INFP
Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Perceiving.
Though it usually has a bad connotation, I tend to have a certain amount of love for labels, they just make life that much easier to walk through, even though they commonly are far too over-summarizing and far too dis-focused. We use them everywhere, I’m the “CEO” of this company, I’m a “Native American,” blah blah blah, and it helps figure out who/what someone is, at least in one context. In terms of my previous job, I was an Enumerator. In terms of personal interests, I’m a Graphic Design. In terms of personal actions, I’m a Health Nut, some would argue.
Still, one of the more interesting labels in my book is the ones relating to the Jungian Typology, which is one way of laying you out on a chat and figuring out hat makes you tick. Whether you’re an introverted individual, who lives mostly inside your head and live secondarily outside, or vice versa. It goes down multiple levels, and each one dissects a little more about the individual. Sensing or Intuitive, Feeling or Thinking, Judging or Perceiving, what are you?
I’m an INFP, an introverted intuitive feeling perceiving person. So, what does that mean?
In one of the descriptions I found online, it seems to outline some things which I fall rather hard under.
- INFPs, more than other intuitive feeling types, are focused on making the world a better place for people: While I feel a little self-serving saying that out loud, I generally feel this. While I may stretch it to meet different means, such as the idea that creating a quality logo for a quality company could make them that much more recognizable, memorable, and help them gain customers and grow as a business, paying employees and possibly building out, adding more jobs to the community and serving more customers as a result
- INFPs have very high standards and are perfectionists. Consequently, they are usually hard on themselves, and don't give themselves enough credit: To be honest, this one drives me up the wall, and has caused my a number of problems so far in life. I could possibly argue that I lost my second job due to this, pushing far too much for everything to be perfect and ending up with everything getting slowed to a crawl because of it. I work for quality, but I can work too hard towards that goal without actually reaching the goal, like figuring out how to hike the hill, but never doing so.
- INFPs do not like to deal with hard facts and logic: I would say I don’t fall under this one personally, but everyone’s open to their opinions.
- INFPs are flexible and laid-back, until one of their values is violated: Um...yeah, this one’s definitely true. I can be incredibly stubborn when people contradict themselves, such as “I’m a Conservative, rah rah rah! Free rights, you choose everything! But you can’t abort a baby or marry another of the same sex because that’s wrong and GOD says so!” Because, you know, you didn’t just say “free rights, you choose everything.” It’s that and I can be hard on broken trust, I still haven’t forgiven my sister for outright taking one of the better moments in my life and trying to turn it against me because I wouldn’t drop everything to go buy her a pack of cigarettes, Oh, and to note, I haven’t smoked or drank once in my life so far.
- INFPs do not like conflict, and go to great lengths to avoid it ... On the other hand, INFPs make very good mediators, and are typically good at solving other people's conflicts, because they intuitively understand people's perspectives and feelings, and genuinely want to help them: Another ones spot on. I hate conflict, I tend to be one to fall apart during bad times of conflict, as well as outright avoid asking a question if I feel like it’ll cause problem. At the same time, I find the other part of this interesting, because it links back to understanding others + wanting to help others.
Either way, INFP is a label, which has it’s positive and negative connotations, but what can one do? It helps me think I understand myself a little better, that I am what I am to an extent. I can round off the sharp edges, and put some plywood towards the missing parts, but there’s some things which presist.
I still remember the day a co-worker told me I was two different people, this open talkative person in the work setting, but this dead-silent person during a non-work event with people I didn’t know. I’ve always had this stand-off approach in new situations, but I can already be assured that probably won’t help long term, but probably is a little better than being the overly-pushy one.
Either way, I still think it’s interesting to find a quality personality test and just see how you pop out. It’s a label, yes, but it’s one more piece to who you are, at least at the moment.
