Stats
Rarest personality type; estimated 2% of population.
Characteristics
private
sensitive
quiet leaders
great depth of personality - intricately and deeply woven, mysterious, and highly complex, sometimes puzzling even themselves
introverted
abstract in communicating
live in a world of hidden meanings and possibilities - part of an unusually rich inner life
abstract in communicating
artistic (and natural affinity for art), creative, and easily inspired
very independent
orderly view towards the world but within themself arranged in a chaotic, complex way only they could understand
Towards the self
INFJs value their integrity a great deal. They are generally "doers" as well as great dreamers. They have high expectations of themselves and need to live their lives in accordance with what they feel is right. They do this through total trust of their intuition. They believe in constant growth and don't often take time to revel in their accomplishments. INFJs are proud of their authenticity, respectful of their benevolence, confident of their empathy. They also are constantly in a state of self-renewal.
Towards the world
Towards the future: credulous, the past: mystical. INFJs prefer the future and the pathway along which they aspire for profundity. They've even been known to have visions/premonitions/auditory and visual images of things to come. They are often said to possess supernormal intuitive ability in both its forms: projection and introjection. They search for their unique identity and place in the world, constantly defining this better. They are activists there for the cause, not for the power, fantasize about getting revenge on those who victimize the defenseless, and put a lot of energy into identifying the best system for getting things done.
Relationships
An INFJ is often hard to get to know. They are selective about their friends, but such a friendship is a symbiotic bond that transcends mere words... They hunger for deep and meaningful relationships, provide spiritual intimacy for their mates, and can only be emotionally intimate and fulfilled with a chosen few from among their long-term friends, family, or obvious "soul mates." In such relationships, they strive for mutuality, don't believe in compromising their ideals, and can understand and deal with complex issues and people.
Towards others
It can be difficult for an INFJ to articulate their deepest and most convoluted feelings to others. They tend to be secretive by holding back and protecting part of themselves, thus creating hidden sides to their personality. They are choosy of what and when to share things and tend to only truly do so with those they trust. When they reveal things, it is often through speaking interpretively and metaphorically of the abstract world of their imagination. However, they can work quite intensely with those close to them, being cooperative in implementing goals - even though their own trusted intuition can sometimes make them stubborn. They can become aware of another's emotions/intentions before that person is conscious of them. This leads to strong empathic abilities, an unusually strong desire to contribute to the welfare of others while pointing out human potentials, and uncanny communications with certain individuals at a distance. They are often leaders who go unnoticed, quietly exerting their influence behind the scenes. When working with others, they are very sensitive to conflict and cannot tolerate it very well. They will prevent/avoid it at all costs. They also provide an opportunity for fantasy for their children.
"You are not here merely to make a living.
You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply,
with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement.
You are here to enrich the world,
and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand."
Woodrow Wilson
Portrait of an INFJ - Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging
(Introverted Intuition with Extraverted Feeling)
The Protector
As an INFJ, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you take things in primarily via intuition. Your secondary mode is external, where you deal with things according to how you feel about them, or how they fit with your personal value system.
INFJs are gentle, caring, complex and highly intuitive individuals. Artistic and creative, they live in a world of hidden meanings and possibilities. Only one percent of the population has an INFJ Personality Type, making it the most rare of all the types.
INFJs place great importance on havings things orderly and systematic in their outer world. They put a lot of energy into identifying the best system for getting things done, and constantly define and re-define the priorities in their lives. On the other hand, INFJs operate within themselves on an intuitive basis which is entirely spontaneous. They know things intuitively, without being able to pinpoint why, and without detailed knowledge of the subject at hand. They are usually right, and they usually know it. Consequently, INFJs put a tremendous amount of faith into their instincts and intuitions. This is something of a conflict between the inner and outer worlds, and may result in the INFJ not being as organized as other Judging types tend to be. Or we may see some signs of disarray in an otherwise orderly tendency, such as a consistently messy desk.
INFJs have uncanny insight into people and situations. They get "feelings" about things and intuitively understand them. As an extreme example, some INFJs report experiences of a psychic nature, such as getting strong feelings about there being a problem with a loved one, and discovering later that they were in a car accident. This is the sort of thing that other types may scorn and scoff at, and the INFJ themself does not really understand their intuition at a level which can be verbalized. Consequently, most INFJs are protective of their inner selves, sharing only what they choose to share when they choose to share it. They are deep, complex individuals, who are quite private and typically difficult to understand. INFJs hold back part of themselves, and can be secretive.
But the INFJ is as genuinely warm as they are complex. INFJs hold a special place in the heart of people who they are close to, who are able to see their special gifts and depth of caring. INFJs are concerned for people's feelings, and try to be gentle to avoid hurting anyone. They are very sensitive to conflict, and cannot tolerate it very well. Situations which are charged with conflict may drive the normally peaceful INFJ into a state of agitation or charged anger. They may tend to internalize conflict into their bodies, and experience health problems when under a lot of stress.
Because the INFJ has such strong intuitive capabilities, they trust their own instincts above all else. This may result in an INFJ stubborness and tendency to ignore other people's opinions. They believe that they're right. On the other hand, INFJ is a perfectionist who doubts that they are living up to their full potential. INFJs are rarely at complete peace with themselves - there's always something else they should be doing to improve themselves and the world around them. They believe in constant growth, and don't often take time to revel in their accomplishments. They have strong value systems, and need to live their lives in accordance with what they feel is right. In deference to the Feeling aspect of their personalities, INFJs are in some ways gentle and easy going. Conversely, they have very high expectations of themselves, and frequently of their families. They don't believe in compromising their ideals.
INFJ is a natural nurturer; patient, devoted and protective. They make loving parents and usually have strong bonds with their offspring. They have high expectations of their children, and push them to be the best that they can be. This can sometimes manifest itself in the INFJ being hard-nosed and stubborn. But generally, children of an INFJ get devoted and sincere parental guidance, combined with deep caring.
In the workplace, the INFJ usually shows up in areas where they can be creative and somewhat independent. They have a natural affinity for art, and many excel in the sciences, where they make use of their intuition. INFJs can also be found in service-oriented professions. They are not good at dealing with minutia or very detailed tasks. The INFJ will either avoid such things, or else go to the other extreme and become enveloped in the details to the extent that they can no longer see the big picture. An INFJ who has gone the route of becoming meticulous about details may be highly critical of other individuals who are not.
The INFJ individual is gifted in ways that other types are not. Life is not necessarily easy for the INFJ, but they are capable of great depth of feeling and personal achievement.
Jungian functional preference ordering:
Dominant: Introverted Intuition
Auxilliary: Extraverted Feeling
Tertiary: Introverted Thinking
Inferior: Extraverted Sensing
