Zombies Ruin Everything

Everybody’s favorite lion other than Mufasa is whaaa…Not an ENTJ or ESTP? This is one screwed up lion.

Curious and adventurous, Simba sees life in a way that few others do. Not in what is, not in what was, but what they want it to be. Everybody has fantasies of what their life should be but few live their lives running from one possibility to the next with no thoughts of security in mind. Well…maybe in the back of their mind.

When we first meet Simba, there seems to be only so much to work with at first glance. He’s a kid, after all. But it’s not as though we’re dealing with the complexity of a human life here. There’s two hours to fill and Disney has a story to tell!

Simba seems obsessed with the idea of being king. What’s the first thought you have when it comes to ENFP? Grass is greener on the other side and all that? He seems to forget that for him to become king, it would mean his dad would have to die. But during a chorus of “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” this probably didn’t cross the young lion’s mind. ENFPs think similarly. There’s what they want and they want to know about it now with the details panting after them, begging to be a part of the plan.

This is their dominant Ne (Extroverted Intuition) at work with inferior Si (Introverted Sensing) in the background so to speak. While one works with what could be, the other works with what has been. This gives the ENFP leeway to operate freely in areas when they feel they understand the basic structure well enough. And Simba, being the son of the king, knows the Pridelands well enough that no matter where he goes or what he does, he feels he’s got the right to do so. And other than his daddy, who’s gonna stop him? Ain’t nobody gonna hold that ENFP down.

Except reality maybe.

But being an intuiting type doesn’t mean that everything they say or do is all going to be in their head as it can seem, specifically with many Ni types. ENFPs like to have fun. Duh, everybody does. But ENFPs make it a high priority on their to-do list of life. It’s a major reason they want to exhaust all possibilities. It’s not enough to be happy doing one thing now that they know what it’s like- they’ve got to try everything. Life is a buffet and all that, no reason to order just one thing. This can be a bad thing, but in general it makes the ENFP fun to be around. They hate dull moments more than anything so they’ll always find something interesting to do or talk about.

Simba displays this in several ways but a major part of the story comes into focus after he’s been “willingly” exiled and lives with Timon and Pumbaa. At this point he accepts that he won’t ever be king and that he’s killed his own father. It’s kind of depressing writing that sentence. So what does he do? Kick back, hang out, becomes lazy. That’s understandable enough in itself given that we’ve just seen Mufasa killed and dark times are ahead, we need a pick-me-up. This is still Disney movie after all and nobody is more fit for the lead than the ENFP who knows how to have a good time.

But when Nala happens to come across Simba for the first time in years and reminds him of his responsibility back home, he continually rejects it all, bringing up Hakuna Matata (What a wonderful phrase) and hoping to cling to the good life he’s known where he doesn’t have to do anything he doesn’t want to do. Ne sees the possibilities, Fi (Introverted Feeling) can help but see the justification in acting on that justification. Sometimes that means helping someone at the cost of something to that user, sometimes it’s helping one’s own self at the cost to someone else, depending on how the user has “filed” that specific action.

In other words, it can be tough to get them to do something you want them to do unless they see the value in doing it.

You gotta eat

It can be a major source of contention for ENFPs to accept certain realities of life as well. I know they hate reading this but it’s true. Be it a serious relationship, the work place, school, etc., ENFPs will often shirk responsibilities in favor something the keeps them entertained that moment. Why date THIS guy when I’ve been hanging out with him? I know what he’s like. I’m going to see what Michael is up to next time he calls. Stacy if you’re reading this, call me back please. I’m better than those other guys now I swear.

But for all the “ENFPs like fun!” talk that Simba exemplifies, we still what he’s like when he gets serious and decides to make a change in his life. After all, taking back the Pridelands from his evilly cool uncle is something he hasn’t done yet right? It’s time to man/lion up. Simba seeing his dad in the reflection of the water reminds me of ENFPs and their “everything is connected” way of life as well. There aren’t any coincidences or any real mistakes; just life communicating with people and us finding out what we’re made of.

As avoidant or lazy as an ENFP can be, when they really want to get something done, they get it done not only right, but in a way most types would never think of. It’s not enough to just do it, they have to do it their way. You’ll never see a lion employ warthogs and meerkats to help them win their home but an ENFP lion? An ENFP in a human or cartoon lion is bound to get creative and the ENFP type itself is made for the Disney hero. The ENFP can commit themselves to leaving their mark on a project that may seem crazy to some but others see the genius.

They just have to realize that for newer, more exciting options to open up, they’ve got to do some things they don’t want to do first.

All that aside, anybody remember this?

This entry was posted on 09/01/2015 at 1:17 am and is filed under MBTI Idealists, MBTI Stuff with tags accepting responsibilities, enfp, mbti in fiction, Simba, The Lion King. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.