The INFJ Personality Guide: Understand yourself, reach your potential, and live a life of purpose.

by Bo Miller

This means introverted intuition is a mystery to most people.

Introverted intuition considers all the data at once searching for patterns and connections. When it’s working, you may experience an “aha” moment where all of the sudden you have an insight into what a person is thinking or feeling even without that person telling you. That’s why a lot of INFJs are mistakenly thought to be mind readers.

You may, for example, be studying a particular topic, reading articles and books, and thinking through the research in your mind. Then, when you’re in the shower, getting ready for the day, walking down the hallway, or driving your car, an insight will hit you out of nowhere: You, seemingly all of the sudden, understand how all the pieces fit together.

introverted intuition may present itself as a hunch: seemingly out of nowhere, you have a good idea what the cause is or what the solution may be. This seems odd and fishy to others - like magic, but it’s not. What’s really happened is that your mind has put the details together subconsciously, identified a pattern or trend, and led you to a highly likely conclusion. My

Because introverted intuition is an INFJ’s dominant function, he may seem like he’s often in another place. The process makes it easy for you to get lost in thought.

Eventually, my wife got home somehow, only to find her mother lost in research on the bald eagle. While the story is funny, this sort of thing happens to the INFJ a lot, and it’s a consequence of the introverted intuition which is an information gathering function. An INFJ can easily spend two, three, or four hours researching a topic of interest. INFJs get so caught up in what they’re doing that they lose track of time and may even neglect their basic needs. They’ll forget to eat or drink or to use the bathroom until all of the sudden they realize they’re starving or they’ve got to run.

Introverted intuition is also an incredibly creative function. It excels at putting seemingly disparate ideas together to make something new and interesting. It naturally and easily connects the dots between ideas that, to most people, don’t seem to go together.

Most INFJs are good with words, and I think it’s largely because of this function - and perhaps because of extroverted feeling. They don’t just know language, but they have a deep awareness of the meaning and power of each of the words. Latin was one of my favorite subjects in high school because it helped me understand the origin of our language. I loved seeing Latin words in our words. When, for example, we were studying the word send - “mitto, mittere, misi, missus” - my mind started rifling off related words: missionary, emissary, missile, emit, mission, missiological, amiss, and so on. I still love etymology because it helps me understand how everything works and fits together.

Whenever I’m with someone and they’re telling me a story or sharing about their day, I listen for the central ideas. After a little while, I’ll hear something related to an original topic, but the connection won’t be one that the person I’m listening to would think of. I’ll, then, bring the current conversation back around to that original thought in a surprising or ironic way.

Introverted intuition is what makes INFJs excellent musicians, artists, graphic designers, writers, and so on. The connections they make are original and wonderful, and there is a world of creativity in each INFJ’s mind.

Introverted intuition also postures INFJs toward the future. They will look at the past and the present, but they’ll do so in order to collect enough data to project what’s going to happen in the future.

INFJs are great at beginning with the end in mind and backward planning. They can anticipate the future and work out what it’ll take to get there.

INFJs live with a deep hunger for a sense of purpose. They anticipate the end of their lives and want to know that they’ve made a difference in the world, primarily through serving people. They’ll commit themselves to personal growth plans and work tirelessly to achieve their long-term visions.

Many INFJs also like entrepreneurship because it allows them to design a business that fits their personalities. They can help people from their homes so that they have the quiet they need to focus, and they can also ensure that their business or practice aligns with their personal values and high standards of integrity.

He also loves to help her figure out what she’s good at and create an action plan to help her get there. Again, this is why INFJs make great teachers, life coaches, counselors, psychologists, nurses, and other workers in the helping professions. They enjoy helping people get where they want to go and to the places and positions that are best for them, their families, and society at large.

You won’t be satisfied with knowing that something is as it is - you’ll also want to know why. Introverted intuition is the capacity to understand complex systems.

You’ll also be able to focus on a problem or project for an extended period of time until you’ve figured it out.

you’ll be happiest when you’re fulling engaging your mind while trying to solve a complicated problem, create something completely original, or understand a challenging ...

I need to know that the person is actually going to do something before I invest time because I need to see that the project is moving forward.

Futurist My mind naturally drifts into the future. I naturally imagine what life will be like a year, five years, ten years, or twenty years into the future following my current pattern of living.

They use it well, and it drives a lot of what they do, despite the fact that using it drains them. As introverts, INFJs will never get energy from acting in an extroverted way, even though they’re really good at it.

they’re adept at picking up on and interpreting how people are feeling. They can do this without anyone else ever telling them how they’re feeling.

Because INFJs pair extroverted feeling with introverted intuition, they have an incredible ability to “mind read”, or so it would seem to outside observers.

Extroverted Introverts The paradox of being an INFJ is that you crave privacy, but because you use extroverted feeling, you’re skilled in social situations. Most INFJs really do enjoy their time with people. They’re natural conversationalists who can talk to almost anyone. They have the ability to almost “get inside another person’s mind” and determine what she wants to talk about. Then, they can adapt their words to fit the conversation and engage the person they’re talking with. They’re conversational chameleons when not making a concerted effort to be completely transparent and say what they think and feel.

INFJs may also experience competing feelings. When they see someone in the grocery, for example, they might one day go up and say “Hello” and have a lively conversation. On other occasions, in the same grocery store, they might hide behind a fruit display to avoid having to talk to someone. A lot depends on how much energy they have and what their mood is for the day.

As NFs, they see possibilities for people and particularly love helping people make strides in personal growth.

Because INFJs are introverts, they do better helping people in small group and one-on-one settings.

Most INFJs will be happiest in roles where they can help people but do so in a setting that preserves their alone time and privacy.

Many INFJs also make good writers. Writing is an extremely private activity, but authors write to benefit an intended audience. So, again, this work meets the requirements of alone time and creativity as well as work done in the service of others. In fact, if you were to break INFJ work down to a formula, it would look like this: privacy + originality + helping others = satisfying work.

Until they learn that many people communicate directly and are not concerned with feelings and harmony, INFJs will also be at risk for getting their feelings hurt. They have paper-thin skin. This is one of the biggest challenges of being an INFJ: you easily get your feelings hurt and are hypersensitive.

incredible and valuable function. While you will need to develop some thicker skin and toughness to keep from getting your feelings hurt, this function paired with your introverted intuition will give you the chance to relate to all kinds of people.

As an INFJ, you genuinely care about people you meet and treat them with dignity and respect. You look out for their good. People don’t always get this treatment, and they appreciate that you take interest in them and attempt to make a genuine connection. You possess an especially high level of emotional intelligence, and this gift makes you an extraordinary people person as well as an incredible networker.

INFJs often want to know why things are as they are. Furthermore, they want to be able to explain and organize the world around them. This is a result of their introverted thinking at work. Most of the information that I take in and organize revolves around my core interests.

What you know much about and focus on will depend largely on your personal interests. People have told me that I know a lot about a variety of subjects. Most people know a good deal about one subject, but INFJs have the capacity to know much about many subjects.

They are anything but content to just exist. Rather, they’re the kind of people who search for the purpose of life and ask deep questions. They want to know how the world came to be and what holds it in place.

Many INFJs are also people of faith. They have to have a purpose in life, and many find it in a God who is bigger than they are.

I wrestled with my beliefs, and the people I talked to tired of wading through such deep waters.

In addition to the fact that you, as an INFJ, are a creative introvert, you’ll desire freedom to do things your own way. This is another consequence of your introverted thinking.