Ever wondered what it means to be an INFJ? Ever wondered how you can know for sure that this is your personality type? Nicknamed “The Mystic,” the INFJ is one of the rarest types in the Myers-Briggs® system. These types are known for their keen insights, warm empathy, and profound insight into human potential. Today we’re going to explore twenty-four things that most INFJs will relate to. Do you relate? Let us know!
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Check out the signs that you’re an INFJ infographic I made below to get a visual interpretation of some of this unique personality type’s characteristics.
24 Signs That You’re an INFJ
#1 – You Are Fascinated by Human Psychology
Nothing thrills you more than digging into theories or ideas about how people think and respond to life. Being able to understand people better is one of your greatest goals in life. You’re naturally eager to learn more about the human mind, human behavior, coping mechanisms, and more. This interest in psychology is one of the reasons that your type is especially drawn to theories like Myers-Briggs® or Enneagram.
#2 – You Enjoy Complexity
Want to know how to tell if you’re an INFJ? How deep and complex do you want your thoughts to go? As an INFJ, the whole world is filled with layers upon layers of meaning. Your goal is to wade past the shallow details of life and dive deep into the true meaning of life itself. You view life as if you’re standing on a precipice, looking down, wanting to see how things connect and unfold.
#3 – You Are Deeply Empathic
You tend to absorb the feelings and emotions of the people around you. It’s not hard for you to shift perspectives and imagine how many different people would feel about something. This empathy can be both a blessing and a curse. At times, it can help you to form authentic bonds and counsel effectively. At other times, it can feel overwhelming and burdensome – especially if you can’t differentiate other people’s feelings from your own
#4 – Learning Is Your Drug of Choice
You seek wisdom more than nearly anything and are always probing for more information about abstract topics and ideas. You may quickly forget facts, but you desire constant self-improvement and increased understanding. Taking classes is one of your favorite leisure time activities, and non-fiction books probably fill your shelves.
#5 – You Connect with People One-on-One Rather Than in Large Groups
When there are a lot of people all around you, it’s difficult for you to focus deeply on one individual. You like to get away to a quiet setting where you can really concentrate. You crave depth over breadth, so you enjoy intimate conversations where a deeper level of understanding and authenticity can be reached.
#6 –You Can Be Hard to Get to Know
While you might seem emotionally warm and expressive on the outside, your biggest dreams and ideas in life are often held inside where you guard them carefully. Often this results from a childhood where you were chastised for having “outlandish” or “unrealistic” views. This can also happen because it’s difficult for you to verbalize intuitions that are often rich, nuanced, and complex. Your ideas and insights can be shocking, non-conformist, or so abstract that people can’t figure out what to do with them. As a result, you’ve often learned to internalize them rather than express them outright.
#7 You Withdraw to Protect Yourself
Because you take on the emotions and cares of the people around you so readily, you are easily hurt or affected by the pain of others. You may go through bouts of socializing only to disappear for great lengths of time so that you can handle all the emotional disruption that you’ve received from the outside world.
#8 – You Quickly See Other People’s Intentions
Because you’re more interested in the background reasons why people say or do what they do, you can quickly discover what their hidden intentions are. To you, the motives and intentions are always more evident than what is on the surface. Because of this, you often notice good or evil intent before even the person you’re speaking to is aware of it.
#9 You Are a Quiet Cheerleader to Your Friends
You enjoy motivating people to be their best selves through gentle, consistent praise and approval. You are highly sensitive in how you handle other people’s feelings and are slow to criticize or micro-manage. You feel that the best way to get someone to do something is to inspire them from the inside rather than push them from the outside.
#10 You Despise Interpersonal Conflict
You enjoy being in harmonious, peaceful environments and find places of conflict and criticism highly stressful. While some types can compartmentalize conflict or even enjoy a certain amount of volatility and debate, you find yourself deeply stressed and troubled by it. Even hours after the conflict has ended you find yourself sorting through what happened in your mind and trying to make sense of it or trying to make sure that everyone you care about is okay. One of the hardships of having your type is that you can sense other people’s feelings so easily that conflict situations can make you confused. You find yourself empathizing with everyone rather than holding your ground on how you feel. You may give in or rush to get past the conflict only to realize you should have stood up for yourself more.
#11You Can Be Hot and Cold When it Comes to Affection
You enjoy a warm hug from your partner or a good friend, but not always. If you’re “peopled-out” from socializing or you’re stressed, you tend to want space both physically and emotionally. Typologist and psychologist David Keirsey states of INFJs, “They tend to be physically affectionate, but wish to choose when – which is when they are in the mood – and such a hot and cold style may be quite confusing to their mate.”
#12 – You Often Wind Up in the Role of Counselor
Because of your intuitive, empathic nature, many people find themselves confiding their deepest secrets to you. You often find yourself advising siblings, friends, or even adult family members as they go through hardships. While some types might hate this role, it actually makes you feel fulfilled because you’re able to tap into your intuitive and feeling sides at the same time. You often feel it’s your duty to improve the lives of others.
#13 – You See Two People in Everyone
You rarely take anything, or anyone, at face value. You easily see people’s public personas, their outer shells, but more than anything, you’re looking for the core of the individual. You want to apprehend their motivations, intentions, struggles, and yearnings.
#14 – You Have a Vivid, Playful Inner World
While on the outside you might seem serious and studious, on the inside you have a lush, imaginative, playful inner world. Your thoughts are often mischievous, humorous, controversial, irreverent, and even daring. You love playing with ideas, images, symbols, connections, theories, metaphors, and possibilities. You can find more ways to get in touch with your intuition in this article: How to Strengthen Your Intuition (Your INFJ Superpower)
#15 – You Don’t See Events as “Stand Alone” Incidents
When something happens, you instantly connect it with any other related incidents and then map the incident forward, seeing how it will progress. Your goal is to see the ripple effects of current experiences and actions. Every ripple is connected to another ripple and then one core event. Every ripple spans out and affects other things. Because of this, you often see the consequences of various actions simultaneously with the action itself.
