Returning to Oneself
When Effort Does Not Lead to Real Improvement
Why doesn’t self-improvement work?
There is a state that is difficult to admit.
A person is dissatisfied with themselves.
Dissatisfied with others.
Experiencing anxiety, tension, fatigue.
They are not passive. They work on themselves.
They analyze their mistakes.
Look for weaknesses.
Try to become more aware of their reactions.
Attempt to “integrate the shadow.”
They are told: the problem is not in the circumstances — the problem is in you.
You react incorrectly.
You need to understand yourself more deeply. Work on yourself even more.
And so they try even harder.
But the tension does not disappear. Sometimes it becomes stronger.
A feeling arises that the more effort is invested,
the further one moves away from oneself.
Perhaps it is not about the amount of effort.
And not about the depth of self-analysis.
Perhaps the effort is directed in the wrong place.
Four Ways of Orienting in the World
A person orients themselves in reality through four psychological functions.
Sensation and intuition perceive the objects of the world —
what exists and what is happening.
Feeling and thinking determine
what this means for the subject, whether it is good or bad for them.
These functions shape one’s picture of the world.
What matters, however, is not which functions a person has.
Everyone has all four.
What matters is something else —
whether these functions are differentiated.
Differentiation as a Condition for Clarity
A differentiated function distinguishes.
It separates one thing from another.
A non-differentiated function does not distinguish.
In such a case, a person is uncertain
whether they want something or not,
whether something is right or wrong,
what is better and what is worse.
They may oscillate between opposing evaluations,
and a decision does not bring inner clarity.
Depending on how many functions are differentiated,
consciousness operates in two different modes.
When only one function is differentiated
and the other three remain non-differentiated,
one-sidedness arises.
When all four functions are differentiated —
sensation, intuition, feeling, and thinking —
the inner picture of the world becomes coherent.
The Point of Transition
The transition from one mode to the other does not occur by chance.
For each psychological type, there is a specific point of transition.
It is always a transition from one function to its opposite.
This does not concern the strongest function
nor the weakest one.
For each type, this transition is different,
yet structurally it is always one of four possible variants:
between sensation and intuition
or between feeling and thinking.
At precisely this point,
the transition from a non-differentiated to a differentiated mode becomes possible.
This solution emerges from a model of consciousness built upon Jung’s typology.
For me personally, it was unexpected.
Naturalness as a Sign of Wholeness
When the functions are differentiated,
a person no longer oscillates between opposing evaluations.
They clearly know what they want
and act without inner strain.
This state is not experienced as effort,
but as naturalness.
This is what can be called a return to oneself.
Personal Origin
This model did not arise from an abstract interest in typologies.
It emerged from the necessity of finding a path to inner freedom.