For those who were unaware, I’m a bit of a psychology buff. I took a few classes in school and will fully admit that I’m no expert, but I love reading up on diagnostic methods and type testing. It’s one of the more intricate social sciences and I will always have an interest in this world.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is:
a psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions.[1]:1 These preferences were extrapolated from the typological theories proposed by Carl Gustav Jung and first published in his 1921 book Psychological Types (English edition, 1923).
So I took the questionnaire and apparently I’m a INFJ (Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging) profile. A person with this personality profile may resemble the following descriptions (and there are some key sentences in there that actually stopped me in my tracks. This is definitely my type!):
Beneath the quiet exterior, INFJs hold deep convictions about the
weightier matters of life. Those who are activists — INFJs gravitate
toward such a role — are there for the cause, not for personal glory or
political power.INFJs are champions of the oppressed and downtrodden. They often are
found in the wake of an emergency, rescuing those who are in acute
distress. INFJs may fantasize about getting revenge on those who
victimize the defenseless. The concept of ‘poetic
justice’ is appealing to the INFJ.“There’s something rotten in Denmark.” Accurately suspicious about
others’ motives, INFJs are not easily led. These are the people that
you can rarely fool any of the time. Though affable and sympathetic to
most, INFJs are selective about their friends.
Such a friendship is a symbiotic bond that transcends mere words.INFJs have a knack for fluency in language and facility in
communication. In addition, nonverbal sensitivity enables the INFJ to
know and be known by others intimately.Writing, counseling, public service and even politics are areas where INFJs frequently find their niche.
INFJs are distinguished by both their complexity of character and the
unusual range and depth of their talents. Strongly humanitarian in
outlook, INFJs tend to be idealists, and because of their J preference
for closure and completion, they are generally
“doers” as well as dreamers. This rare combination of vision and
practicality often results in INFJs taking a disproportionate amount of
responsibility in the various causes to which so many of them seem to be
drawn.INFJs are deeply concerned about their relations with individuals as
well as the state of humanity at large. They are, in fact, sometimes
mistaken for extroverts because they appear so outgoing and are so
genuinely interested in people — a product of the
Feeling function they most readily show to the world. On the contrary,
INFJs are true introverts, who can only be emotionally intimate and
fulfilled with a chosen few from among their long-term friends, family,
or obvious “soul mates.” While instinctively
courting the personal and organizational demands continually made upon
them by others, at intervals INFJs will suddenly withdraw into
themselves, sometimes shutting out even their intimates. This apparent
paradox is a necessary escape valve for them,
providing both time to rebuild their depleted resources and a filter to
prevent the emotional overload to which they are so susceptible as
inherent “givers.” As a pattern of behavior, it is perhaps the most
confusing aspect of the enigmatic INFJ character
to outsiders, and hence the most often misunderstood — particularly by
those who have little experience with this rare type.Due in part to the unique perspective produced by this alternation
between detachment and involvement in the lives of the people around
them, INFJs may well have the clearest insights of all the types into
the motivations of others, for good and for evil.
The most important contributing factor to this uncanny gift, however,
are the empathic abilities often found in Fs, which seem to be
especially heightened in the INFJ type (possibly by the dominance of the
introverted N function).This empathy can serve as a classic example of the two-edged nature of
certain INFJ talents, as it can be strong enough to cause discomfort or
pain in negative or stressful situations. More explicit inner
conflicts are also not uncommon in INFJs; it is
possible to speculate that the causes for some of these may lie in the
specific combinations of preferences which define this complex type.
For instance, there can sometimes be a “tug-of-war” between NF vision
and idealism and the J practicality that urges
compromise for the sake of achieving the highest priority goals. And
the I and J combination, while perhaps enhancing self-awareness, may
make it difficult for INFJs to articulate their deepest and most
convoluted feelings.Usually self-expression comes more easily to INFJs on paper, as they
tend to have strong writing skills. Since in addition they often
possess a strong personal charisma, INFJs are generally well-suited to
the “inspirational” professions such as teaching
(especially in higher education) and religious leadership. Psychology
and counseling are other obvious choices, but overall, INFJs can be
exceptionally difficult to pigeonhole by their career paths. Perhaps
the best example of this occurs in the technical
fields. Many INFJs perceive themselves at a disadvantage when dealing
with the mystique and formality of “hard logic”, and in academic terms
this may cause a tendency to
gravitate towards the liberal arts rather than the sciences. However,
the significant minority of INFJs who do pursue studies and careers in
the latter areas tend to be as successful as their T counterparts, as it
is *iNtuition* — the dominant function
for the INFJ type — which governs the ability to understand abstract
theory and implement it creatively.In their own way, INFJs are just as much “systems builders” as are
INTJs; the difference lies in that most INFJ “systems” are founded on
human beings and human values, rather than information and technology.
Their systems may for these reasons be
conceptually “blurrier” than analogous NT ones, harder to measure in
strict numerical terms, and easier to take for granted — yet it is
these same underlying reasons which make the resulting contributions to
society so vital and profound.
