24 Signs That You’re an ENFP, the “Visionary” Personality Type

Inspiring, energetic, creative. These three adjectives frequently describe the ENFP personality type, and it’s not hard to see why! Famous ENFPs include people like Oscar Wilde, Anne Frank, Salvador Dali, J.J. Abrams, and even possibly Walt Disney! Today we’re going to explore some of the things you’ll relate to if you’re one of these idealistic types! Let’s get started!

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24 Signs That You’re an ENFP

1. You Are Driven by Possibilities

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney

If you’re an ENFP, chances are you feel hugely inspired by the above quote. You survive and thrive in life by believing in the magic of possibility. Braving new territory, transforming the ordinary, and achieving the as-yet-impossible is what gives you courage and hope to keep going.

2. You Want to Deeply Understand People

You know people are made up of many layers, and you want to get to know people in a raw, authentic way. You care more about authenticity than appropriateness and will make fun of yourself and even be irreverent to create an atmosphere of honesty. You want people to show you their dark side as well as their light side, and you’ll create a safe space for people to do just that.

3. You are Fascinated by the Unconventional

You’re someone who realizes that many ideas and truths are tossed out the window in the name of “tradition” or “playing it safe.” Because of this, your curiosity is piqued when you meet someone who fails to conform to traditional standards. While at the end of the day you may disagree with the non-conformist sometimes, you still enjoy looking at their perspective and getting into their shoes to see what makes them tick. You pride yourself on being open-minded and slow to judge.

4. You’re Unimpressed by Authority or Rules

There’s no quicker way to get under your skin than for someone to “pull rank” or say “because I told you so.” Rules are made to be broken or at least tested. In order for someone to gain your respect, you need to know that you can trust their intentions and motives. A title means next to nothing to you.

5. You are Creative

You see dozens of ways to use everyday items creatively. A tree can become a castle, a rock can become an inspiring work of art. Everything around you is a springboard for new ideas and creative potential.

6. Brainstorming is One Of Your Favorite Pastimes

Bouncing ideas off of creative people gets your heart pumping and can even put you into a state of flow! You enjoy extrapolating possibilities, seeing things from new angles, and generating exciting ideas for the future. This kind of interaction gives you inspiration and juice to keep achieving new things.

7. You Frequently Lose Objects

Because you are so driven by ideas, you can easily lose track of day-to-day details. You probably consistently misplace your keys, wallet, or other useful things. As you walk through your house your mind is so active that you can quickly lose track of where you put things.

8. Focusing On One Project For a Long Time Drains You

When you start a project you often find your mind gathering side-projects and new possibilities at every turn. Because of this, you tend to leave a lot of tasks half-finished or start more projects than you can possibly finish. Having to deny your mind the ability to get distracted with alternate ideas can be very difficult, even painful, for you.

9. You’re Well-Connected

You tend to know a variety of people from many different walks of life. Your enthusiasm and open-mindedness draw people to you, and you may find yourself having “just the right person” for any particular idea, task, or need. If you hone this skill, you can be a master networker – connecting people to others with an insight that is next to none.

10. You Are Persuasive

You tend to instinctively know what people want or need in life. You can sense hidden motivations and desires, and because of this, you know how to play on those motivations to get people in line with your goal or idea.

11. You Tend to be Indecisive

Because you’re more focused on generating options than narrowing them down, it can feel like torture to make a decision. You want to try a little of everything – to experience every possibility under the sun! Everything from choosing an ice cream flavor to choosing a marriage partner can fill you with apprehension.

12. You Beat Yourself Up Over Inadvertently Hurting Others

You’re more of an individualist than someone who goes along with the group, but sometimes you still beat yourself up over social faux pas. You want to do what’s in line with your passions and values, but when you accidentally dismiss the needs or emotions of someone else you can be extremely critical and unforgiving of yourself.

13. You Get Tired of Being “The Sunny One”

Because of your naturally enthusiastic nature, people have come to depend on you for feelings of brightness and possibility. While that can be totally fine some of the time, there are moments when you wonder if your friends really care about you for you. When you’re having a bad day you get tired of people being shocked at it or pushing you to revert to your normal enthusiastic self. Sometimes you just want somebody to sit with you in your pain and not expect anything from you.

