major Christmas event or activity which I enjoy is attending craft shows. I typically attend at least one each year where the crafts are from another country and/or culture. Seeing these attractive items transports me, in my imagination at least, to the culture they come from. I think about that culture and how these objects are used, rather than focusing on negative versions of my own possible future.
These examples show me that Christmas is so full of Sensing activities that it helps me keep focused on the past and present, rather than speculating in a negative way on the future. I believe that Christmas is by nature a Sensing holiday. I say this because of its focus on tradition (what the holiday means, and how it's been celebrated in the past) and the way it encourages enjoyment of the moment, whether that be through looking at lovely decorations, listening to or singing carols, or enjoying other fun, interesting activities.
In other words Christmas is a holiday which appeals to our five senses. Our eyes sparkle at the sight of shimmering decorations and lights, and of the shining of the moon and stars on ice or snow. The melodious sounds of Christmas music, caroling and laughter call our ears to attention. Let's not forget the mouth - watering tastes of seasonal meals and goodies, which are inseparable from the smells of baking and the cooking of holiday delicacies. The scents of pine trees and fresh snow should not be overlooked. Finally, at Christmas we use our sense of touch for a variety of activities ranging from hugging others, to participating in seasonal petting zoos to making and throwing snowballs.
On the other hand, in my opinion New Year's Day is a holiday much more focused on speculations about the future. Of course Christmas does have its element of making us wonder what our holiday will be like this year, what gifts we may receive, whether the gifts we give will be appreciated, how our visits or travel plans will turn out, etc. But I believe this is nothing like the focus of New Year's Day, which is divided between looking back at the past year and projecting from that to what type of year might lie ahead.
The fact that I seemed to enjoy Christmas even more and have felt happier to stay in the moment this year could come from the fact that my inferior preference has developed more as I've gotten older, as it typically does in all of us. Thus it is easier and even more enjoyable to use than it has been before. So why was focusing on the present, as perceived by my five senses, even more fun during the approximately three months of the Christmas season than it sometimes was during the rest of the year? Perhaps that is because there is a payoff in using our senses when we see, hear, taste, touch or smell something delightful. I suspect it is also because since our dominant and auxiliary preferences develop fairly early in life, mine are now very well developed. That leaves the coast clear for my inferior preference of extraverted Sensing to make its unique contribution to my life, showing me that paying attention to the here and now can be fun, rewarding and interesting!
But on the other hand, perhaps it is the opposite which is true. Does experiencing more Christmases as life goes on help develop my inferior preference? Could it be possible that I'm getting more comfortable using it because it's been necessary to use it through quite a few Christmases to avoid missing out on all the fun? Hmmm...So which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Since I am not a Sensing type this is clearly not a case of a Sensing type being drawn to a Sensing holiday. It's also true
that I've loved Christmas since long before my inferior preference began to develop, which typically happens in midlife.
So I will say that my positive experiences of Christmas influence the development of my inferior preference, rather than vice versa. I suppose this means that my positive experiences of Christmas are the chicken and the development of my inferior preference is the egg, right? Or does the egg of the development of my inferior preference hatch a chick which grows into a chicken which then lays the egg of my positive experiences of Christmas, which hatches and grows into a chicken which lays an egg of the development of my inferior preference, and so on? Well, that might depend on how you look at it.....