How to Tap Into the Energy of Each Myers-Briggs® Personality Type

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be another personality type in the Myers-Briggs® system? Are you married or best friends with someone of a different type? Experiment with your strengths or understand better the strengths of other individuals by tapping into their energy! In this article we’ll give you some ways to do just that!

Not sure what your personality type is? Take our in-depth personality questionnaire here. Or you can take the official MBTI® here.

How to Tap Into the Energy of Each Myers-Briggs® Personality Type

Estimated reading time: 16 minutes

The ESTP

ESTPs are bold, playful, engaging, and go for what they want. The ESTP’s courageousness makes them apt to overcome obstacles with joyful tenacity. To tap into ESTP energy, befriend risk. Some experiences are once in a lifetime. Playing it safe could mean missing out on the magic of the moment, causing later regret. Take more chances and opportunities that come your way, even just to say you’ve tried something new. Pushing limits might not be in your nature, but ESTP energy can fix that. You might try engaging your body and pushing yourself to achieve a feat you personally have never approached before. Consider as well how some activities are beneficial because they are fun. Enjoyment can be the primary benefit of an action.

Read This Next: 10 Reasons Why ESTPs Make Amazing Friends

The ESFP

ESFPs are personable and active, striving for meaningful goals with a strong heart. They often seek to know themselves through their direct experience with life and do not hold themselves back from going after what they want. To tap into ESFP energy, find activities that feel exciting, significant, and have you engaged with your surroundings. Consider taking a valued friend along with you on these adventures, honoring your closeness as you share a fun experience. ESFPs engage in the unknown with zeal. Embodying their excitement might lead you to doing something you’ve always wanted to do, but never had the chance or reason to actually do it! ESFPs, unlike other types, are not driven by practicality or pure reason. A de-emphasis on both may prove refreshing. You might just give yourself the permission to do something because you want to do it, rather than fixating on the idea that you “should” be doing other things. It’s more than okay to enjoy yourself.

Read This Next: ESFP Cognitive Function Guide

The ISTP

ISTPs are self-reliant and competent with a strong awareness of how things work in reality. They recognize how components fit together and know just where to turn the screws of life to create better conditions for themselves and those they care about. To tap into ISTP energy, put yourself into a situation where your ingenuity can come into play. You might try building or creating something, and in the process focus on making use of the materials around you. ISTPs are great at jury rigging. The ability to take on this skill could prove useful in any aspect of life. You might also try utilizing ISTP energy to take a detached, logical standpoint on issues that need addressing. Emotions are important, but we don’t always make the best long-term decisions when they flood us. Consider balancing your emotional reactivity with the reality of the moment. What move will prove best for the outcome you ultimately desire, regardless of how you or others feel right now? The answer to that question is your next move.

Read This Next: 10 Things You Should Never Say to an ISTP

The ISFP

ISFPs are fiercely loyal and self-motivated with an eye for aesthetic. They treasure their close bonds and make moves to shape their destiny. To tap into ISFP energy, consider what really matters to you and find a way to manifest it. This might entail creating something like a painting, photography collection, writing project, blueprint, and more. Creating something based on your own desire will allow you to manifest something new in the world, all the while allowing you to utilize your preferences for colors, shapes, sizes, values, concepts, and ideas. ISFPs love personalization. If you’re not one to decorate or have “favorites” of anything, nature may provide you guidance. Consider how many different flowers inhabit a field and think about which stand out amongst the rest and why. ISFPs carry an artistic vibrancy that comes out in whatever they put their time and energy into. You might be surprised how much creating appeals to your sense of self.

Read This Next: 10 Amazing ISFP Anime Characters

The ESTJ

ESTJs step in to manage difficult problems with efficiency and know-how. They are competent at directing people and resources. To tap into ESTJ energy, focus on your daily output and consider if your process proves the best way to go about your intended goals. If your ultimate vision entails being debt free and living off the land, does your choice to spend money on every new film that hits the cinema get you closer to your goal or push out the time it will take to reach it? Could you wait until the movies reach streaming services and get the same effect? ESTJs balance their effort and values with their ultimate end game. Like ESTJs, be willing to rethink your choices so that your quality of life proves “on-track” and sustainable. Consider as well how your past experiences can help direct you in resolving your present-day issues as well as honoring the good you find in each day. There is no point in toiling all day, everyday if no benefit comes from it. Relish the small things when they come and be willing to ask if your effort is worth the amount of good you are receiving in return.

