Off The Record
17 Signs You’re An INFJ, The World’s Rarest Personality Type
Personality types are measured by the Myers-Briggs-Indicator test. Developed by the mother and daughter duo, Katherine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers, basing upon the Carl Jung’s theory that human beings engage in four things most of the time: sensation, intuition, feeling, and thinking.
There are preferences of each individual in these four categories which give rise to 16 personality types. The preferences being Extroversion vs. Introversion, Sensing vs. Intuition, Thinking vs. Feeling, and Judging vs. Perceiving.
INFJ as you might have guessed, tilt towards: Introverted, Intuition, Feeling and Judging.
These individuals are known to be emotionally intelligent, kind of mysterious (because of the introversion) and make up only 2% of the world’s population. The type has been dubbed “the advocate” for dramatic effect.
Some of the famous people who belong to this type are: Nicole Kidman, Adam Sandler, Tom Selleck, Oprah Winfrey, Nelson Mandela, the prophet Nathan, the playwright Aristophanes, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Nathaniel Hawthorne.
David Kiersey, who developed the Kiersey Temperament Sorter, called these INFJ’s Counsellors and classified them in a temperament he called “the Idealists”. He opined they make up about 1-3% of the population.
Here are 17 things that tell you if you are one of them or not:
1. They are rare to spot
Thanks to their introversion, they tend to keep a low profile in most scenarios. Also they are not easy to be spotted because hey, it’s a rare type! But they make very fiercely loyal friends, very motivating leaders and they love hard work.
2. They don’t really fit in
It is difficult to fit in when you are part of a minority that’s really, really small when compared to the other 15 personality types. As a result, many INFJ individuals have tough childhoods, since they never really conform to their peers. They are often bullied.
3. It is always quality over quantity
You will rarely find a casual INFJ. They go all in in all their endeavors. And as a result, they get a lot out of the smallest things. They are highly productive and imaginative, and lack the ability to play around with fraudulent, unauthentic things or connections.
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4. They have a certain charm
Their aura immediately calms the people around them. Very often in social circles, the INFJ is the one the others tell their secrets to. They exude a certain warmth of personality that makes them very welcoming.
5. They are empathetic
They can read minds very well and just happen to know things. They are also very good at understanding the other person’s pain and sorrow which again adds to the “fierceness” in their friendships.
6. They are seekers of truth
They don’t like mincing words and avoid the company of people who are talkative, exaggerating or liars. Their friends are very few and very well-chosen because they like the truth at face-value: blunt and cold.
7. They are introverted
They are truly introverted individuals who prefer alone time better than society. But this is hidden from their peers who think they are actually social individuals. This proves the level of flexibility they show.
8. Convictions
Of the strongest and the most unwavering sort. You cannot push them off their tracks unless you make some really strong and excellent points.
9. Small circle of friends
Except if you are one of their closest friends, an INFJ will rarely include you in their projects.
10. They don’t like small talk
Talk to them about the weather and you lose their attention at the click of a button. They don’t like small talk because it is pointless.
11. They are extremely efficient
If you have a crowd to please and a job to be done, try and get one of these people on the team. They are efficient and thrive on work.
12. They are creative
They make excellent writers and painters. This has a lot to do with their reflective and introspective nature.
13. They trust their intuition
Their decisions are more than often based off of the way things and people “make them feel”. This can be tricky, but more often than not INFJ people make excellent choices.
14. Self-critical
This comes with the amount of time they spend reflecting on their own lives and learning from their mistakes. They are constantly trying to learn something new and enrich their minds. Besides, they are curious about the world around them.
15. They are visionaries
They can outgrow petty differences and look at the bigger pictures behind things. They focus on the end goal and do anything that is needed to reach that goal.
16. Problem solvers
Besides being efficient, INFJ’s can see the slightest amount of good in every person around. As a result, they never hesitate to help someone who is in need of their assistance. And once they are in, be assured, your ship will get to the harbor.
17. They are the old-school romancers
You won’t see them “hooking-up”. They are the people who believe in one-perfect-love and can sustain successful relationships irrespective of distance, for long periods of time.
Image originally taken from Maja Topčagić/500px
