MBTI Personality Type: INFJ – Idealist Counselor
INFJ is a thoughtful guide with a strong sense of personal integrity and is always committed to helping others discover their potential. They are both creative and dedicated, and are gifted to assist others in solving personal challenges.
Analysis of INFJ personality type
As a 'counselor', INFJ has unique intuitive abilities, can keenly perceive other people's emotions and motivations, and even often understand their own feelings before others. They firmly believe in their insight into others and believe that they can understand others' hearts. Although sensitive, he is also reserved - INFJ is a private personality and will selectively share his inner thoughts and feelings.
INFJ pursues meaning and purpose in life and the external world, and often has a strong interest in the deep understanding of culture, society and even the universe. They instinctively foresee the important consequences (both positive or negative) that each idea or action may have. This reflection and curious worldview provides INFJ with a unique perspective, allowing it to take a thoughtful approach when understanding its interactions with others and the world around it.
Ultimately, INFJ seeks to transform abstract intellectual thinking into applicable concrete actions to have a transformative impact on others. Although often in trouble and difficult to act, their behavior is always consistent with their true values when they are at their best.
The meaning and core characteristics of INFJ
INFJ is one of 16 personality types in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), founded by Katharine Briggs and Isabel Myers based on the theory of psychologist CG Jung.
Each letter of the INFJ code represents its key personality traits:
- Introverted : Get energy from being alone;
- Intuitive : Focus on ideas and concepts, not facts and details;
- Feeling : Make decisions based on feelings and values;
- Judging : Prefer orderly planning rather than casual and flexible.
INFJ is often called 'advisor personality' because of its idealism, compassion and sensitivity. Other nicknames include:
- An insightful visionary
- Speaker
INFJ's Values and Intrinsic Motivation
Guided by a well-thought-out personal values, INFJ is highly idealistic and can clearly conceive a happier and more perfect future. Although they may be frustrated by the harsh reality of the moment, they are always proactive and persistent in pursuing their goals—the driving force deep in their hearts, allowing them to constantly work hard to make the world better.
They long for a meaningful life, establish deep connections with others, and prefer to establish emotional intimacy with a select few loyalists rather than opening up to everyone. Although the rich inner world often makes them appear mysterious or private, they cherish the true connection of those who trust.
As a typical idealist, INFJ has many ideas for improving society and creating a better world. They believe that only by focusing on doing the right thing (rather than considering short-term consequences) can we achieve the ideal world. At the same time, harmonious relationships are crucial to INFJs - they are skilled mediators who are good at finding the roots of conflict to reach consensus, so they prefer diplomatic communication to avoid unnecessary angering others.
INFJ has a high respect for human potential and a strong interest in spiritual understanding. Therefore, it is committed to pursuing true self-development while encouraging and guiding others. In their idealistic beliefs, “Believe that one can achieve extraordinaryness, and extraordinaryness becomes possible” – but out of integrity and compassion, they rarely cut corners or hurt others to achieve their goals.
INFJ in the eyes of others
INFJs usually appear quiet, considerate and sensitive, and will focus on listening to other people’s thoughts or worries. They have a high level of insight into people and are eager to help others gain understanding. INFJs are not afraid of the complexity of personal problems—in fact, they are complex themselves, with little-known rich inner life. After a long period of reflection on moral issues, they have a deep feeling about things. Since “counselors” are usually gentle and introverted, their strong reactions often surprise others when their core values are threatened or questioned—under the calm appearance, the complexity of the inner world is hidden.
Because INFJs themselves are extremely complex, they may be reluctant to associate with people who cannot understand or appreciate themselves, and therefore are difficult to understand. Although you want to get along with others and support their goals, you are extremely loyal to your own value system and will not follow others on the path you think is “unreal”. When they feel that values are not respected, or when they are intuitively informed by someone that they are not intent, they are likely to back off.
Those familiar with INFJ may describe it as quiet, smart, serious, gentle, and even somewhat secluded. Others generally consider INFJs to be pleasant, but may also notice that they are sometimes moody, cold, and even a little irritable. In short, those who do not often contact may regard INFJ as an incomprehensible puzzle, and even find it a bit difficult to get close to.
Those who approach INFJ will see the depth of empathy below the surface, as well as the nature of curiosity and insight. When family, friends or trusted colleagues need constructive feedback and a new perspective, INFJ always offers wise and helpful advice at any time.
INFJ prefers to 'extinguish fire' rather than 'ignite fire'. When holding positions on the work team, nonprofit committee, PTA, city council, etc., others will gradually appreciate their incredible ability to relieve tension, soothe emotions, arbitrate quarrels and restore harmony.
The rarity of INFJ personality
The proportion of INFJ in the crowd:
- 2.3% of the total population;
- Women account for 3.1% and men account for 1.4%.
Data source: PsycTest QuizMBTI Personality Type Statistics
Click to view the details of MBTI personality ratio
INFJ celebrity example
INFJ celebrities include:
- Mahatma Gandhi (politician)
- Eleanor Roosevelt (social activist)
- JK Rowling (writer)
- Jung (psychologist)
- Dostoevsky (writer)
INFJ Fictional Characters
- Star Wars Luke Skywalker
- Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter
- Atticus Fincher
- Game of Thrones Melisandro
- Elsa 'Frozen'
Interesting facts about INFJ
- Personality traits are manifested as: sincerity, compassion, humility, easy-goingness, reservedness, and patience;
- One of the highest GPA types in college and most likely to complete college;
- Most likely to cope with stress through psychological counseling;
- The type with the highest marital satisfaction;
- It attaches importance to spirituality, learning and community service, and is commonly found in the fields of religion, consultation, teaching, and art.
INFJ's Hobbies and Interests
INFJ's popular hobbies include: writing, art appreciation, cultural activities, reading, small-scale private social interaction, playing or listening to music.
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INFJ's core advantages
Practical insight
Some are visionary leaders, some are pragmatic solvers, and INFJ can cross the boundaries of both and succeed. They are insightful thinkers, able to observe situations and people effectively, and willing to develop action plans.
Combination of compassion and intuition
As an emotional personality, INFJ's compassion is accompanied by a keen intuition—even if others do not show signs of pain, they can quickly identify the worries of friends and family, and their unique ability is to discover unrecognized pain and be driven to act.
Peace maintenance and dispute mediation
Mediating disputes is a tough job, but INFJ has amazing capabilities to help heal the rifts among the splitters. They can intuitively realize that suppressing anger can bring real pain, and as excellent listeners, they can effectively help the belligerent parties find feasible solutions to meet the needs of all parties and invest a lot of energy to achieve it.
Decisive and determined
INFJ faces obstacles that need to be overcome, but there is no problem that can surpass its inner strength and resilience. They firmly push their ideas, have the willpower and decisiveness to carry out the project to the end, and live to solve problems and bring about opportunities for positive change.
Potential Weaknesses of INFJ
Details ignore tendencies
No matter how pragmatic he desires, INFJ tends to be overly focused on holistic theory and forgets to consider important details that distinguish success from failure. Although the importance of details is recognized in principle, practice is not always hardworking enough on small things.
Excessive self-enclosure
Although INFJ is naturally caring and sensitive, he tends to isolate himself from the world and prevent others from having the opportunity to understand himself or see good qualities. Even with family and trusted friends, it may remain mysterious. When frustrated or introspective, you may quit socializing without explanation, confusing others.
Conflict aversion trap
INFJs are extremely averse to conflict and often intervene to stop them, but this may also distort their views—they often fail to realize that conflict can play a beneficial role, allowing a good compromise process to be established and giving parties the opportunity to resolve the issue permanently. INFJ should acknowledge the value of open and honest dialogue rather than automatically assume that all quarrels are harmful.
High sensitivity response
Once the INFJ is determined, he will be very confident in the conclusion and may not tolerate dissenters. When someone questions the conclusion, the reaction can be very intense and is especially susceptible to criticism.
INFJ's Growth and Development Suggestions
Questioning Intuition Limitations
INFJ has great intuition, but sometimes it goes wrong when dealing with others. When troubled, they tend to retreat to the inner safety zone rather than talking about feelings openly—given the emotional depth of the experience, they rarely express love, feelings and gratitude directly as expected. To improve communication, you should try your best to share your feelings with others, no matter how uncomfortable it is.
Give others space to understand
INFJ is insightful, intuitive and persuasive, but despite the huge effort to develop and market concepts, there may still be dissenters. They sometimes lose their fantasy about the person who refuses to accept the conclusion, believing that the other party has a hidden agenda or malice. At this time, it should be accepted that complete agreement is impossible, and some people will continue to hold the opposite view, and both parties can agree to the differences and continue to move forward.
Constructive acceptance of conflict
When tensions are intensifying and debates are intense, INFJ will try to restore cohesion and calm, but the love for harmony and disgust for division is too strong, and the refusal to accept that sometimes the best way to end disputes is to openly conflict to build a bridge of understanding. Overall, aversion to conflict is a good thing, but when there is a disagreement, the effort to act as a peacemaker will be more successful if you focus on keeping communication channels open (rather than covering up problems).
Connect with extroverts
Sharing with people outside the small circle is against INFJ's intuition, so talented people may choose to hide their talents, even if they can make a lot of contributions. But whenever possible, fostering friendly relationships with extroverts will benefit – getting along with more open and communicative people can help INFJ get out of the shell and allow the world to benefit from its wisdom, empathy and compassion.