14. When You’re Stressed, You Get Tunnel Vision

Normally you’re someone who sees so many options that it’s hard to pick just one. However, when you’re severely stressed you find yourself zeroing in on one task at the expense of all others. You become obsessed with finishing the one thing, and you get abnormally frustrated by interruptions or distractions. During these times it feels like your ability to imagine and be creative is stifled and you suddenly get nitpicky about details that wouldn’t bother you otherwise.

15. You Underestimate How Long Tasks Take to Finish

You enjoy taking on a lot of projects and experiences, but it’s hard for you to guesstimate how long each task will take. You might think you have time to get home, take a shower, run the laundry, and then meet up with a date, only to realize that by the time you’ve gotten home you only have ten minutes to shower and no time to wash the dress you were going to wear.

16. You Use Humor to Protect Yourself

When you feel interrogated or vulnerable, you’ll use sarcasm or witty one-liners to deflect attention away from you. This is especially true if you’re trying to hide something that’s private to you.

17. You Have a Sense of Right and Wrong That Is Hard to Explain

Because your sense of right and wrong isn’t something that is necessarily written down in a book or lauded from the streets, you may not feel comfortable explaining it to everyone. While it’s true that you may agree with certain popularly-held values (“The Golden Rule” or rules from your religion) you also have a gut sense of what your conscience is telling you. You just innately know what is right or wrong to you, and you don’t need to confirm it with outside sources.

18. You Deal Well with Confusion and Chaos

While some types panic in the midst of confusion, you see it as an opportunity to find unconventional solutions. Sorting through an overabundance of ideas and options is how you naturally function anyway. You enjoy sifting through all the possibilities and finding an innovative solution that’s never been tried before.

19. You’re a Daydreamer

“She was always daydreaming. She never wanted to live in the real world; she always seemed to be separated from other children her age. They couldn’t understand her or her imagination. She was always thinking outside of the box, breaking rules, and only following what her heart told her was right.” – Shannon A. Thompson

The above quote perfectly describes the ENFP spirit. Sure, you enjoy living in the real world, but you also have a rich imaginary world and life. You enjoy envisioning future possibilities or events, like what you would do if you were president, a place you’d love to travel, or a dream job or relationship. These daydreams often spark inspiration in you and compel you to try new things!

20. You’re Good at Multi-Tasking

You like having several balls in the air at once. Switching between tasks, having dozens of tabs open on your computer, cooking dinner while dancing to the radio and talking on the phone – these sorts of things keep your creative mind satisfied and stimulated.

21. You Get So Focused On the Future, You Sometimes Miss Out the Present

While your tendency to daydream is comforting and inspiring for you, you often feel that you’re missing out on the now. You can get so fixated on generating possibilities and envisioning future scenarios that you forget to enjoy the reality of what’s happening around you.

22. You Get Extremely Frustrated with Pedantic People

You’re highly skilled at creating options and painting a broad, impressionistic picture of what the future could hold. But when people start breaking apart your ideas because the logic isn’t precise enough it tends to get under your skin. Interruptions from grammar nazis or minor, inconsequential critiques make you irritable and can result in a sarcastic, cynically humorous response.

23. Repetition Drains the Life Out of You

Novelty and transformation are the things your soul deeply craves. Repeating the same tasks, the same lessons, or the same experiences over and over tend to make you feel apathetic and even depressed. This especially frustrated you in school, when you were forced to memorize historical facts, math facts, and rules on a regular basis.

24. You Usually Read Multiple Books at Once

While you may appear to be an energetic extrovert to most people, you actually are more content with alone time than many other extroverts are. You enjoy diving into books, particularly fantasy novels or books about personal growth. However, you rarely read one book fully at a time. You usually have several half-finished books you’re working through at the same time.

What Are Your Thoughts?

Do you relate to these things? Do you disagree with any of them? 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, and The INFP – Understanding the Dreamer. You can also connect with me via Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter!

Other Articles You Might Enjoy:

Dealing with Emotional Overwhelm as an ENFP

A Look at the ENFP Leader

What It Means to be an ENFP Personality Type