Here’s What You Get Impatient About, Based On Your Myers-Briggs® Personality Type

As an MBTI® practitioner, I often get questions about which type is the “most” something. Questions fill my inbox asking “Which personality type is the most rebellious/patient/kind/mean/smart”

I understand these questions, but there’s something intrinsically inaccurate with answering them how the asker wants them to be answered. There is no most or least patient, most or least kind, most or least intelligent personality type. We just have personality types that are more patient about some things than others or show their kindness in different ways than others.

With that in mind, I’m going to explore the way that each of the 16 personality types gets impatient. Because what drives one personality type to eye-rolling and finger-tapping can be comforting, exciting, or simply neither here nor there for a different personality type.

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

Here’s What You Get Impatient About, Based On Your Myers-Briggs® Personality Type

The ENFP – Bureaucracy

When I think of ENFPs I often imagine one of my favorite fictional ENFPs: John Keating in Dead Poets Society. He was an ENFP who was constantly chafing against the bureaucracy of his all-boys preparatory school. He saw the rules and regulations as stifling the creativity and individuality of his students. Instead of teaching his students to memorize the “rules” of poetry, he encouraged them to feel the emotion and experience the power of words.

The ENFP focuses on championing new ideas and seeing the potential in people and situations. They’re bored by routine and motivated by change. So, it’s no surprise that they would get impatient with anything that feels like it’s stifling their creativity or preventing them from reaching their full potential.

Other Things That Make ENFPs Impatient:

• Double-checking their work
• Following social “rules”
• Processing exorbitant amounts of details
• Planning out the moments of their day in detail

Read This Next: 24 Signs That You’re an ENFP, The Visionary Personality Type

The ENTP – Restrictions on Speech

ENTPs are known for their sharp wit and ability to see both sides of every argument. Getting into a proper debate or an intense intellectual discussion is a source of entertainment and joy for them. So, it’s no surprise that they would get impatient with anything that they see as constricting free thought. ENTPs want people to be able to argue, defend, and express themselves – even if they absolutely disagree with what those individuals are saying.

Cancel culture, political correctness, and censorship are all things that ENTPs see as stifling open dialogue and debate. As Evelyn Beatrice Hall said in 1906, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

Other Things That Make ENTPs Impatient:

• Doing things “by the book”
• Being forced to swallow their arguments or objections in order to keep the peace
• Following a prescribed routine
• Being stuck in one place for too long

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

The INFP – Image-Obsessed People

Idealistic and quietly motivated, INFPs dream of a life that is filled with purpose and meaning. They look beyond the tangible markers of success to something more internal. So, it’s no surprise that they would get impatient with those who are always chasing after the next promotion or raise. Humblebragging or flaunting material possessions are also things that can rub INFPs the wrong way. They would much rather spend time with someone who is interested in discussing life’s big questions than someone who is only interested in talking about themselves and the benchmarks they’ve achieved.

Other Things That Make INFPs Impatient:

• Having a lot of social obligations to attend to
• Being forced to swallow their convictions in order to be “respectful” or “fit in”
• Rigid timelines and responsibilities
• Shallow conversation

Read This Next: 26 Memes INFPs Will Relate To

The INTP – Obligatory Social Celebrations

INTPs are the type of people who aren’t necessarily opposed to social gatherings, but they would much rather spend their time engaging in intellectually stimulating conversations than small talk. So, it’s no surprise that they would get impatient with events where they have to awkwardly talk to people they hardly know, listen to bad karaoke, or wonder what social rules they’re breaking. INTPs would much rather spend their time reading a book, working on a new project, or exploring some philosophical idea than attending a mandatory work happy hour or their neighbor’s kid’s birthday party.

Other Things That Make INTPs Impatient:

• Highly emotional situations
• Being forced to swallow their arguments or questions in order to keep the peace
• Too much stimulation
• Being pressured to talk about their feelings before they’re ready

Read This Next: 24 Signs That You’re an INTP, the Prodigy Personality Type

The ENFJ – Conversations That Lack Imagination

ENFJs are one of the more talkative personality types, but there are certain conversations that feel almost painful to them they’re so boring. If there is no room for imagination, exploration, or analysis in a conversation they tend to feel suffocated. Hearing in detail about the construction happening on a nearby street or getting a play-by-play of someone’s weekend grocery shopping trip is enough to make an ENFJ start counting the minutes until they can politely excuse themselves.

Other Things That Make ENFJs Impatient:

• Pessimistic conversation
• Condescending or judgmental tones
• Impersonal, detailed busywork
• Being sedentary for too long

Read This Next: A Look Inside the ENFJ Mind

The ENTJ – A Slow Pace

ENTJs enjoy a fast pace and are highly aware of time and its fleeting nature. After achieving one goal they quickly put another in it’s place and strive for continuous improvement. When people are slowing them down with interruptions, procrastination, or indecisiveness they tend to feel agitated and annoyed. And it’s more than just annoyance, they find themselves confounded by laziness or dawdling. A life without movement and acceleration towards goals seems like a very mundane and empty life to them.

Other Things That Make ENTJs Impatient:

• Indecisiveness
• Procrastination
• Complaining
• Incompetence
• Excuses

Read This Next: 10 Things You’ll Relate to if You’re an ENTJ

The INFJ – Shallowness

INFJs are individuals who crave depth in all the ways that are intangible. Less focused on money than meaning, they want to live a life that aligns with their values, vision, and ideals. They aren’t afraid of the deeper, darker waters of life and enjoy delving into theories and conversations about what life is really all about. While they see the value in small talk or material endeavors; they crave something bigger and more heart-focused. When shallow chit-chat or objects and entertainment are all that people are obsessing over, they can start to feel restless and agitated.

