10 Hints You Possess an INFJ Personality Type
Of the sixteen personality types from the classic Myers-Briggs personality test, INFJs are the rarest. Despite being rare, the INFJ personality type is a powerful profile marked by an intense duality in many areas.
For example, INFJs are both intensely dedicated to their relationships—but they also struggle to be vulnerable around others. INFJs are quiet and like to avoid conflict—but they also become angry easily due to their sensitive nature. INFJs cared deeply about other people and their community—but they also like to keep to themselves. The list of INFJ contradictions goes on.
Because many people with an INFJ personality type can take on different parts of this personality, it can be challenging to know for sure whether you’re an INFJ or not.
You might be wondering, how do I know if I possess the INFJ personality type? Read these ten signs and see if you relate. If you identify with most of these points, you’re probably an INFJ.
1. Your inner world is much bigger than your outer world.
INFJs are creative people whose imaginations run wild. For many introverts, alone time is a time when their minds can run freely without interruption.
If you’re an imaginative person who is always thinking of solutions to current problems or running through different potential scenarios in your head, your inner world is likely much, much larger than your outer world.
The same is true for an INFJ. INFJs are obsessed with thinking about how to change the world for the better, and the future is a common topic of thought.
2. Perfectionism is your greatest weakness.
Thinking about change is one of the INFJ’s greatest strengths, but a key part of wanting change is identifying current problems. And for the INFJ, it can get out of hand.
INFJs struggle with intense perfectionism. It can halt a project before it’s even begun, tear apart a half-finished task because it’s “not good enough,” and slow down progress even when it seems “perfect” to someone else.
If your perfectionism gets in your way nearly all the time, then it’s likely that you’re struggling with classic INFJ perfectionism.
3. You see yourself as thoughtful and quiet, while others see you as intense and intimidating.
INFJs are often misunderstood. The INFJ usually sees themselves as a quiet and reflective individual. They rarely cause problems, and they care deeply for others. However, others tend to see the INFJ as intimidating.
Where the INFJ sees an introvert comfortable in solitude, others see someone who is quietly judging from the corner.
This news often surprises INFJs, and it’s a good sign you’re an INFJ if this situation sounds familiar.
4. Shutting people out is your default.
INFJs are introverts through and through, and like many other introverts, they tend to shut others out of their life, sometimes accidentally.
If you’re an INFJ, others might describe you as cold—and the truth is that you can be cold. When you’re stressed or busy, your social life is usually the first thing you’re willing to sacrifice. And, if you get hurt in a relationship, shutting that person out is in your nature.
INFJs experience difficulty being vulnerable and opening up, and that can translate into shutting people out when relationships are no longer convenient or easy.
5. You judge people—including yourself—harshly.
While the image of you quietly judging others from the corner isn’t exactly accurate, it is true that you tend to be judgmental of people, including yourself. INFJs are judgers at heart. It is what fuels their perfectionism and enables them to envision a better world.
While judging serves INFJs well, it can also be detrimental to them, especially for the INFJ woman. Like most women, INFJ women are taught to conform to unrealistic beauty and gender standards, and their judging can transform into a poor self-image and lowered confidence.
If you can relate to your inner voice being the harshest critic you know, you might be an INFJ.
6. You’re sensitive and easily hurt in relationships.
INFJs are extremely empathetic and considerate, and they expect others to be the same. However, most of the time, no one is as sensitive to others' needs as an INFJ. So, INFJs are often disappointed.
If you’re an INFJ, your sensitivity means you are easily hurt, and when you’re easily hurt, you tend to become angry. INFJs often “slam the door” on their relationships out of anger and pain.
7. Failure is one of your biggest fears.
INFJs are hardworking perfectionists—and their biggest fear is failure.
An INFJs fear of failure can transform into a fear of a failed relationship and subsequent abandonment, a fear of not achieving a goal, or deep-seated fear of not being “good enough.”
If those things terrify you, you might be an INFJ.
While a fear of failure isn’t a requirement to be an INFJ, most INFJs will relate to struggling with or overcoming an intense fear of failure. Identifying and changing your definition of “failure” can be very helpful in overcoming this pitfall.
8. You hate crowds.
INFJs like crowds as much as they like failure. You can spot an INFJ in a crowd based on their body language: they will look uncomfortable as they retreat to the sides or corners of the room. In a crowd, INFJs prefer to blend in rather than stick out.
If you’re an INFJ, you’d prefer a one-on-one hangout with a close friend to a group gathering any day—no matter how large the crowd.
9. You avoid conflict like the plague.
INFJs also hate conflict. They care about others’ emotions, and they believe that conflict is just as upsetting for other people as it is for them. So, why not spare both parties and avoid it altogether?
If you’re an INFJ, you do your best to avoid difficult conversations. However, in the end, conflict avoidance tends to impact your relationships in a negative way.
10. You are genuinely altruistic.
There are people in the world who simply don’t care about others. Ethics and morality escape them—but not you. INFJs are authentically compassionate and empathetic, and they live by their values.
Although INFJs are introverts who love being alone, they also value meaningful connections with other people, and they see human beings as inherently valuable. INFJs love to better the world and help others—not for self-gain, but because they are genuinely altruistic.
Are you an INFJ?
You may have begun this article wondering, how do I know if I’m an INFJ? Hopefully, you have your answer now. These classic INFJ traits are common amongst most INFJs, but it’s also important to remember that everyone—including INFJs—is unique, even if they share a MyersBriggs personality type.
If you’re still curious about the rarest personality type, learn what it means to be an INFJ.