#16 – You Are Deeply Connected With Your Dreams
Your mind is constantly synthesizing unconscious information and trying to decode hidden meanings and abstract concepts. A.J. Drenth from Personality Junkie states in The 16 Personality Types: Profiles, Theory, & Type Development that, “Because Ni affords INFJs a more intimate relationship with the workings of what most people call the subconscious mind, INFJs’ routine existence often assumes a sort of dreamlike quality. For INFJs, there is less of a distinction between their ordinary waking state and the experience of sleep. At times, this can make it difficult to separate dream from reality, making nightmares all the more disturbing for this type.”
#17 – When You’re Stressed, You Crave Sensory Overload or Escapism
In moments of extreme stress, you tend to say “Screw it!” to the world and all your restraint. You want to binge eat an entire pizza, spend all the money in your wallet, buy a last-minute ticket to a far-off location, or pick a fight with someone just to get a rush. Sometimes you channel this restless energy into something productive like cleaning frantically, exercising hard, or singing at the top of your lungs while you dance alone in your room. You can find out more about INFJs and stress here: Understanding INFJ “Grip” Stress
#18 – You Can Struggle to Make Sense of Your Own Emotions
Because your mind relies on a function called Extraverted Feeling (Fe), you tend to detect outer emotions more quickly than your inner feelings. It’s easy for you to understand outwardly expressed emotions because this is one of the skills of Extraverted Feeling. However, understanding your own internalized emotions is a bit trickier. This is because you tend to process your inner thoughts and feelings through Introverted Thinking (Ti). Inwardly, you’ll try to analyze the logic of your feelings more than really trusting them. You tend to get stuck in analysis-paralysis when it comes to your inner feelings. Because you’re using Thinking to process them, it’s like trying to chop a vegetable with a spoon instead of a knife. You’re usually able to process your feelings much more easily if you can verbalize them or write them down and read them out-loud back to yourself. This allows Extraverted Feeling to do its work!
#19 – You Are Desperately Bored By Small Talk
You know a certain amount of small talk is an integral part of getting to know someone. After all, you can’t really start a conversation with a “So what’s the meaning of your life?” line. However, prolonged small talk or conversation relating to surface-level details tends to leave you desperately bored. You want your conversations to have a point or some meaning beyond the day-to-day. Profound discussions about concepts and psychology or raw discussions about relationships are always preferable.
#20 – You Get Overwhelmed by Details
Because Extraverted Sensation (Se) is your inferior function, you tend to get flustered by a lot of sensory details in your environment. Loud noise, bright lights, or having to track a bunch of moving parts all tend to make you feel anxious and tense.
#21 – You Have a Knack for Interpreting
You are talented at explaining to others what people mean or what their intentions really are. This makes you an excellent peacemaker or diplomat – rather than jumping to conclusions or taking immediate offense, you tend to listen in a nuanced, understanding way. You can help two opposing sides see where their intentions or goals align.
#22 – You Crave Enlightenment
You are highly driven to understand the spiritual and metaphysical world. You enjoy helping people to grow and develop and get in touch with their purpose in life. Like rumored INFJ Mahatma Gandhi, you believe “There is force in the universe, which, if we permit it, will flow through us and produce miraculous results.”
#23 – You Hate Generalizations
Because you have tertiary Introverted Thinking (Ti) and dominant Introverted Intuition (Ni) you tend to see many nuances in people’s perspectives and logic. When people make sweeping generalizations it disrupts your Introverted Thinking side, and when people fail to see the perspectives of other people it disrupts your intuitive and feeling side. Not sure what these cognitive functions are (Ti or Ni)? Check out the Mind of the INFJ here.
#24 – You Always Wonder, “What Does This Really Mean?”
Because you’re more concerned with why something happens than how it happens, you are always trying to look behind-the-scenes. Like a detective, you’re constantly scanning for clues or hidden secrets that would explain something or someone in a deeper, more profound way.
“The INFJ – Understanding the Mystic is so insightful and has helped me to understand myelf SO much better. Susan packs the book with so many useful tips and it has helped me to understand my stress levels better, my relationship with my ISTJ husband, and what I need as a mom to my three kids. I’m so glad I have this book in my life!”– Arlysse McKinney
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Susan Storm is a certified MBTI® practitioner and Enneagram coach. She is the mom of five beautiful children and loves using her knowledge of personality type to understand them and others better!
Susan has written over 1,000 articles about typology as well as four books including: Discovering You: Unlocking the Power of Personality Type, The INFJ: Understanding the Mystic, The INTJ: Understanding the Strategist, and The INFP: Understanding the Dreamer.
Alongside her writing, Susan has collaborated with Personality Hacker, Introvert, Dear, Joyce Meng, The British Association of Psychological Type, and The Association for Psychological Type International. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Sun, and Yahoo! Lifestyle.
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102 Comments
I relate to every point…and I’ve tried starting conversations with what’s the meaning of life…hmm didn’t work. As a life coach one of my strengths is linking disparate stories or concepts together and often get feedback of wow I didn’t see how they went together. I have found this site so helpful. Ennea 2w1. Tritype 2,5,1. Myers has added a helpful level to my self understanding
A great read. I was recommended to follow you by a friend and I’m happy I did. It’s quite difficult, as an INFJ, to find people or writing that I can actually relate to. Even lists like “These 12 Things Mean You’re an INFJ!” can often be lacking or miss the mark.
The point about seeking out sensory overload or escapism when stressed was one thing I was hoping to read more about, as this is an area that I really want to understand more and work on.
Thank you for your articles.
I have not read them all yet, but they are very much appreciated.
Kind Regards,
-Jen
As an INFJ I have no quams about not answering the phone when I NEED solitude from the ‘noise’ either inner OR outer. Being in a state of ‘overload’ for an INFJ is beyond serious.
I related to a lot if not most of these. I felt like it was describing me to a t . Glad to know that there are others like me and understand . Thank you for these newsletters. I am 69 years and still learning .
