It lives in the here and now
Se is tuned to what's happening in the present. It takes in the environment quickly, which can give strong Se users fast reaction times.
Cognitive functions: Se
Extraverted Sensing
Se is the part of the mind that lives in the present. It notices what's happening right now and how your actions land on the people around you.
- You should
- We need
- You have to
- We must
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Wind · led by ESTP and ESFP
The element of wind
Se is wind.
- PresenceFully in the moment
- ImpactChanging what others experience
- PerformanceSkill you can see
- ReactionQuick to respond
Each of the four perceiving functions can be pictured as an element. Se is wind: dynamic, forceful, and always present. Wind moves quickly and changes whatever it passes through, and Se works the same way. It shapes what's happening right now and makes an immediate impact on the people around it.
Where Si looks inward at your own comfort and experience, Se looks outward, at the experiences of everyone else in the room.
These are metaphors, not science. They're just a way to picture what Se does.
What Se does
Six ways Se shapes a person
Se is a perceiving function. It deals with the present moment and other people's experiences. It's in the ego of eight types: ISTP, ESTP, ISFP, ESFP, INFJ, ENFJ, ENTJ, and INTJ.
It wants to affect people
Se users are often motivated to make others laugh, show them something they've made, or give them a good time. They enjoy shaping other people's experiences.
It reads the room
Strong Se users tend to notice whether others are having a good or bad time, and are quick to sense when they're giving someone a negative experience.
It's physical and practical
Se is linked to mechanical and physical skill, performance, and athletic ability. It has a strong grasp of practical, physical reality.
It likes shared experiences
Se users usually prefer doing things with others rather than alone, and may be drawn to performing, building, or anything they can share.
It gives practical advice
Se users often say things like "you should try this," hoping to improve someone's life, and they value loyalty from the people they've looked after.
Se in daily life
You can hear Se in everyday language.
Se talks about what you and others need right now, and what you should all experience. It shows up in phrases like these.
SeYou/we need, you/we should, you/we have to, you/we must
You should try this, it's amazing.
Sharing a good experience with someone.We need to get out of the house today.
Focus on a shared, present experience.Watch this!
Performing, and wanting to see the reaction.You look cold. Take my jacket.
Noticing someone else's comfort in the moment.You have to see this view.
Wanting others to experience what you're experiencing.Let's just go now while we can.
Acting on what's in front of you.
Strengths and trade-offs
Wind can lift you up or knock you over.
The same focus on the moment that makes Se so engaging can also make it lose sight of what comes next. How Se shows up depends on how developed it is.
When Se is steady
- Good at giving others enjoyable, memorable experiences.
- Skilled at performing and working with their hands.
- Aware of what others are doing and how they're feeling.
- Reacts quickly and practically when something needs to happen.
When Se blows too hard
- May forget past experiences that could have guided them.
- May not notice the consequences of their actions.
- Can focus on the moment at the expense of the long term.
- May try to steer people's behaviour through the experiences it gives them.
The Se + Ni axis
Se never works alone.
Se is paired with Introverted Intuition (Ni). What you want shapes the experiences you create for others, and how people react feeds back into what you want.
Think of it as cause and effect: Ni is the vision, and Se is what that vision becomes once it's real and other people can experience it.
SeEffectWhat others see and experience
NiCauseThe vision, choice, or desire
Se in every type
Everyone has Se. Where it sits changes everything.
All 16 types have Se, but in a different position, or attitude. Here is how Se tends to show up for them.
Se is their Hero, the primary function they use to solve everyday problems. It gives them the strongest awareness of the present, along with physical skill and performance. They tend to use that skill to impress others and succeed.
Growth: Like any Hero function, it can be overused. Pausing to think about long-term consequences keeps their momentum pointed in the right direction.
Se is their Parent, the most responsible attitude. They tend to be careful about the experiences they give others, and can skilfully shape their physical environment, sometimes using good or bad experiences to steer people toward better behaviour.
Growth: The Parent attitude is more cautious and can take more energy to use. Their challenge is to guide others without controlling their experience too tightly.
Se is their Child: a pure, innocent approach to performing and giving others experiences. They can be naturally good at making things enjoyable. When immature, they may be overly optimistic about what they offer, giving too much or enabling others' bad habits.
Growth: Offering responsible experiences, and not enabling others, helps. Developed, they can give people meaningful, memorable experiences.
Se is their Aspirational (Inferior) function, which is both insecure and ambitious about performance and skill. They may feel unsure about their physical and mechanical abilities.
Growth: Practising their skills and improving their physical abilities helps. Developed, they can become excellent performers with real physical mastery.
Shadow positions
Se is their Nemesis, the position linked to worry and uncertainty. It may show up as unease about the present moment: how well they're performing, and whether other people are enjoying the experience they're giving.
Growth: Practising being present and building their practical skills can turn that worry into more confidence in the moment.
Se is their Critic, which is critical of others' experiences, comfort, and performance. When underdeveloped, they may hold themselves to an unrealistic standard of performance and criticize others' comfort.
Growth: Caring about others' comfort without criticizing it, and keeping realistic standards for everyone, helps. Developed, the Critic can become wisdom about performance.
Se is their Trickster, the position with the lowest awareness. They may not automatically notice others' experiences and comfort, and may struggle with things like fashion sense, mechanical skills, or noticing when they're making someone uncomfortable.
Growth: Learning from strong Se users and building practical skills helps. Developed, they can become more aware of how their behaviour affects others.
Se is their Demon, the deepest shadow position. It can show up as resentment toward others' experiences and comfort, especially when others failed to protect them from pain. When activated, they may want to disrupt other people's comfort so what happened isn't forgotten.
Growth: Working on forgiving the past and learning to cope with discomfort helps. With growth, they can deeply appreciate others' experiences and genuinely care about their comfort.
Positions are listed from Hero down to Demon. The order shows where Se sits in each type's mind, not how good or capable a type is.
Explore the other functions
Se is one of eight cognitive functions. Each shapes the mind in its own way.
Where does Se sit in your mind?
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