Sometimes, it's like a breath of fresh air to talk to someone who is on the same wavelength as you, whether they share your generation, personality, or traits. It feels like you just click without needing to know or ask personal questions. Once, during a slow day at work, I spoke with a colleague who I had known since I was a newbie at the company. Despite not knowing much about each other except our ages, origins, and a bit about our past jobs, we became good friends. We confide in each other about work and sometimes discuss music, nostalgia, and pop culture.
She once mentioned how she finds public speaking daunting and being around people challenging, which I could relate to. I told her I shared her sentiments because I am an introvert. She then asked me what my MBTI** type was, which confused me until I remembered a test I took in the past. I replied that I am an INFJ (Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging), and she revealed that she is too! It was a relief to find someone of my kind, even though we might differ in our subtypes. I turned out to be an INFJ-T (Turbulent) which is not as bad as it may sound, I'll explain further later. The INFJ personality type is actually rare, making up only about 1% of the population.
So, what is an INFJ? I'll share some insights from an article on Forbes Health:
**INFJ Type Strengths:**
- Creativity
- Strong ethical values and beliefs
- Altruism
- Compassion and empathy
- Inspiration and support for others
**INFJ Type Weaknesses:**
(and how it applies to me)
- Sensitivity to criticism (depending on how it's expressed, if its constructive or demeaning)
- Overly self-critical (true for me, but not excessively)
- Difficulty opening up to others (yes i'm a very private person)
- Easily bored with ordinariness (absolutely)
- Prone to burnout due to passion and perfectionism (yes, hate to admit but burnout is life for me)
- Stubbornness (I admit, 'No' means 'Yes')
Common INFJ traits include compassion, idealism, sensitivity, and being reserved. There are two subtypes: assertive advocate (INFJ-A) and turbulent advocate (INFJ-T). INFJ-As are confident and relaxed, while INFJ-Ts experience more self-doubt and anxiety.
I fall under the INFJ-T category because everything mentioned above is true for the "Turbulent Advocate" subtype. I think my coworker/friend might be an INFJ-A because she's always composed, even when things are bad. You wouldn't even know she's upset. For instance, one time we had to resolve a seemingly impossible task at work. I didn't know she was already bawling until she told me while I thought all along she was just joking lol, as we communicate only through this workspace messaging system.
Honestly, I may be an INFJ-T, which is normal but rare. Despite my lack of chattiness, most people find me hilarious—maybe my sense of humor is just crazy or amusing to others. On a serious note, knowing your personality type is beneficial because it helps you understand yourself better, especially if you're feeling confused or out of place. It's not bad to be unique and rare, even if you feel like a goat in a flock of sheep...or something. 🙄
**The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) Step I is based on Carl Jung's theory of psychological type. It indicates your personality preferences in four dimensions: Where you focus your attention – Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I) The way you take in information – Sensing (S) or INtuition (N)
