There are famous INFJs from all ends of the spectrum: Agatha Christie and Leo Tolstoy to Hitler and Osama bin Laden to Cate Blanchett and Benedict Cumberbatch. Personally, I think it is cool that I share a personality type with great minds that wrote famous books or actors who have made a huge name for themselves. Even though Hitler and Osama bin Laden were not good people, they did manage to convince people to follow them and die for their cause, even if it was a despicable cause. The point is that all of these people are powerful people who changed the world in some way, good or bad. These people have the same type of thinking and feeling that I do, and it makes me feel powerful. What does it mean to be an INFJ, though?
INFJ stands for Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Judging. “The individual who prefers Introversion is aware of the internal world of experiences and is generally less in tune with the Extraverted energy field” (Pearman and Albritton, pg. 8). We are less likely to feel the need to express our thoughts and ideas until it is necessary. INFJs are also Intuitive: we have a thirst for knowledge and are seen as imaginative, unconventional, and intellectual. A popular phrase used when talking about us is “head in the clouds.” “Feeling types respond first with acceptance of an individual and a desire to accommodate before bringing logic and analysis to a situation” (Pearman and Albritton, pg. 14). Feeling types are accepting, rely on our emotions, and seek an overall agreement on something. Judging types are extremely organized. We are attached to calendars, which I can verify, and are especially skilled at prioritizing and organizing. In fact, I bought an agenda this year, and I have never felt so accomplished in my entire highschool career. I also do my best work when I am left alone with my thoughts. I have been particularly accomplished this year in the school newspaper because most of my close friends are not in there to distract me. As an Intuitive, I am extremely imaginative. I have a million book ideas in my head, and I know that they are all wonderful. I just need to put pen to paper. (Or rather, fingers to keys.) “... Intuitives like instead to explore paths that have never been imagined―often just because they are different” (Tiberio and Jensen, pg. 41). I am a dreamer, and I am extremely proud of that fact. I like to think that I bring a lot of ideas to my families and friendships. As a Feeling type, I am extremely accepting and trusting of emotions. Due to this, I have a tendency to let people hurt me. It has often made me wonder if I am at fault for letting people in; I hate how emotional and trusting I am towards people. However, due to this research, I have learned why I am the way I am, and it has helped me come to terms with it and even love myself for it. Everybody is different; I just happen to be a person who puts up less of a front than others. A particular quote that I find extremely fitting is one from Emilie Autumn’s book, The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls: “‘You’, he said, ‘are a terribly real thing in a terribly false world, and that, I believe, is why you are in so much pain.’” I have always been personally fond of writing. It is a good outlet, and I love to create new ideas and stories. As an Introvert, I do tend to work better when I am in a quiet environment and am not worried about how my decisions will affect others. Personally, in order to write well, I need a topic that I find engaging. For the school newspaper, I have to choose articles that I am genuinely interested in, otherwise it is just not that good. I tend to choose book reviews, movie reviews, and articles about the royal family. (I love England way more than is necessary.) I pour a lot of myself into my writing, so it is extremely important to me that people like my writing, particularly my friends and family. I read somewhere that authors put a little bit of themselves into every character that they write; I know that is definitely true for me. Due to this, I get personally offended if someone dislikes my writing. I get defensive even when someone just corrects a grammar mistake. However, one thing that did not correlate with my writing style is that Introverts do an outline before writing. Sometimes I write an outline, but that is mostly when I am forced to. I would love to be able to outline my ideas and have a plan for where a plot-line is going, but I just have trouble doing that. I will get an idea for the middle, or I will know how I want it to end up, but everything in between is pretty much made up as I write. As a Judging type, I “like to take charge of the outer world in a planful and orderly way” (DiTiberio and Jensen, pg. 25). I definitely start my project as soon as it is assigned. However, sometimes I procrastinate. I hate it when I do, but not everyone is fully motivated one hundred percent of the time. Either way, I always manage to finish my work in time. According to Paul D. Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger, INFJs are independent, original thinkers with strong feelings who trust their own ideas and decisions. We are loyal, committed, and idealistic. Our strengths include bringing out the best in others, excelling at resolving conflicts, and are charismatic and accepting. Our potential weaknesses include making decisions based on our own likes and dislikes, staying detached, being practical, moody, unpredictable, and overemotional. As Ernest Hemingway once said, “The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable: they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed.” I have always felt more connected to everything than most people. I feel things deeper. I give everything I do my all. I pride myself on my imagination and my organizational skills; I am always worried about how someone might feel about something, and I would much rather read a book than interact with people. Some people may not think that these traits are that important, or that they mean anything at all. To me, though, these traits are everything. They make up who I am. Who would I be if I was not an INFJ? How would I be different? I do not know, and I do not want to know. I love who I am. While it may be hard sometimes, while I may not have the relationships I want with people, while I may wish I did not get so attached to certain things, I would not trade who I am for the world. What does it mean to be an INFJ? I am sure there are a million different answers, but for me, being an INFJ means being me because that is who I am. Leave a Reply. |
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April 2018
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