Other Things That Make INFJs Impatient:

• Lack of imagination
• People who don’t consider other perspectives
• An overload of sensory details
• Having to focus on work that has no long-term impact

Read This Next: 24 Signs You’re an INFJ, the Mystic Personality Type

The INTJ – Neediness

Autonomy is one of the highest needs of the INTJ personality types. Getting bombarded with questions, texts, or insecure attempts at validation feel suffocating to them. Self-sufficiency is something these types value not only in themselves, but in others. This isn’t to say that INTJs don’t care about other people. They understand that there will be times when people need empathy and consideration, but if someone has a habit of being emotionally demanding it will tear away at the foundation of their relationship.

Other Things That Make INTJs Impatient:

• Gossip
• Shallowness
• Interruptions
• Social obligations

Read This Next: 24 Signs That You’re an INTJ, the Strategist Personality Type

The ESFP – Pessimism

Everyone gets pessimistic sometimes and some people struggle with depression or anxiety. But there are certain people who just mope about every little thing and assume the worst in any situation. ESFPs quickly tire of people who do nothing but mope about problems they aren’t trying actively to solve.

As action-oriented types, ESFPs are all about taking steps to improve their lives or else simply making the best of whatever opportunities are available in the moment. Embracing the present, maximizing what’s available now, and maintaining a sense of humor are all things that ESFPs value. And while they understand bad moods or depression, when they encounter people who turn first-world problems into enormous dramatic obstacles they can’t help but get irritated.

Other Things That Make ESFPs Impatient:

• Inaction
• Rigidity
• Intellectual snobbery/armchair experts
• Being tied to someone else’s timeline

The ESTP – Armchair Philosophizing

ESTPs are people of action and realism. They relish the experiences of life and often find themselves drawn to people who feel the same. So, when they come across someone who is all talk and no action it can be frustrating. Spending a bunch of time talking about hypothetical possibilities or abstract matters without any experience or real-life expertise to back it up can feel mind-numbing to them. Sure, they understand that philosophical musing has a place. But typically (for ESTPs) it can feel too much like navel-gazing with no apparent purpose.

Other Things That Make ESTPs Impatient:

• Micro-managing
• Inaction
• Moping
• Being roped into someone else’s plans

The ISFP – Humblebragging

Authenticity is one of the ISFP’s core values and something they respect in themselves and others. Someone who comes right out and talks about something they accomplished will be more tolerable than someone who finds more covert ways to get attention. ISFPs would rather have an honest conversation about someone’s accomplishments than listen to them try to drop hints about how great they are. Not only is it annoying, but they’re likely to get some second-hand embarrassment around it.

Other Things That Make ISFPs Impatient:

• Impracticality
• Criticism
• Rigid schedules
• Extensive social obligations

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

The ISTP – Emotional Volatility

ISTPs pride themselves on staying calm in intense situations. When they witness someone flying off the handle at the slightest provocation it can be annoying and amusing at the same time. They understand that everyone has emotions and sometimes those emotions need to be expressed, but they get irritated when emotional outbursts get in the way of honesty or clear-thinking – especially in crisis situations.

Other Things That Make ISTPs Impatient:

• Pointless red-tape and rules
• Extensive social obligations
• Sedentary work
• People who beat around the bush

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

The ESFJ – Insensitivy

ESFJs care about the emotional well-being of the people around them and strive to create harmonious situations. When they invite people over they enjoy friendly conversation, humor, and an overall feeling of ease and personal warmth. They look at the nuance of peoples’ emotional experiences and the context around those experiences. When they’re in a situation with people who are callous or obtuse about the feelings of others it can be grating, embarrassing, and highly stressful for them.

Other Things That Make ESFJs Impatient:

• Lack of concern for details
• Lateness
• Indecisiveness
• Irresponsibility

The ESTJ – Dawdling

ESTJs have a restless urge to accomplish tasks and move onto the next item on their to-do list. When people around them are lollygagging or taking the scenic route they tend to feel annoyed. Time is of the essence to ESTJs, and anything that slows them down on their mission is an irritant unless they’ve made the decision to be in the “free time” block of their daily schedule.

Other Things That Make ESTJs Impatient:

• Incompetence
• Validation-seeking
• Procrastinating
• Disorder and disorganized rambling

The ISFJ – Needless Debate

ISFJs are compassionate people who value cooperation and consensus. They’re usually quick to understand where someone is coming from emotionally and they want to find a resolution that works for everyone. So, when they encounter people who seem intent on starting arguments or needlessly debating every little point, it can be frustrating. ISFJs would rather just move on and get back to the business of living their lives.

Other Things That Make ISFJs Impatient:

• Someone reorganizing their space
• Meanness or condescension
• Impractical conversations
• Tardiness

Read This Next: 24 Signs That You’re an ISFJ, the Protector Personality Type

The ISTJ – Pie-in-the-Sky Ideas

ISTJs are patient people, but they can get impatient when they encounter someone who seems to be living in a fantasy world. They tend to be skeptical of marketing schemes, MLMs, “get rich quick” ideas, or dreams with no basis in reality. This doesn’t mean that ISTJs don’t have big goals or ambitions – they just want to make sure those goals are achievable and that the steps to get there are practical.

Other Things That Make ISTJs Impatient:

• Unclear goals
• Emotional outbursts
• Wishy-washiness
• Irresponsibility
• People who “change the facts”

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

What Are Your Thoughts?

Did you enjoy this article? Do you have any thoughts or perspectives you’d like to share? Let us and other readers 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. You can also connect with me via Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter!