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Personality type, at its core, is a reflection of how you process information and reach decisions.
Each of our brains process thoughts, feelings and experiences a little differently. And those different methods of gathering and processing information are known as our cognitive functions.
The “Functions” refer to specific methods of processing information and making decisions based on your specific personality type. Each type uses four–out of a possible eight–cognitive functions on a regular basis, in a specific order.
Whether the function is extroverted or introverted refers to whether it is oriented outward–toward the world of action, or inward, toward the world of introspection.
INFPs are classified as feelers in their four-letter acronym because they process decisions based on how they emotionally resonate with the situation at hand (Using Fi) before they consider how to implement their decision logically (Using Te). In the same vein, they are classified as intuitives because they prefer to examine new thoughts and experiences from various unique angles (using Ne) before comparing those thoughts or experiences to what they’ve found to be true in the past (Using Si). INFPs are considered introverts because they prefer using their main introspective function (Fi) over
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This fact that you have a mix of introverted and extroverted functions as well as a mix of feeling, thinking, intuitive and sensing functions explains why you often feel introverted when you’re processing your emotions or forming an opinion but extroverted when you’re brainstorming ideas or making plans with friends. It explains why you can back up your beliefs with indisputable logic and hard facts, but you form them from a compassionate, humanitarian standpoint.
To the INFP, every strong feeling they experience is a clue that leads to a greater ‘truth’ or understanding about humanity.
Fi is the reason why you experience intense emotional highs and lows, which sometimes feel out of your control.
Fi is the reason why you intuitively pick up on the unspoken desires and motivations of others.
Fi is the reason why the emotional experiences of others can affect you on a strong, pervasive and extremely personal level.
Fi is the reason why you feel such intense passion and devotion toward the people ...
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Fi is the reason why you can find beauty and exceptionality within the most ...
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Ne possesses the unique ability to consider multiple opposing views simultaneously and it does not like to decide firmly upon ideas. Instead, it formulates new possibilities in a seemingly endless manner–which the INFP eventually turns to Si to narrow down. It is indubitably Ne’s quick ability to shift perspective that makes the INFP so adept at putting themselves in other’s shoes.
The more action the INFP takes on their desires, the more input they give Ne to expand upon and their Fi to analyze.
Ne is the reason why you experience intense bursts of creative energy when you decide to take on a new project.
Ne is the reason why you are able to look at things from just about anyone’s point of view, whether you agree with their viewpoint or not.
Ne is the reason why you are attracted to intense, unusual and provocative ideas or people.
This, this, this!
Ne is the tiny thrum of madness in the back of your mind that keeps your thoughts constantly reeling and moving.
Introverted sensing is a memory-based function that compares new environmental stimuli or ideas to past experiences and known facts. It is detail-oriented and is skilled at remembering specific facts or pieces of information that are relevant for its user. Si places a high level of trust in authority, institutions and societal norms, craving to understand what has worked in the past, and is therefore likely to work again in the future.
Si is the reason why you’re good at remembering small facts and subtle details about the people you love and the things you’re passionate about.
Si is the reason why you function best within a structured routine, even though you inherently crave variety.
It is important to note that Te doesn’t fully develop in the INFP until approximately middle age, so traditional definitions of the function may not apply to the average INFP for the majority of his or her life.
On the surface, INFPs appear to be peaceful and cerebral individuals who are focused on the comfort and happiness of those around them. However, this cerebral front masks a deep and complex inner world that engages the INFP in a way that even the most stimulating of external experiences often fails to.
As the INFP grows up, they inevitably learn to harness their creative thinking in a constructive manner. Many members of this type channel their deep insights about the world around them into writing, artwork or other creative endeavors. The INFP personality tends to be highly represented in most creative fields.
While the term ‘tortured artist’ certainly fits many INFPs, there is also a light-hearted and fun-loving side to this personality that comes out around the INFP’s loved ones. When surrounded by people they’re comfortable with, this type adopts a quirky and speculative attitude that allows them to outwardly express their offbeat ideas and thoughts.
At their best, INFPs are passionate, insightful and wildly creative individuals who are naturally adept at picking up on the deeper meaning behind almost every situation they encounter. This type possesses a unique mixture of childlike wonder about the world around them and keen, beyond-their-years insight as to the way it works–making them one of the most fascinatingly contradictory personalities out there.
Which personality tools you use to interact with the world will depend on where you are in terms of cognitive development as well as which external circumstances you are facing. However, your personality type itself is pervasive across the lifespan.
What this means is that the INFP prefers to come to a decision about how they feel about a particular situation (using their dominant introverted feeling) before physically exploring alternatives (using extroverted intuition).
