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In this episode Joel and Antonia dive deep into the needs and desires of the INFP personality type.
In this podcast on INFP Personality Type you’ll find:
- Why are INFPs misunderstood?
- The cognitive function is a mental process that helps you learn information or make decisions.
- The 4 letter code tells you how your brain is wired. It’s like an entrance on how you learn processes.
- Authenticity – Is a way that you (as an INFP) make your decisions which is more inclined what resonates with you the most as a person.
- INFPs understand emotions on a whole different level.
- Questions to ethics become very intriguing to INFPs. For example: “what determines an ethical or moral action?”
- Authenticity is very in touch with the subjective human experience.
- Authenticity is where we humans find conscience. Because that’s when we ask, “how do we honor people’s individuality?”
- Oftentimes, INFPs become masters of human experience in general.
- The ability to determine that something resonates is a maturity of the Authenticity process. As it matures, it understands that not everything they experience is the same as everyone.
- Do INFPs truly want to be understood?
- Nobody could be 100% understand them apart from themselves.
- INFPs feel being marginalized and dismissed way more than being misunderstood.
- INFPs seek validation.
- We want to acknowledge that they have a specific type of pain based from their personality type.
- Authenticity type should be balanced with Exploration. Exploration (the co-pilot function) is about advanced pattern recognition in the outside world – thinking behind the curtain.
- If you want more description or definition, check out our episode “Introverted Intuition VS Extraverted Intuition”.
- Your superpowers are developed when you learn to master your co-pilot.
- Art is one of the places where INFPs thrive.
- Art is a communication of feeling and INFPs simply flourish in this context. They create art that’s impactful.
- For INFPs, they tend to recall how they felt/reacted in the past.
- They have the ability to mirror emotions. They don’t need to mirror emotions in real time. For example, the can look at an art piece and mirror the emotion to themselves.
- Authenticity people tend to recall how they feel/how they imagined they would feel and then instantly replicating the emotion inside them.
- The emotional language can be transferred in long extensive periods of time.
- In order to be authentic, you need to have a mature and vast understanding of how the world works.
- Intent: The Darker aspect of Authenticity. INFPs tend to try to give a reason that’s combated with logic.
- INFPs tend to defend their intent, because they see a wide array of positive and negative intent. They understand how people can easily go and slip into bad intent.
- Healthy INFPs view everything has positive intent.
- Being able to understand that darkness is universal and part of the human experience will help you accept yourself.
- How to go about making a living as an INFP?
- Getting something done can sometimes be very challenging for INFPs.
- INFPs have the desire to make an impact and be an inspirational leader. Oftentimes, they will disregard the passion they have. Passion is extremely important.
- Authenticity people can have the tendency to marginalize people. Make sure you do what you’re passionate with. Check in with yourself what you really want.
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215 comments
I discovered I am an INFP in my early 20s and still struggling to grow as one. I gotta say I resonate with you, Danielle. Because I am 31 and that’s how my life is. Let’s not give up and venture into new experience I guess.
As for the podcast, I totally agree with the ‘being misunderstood’ part. I’m not misunderstood but just not understood? When I explain things or try to get my point across, I observe that most people have a blank look on their face, so I’ve decided to keep quiet instead. That happens a lot in group setting. It’s not like they judge me or anything, there is just no response. I prefer to have some form of validation but I just don’t ask for it.
A lot of the points mentioned are spot-on.
1) About emotional Aikido – I love that term! That’s almost like an ego boost to INFPs :p
2) The difference between Fi and Fe users – I have an INFJ friend and I think now we understand how it works. I can appear heartless in some emotional situation. I am able to withhold my response at the moment.
3) In decision making, sometimes I need to enter into it to be fully convinced it’s not the right decision. Strange. I still do a lot of that in my career and seen as someone who quits too fast. But I don’t feel that’s the case. I hate it when people ask me what I want to do with my life, because I don’t know.