Read This Next: A Look at the ESTJ Leader

The ESFJ

ESFJs zero-in on the needs of the group and are quick to offer a helping hand. Social expectations are easy for them to navigate with proper tact and appeal. ESFJs are, at their core, people-persons. When tapping into ESFJ energy, consider how you can accommodate the people around you. Be willing to ask others what their needs are and answer their call with warmth. Also consider how your helpful influence puts others at ease as they are given the gift of your generosity. ESFJs know that it takes a village to make sure everyone’s needs are met. Acknowledging that you play a role in the social ecology, as ESFJs do, might grant you personal significance you weren’t otherwise aware of.

The ISTJ

ISTJs are pillars of responsibility, dependability, and accountability. ISTJs trust their past experiences will help them navigate any joy, surprise, or problem that arises. Should an entirely new situation present itself, the ISTJ will catalogue what they learn from the event and be prepared for it to occur any time afterwards. Tapping into ISTJ energy means allowing yourself to have a grounded view of the natural course of life. Taking one day at a time and seeing all of the subtle variance in each particular day gives color to the mundane. Living through ISTJ energy also entails taking ownership of anything you give your word to and following any process to it’s end point without giving up. The ability to show up consistently proves your integrity and the care you have for meeting expectations.

Read This Next: What ISTJs Do When They’re Really Stressed Out

The ISFJ

ISFJs are like the warm cup of coffee you count on every morning to start a pleasant day. The past is a grand friend to the ISFJ, a friend who reminds them of where they’ve come from and its importance in moving forward. ISFJs are often sentimental, kind, and methodical types who prioritize routines and the small pleasures in each moment. Tapping into ISFJ energy means acknowledging the importance of individual moments in time that stand out to you. Perhaps you treasure the day your father took you fishing or the time your friend mailed you a book from across the world. Regardless of what the moments are that make you feel connection, focus on remembering them and being thankful they occurred at all. Alongside this care towards past experience, consider the value in repeating daily practices that consistently grant you a positive return. Honor the knowledge that the actions you take do not have to be different from the norm to be worthwhile.

Read This Next: 10 Characteristics of the ISFJ Child

The ENTJ

ENTJs manage projects with drive and efficiency. A common image they evoke is that of a decisive leader in the boardroom, articulating themselves clearly and directly. To tap into ENTJ energy, determine what you want and envision the clearest route to your end goals. ENTJs know how to accomplish the most with the least effort. To embody this element, strategize potential outcomes before selecting the best road and moving forward with strong motivation and will. Accept that setbacks and obstacles will come with every adventure, but know that your ambition will carry you through so long as you stay the course.

Read This Next: 10 Things ENTJs Look for in a Relationship

The ENTP

ENTPs articulate complex material with enthusiasm. Their imaginative minds link together ideas that seem “random,” but in the end all paint a complete picture, or point. To tap into ENTP energy, focus on the patterns you see evolving around you. How might, for example, a cup of coffee prove relevant to capitalism? How might your deep curiosity about pigeons explain the world around you? It is often in the small things that big ideas emerge. Embodying ENTP energy means trusting that things will make sense as you explore them, but it’s in the exploration itself where the fun is. Honor any pull you have towards novelty and discovery.

You Might Also Like: A Look at the ENTP Leader

The INTJ

INTJs strategize from a vantage point high above their lived experience and know where to direct their efforts for constructive ends from that lens. To tap into INTJ energy, try taking on a birds-eye view of your situation and consider what moves you can make now to produce a better daily experience down the line. Could you, perhaps, build your savings incrementally, work on your novel 30 minutes a day until completion, or plan weekly phone class with people whose relationship you value and want to sustain? The choices we make today will impact our range of choices down the road, either limiting or broadening them. Focus on giving yourself the best possible life with a mind towards the future.