Every single point I can relate to. I am an INFJ through and through! I am proud of it as well! Thank you for enlightening me and helping me understand why I am the way I am. I read all of your articles not just about my personality type but others because I am interested in learning about other personality types and perhaps better insights in relating to others… Please keep writing because I find it all fascinating!! Thank you for helping me understand my unique personality type and helping me embrace and love me for who I am!
Yup. You nailed me. Each one. To a T. I’m glad to hear about the challenge with emotions. Chopping with a spoon! Funny. I do try my darndest to think them through. I’m going to try the suggestion of writing them then reading them back.
Thanks I appreciated this.
Best infj article ever! I’ve taken the mbti test at least 15 times and gotten infj result 10 of those times. I have been searching lately. This helps me know for sure that I’m infj. It’s SO extremely accurate for me. Thank you!!
I am an INFJ-A and this is the most accurate description of me I even came across! I actually just became aware how bad I am at articulating myself this past year. This is great for INFJs having trouble understanding their internal feelings and I am going to use it as a tool to help better my strengths. Thank you so much Susan!
What if all these points describe me perfectly? How can i get myself aligned more to physical or materialistic world ? Any suggestions for taking benefit out of these qualities..
I don’t understand myself when I did personality test there I got INFJ but in real nothing is on my way, you know. I mean sometimes I think it is and sometimes I don’t. How I act I am just confused myself all the time. I mean how can I? I read all that 16 traits of personality but none of them is common on my act. What should I do??
The worst part of it when others don’t see something that we do and share it; they usually think we’re out of our minds. As time goes by, what we said comes to froition. Others have said that we always want to be right. That’s not entirely true..we don’t WANT that, we SEE IT. And there’s nothing we can do about it except shut it down, which is not good to do.
100% true. As an INFJ who is an Enneagram 9/1 it is so helpful from time to time to remind myself I’m not crazy there are others like me out there and I do make sense Some small points in several of these were new info or a new twist. A couple of these are the bane of my existence. I work with people everyday, but when they don’t want to go beyond the surface EVER it take so much out of me. And getting stuck in trying to think through my feelings with Ti instead of “feeling” them in never adequate. And then being out logiced by my wife who is a Te is always an interesting quagmire. Do .you ever have trouble finding a counselor to work through those deep feelings with? I find myself having to be my own.
I found a psychotherapist that can out logic me and it is brilliant. Plus they don’t take it personally if I get grumbly or petulant before coming to this realization. Sometimes I have to remind myself to really talk through thoughts and concepts so that they can hear my feelings within those. I find it hard to just state how I feel without adding objectivity, empathy, etc. So, telling the “story” or being detailed actually is helpful for them to help me hear my feelings when they come out in the things I’m discussing.
Hope this helps!
All of them are really true for me but I’m supposedly an infp, and I agree that I am prospecting according to the definition. Therefore I think this list could also apply to infp’s
Psychology is originally biased against men in business, to get their profits guilt free. Label as narcissist without empathy, take their stuff. Dehumanization propaganda, how people get thrown in ovens. Psychology is not science, but observation)confirmation/affirmation bias on steroids. Narcissists, sociopaths, and psychopaths study psychology for supply. Crazy the lot. Low IQ
Sorry for whatever happened and why you feel so much discord.
All I hear in this comment is your bitterness about something.
*shrugs*
Layers. Amirite fellow INFJ’s?
This is hands down, the BEST description I have read. I checked every box on the list, and there are many times when sites get it wrong. This actually made me feel better about being an INFJ, so thank you.
You are a true wizard ! Your subconsciousness shapes our reality. You are the master of the souls! The guardian of the spirits! The Mystical being! Jokes aside, in order to become the best humans, our personalities must change so that we are perfectly balanced and can adapt to any situation. If you’re an introvert, you should work on becoming more extrovert. If you’re talkative, you should work on becoming more silent. You need to be able to be opposing polarities, and not just your innate predominant polarity. This does not mean being boring and non-mystical, it means being boring and non-mystical at times, and fun and mystical at other times, depending on the current status of the environment and expectations for the future status of the environment. When you become “mystical,” it becomes boring after a bit, cuz you get used to it. In some occasions being mystical is just useless, like when you eat food, you just eat food and get it done. At that point, you need to do regular, non-mystical stuff and habits, so that your body empties out of too much “mysticality” and fills with “regularity” to find a balance to adapt to th situation. When you reach the balance, you fill your body with “regularity,” mysticality can once again become interesting, become a desire, and at that point you can be mystical again and happy. Don’t get lost in your thoughts, it overcomplicates things. I can tell this from personal experience. If you’re this “mystical type,” focus on becoming non-mystical, cuz u’ll never stop being mystical, but u can’t be non-mystical without practice. Better to be both, you’re more complete then. God bless me.
Thank you so much for the tip on writing feelings! I tested ENFJ but as I was answering the questions on being socially outgoing I felt they were just forced learned behaviors, vs intrinsic. Reading this confirmed that. I also was laughing this is me to a T. Very insightful, helpful article.
I am speechless. I identify with every listing. I have searched for such a long time to find something that explains how I exist. Wonderful information.
Ty.
Greatly appreciate your insightful analysis and posts regarding various MB personality tendencies.
I am rather inspired, actually. I will build a response grid of certain factors based on these articles, as I found many interesting convergences between what would be considered strongly disparate types. As well, I found myself responding with clarity to the “why’s” and “when’s” behind shifts that have consciously occured in my life, over time, between traits and functions.
I’ll share it with you when I’m done, if you’re interested, for your own analysis and usage as you see fit for your blog.
I felt like I had woken up for the first time when I realised I am an INFJ. So much made sense and I had complete understanding of myself and my environment. I really enjoy learning more about myself and I love the journey.
Thank you for this list — I love it so much! Aside from 3-4 items that ranked “Sorta,” these thing nailed me. I took the official test 30+ years ago but didn’t pay much attention to it then. 15+ years ago I started learning the Enneagram and have only recently begun to better understand the INFJ material. I’m an Enneagram Seven, which is rare for INFJs, but the INFJ stuff explains a bunch of things that being a Seven doesn’t account for. I’m obsessed with psychology, and I tell people that my purpose in life is to help other people find their purpose in life! Classic, textbook INFJ. So, again I thank you for this great information.
I have tested INFJ lots of times and reading this article I was like, yes yes yes yes yes and yes. I relate to pretty much all these things. Whenever I’m stressed or need to identify my feelings, I need to spend time alone with low sensory atmosphere. If I’m ever to a high stress point I need to get alone in nature and just breathe and live in the moment and take in everything(that’s where the extroverted sensing comes every once in a while). This is such a good article and website. I would also like to say that I took the Infp infj isfp or isfj quiz that you made and it was very helpful.
Am I an infj if I am this empathetic but I am not as organized and planning. I don’t feel like I lead with a judging function nor like a have strong inner moral compass>< but My plans are kinda loose and pretty flexible
This is the best description of INFJ I have ever read. Almost every point registered with me. # 15 made me chuckle. A friend’s 16 year old son had the habit of leaving his glass or dish on the coffee table after he was finished snacking. Off he went. Each time his mom asked him later, “Are those your dishes on the table?” (She knew very well it was so. It came out as sarcasm.) He then reluctantly would pick them up and deposit them in the sink. This happened on a daily basis and so she was constantly stressed over ‘having to pick up after him.’ She was complaining to me. “Right speech; wrong audience” I said. “There’s a better way to handle it. You are seeing it as isolated incidences rather than as pattern of his expectation that someone else will always serve him. Let your mind go forward and think of him as a guest in a friend’s home or living in a college dorm or married— when nobody is going to be willing to indulge him.” She asked me talk with him. When the time was right I did. I never told her what we said, but the result was he not only picked up his dishes from then on, he put them in the dishwasher. And without nagging, he pitched in willingly. (Ten years later she still asks about that conversation. My lips are sealed. The young man wrote a card to me a few years later expressing his appreciation for “opening my eyes in a gentle way…”.)
My point is, as an INFJ, I was looking down the road, as usual. Tendencies, probable outcomes, consequences always figure in to how I see things, especially if someone asks for help, ideas or advice.
i was questioning whether or not my typing was accurate, seeing as i do wish to help people, but i rarely act on it. knowing that i relate to all of these, i fully understand what it means to be me. thank you, thank you, thank you!
I most def are an INFJ, I am extremely sensitive & I hate hurting people’s feelings. I have had people in the shops & on the streets stop & talk to me about their problems & I have never met them.
I never tell people my problems as they tell me I’m stupid so I just pretend everything is ok
I have never read a page that describes my thought processing this accurately. It’s almost scary. Normally with other articles I’ll notice a contradiction or feel that they’re making generalizations (and many of those don’t apply to myself) but whoa… I’m flabbergasted. In a good way. I wasn’t expecting to end up an INFJ when I started this journey and up until now I was still quite wary of the label: it can’t be me, right? After all, Ni is such an unconscious process I was convinced it must be lower in my function stack. But maybe that’s the thing; It’s my default setting that’s always operating and therefore, I am not even aware of it as much as I am of Ti. If anything, taking the site test which linked to this I don’t think I’ve ever felt more understood. This is the only atticle where I can relate to every point and not just to some degree–And that’s the weird thing. So many articles talk about how the INFJ longs to be understood and that’s… not something I relate to all that much. It’s more that I long for OTHER PEOPLE to understand each other and because many are so self centered they lack that ability. That’s where I feel misunderstood–the loner who can logically see all sides–the friend people are skeptical of because they take my advice so seriously they don’t want to be wrong. If I am an INFJ, which I am beginning to believe is true, then many information out there is incredibly misguided, out right wrong, and that pains in a way I can’t describe. People could be taking advice that could cognitively heed their development.
What you’ve said is so accurate! It feels like finally someone has understood or realized my complex thought processes and personality type. I wish all those who know me could read this. Yes, i really hate small talks and look for deeper meanings. I tend to like complexity while at the same time, strives hard to understand it.
I am glad someone described the all me in an article.
I think we need this kind of information so that we don’t hate ourselves when we are different from others.
I was working on myself to be like others as I have always been mocked of dwelling in pointless issues.
Abstract ideas are usually rejected by society yet its how we get to understand existence itself.
I always didn’t want to just nod at everything said to me, I looked for the truth myself even when everyone else is agreed and moved on.
Making money is the only sensible thing to do these days.
I am so grateful for finding this. I have never read something that describes me so well. It is scary how accurate it is.
I agree with many of the older comments. I, too, wish all the people that I know could read this. I’ve been conditioned to think that something is wrong with me. I now think of my personality type as empowering, especially after reading this article. Thank you.
Yep, I see a few ahead of me who said the same thing. Many parts in here where I just said to myself, ‘whoa! Holy crap, thats me!’ Stressed by too much interaction but loving projecting my empathy when its needed.
I’m going to save this one somewhere.
When I first meet someone I become very absorbed in their presence, so much so that, although I hear their name being spoken, I can’t concentrate on it and I am aware of it disappearing from my consciousness.
I’ve taken the test several times and I end up with INFJ-T. Thanks for the article. It does confirm most of who I am. It is a blessing and a curse. It can also br very lonely. I really do wish I could have more intellectual conversations with others. Yes people tell me things they wonder why they do. I never use it against them and hate people who spill about others. Trust and confidentiality is key.
This is me 100% of the time . Empathic, intuitive, addicted to learning. I love that it’s considered a rare type, I’ve always felt insecure about being so different from others, and going so deep all the time. 🤪 Can’t help myself. INFJ all the way.
You are very correct. It is indeed sort of a lonely part except if you have a good family. I really can’t join a conversation of things like ‘what happened yesterday, what I ate this morning’ no matter how hard I tried because I felt it had no meaning. Therefore, I’ve stopped forcing myself.
Yes! Yes Yes Yes a thousand times Yes!
Thank you. I’ve tried to explain this to my husband (ENTP) and now have simply emailed him this. I thank the lord daily to have been raised by parents who seemed to be similar and understood; they allowed me to grow in my own time and in my own way, and it helped that I was raised in a tiny rural village. The world opened wide for me when we moved to one of the nation’s largest cities (I grew in other wonderful ways), but the stresses I felt caused me to wonder “What’s wrong with me?” Elaine Aron’s “Highly Sensitive Person” helped and so did taking the Myers-Briggs. Now, living rural again, and with enough time, I feel like I *finally* FULLY love the specialness of the rare INFJ. And, it’s enough that *I* love and accept myself; befriending myself for all the wonderful aspects that are me has pushed loneliness into the distance.
I can relate with a lot of this stuff, however it seems that in my quest to find someone who is “drift compatible” (Pacific Rim concept) I have come up short. I’ve been in many INFJ groups but never really hit it off with one. I am a conservative Christian and I don’t like ambiguity; at the same time I’m a mystic who experiences synchronicity, 11-11, intuition, and lucid dreams. I think there is some validity to astrology as well… but to God be the glory! This is where New Agers fall short, getting the cart in front of the horse.
Hi Quentin,
My husband and I are both INFJ. God put us together. God gave me a knowing, that I would be a happy woman but I would have to wait for it long time for it. My life is getting better as I age. My heart is much lighter. Ask God for your companion. My husband and I both did. God had my husband planned for me from the time I was 8. It actually was from when I was born, knowing God it was probably before. I’m sending you love and support! Do ask God if you want results, and figure out how being the REAL you will help you not waste your time. Thank you for listening.
Wow, wow I’m so impressed by how vividly this piece of information describes me. I can relate to everything mentioned here and usually I feel misunderstood. But after reading this, I feel much better and I know I’m not the only strange person. Thank you 🙏😊
Absolutely amazing! Totally me–from head to toe, inside & out! All of the 24 points touched my heart, mind and/or soul! I couldn’t have designed a better profile of myself than what is presented here in the article. Thank you Susan Storm for this excellent piece that has brought me such peace–so good to know why I am the way I am and, being the rarest personality type, why I have never really found satisfying-enough compatibility in/with others (except for young children). Thankful to the Lord Almighty though that I have always been “happy in my own skin”, love my own company to the degree that I can survive on my own (if need be) and continue to possess an optimism & enthusiasm that has glided me through a life & a world that have frankly been too cold, too harsh, too loud, too inhumane, etc. etc. for my liking! Finally, I thank God that I am an INFJ–I wouldn’t want it any other way!!! 😊😊😊
I’m positive for all but two. Those two I had some difficulty understanding. I don’t see the intentions of romantic partners as well as one thinks I should. I’m impulsive about seeing someone in need as in a street person at a light whom I decide needs some cash. I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to make sure that I’m aware of both sides of an issue. Most people have no idea whatsoever that I’m thinking of anything other that what’s in front of me. I am cold and hot and I can understand why someone wouldn’t like me. What I don’t understand is why they don’t look deeper.
Almost everything in this article resonates heavily with me, but the glaring exception is number 11. I’m ALWAYS happy to get affection from my significant other, and I feel like quality time with her recharges me far better than true alone time. Everything else is spot on, but I can’t even conceive of not wanting affection at any given time.
I’m really grateful for this article; it really helped me a lot in realizing who I am and knowing that there’s really nothing wrong with me.
Great- I relate with everything in this article and I’m just overwhelmed at how they continue to describe me…
I relate to every point…and I’ve tried starting conversations with what’s the meaning of life…hmm didn’t work. As a life coach one of my strengths is linking disparate stories or concepts together and often get feedback of wow I didn’t see how they went together. I have found this site so helpful. Ennea 2w1. Tritype 2,5,1. Myers has added a helpful level to my self understanding
A great read. I was recommended to follow you by a friend and I’m happy I did. It’s quite difficult, as an INFJ, to find people or writing that I can actually relate to. Even lists like “These 12 Things Mean You’re an INFJ!” can often be lacking or miss the mark.
The point about seeking out sensory overload or escapism when stressed was one thing I was hoping to read more about, as this is an area that I really want to understand more and work on.
Thank you for your articles.
I have not read them all yet, but they are very much appreciated.
Kind Regards,
-Jen
As an INFJ I have no quams about not answering the phone when I NEED solitude from the ‘noise’ either inner OR outer. Being in a state of ‘overload’ for an INFJ is beyond serious.
I related to a lot if not most of these. I felt like it was describing me to a t . Glad to know that there are others like me and understand . Thank you for these newsletters. I am 69 years and still learning .
I’m an enfp and I relate to all of these. What gives?
This is amazing and every single detail relates and I’m enjoying reading this blog and thank you so much for every single word… ❤️
Spot on with all 24. I think I might have found my personality type
I’m glad this helped!! Thanks for reading 🙂
Every single point I can relate to. I am an INFJ through and through! I am proud of it as well! Thank you for enlightening me and helping me understand why I am the way I am. I read all of your articles not just about my personality type but others because I am interested in learning about other personality types and perhaps better insights in relating to others… Please keep writing because I find it all fascinating!! Thank you for helping me understand my unique personality type and helping me embrace and love me for who I am!
Thank you for this! This is a very insightful and excellent analysis of the INFJs internal landscape.
One of the best analysis of the INFJ personality I have ever encounterd. A colossal Thank You!!!
Am not really sure if am INFj but 65% of the traits
Relate to me
Yup. You nailed me. Each one. To a T. I’m glad to hear about the challenge with emotions. Chopping with a spoon! Funny. I do try my darndest to think them through. I’m going to try the suggestion of writing them then reading them back.
Thanks I appreciated this.
Best infj article ever! I’ve taken the mbti test at least 15 times and gotten infj result 10 of those times. I have been searching lately. This helps me know for sure that I’m infj. It’s SO extremely accurate for me. Thank you!!