Learn to focus and slow down
INFJ is productive when focusing on projects, but rich imagination often destroys efforts to stay focused, often with old inspiration starting new projects without completion, and eventually drowning in a lot of work. Although it is difficult to slow down the pace of inspiration, reminding yourself to slow down and do only one thing at a time can at least suppress the impulse to digress—remember, time is very precious.
INFJ in the workplace
INFJ is committed to improving the human condition in the workplace and is a dedicated, helpful and principled worker who can rely on to conceive, plan and execute complex projects for humanitarian careers.
Although usually driven by lofty ideals, you can only get the greatest satisfaction from your work if you turn your ideas into reality and create constructive changes for others.
INFJs are usually organized, preferring to complete projects in an orderly manner, tend to work independently, hoping to be in a quiet environment, and have the opportunity to fully develop their thinking. Despite possible slackness in details, the high commitment to the task and commitment to the best of their efforts make up for this tendency, sometimes requiring more meticulous colleagues to help ensure nothing is left out.
The ideal working environment is harmonious, diligent, and oriented towards humanitarian mission, and colleagues are also committed to positive change. INFJ is team-oriented and expects achievements to be recognized (including their own). But perform poorly in a highly competitive and “survival of the fittest” environment and prefer a workplace where collaboration is preferred.
The ideal job of a “consultant” is to exert creativity in an independent, organized environment and develop and implement a vision that conforms to personal values. As long as work brings satisfaction and contributes to greater benefits, status and salary are still secondary to INFJs. For the main motivation to serve others, many INFJs are engaged in positions such as consultant, educator, social service worker, therapist, and have ample opportunities to provide advice and guidance to those who need help with wisdom and compassion.
INFJ Career Statistics
- The likelihood of becoming a full-time parent is higher than average;
- The gender wage gap is low, with women INFJ earnings of 87% of men;
- The average salary is $36,575, which is below the average of all types;
- The likelihood of managing large teams is below average.
Popular careers that are adapted to INFJ
The core driving force of INFJ career choice is to engage in values-oriented jobs, often inclined toward healthcare, education or consulting. As natural thinkers, they like to use wisdom on topics of interest (often related to humans, such as psychology) and can also develop their talents in other fields of science and even engineering.
Many INFJs are creative, which is also reflected in career trends: dealing with language is particularly popular and can showcase their talents in various art fields.
Specific career direction:
- Health care : Physical therapist, public health educator, family doctor, psychologist, nutritionist, medical researcher
- Consulting and Social Services : Clinical psychologist, consultant, social worker, speech pathologist, pastor
- Science : Social scientist, environmental scientist, food scientist
- Business and Law : Human Resources Manager, Corporate Trainer, Environmental Lawyer, Legal Mediator
- Education : Primary school teachers, special education teachers, school counselors
- Language and Art : Librarian, Translator, Editor, Writer, Graphic Designer, Interior Designer
INFJ Roles in Teams
INFJ is a creative thinker who solves problems, proposes innovative ideas for exploring human potential, is good at observing other people's talents, and encourages teammates to show their skills. They focus on team processes, listen carefully, and integrate different priorities to create a shared vision. With a more willingness to be inclusive of all perspectives, difficulties may be encountered in a highly competitive or conflicted team.
In the team, INFJ acts as a quiet source of inspiration and vision, providing clear goals. They seek meaning and truth, reflect on their thoughts to create a deeper understanding. Although not often attracting attention, it provides insight into the moral and humanitarian issues at hand and often elaborates on the mission of the group. INFJ performs best in supportive teams, where they consider ethics and values and act in good faith. If the team moves quickly without thinking, it may alienate the INFJ.
INFJ as a leader
Although INFJs do not often seek leadership roles, many find themselves in leadership or choose to start an independent business. In either case, they bring quiet power and enthusiasm to their leadership roles and motivate team members.
INFJ leaders inspire others by sharing positive visions, tend to be low-key and humble, but win others' dedication through their own efforts, firm principles and inspiring ideas. They are at their best when leading the team to a shared vision and to set organizational goals that benefit others. Insight and creativity bring confidence and commitment to projects you believe in.
INFJ leaders are patient and attentive listeners who are always ready to listen when others make complaints, concerns or new ideas and do their best to help colleagues constructively and proactively deal with personal or professional issues. INFJ bosses want employees to trust themselves and regard themselves as ally rather than superiors when difficult situations arise.
Because it is often driven by personal values, INFJ leaders perform best in organizations that align their mission with values. The challenge is to make ideas and initiatives in line with reality and consider practicality when planning changes.