INFPs feel everything on an incredibly deep level–and this applies just as fully to positive emotions as it does to negative ones. The INFP may not be as bubbly and outwardly expressive as their extroverted counterparts the ENFP, but that does not mean they feel any less cheerful or at peace with the world around them. The INFP is often significantly happier than they let on–they just prefer to process and experience that happiness internally rather than rubbing it in other people’s faces.
INFPs understand the world by first understanding their place in it–and this means that in order to stay healthy, they have to spend a significant portion of their time alone, rooting through their own feelings and thoughts.
While most Myers-Briggs personality types display a strong preference for one or two Enneagram types, INFPs tend to test across a wide range of types.
The identity of the type 9 INFP is defined by their need for deep personal and spiritual connections.
At their best, type 9 INFPs are stable, serene and deeply in touch with themselves, others and the world that surrounds them. At their worst, they are avoidant, neglectful of their own needs and desperate to feel any sort of connection with others–even if that connection is painful or unhealthy.
In an unhealthy state, type 9 INFPs retreat into themselves and fall into a pattern of obsessive thoughts and fantasies. They may place an overemphasis on the relationships they do have and build them up in their minds to be seem much more significant and encompassing than they truly are.
In childhood, INFPs lead predominantly with introverted feeling. They make for thoughtful and reserved children, who take in the world around them in a mystic, almost dreamlike manner.
Understand that your INFP child is often just as lost as to why he or she is feeling a certain way as you are. Emotional awareness takes time and many young INFPs are intimidated and confused by the intensity of their own emotions–they are not choosing to feel things as deeply as they do.
Encourage your INFP’s love of reading and learning. Don’t assume that a quiet day in with their books is less stimulating for them than an active day out in the world.
INFPs don’t grow out of their passionate, artistic personalities as they age–they grow and mature into them. Each year builds steadily on this type’s pre-existing set of core values and passions–incrementally revealing the true depth and brilliance of the INFP type.
INFPs are highly articulate writers and speakers. They are able convey ideas concisely and powerfully, in a way that truly speaks to others.
Introverted feeling is a river. It’s the steady ebb and flow of emotion, of understanding, of deep, resounding truths that curve and flow their way through the INFP’s consciousness, guiding their thoughts and desires.
The INFP–perhaps more so than any other type–possesses the unique ability to assimilate what is painful and unforgivable with what is beautiful and worthy of being renewed and to let it all flow onward together.
Once they’ve found understanding, they’ve found peace. And their ability to harmoniously integrate their past experiences with their hopes for the future is what saves this type from staying trapped inside of suffering, time and time again.
When the INFP is lonely, Ne swoops in to suggest activities the INFP could partake in, in order to meet likeminded people. When the INFP is discouraged, Ne swoops in to remind the INFP of all the different routes they could take to end up where they want to be. When the INFP is uninspired, Ne goes out into the world and sources strange new opportunities for the INFP to explore.
Extroverted intuition only becomes a problem when it acts without checking in with the other functions–starting and then promptly abandoning an endless series of projects and endeavors, which emotionally exhausts the INFP as they frantically try to invest themselves in each one.
When the INFP is facing a major upset Ne attempts to distract the INFP from their inner turmoil by blowing in a thousand different directions at once, trying desperately to forge an intriguing new path for introverted feeling to flow down.
The older they get, the more this type learns to harness their extroverted thinking to direct the flow of their introverted feeling. They will eventually come to understand that they are not stifling their creativity by guiding and structuring it–they are optimizing it.
A dominant-tertiary loop occurs when an individual of any type switches to dwelling exclusively in the social realm they are most comfortable in–that is, extroversion for extroverts and introversion for introverts. They will neglect the input of their auxiliary function and move directly from their dominant function to their tertiary one while taking in new information and making decisions. This leads to a temporary (or in some cases pervasive) imbalance in personality–extroverted types lose touch with their inner world, whereas introverted types lose touch with their external environments.
Perhaps what every INFP longed to hear growing up is simply that it’s okay to feel things as deeply as they do.
Despite what they have undoubtedly been told, this type does not need to ‘feel less’ in order to fit in with the world around them. They simply need to develop their own breed of emotional awareness–one that allows them to navigate the world as the complex individuals they are, and to share their irreplaceable insights with others.
The next time an intense feeling seemingly pops up out of nowhere, the INFP may want to try the following: Write down a time when you’ve felt this way before. Write down how the experience played out. Write down which steps or actions that helped you overcome this emotion. Write down what it felt like to be past–or on the other side of–the emotional experience. Write down what it might look like to be on the other side of this emotional experience. Write down which actions or concrete steps may help you get there.