This article is spot on… I related to everything
I fit with everyone of these… makes perfect sense. Thanks for the article.
This is me 100%.
I am an INFJ-A and this is the most accurate description of me I even came across! I actually just became aware how bad I am at articulating myself this past year. This is great for INFJs having trouble understanding their internal feelings and I am going to use it as a tool to help better my strengths. Thank you so much Susan!
At last something to analyze myself and answer to most of my thoughts and actions
Thanks.. I related to all of these.. INJF co firmed lol.
What if all these points describe me perfectly? How can i get myself aligned more to physical or materialistic world ? Any suggestions for taking benefit out of these qualities..
I don’t understand myself when I did personality test there I got INFJ but in real nothing is on my way, you know. I mean sometimes I think it is and sometimes I don’t. How I act I am just confused myself all the time. I mean how can I? I read all that 16 traits of personality but none of them is common on my act. What should I do??
It was treat to read this.i feel so many signs r common here
This is all so true…I am actually smiling right now because it’s all sooo true
Same here????
The worst part of it when others don’t see something that we do and share it; they usually think we’re out of our minds. As time goes by, what we said comes to froition. Others have said that we always want to be right. That’s not entirely true..we don’t WANT that, we SEE IT. And there’s nothing we can do about it except shut it down, which is not good to do.
Facts!!! I feel so understood and validated by this comment. Thank you.
Totally the same mood lol
Amazing! This wraps up all the infj personality type characteristics.
Even when I had done the personality test, I had got infj. Only thinking how I could progress my ‘mystic’ personality to its best? ????
Yes, I agree! I need to let my husband read this so he’s less hurt by my need for space at the end of a busy day.
100% true. As an INFJ who is an Enneagram 9/1 it is so helpful from time to time to remind myself I’m not crazy there are others like me out there and I do make sense Some small points in several of these were new info or a new twist. A couple of these are the bane of my existence. I work with people everyday, but when they don’t want to go beyond the surface EVER it take so much out of me. And getting stuck in trying to think through my feelings with Ti instead of “feeling” them in never adequate. And then being out logiced by my wife who is a Te is always an interesting quagmire. Do .you ever have trouble finding a counselor to work through those deep feelings with? I find myself having to be my own.
I found a psychotherapist that can out logic me and it is brilliant. Plus they don’t take it personally if I get grumbly or petulant before coming to this realization. Sometimes I have to remind myself to really talk through thoughts and concepts so that they can hear my feelings within those. I find it hard to just state how I feel without adding objectivity, empathy, etc. So, telling the “story” or being detailed actually is helpful for them to help me hear my feelings when they come out in the things I’m discussing.
Hope this helps!
All of them are really true for me but I’m supposedly an infp, and I agree that I am prospecting according to the definition. Therefore I think this list could also apply to infp’s
I can relate to all of these points. It actually felt nice to know why people didn’t understand me for all these years. Thanks
Psychology is originally biased against men in business, to get their profits guilt free. Label as narcissist without empathy, take their stuff. Dehumanization propaganda, how people get thrown in ovens. Psychology is not science, but observation)confirmation/affirmation bias on steroids. Narcissists, sociopaths, and psychopaths study psychology for supply. Crazy the lot. Low IQ
Sorry for whatever happened and why you feel so much discord.
All I hear in this comment is your bitterness about something.
*shrugs*
Layers. Amirite fellow INFJ’s?
This is same as being a hsp dude.. highly sensitive person. …
So, so true for this INFJ personality.
This is hands down, the BEST description I have read. I checked every box on the list, and there are many times when sites get it wrong. This actually made me feel better about being an INFJ, so thank you.
You are a true wizard ! Your subconsciousness shapes our reality. You are the master of the souls! The guardian of the spirits! The Mystical being! Jokes aside, in order to become the best humans, our personalities must change so that we are perfectly balanced and can adapt to any situation. If you’re an introvert, you should work on becoming more extrovert. If you’re talkative, you should work on becoming more silent. You need to be able to be opposing polarities, and not just your innate predominant polarity. This does not mean being boring and non-mystical, it means being boring and non-mystical at times, and fun and mystical at other times, depending on the current status of the environment and expectations for the future status of the environment. When you become “mystical,” it becomes boring after a bit, cuz you get used to it. In some occasions being mystical is just useless, like when you eat food, you just eat food and get it done. At that point, you need to do regular, non-mystical stuff and habits, so that your body empties out of too much “mysticality” and fills with “regularity” to find a balance to adapt to th situation. When you reach the balance, you fill your body with “regularity,” mysticality can once again become interesting, become a desire, and at that point you can be mystical again and happy. Don’t get lost in your thoughts, it overcomplicates things. I can tell this from personal experience. If you’re this “mystical type,” focus on becoming non-mystical, cuz u’ll never stop being mystical, but u can’t be non-mystical without practice. Better to be both, you’re more complete then. God bless me.
Holy crap this is me!!!! I’ve been studying the system for 5+ years and never could figure out my type for sure, but this fits like a glove.
I can easily relate to all 24 points.
This is, for me, a true picture. Happy to have read this! ????????.
THIS IS AN AMAZING DISCOVERY, I HAVE SEEN MY PERFECT PICTURE.
HHHMMM, THANK YOU.
Thank you so much for the tip on writing feelings! I tested ENFJ but as I was answering the questions on being socially outgoing I felt they were just forced learned behaviors, vs intrinsic. Reading this confirmed that. I also was laughing this is me to a T. Very insightful, helpful article.
Yes, this is scarily accurate. I fit all 24 of these descriptors.
I am speechless. I identify with every listing. I have searched for such a long time to find something that explains how I exist. Wonderful information.
Ty.
Hope people understand me like this article does ☺️☺️. You’re typically describing me!
Loll this could not have described me more. Literally to a T.
Now I know how to describe myself in a simple manner. Thank you????
Hi Susan.
Greatly appreciate your insightful analysis and posts regarding various MB personality tendencies.