Somehow, for personal growth, developing Te is what I’m accustomed to do. However, that’s really sloppy and maybe I should brush up my Ne.
Thank you Personality Hacker for a lot of great tips.
Hey, Danielle – I think you’re merely describing the process a most people (especially Authenticity users) go through when looking for their life’s passion. For an INFP it’s about finding something that makes every part of them sing – you know it’s right down to the marrow of your bones. If you haven’t experienced that yet then it really is a matter of continuing to try different things on for size.
I know we all check in with the people around us to help gauge where we’re at in life. But if the dabbling at different arts doesn’t bother you, if it’s simply that you don’t want to be seen that say – I’d say fuck it and keep dabbling. There’s little that is more fulfilling in life than doing what you love. Being socially acceptable doesn’t hold a candle to it.
Have you read Julia Cameron’s book “The Artist’s Way” yet? I HIGHLY recommend it for any NFP looking for their passion.
Cheers!
-Antonia
I think you two really touched on a LOT of important aspects of our personalities. I do want to ask some questions, though. With the talk about finding the right career and when that happens, having an unquestionable outpouring of love and commitment- this is not quite right for me. I’ll tell you why because it’s not quite wrong either. I grew up in love with acting- in love with it. It pretty much saved me from the stressful environment of my family and gave me a constant source of inspiration. I loved that there was so much exploration of the psyche and emotions, I loved the variety, I loved the storytelling. I moved to Los Angeles when I was 18. Nothing could have prepared me for the shock of growing up- and I saw some dark stuff at home. I realized slowly that I never felt at home at the theater school I went to, I was often depressed and fatigued…I also slowly realized that I had a very unhealthy relationship with my mother ( I am 31 now and it took me that long to really trust the voice in me that had been warning-then doubting-then warning me that my mom is manipulative and narcissistic)….It took me a while to admit to myself that I just didn’t have the energy to pursue such a life and I moved back home after a friend’s death and went to college. I chose a degree (Sociology) that interested me but didn’t end up being my passion. I also chose studio art classes as my minor. I still love art, it is my greatest escape. I can lose myself to the process and even when I feel as if I am not talented (and I feel inadequate in most areas of my life) I don’t really care because I love it HOWEVER, I don’t know which one is for me. I tried almost every kind of studio art under the sun and enjoyed some of them more than others but nothing SHOUTED to me. I also ADORED my linguistics class….but was it just because I was good at it….in the mean time I have worked a plethora of jobs that leave me bored out of my mind (or unfulfilled), but tired when I get home. I know that other people see me as someone who cannot commit to anything- and in my heart of hearts I don’t think this is true, but I do feel like a jack of many trades and you know the rest… I am afraid to try more because I do want to be a dabbler forever…I want to acknowledge this passion you speak of that I have apparently never quite had the drive to sustain…..does this make me a maladjusted/immature INFP….or does it mean I’m another type who thinks I’m an INFP?? (Yes on the surface many people have no idea what an emotional woman I am…I present initially as calm and maybe quirky, and I can read people well but pay too close attention to the nuances of behavior and it can drive me nuts)
shared this particular podcast on reddit :)
so i was also wondering about INFPs and partnerships, romantic and otherwise. at the end of the podcast i think antonia mentioned that INFP visionary types often have an ISTJ and ISFJ helping them out with the details; can you elaborate on this? what kind of partnership trends have you noticed, romantic and otherwise?
You all hit the nail on the head. Being able to articulate your derivations as an INFP is extremely frustrating. I have spent my life around a significant number of xNTPs, who always seem to demand clarification and justification of my thoughts. I believe it has trained me to organize my thoughts more appropriately.
My family are all “thinkers”. For that reason, I value cold, hard logic because I have been conditioned to do so. However, this is not my personal nature. I feel torn between two worlds sometimes, because I have to present my feelings as logic when they aren’t truly logical. That forced process mixes up the message and makes me appear to lack credibility. That’s my personal take on being “misunderstood”.