Inside the Mind of an INFJ

I am an INFJ.

Being an INFJ is some what of a curse and a blessing. From random people on the bus setting down telling me their entire life story to always being depressed to hating the very thought of being in large crowds for very long. The list just goes on and on. Being an INFJ has been quite the challenge for me.

I am sure you are wondering what it even is, right? To answer your question; It is a title given to a certain personality type. There are many different types of them as you might suspect. There are 16 to be exact and with only one to two percent of the entire population being one, it is the most rarest in the world. These letters are bestowed by a test made by one Myers Briggs. The test is known as the Myers Briggs test... of course because why would the someone who created it name it any differently?

Each word corresponds to a meaning as follows:

I- Introversion

E- Extroversion

S- Sensing

N- Intuition

T- Thinking

F- Feeling

J- Judging

P- Persevering

So an INFJ is an introverted, intuition, Feeling, and Judging fueled personality.

Introvert

I remember growing up I was such a quiet kid. I never spoke a word unless I had to. It got to the point that in 9th grade I had a teacher pull me aside and say, "You're a good kid Jon, but you've gotta start talking more. You're kinda freakin' people out." That was never my intent what so ever. Being that quiet made people assume many things like that I was a creep or that I was stuck up or to good to speak to anyone. That was never the case and still is not, but hey... Whatcha gonna do? Being an introvert is challenging to other people who meet you. They see you as a wanting nothing to do with them or you don't like them. It is has nothing to do with anyone in particular. It's just when we have a choice to be alone we always take it. It is how we recharge, think things through, and how we choose to perceive the world. Introverts are not always the guy over in the corner with his hood over his head. Some of us can tolerate large crowds, speaking in front of people, and doing things with other people. We are capable of such things, but we must have time to recharge once it is all said and done. Me personally I enjoy talking long hikes deep into the woods by myself. That is how I recharge, but everyone is different.

Intuition

Yes, I know the next word starts with an "I" and the letter symbolizing it is a "N". I am going to be honest here.... I do not know why it is like that. Aside from Mr. Briggs confusing everyone, Intuition is a very interesting trait to have and amount the most useful. I can not explain it, but when I met someone for the first time I can "see" their true intentions. Its such a hard thing to describe with words. The only way I can explain this feeling is when you are laying sound asleep in your bed and you hear a loud noise that wakes you up. The noise sets off alarms in your head and you tell yourself, "Hey... something's not right here... " I have had numerous instances where I have met a person and had that feeling. I have learned over the years to listen to it because it is correct 99 percent of the time. When I was about 18 or so my parents needed to have their roof worked on. So they called this guy in and met with him. I knew something was off about him from the moment he walked in the door. Didn't know why and never met the guy before. My parents loved him and I tried to tell them something was off, but they would't listen. He came around one day and asked for $4000 so he could grab the materials for the roof. They gave him the money... and he never came back with the materials. Never seen the guy ever again. It's like I said, We do not know how we can do it. We just can. So, whenever an INFJ tells you something alone those lines you need to listen.

Feeling

This trait is probably the strangest. When we feel its like we ARE that person. I know it is an odd concept, but when someone says that we don't know how you feel... we do. It's like when you have someone who comes to you that has lost their mom and you have as well. You connect with them because you know exactly what they are feeling. INFJ's can do that without having that particular experience. I know it is strange, I am one and still don't understand it. A few years ago I had this stranger in school come to me and tell me that her boyfriend had been cheating on her. I immediately felt what she was feeling. A mix of anger, sadness, the feeling of not being good enough for him, and wanting to rip his head off. I still felt those things even though I personally never went through them myself. Through that ability I was able to help her get through it and move on.

Judging

The judging trait is a legit psychic power. INFJs have the ability to see into the future almost. Since no one can truly see into the future it makes people very upset when you tell them things. It's not that we can see into the future. We just are extremely good at putting pieces together to form a viable futuristic outcome. For example: I had a real good friend a couple years back. He was dating this girl and he brought her to meet me and a few other people. After we were done I pulled him aside and told him that she was bad news and she would cheat on him then take him for everything he was worth. About two months later he called and said that he had caught her cheating and she had cleaned out his bank account leaving him with nothing.

INFJs see the world in a much different light. Some people just can't understand our ways and some never will. Most people think we are just weirdos with nothing going on upstairs, but on the contrary, they are very wrong. There are also sud-types to every personality type. Mine just so happens to be 'T' for thinking. This makes me even more quiet because I am always in deep thought. Some people think that INFJs are useless people that always have their heads in the clouds. What they don't know is that most of the worlds greats leaders and activists were indeed INFJs! Martian Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfrey, Plato, Gandhi, and Thomas Jefferson just to name a few. So, if you recently found out you are an INFJ just know you're not alone. As for those people who are reading this for a loved one, I leave you with this advice: Give them time. Do not push them into things or else you will drive them away. Just be patient. I would be greatly appreciative if you would share this article with someone you know that is an INFJ or to someone that knows one.