I am rather inspired, actually. I will build a response grid of certain factors based on these articles, as I found many interesting convergences between what would be considered strongly disparate types. As well, I found myself responding with clarity to the “why’s” and “when’s” behind shifts that have consciously occured in my life, over time, between traits and functions.
I’ll share it with you when I’m done, if you’re interested, for your own analysis and usage as you see fit for your blog.
Thanks for this tool. It is beautiful.
Very best,
/sjb
Yesss
YES! it’s like you understand me.
I felt like I had woken up for the first time when I realised I am an INFJ. So much made sense and I had complete understanding of myself and my environment. I really enjoy learning more about myself and I love the journey.
Thank you for this list — I love it so much! Aside from 3-4 items that ranked “Sorta,” these thing nailed me. I took the official test 30+ years ago but didn’t pay much attention to it then. 15+ years ago I started learning the Enneagram and have only recently begun to better understand the INFJ material. I’m an Enneagram Seven, which is rare for INFJs, but the INFJ stuff explains a bunch of things that being a Seven doesn’t account for. I’m obsessed with psychology, and I tell people that my purpose in life is to help other people find their purpose in life! Classic, textbook INFJ. So, again I thank you for this great information.
I have tested INFJ lots of times and reading this article I was like, yes yes yes yes yes and yes. I relate to pretty much all these things. Whenever I’m stressed or need to identify my feelings, I need to spend time alone with low sensory atmosphere. If I’m ever to a high stress point I need to get alone in nature and just breathe and live in the moment and take in everything(that’s where the extroverted sensing comes every once in a while). This is such a good article and website. I would also like to say that I took the Infp infj isfp or isfj quiz that you made and it was very helpful.
Am I an infj if I am this empathetic but I am not as organized and planning. I don’t feel like I lead with a judging function nor like a have strong inner moral compass>< but My plans are kinda loose and pretty flexible
Try taking the personality test, you will find one that best suits you and so clicks.
You don’t lead with a judging function, actually! We lead with Ni, which is a perceiving function!
Have you ever considered that you might be INFP?
A total match for me! never felt so understood before 🙂
Thank you so much, it describes me so well 98% yeah. Very nice. Have a great day 😄
Oh boy was this on point! Right down to actually saying “Screw it!” Writing to understand our own thoughts better? Always!
what the actual heck is this???? this really resembles me omg like everything is on me.. wow just wow thank you for this, more power to you
This is the best description of INFJ I have ever read. Almost every point registered with me. # 15 made me chuckle. A friend’s 16 year old son had the habit of leaving his glass or dish on the coffee table after he was finished snacking. Off he went. Each time his mom asked him later, “Are those your dishes on the table?” (She knew very well it was so. It came out as sarcasm.) He then reluctantly would pick them up and deposit them in the sink. This happened on a daily basis and so she was constantly stressed over ‘having to pick up after him.’ She was complaining to me. “Right speech; wrong audience” I said. “There’s a better way to handle it. You are seeing it as isolated incidences rather than as pattern of his expectation that someone else will always serve him. Let your mind go forward and think of him as a guest in a friend’s home or living in a college dorm or married— when nobody is going to be willing to indulge him.” She asked me talk with him. When the time was right I did. I never told her what we said, but the result was he not only picked up his dishes from then on, he put them in the dishwasher. And without nagging, he pitched in willingly. (Ten years later she still asks about that conversation. My lips are sealed. The young man wrote a card to me a few years later expressing his appreciation for “opening my eyes in a gentle way…”.)
My point is, as an INFJ, I was looking down the road, as usual. Tendencies, probable outcomes, consequences always figure in to how I see things, especially if someone asks for help, ideas or advice.
i was questioning whether or not my typing was accurate, seeing as i do wish to help people, but i rarely act on it. knowing that i relate to all of these, i fully understand what it means to be me. thank you, thank you, thank you!
I most def are an INFJ, I am extremely sensitive & I hate hurting people’s feelings. I have had people in the shops & on the streets stop & talk to me about their problems & I have never met them.
I never tell people my problems as they tell me I’m stupid so I just pretend everything is ok
I have never read a page that describes my thought processing this accurately. It’s almost scary. Normally with other articles I’ll notice a contradiction or feel that they’re making generalizations (and many of those don’t apply to myself) but whoa… I’m flabbergasted. In a good way. I wasn’t expecting to end up an INFJ when I started this journey and up until now I was still quite wary of the label: it can’t be me, right? After all, Ni is such an unconscious process I was convinced it must be lower in my function stack. But maybe that’s the thing; It’s my default setting that’s always operating and therefore, I am not even aware of it as much as I am of Ti. If anything, taking the site test which linked to this I don’t think I’ve ever felt more understood. This is the only atticle where I can relate to every point and not just to some degree–And that’s the weird thing. So many articles talk about how the INFJ longs to be understood and that’s… not something I relate to all that much. It’s more that I long for OTHER PEOPLE to understand each other and because many are so self centered they lack that ability. That’s where I feel misunderstood–the loner who can logically see all sides–the friend people are skeptical of because they take my advice so seriously they don’t want to be wrong. If I am an INFJ, which I am beginning to believe is true, then many information out there is incredibly misguided, out right wrong, and that pains in a way I can’t describe. People could be taking advice that could cognitively heed their development.
Absolutely SPOT ON, all points!!!!
What you’ve said is so accurate! It feels like finally someone has understood or realized my complex thought processes and personality type. I wish all those who know me could read this. Yes, i really hate small talks and look for deeper meanings. I tend to like complexity while at the same time, strives hard to understand it.
I am glad someone described the all me in an article.
I think we need this kind of information so that we don’t hate ourselves when we are different from others.
I was working on myself to be like others as I have always been mocked of dwelling in pointless issues.
Abstract ideas are usually rejected by society yet its how we get to understand existence itself.
I always didn’t want to just nod at everything said to me, I looked for the truth myself even when everyone else is agreed and moved on.
Making money is the only sensible thing to do these days.
Life is rich of things to explore.
