7 Struggles Only the Rarest Myers-Briggs Personality Type Will Understand
Of all the personalities in the Myers-Briggs typology, INFJ is the rarest, making up only one percent of the entire population. And just like anything else in nature, being hard to come by makes this personality type extra special. INFJs are highly intuitive, introverted feelers with strong value systems. This trifecta culminates in a powerful instinct to nurture and care for others, which makes INFJs incredible friends, partners, and parents. In spite of (or perhaps because of) the profound complexity of their inner worlds, INFJs also have their fair share of weaknesses. If you are this gem of a personality type (or if you know an INFJ), you might identify with the following seven struggles.
1. You have a tendency to meddle, but you mean well. You have an impeccable inner compass. Your life and relationships are guided by your intuition, which is usually spot on. Since you are so good at reading between the lines, you tend to get “feelings” about things (and people) — and you’re usually right. However, your greatest strength can also be your greatest weakness. Because you care so much about those you love, it can be tempting for you to give unsolicited advice to them, which can come off as nosy, pushy, or intrusive.
2. Stubborn is your middle name. With your on-point sense of intuition and rock-solid value system, you can be just a little bit opinionated about things you care about. Though you aren’t a big fan of heated arguments, there are some things you just don’t budge on, which can make you appear stubborn. Maybe we’ll just call it tenacity ;)
3. You avoid conflict like the plague. Conflict stresses you out. You love your people, and you want them to know how much you love them. Anything that comes between you is simply not welcome in your world. Rather than putting your relationships at risk, you tend to avoid conflict. But since you’re such a strong feeler, it’s hard to completely shut down your emotions when something’s awry between you and a loved one, which means you can get a little passive aggressive at times.
4. Stress makes you sick — literally. You’re a feeler, and it affects every single part of your body. This is because you give yourself so fully to the causes and people you care about most. You care for people deeply, and you tend to have a good sense of what they need, so when those don’t line up, you get stressed — and your body takes a hit too. You’ve probably felt your stomach in knots or experienced a tension headache when under stress, or you may get sick more frequently than other people do.
5. You are locked-safe-level secretive. Just because you’re an expert at relationships doesn’t mean you dole out your deepest feelings to just anyone. Your amazing sense of intuition makes you slightly self-protective, which means that, while you can be open and vulnerable to select close friends, you’re super secretive in other scenarios. Sometimes, it can also be hard for you to verbalize your complex (but profound) inner world, so you tend to stay quiet.
6. You are an extreme perfectionist. You might believe you’re right most of the time, but you also struggle to feel like you’re really living up to your potential. Since you are driven by and rarely compromise on your firm value system, and you see possibilities in everything, you have unrealistically high expectations for yourself. In most cases, you are easier on other people than you are on you. Even when you accomplish something amazing (which you do, and often), you might minimize it or beat yourself up for how you could have done better. Besides, you would much rather celebrate what others have accomplished!
7. Organization isn’t really your thing. You’re probably a little bit disorganized, but it’s not because you aren’t whip-smart. Quite frankly, you’re probably too smart. Since you are highly invested in relationships and always fascinated by ideas and theories, the mundane nature of the daily grind is of little interest to you. This means that although you tend to your inner world with extreme care, your desk or purse might often be a mess. You also might have a bad habit of losing your keys or other important belongings.
Do you identify with any of these common INFJ struggles? Tell us your experience @BritandCo!
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