Careers that INFJs should avoid
Although any personality type may succeed in a variety of professions, some professions may be against nature for INFJs and lead to stress or burnout. The following occupations are not preferred by INFJ by population survey:
| 💔 | 💔 | 💔 |
|---|---|---|
| General Contractor | electrician | Engineering technician |
| mechanic | Surveyor | Farmers |
| sales Manager | Restaurant Manager | Property Manager |
| Financial Manager | officer | police officer |
| Nursing staff | Medical record technician | chef |
The relationship between INFJ and other personality types
Like-minded
The following types are more likely to share values, interests and lifestyles with INFJs, making it easier to get along:
Interesting differences
The following types are similar to INFJ, but the key differences make them attractive, and the relationship has a balance of commonality and mutual challenges:
Complementary growth type
INFJ may not be immediately attracted to the following types, but after a deeper understanding, you will find commonality and mutual learning potential, and the relationship has complementary value:
Challenge opposing
The following types are the most different from INFJ values and motivations, which are prone to conflicts, but are also opportunities for growth. If you can establish a relationship, you can learn from each other:
INFJ in Love
INFJ supports and guides partners with a sense of integrity in their relationship, and their interest in human development is also applicable to partners, encouraging them to pursue dreams and achievements.
They want to maintain harmony in their relationships and actively resolve conflicts, and are often creative problem solvers, looking for the emotional core of the problem to reach consensus. Despite the desire to cooperate, he is unwilling to accept ideas that feel 'unreal' and is unwilling to compromise when it comes to core values and morality.
INFJ longs for a high degree of intimacy and emotional commitment, and is happiest when sharing deep thoughts and feelings with your partner. Once you feel comfortable in a relationship, like to surround your partner with love and show a more relaxed and humorous side. True vulnerability can be challenging at the beginning, so it requires the partner to have patience to wait for trust to build.
INFJ believes that people who are closest to each other (including partners) should be like 'open books' and tend to think that others can easily see through their hearts. Unfortunately, partners don’t always share this empathy, which can lead to misunderstandings, especially in the early stages of the relationship.
Ultimately, INFJ values respecting its values and emotions, appreciating creativity and inspiration, and is willing to commit to a partner who continues to develop in the relationship.
INFJ as a friend
INFJ is a loyal, compassionate friend who wants to provide the best for those who care and is willing to help them realize their true potential. For them, the value of a relationship is measured by depth rather than breadth—although some people think that a complete address book or hundreds of social media followers are a sign of satisfactory social life, INFJ’s social circle is usually much smaller, and that’s exactly how they like it.
INFJ is an idealist, always looking for people who see the world in a similar way, tending to be attracted to people who have similar values, are trustworthy, and can understand themselves without overexplanation. Because of their introverted personality and often unwilling to take the initiative, extroverted types may attract them because of their shared interests and willingness to show initiative in social relationships.
Although it may be difficult to stay in touch or plan a party regularly, INFJ is a very loyal friend who enthusiastically supports the hopes and dreams of loved ones. Most people get great satisfaction from the achievements of friends and family, and feel endless joy when caring seeks guidance and inspiration.
INFJ as a parent
INFJ is a careful, loyal and caring parent who tends to establish strong connections with his or her children and pay close attention to their emotional state. 'Counselor' type parents naturally see their children's potential and encourage them to develop their talents.
Although supporting children to pursue personal interests, INFJ parents become firm educators when it comes to moral or ethical issues. Pay close attention to children's emotional and mental health and strive to create an educational environment that promotes growth and happiness.
They encourage their children to be proactive in life and try to attend their children's activities to support their growth. Even if you are disappointed with your child's behavior, you rarely choose to criticize or condemn them severely. No matter when and where, you will do your best to give your child love and support with a sympathy and respectful attitude.
INFJ's communication style
INFJ is more conservative in communication and usually retains the most precious ideas and insights. As an introvert, he does not like to speak loudly in public, but in one-on-one or small groups, motivational ability will be fully demonstrated - he believes that a positive lifestyle will bring rewards, and the ability to effectively communicate can stimulate the vitality of the listener and let them find new ways to improve themselves.
They are value- and connection-oriented, and they look for meaning and think deeply when receiving information. It usually takes time to process the evaluation before they are ready to share ideas. Seeking recognition, taking time to appreciate others and ideas, being good at making connections, bringing people together, integrating ideas, values and human potential.
Further explore suggestions
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The key to the advancement of INFJ lies in the switching between 'deep empathy' and 'psychological isolation': you can foresee the unexpressed needs of others, but may be burdened with other people's problems due to 'overtaking'; you can connect grand visions, but it is difficult to establish a protective barrier for your personal life. When you learn to protect your talents with boundaries, those 'sensitivity' that have been consumed will become the spiritual spark that changes the world. Click to get: 'INFJ Advanced Personality File'
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