I am so grateful for finding this. I have never read something that describes me so well. It is scary how accurate it is.
I agree with many of the older comments. I, too, wish all the people that I know could read this. I’ve been conditioned to think that something is wrong with me. I now think of my personality type as empowering, especially after reading this article. Thank you.
Yep, I see a few ahead of me who said the same thing. Many parts in here where I just said to myself, ‘whoa! Holy crap, thats me!’ Stressed by too much interaction but loving projecting my empathy when its needed.
I’m going to save this one somewhere.
I hard-core relate to this article. It’s eerily accurate. I kept expecting to read something and say “eh… not me…” but this article was spot on.
What really sold me was #9. I’m not a quiet person typically. In fact, people often assume I’m extroverted. However, I fit this description to a T.
“You feel that the best way to get someone to do something is to inspire them from the inside rather than push them from the outside.”
Inspiration all the way!
When I first meet someone I become very absorbed in their presence, so much so that, although I hear their name being spoken, I can’t concentrate on it and I am aware of it disappearing from my consciousness.
Holy smoke this is accurate. I was having trouble identifying if I was an ingj and what not, but now it’s officially confirmed.
Spot on. Í had been starting to wonder if I had it wrong al these years but nope. I am def all that and more. Lol
101% spot on description of who I am.WOW
I’ve taken the test several times and I end up with INFJ-T. Thanks for the article. It does confirm most of who I am. It is a blessing and a curse. It can also br very lonely. I really do wish I could have more intellectual conversations with others. Yes people tell me things they wonder why they do. I never use it against them and hate people who spill about others. Trust and confidentiality is key.
I agree about trust and confidentiality, very important. I only spill if I feel like it prevents someone from being harmed
this helps me a lot, i always thought i was an INTJ
This is me 100% of the time . Empathic, intuitive, addicted to learning. I love that it’s considered a rare type, I’ve always felt insecure about being so different from others, and going so deep all the time. 🤪 Can’t help myself. INFJ all the way.
You are very correct. It is indeed sort of a lonely part except if you have a good family. I really can’t join a conversation of things like ‘what happened yesterday, what I ate this morning’ no matter how hard I tried because I felt it had no meaning. Therefore, I’ve stopped forcing myself.
This is so spot on!
Yes! Yes Yes Yes a thousand times Yes!
Thank you. I’ve tried to explain this to my husband (ENTP) and now have simply emailed him this. I thank the lord daily to have been raised by parents who seemed to be similar and understood; they allowed me to grow in my own time and in my own way, and it helped that I was raised in a tiny rural village. The world opened wide for me when we moved to one of the nation’s largest cities (I grew in other wonderful ways), but the stresses I felt caused me to wonder “What’s wrong with me?” Elaine Aron’s “Highly Sensitive Person” helped and so did taking the Myers-Briggs. Now, living rural again, and with enough time, I feel like I *finally* FULLY love the specialness of the rare INFJ. And, it’s enough that *I* love and accept myself; befriending myself for all the wonderful aspects that are me has pushed loneliness into the distance.
this is so true for me!! never knew there was different personality classifications. very cool.
thanks for an educational read PJ!!!!
I can relate with a lot of this stuff, however it seems that in my quest to find someone who is “drift compatible” (Pacific Rim concept) I have come up short. I’ve been in many INFJ groups but never really hit it off with one. I am a conservative Christian and I don’t like ambiguity; at the same time I’m a mystic who experiences synchronicity, 11-11, intuition, and lucid dreams. I think there is some validity to astrology as well… but to God be the glory! This is where New Agers fall short, getting the cart in front of the horse.
INFJ Counselor – Author – Oracle
Hi Quentin,
My husband and I are both INFJ. God put us together. God gave me a knowing, that I would be a happy woman but I would have to wait for it long time for it. My life is getting better as I age. My heart is much lighter. Ask God for your companion. My husband and I both did. God had my husband planned for me from the time I was 8. It actually was from when I was born, knowing God it was probably before. I’m sending you love and support! Do ask God if you want results, and figure out how being the REAL you will help you not waste your time. Thank you for listening.
Wow, wow I’m so impressed by how vividly this piece of information describes me. I can relate to everything mentioned here and usually I feel misunderstood. But after reading this, I feel much better and I know I’m not the only strange person. Thank you 🙏😊
Absolutely amazing! Totally me–from head to toe, inside & out! All of the 24 points touched my heart, mind and/or soul! I couldn’t have designed a better profile of myself than what is presented here in the article. Thank you Susan Storm for this excellent piece that has brought me such peace–so good to know why I am the way I am and, being the rarest personality type, why I have never really found satisfying-enough compatibility in/with others (except for young children). Thankful to the Lord Almighty though that I have always been “happy in my own skin”, love my own company to the degree that I can survive on my own (if need be) and continue to possess an optimism & enthusiasm that has glided me through a life & a world that have frankly been too cold, too harsh, too loud, too inhumane, etc. etc. for my liking! Finally, I thank God that I am an INFJ–I wouldn’t want it any other way!!! 😊😊😊
I’m positive for all but two. Those two I had some difficulty understanding. I don’t see the intentions of romantic partners as well as one thinks I should. I’m impulsive about seeing someone in need as in a street person at a light whom I decide needs some cash. I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to make sure that I’m aware of both sides of an issue. Most people have no idea whatsoever that I’m thinking of anything other that what’s in front of me. I am cold and hot and I can understand why someone wouldn’t like me. What I don’t understand is why they don’t look deeper.
Almost everything in this article resonates heavily with me, but the glaring exception is number 11. I’m ALWAYS happy to get affection from my significant other, and I feel like quality time with her recharges me far better than true alone time. Everything else is spot on, but I can’t even conceive of not wanting affection at any given time.
I wondered how is this so relatable…really 💯 correct…All points are totally relatable..
I’m really grateful for this article; it really helped me a lot in realizing who I am and knowing that there’s really nothing wrong with me.
Great- I relate with everything in this article and I’m just overwhelmed at how they continue to describe me…