Read This Next: 10 Things That Excite the INTJ

The INTP

INTPs think so critically, they think critically about critical thinking. No piece of truth stands on its own. INTPs know inherently that just as they’ve discovered one truth, another greater truth lies beyond it. To tap into INTP energy, be willing to rethink your positions, especially on topics that matter greatly to you. The best targets for inquiry are your firmly held beliefs because they carry an emotional attachment ripe for unpacking. If you can hone-in on what feels “core” to you, deconstruct it, and still find the belief to be worthy after your assessment, then you have solid ground to stand on. INTPs never stop doing this work, and often come back around to previous conclusions later with a clear frame of mind. This openness to cognitive adjustment and greater alignment allows extensive personal growth.

Read This Next: 10 Things That Excite the INTP Personality Type

The ENFJ

ENFJs engage the public with care and charisma. The ability to motivate and honor the dreams of others is something most people can more than get behind. To tap into ENFJ energy, focus on “what a better life for all people” would look like to you and consider what steps you would need to take to transform this from a vision into reality. This isn’t to say you must take the weight of the world onto your shoulders, but you might take steps to improve your community or one-on-one connections. Does it seem to you that most people are missing kindness in their interactions? Honesty? Clarity? Do you see a need for closer relationships between couples or better education for children? Whatever need stands out to you, take an action towards meeting it. The action might be something seemingly small that goes a long way, like tipping well wherever you go or choosing to be fully present in every conversation you have without looking at your phone or daydreaming while the other person speaks. The benefits of this caring mindset are endless to the people you help. You will benefit from this lens as well, as new regions of your heart bloom open.

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The ENFP

ENFPs excite the imagination and honor the commands of authenticity. Their creativity and levity offer a welcome reprieve from expectation and routine. To tap into ENFP energy, enjoy your unique qualities that set you apart from everyone else. Consider how everyone holds this powerful force of difference within themselves. Witness how these special qualities assert themselves in every layer of life (family, friendships, the workplace, out shopping, while traveling, and so on). Encourage those who see their difference as anything less than valuable with your compassion. Our insecurities often hide in the attributes we feel make us the least “normal” and yet those vulnerable areas are the most deserving of love. ENFPs never shy away from honoring those pieces of another.

Read This Next: Dealing with Emotional Overwhelm as an ENFP

The INFJ

INFJs bring light to the darkness within themselves and others. INFJs do not fear their insecurities, inner horrors, or missteps as these darker shades are all integral to the whole of their personhood. To tap into INFJ energy, forgive yourself for the unconscious choices you made in the past that caused you or another person pain. Unconscious choices (choices we don’t know the full implications or consequences of in the moment) often fuel later regret and yet we often don’t give ourselves the compassion to acknowledge the full range of things we simply don’t know about ourselves. We might not know, for example, that we are manipulative until we are made aware of it. Another approach towards embodying INFJ energy would include honoring the triggers that find their way to you. Rather than suppress the moments that cause explosive emotions, question why those pains arise in you. Find answers. Bring the truth of your pain’s origin into the light, as many INFJs learn to. INFJs are often extremely self-aware. Tapping into their energy may just awaken your inner healer as well.

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The INFP

INFPs articulate their deep, raw, authentic nature onto every crevice they walk upon. Their imagination and heart offer others a clear view of what it means to be human. To tap into INFP energy, look at yourself with eyes of wonder. Wonder is nothing more than a sense of curiosity towards beauty. You, much like beauty, are something that cannot be clearly defined—though we try quite hard to do this in the typology world. Acknowledge your unique depth and find ways to let this out. Perhaps through drawing, photography, embroidery, woodworking, tarot, or some other art form that says more than words can.

You Might Also Like: Dealing with Emotional Overwhelm as an INFP

What Are Your Thoughts?

Did you enjoy this article? Do you have any insights to share with other readers? Let us know in the comments!

Find out more about your personality type in our eBooks, Discovering You: Unlocking the Power of Personality Type,  The INFJ – Understanding the Mystic, The INTJ – Understanding the Strategist, and The INFP – Understanding the Dreamer.

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