INFP personality type explained

I’m an INFP personality type. Conventional paths in life don’t satisfy me. Never have. It feels like my entire life has been a mission to find one thing or another.

First, I had to discover who I was (an introverted idealist with a powerful creative streak). Next, I wanted to know where I fit in on planet earth (nowhere and everywhere). Finally, I set my sights on finding my purpose. This one is still in progress, but it mostly consists of connecting the dots and writing it all down.

The INFP personality type in the wild

You might have noticed me “in the wild”. You probably mistook me for a shy wallflower. Little did you know that beneath my stoic exterior there is fire. Like most INFPs, I’m passionate about my principles. My heart burns with a desire to discover, change, and grow.

Here are some famous INFPs you might have heard of:

Famous INFPs

Audrey Hepburn
Princess Diana
Helen Keller
C.S. Lewis
J.R.R. Tolkien
J.K. Rowling
Bjork
John Kerry
Cameron Crowe
John F. Kennedy Jr.
Lisa Kudrow
George Lucas
Beck
Isabel Briggs Myers

As an INFP personality type, I’m open-minded and open-hearted. I always seek to understand without judgment; yet I’m rarely understood. Comprising only 4% of the population, I’m an enigma to most. That’s why I try my best to offer others the unconditional acceptance I rarely encounter.

Unless you violate one of my core principles, I will accept you for who you are – no matter how odd a human you might be. In fact, I’m drawn to unconventional people because they satisfy my intense curiosity.

A seeker to the core

You see, I’m a seeker to the core. You can find the INFP personality type travelling the world, or simply seeking different experiences close to home. Some personality types look for excitement and adrenaline rushes when they travel. I’m searching for a new perspective.

I’m seeing how many color combinations I can create with my Rubik’s Cube. While an Analyst personality (NT type) searches for a logical solution to the puzzle of life, I want to know how it feels to put the different pieces together. That’s the thing about NF personalities – we are “feelers”. We aren’t driven by logic and reason. We are driven by potential.

The INFP personality type thrives in the realm of possibility. We’re always searching for what “could be”. Our “grass is greener” mentality is both our guiding light, and our Achilles heel. The trouble is, our constant seeking is tiring.

One of our greatest challenges is to balance our thirst for new perspectives with our need to reflect in solitude. Our inner world is our home base. We need quiet to find patterns and make connections. Once we connect the dots in our constellations of thought, we want to share our discoveries with the world.

Irresistible Introvert Quote 2

The INFP gift of self-expression

The INFP personality type has a gift for self-expression. Many INFPs become writers, poets, artists, or actors. We are the ones who speak in metaphors, skillfully using language to create imagery. INFP visual artists use pictures to convey what words cannot express. Many INFPs are drawn to the performing arts because we enjoy “trying on” different personalities. An INFP with a passion for acting is an expert at expressing herself through the language of emotions.

Like everything else we do, an INFP’s creative endeavours are driven by our deeper ideals.

Don’t try to convert me to your cult

Being an INFP personality type means that I need to live life on my own terms. I have my own personal reasons for this, and it’s best not to question them. I may seem calm and easygoing, but I will fiercely defend my principles against anyone who dares to violate them. Though I hate conflict, I’m like a Viking warrior when it comes to protecting my core values.

Don’t even think about trying to convert me to the cult of convention. An INFP is like an orchid that only blooms in unusual places. I wilt in the ordinary world. As Anais Nin put it:

“Had I not created my whole world, I would certainly have died in other people’s.”

I’m an INFP, and convention is my poison. Let me bloom in my own world of possibility.

Love,

Michaela-Signature

 

Michaela Chung