You might be thinking, what even is an INFJ? A few years ago, I probably would’ve had the same response. An INFJ is one of the 16 personalities based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test. This online test consists of approximately 94 questions that guide users to determine their dichotomies, and it’s available for free. There are four different dichotomies used in this test: introversion or extroversion, sensing or intuition, thinking or feeling, and judging or perceiving.
When it comes to an INFJ, the dichotomies are introversion, intuition, feeling, and judging. In short, I’ve lived my life often feeling misunderstood. This might seem very dramatic, but it’s all part of the personality type.
I was in eighth grade when this test was first introduced to me by my math teacher. He encouraged my class to each take the online test and then we could measure our results and get to know each other a little better.
After going through all the questions, I was labeled as an INFJ (AKA the Advocate). Even though I still consider myself shy and emotional, I was much shier and much more emotional during middle school, so this result made sense to me.
I went a long time without really thinking about my personality type until it was brought to my attention again during my senior year of high school. My AP Literature teacher encouraged my class to take the test so we could all compare personality types since it went along with our lesson at the time. I thought that maybe my personality type would change a bit since I had grown and changed a lot mentally since the age of 14. However, to my surprise, I was still brought to the result of an INFJ.
My teacher went over all the personality types with my class, talking about which celebrities and historical figures have each type and how rare each one is. This was when I found out that INFJ is the rarest out of all the 16 personality types, with only 1.5 percent of the general United States population identifying with it.
That’s when I started to wonder: What does being an INFJ even mean? I decided to do some more research into my personality type to figure out a more concise definition. Suddenly, everything started to click into place. INFJs are creative. INFJs are loyal. INFJs are intuitive. INFJs are compassionate. Things that all weirdly describe me.
One thing about me is that I am a shy person, which I’ve always been. For a long time, I was very self-conscious of this, wishing I could be more extroverted like some of my peers. I just truly thought that the combination of shyness and sensitivity wouldn’t get me far. However, that’s when I found out that some of the most famously known INFJs are people that I have looked up to my whole life. Martin Luther King Jr., Lady Gaga, and Nelson Mandela are all INFJs and each one of them has beneficially impacted society. Being reserved is just a part of being an INFJ!
The biggest overarching thing about INFJs is that we often feel misunderstood. Not that we think the world is out to get us or anything; we’re just very deep feelers and analyzers of situations.
INFJs are heavily emphatic and feel a need to help people, hence the “Advocate” label. We enjoy uplifting others and giving advice to enhance their lives. We also tend to approach things with deep thoughtfulness and imagination. All the while, we do just like to have our privacy and alone time. I finally realized that my traits aren’t bad at all; it’s just a matter of learning how to apply those traits properly.
Learning about personality types has helped me get to know myself and the others in my life in a much deeper way. While I might still be self-conscious about some parts of being an INFJ, at the end of the day, it’s still who I am. Everyone brings something different to the table. Be proud of your contribution!
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