Insightful, sensitive, altruistic, organized, quiet… INFJ descriptions can get pretty cliché, as any other summed up characterization specifically written for "pop" articles that need to be consumed quickly. As I cannot speak for other INFJs, I will merely show in which respects I differ from all these INFJ stereotypes, anf I would like your input. I exaggerated just a bit in order to make a point… I really am a good person :tongue:
I am selfish
Far from the INFJ cliché, I am a pretty selfish individual, in a particular sense of the word. I distinguish, broadly, two types of selfishness: the conscious one and the unconscious one. I believe that, often, when we say that someone in particular is selfish, what we want to say is that he is consciously selfish; that is, that she decides to act in ways that benefit her and makes an effort to put herself first. On the other hand, we tend to use the other definition of selfishness when describing human nature; when we , for instance, say that everyone is selfish: we are thereby saying that people are unconsciously selfish, because it's human nature, because this is what is instinctive to do, regardless of whether individuals are also consciously selfish or not. Being unconsciously selfish amounts to being quite oblivious of things that do not have a direct effect on us.
As an INFJ, because of Ni's constant review of all possible perspectives and Fe's focus on other people and on my connection with them, I could not be unconsciously selfish. Of course, as an introvert —and, specially, since Ni is an introverted perceiving function, meaning that I can easily spend hours "perceiving" things that do not exist outside my head— , I have to admit that I am somewhat self-absorbed, but, still, I do not think that I qualify as unconsciously selfish and I was definitely selfless as a child.
What happened was that, instead of staying a sensitive butterfly to infinity and beyond :words:, I decided to toughen up at some point, in order to protect my feelings and in order to focus on my own happiness. This meant thinking about me before helping some people, setting boundaries and making sure other people acknowledged them. Being assertive, in two words.
It is still a work in progress but, as long as I am aware of what the situation is like and as long as I have time to think about the place I occupy within the field of social networks, I am no longer that selfless butterfly. I had to learn to say 'no', to put myself first, to ponder whether a person is good for me, to analyze whether a situation will be beneficial for me and to believe in myself.
Of course, my first innate reaction will always be to put others first. That's because of Fe, but also because of Ni's ability to grasp others' perspectives. Ni + Fe = the ability to really put yourself in other people's shoes. But I get to decide what I do with this ability. Just because your pain is in my heart doesn't mean that my heart goes out to you.
I am in touch with my feelings
There is this cliché that, while INFJ are really aware of other people's feelings —which is true, btw—, they are quite oblivious of their own. This is not the case for me: I am very much aware of my own feelings; I instantly sense when something disturbs my intellectual and lucid nature :t: (Ni, Ti), when something emerges from the depths of my own self and irrupts in the intricate web of otherness that Fe is constantly weaving.
Once this feeling or emotion is quickly detected, the recognition path begins: I want to know what this feeling really is (Ni), why it is there (Ni) and I want to label it precisely (Ti). Overall, I want to embed this experience into a pattern of previous and, potentially, future experiences (Ni).
Another related phenomenon is that I am generally really aware of my inner dynamics. You know these characters from films or TV series who constantly act a certain way yet deny the causes or consequences of their actions even to themselves, when they are really apparent? Like guys constantly checking out guys yet denying being gay or bi or just plain non-straight. Well, these characters are like my exact opposites: I can lie to others, but I cannot lie to myself. Ni eventually always finds out the ultimate truth (almost!).
I am, therefore, in touch with feelings and emotions. Very much so. They are, nonetheless, pretty disturbing; that's true. I am, however, not in touch at all with my likes and preferences: what type of relationship do I want? what do I want to do this year? what do I want for lunch? And the hardest questions: who am I? how am I? what do I want to achieve in life? I can enumerate whims, say trivialities about myself, but it is hard for me to label myself and say 'I am this, I am that; I want this, I want that'. Most times, it is not that I do not know how to impose myself; it's that I don't have anything to impose.
I am a mess
You see that 'J' there? INFJ. It is supposed to mean I am a judgmental OCD asshole. Yep. There's Je somewhere in me: I judge, according to shared moral and sentimental standards (Fe). I, however, am a perceiving type! Ni (perceiving function) - dominant!
I nonetheless believe that this Je thing goes beyond my Fe-ness: it is true that I need a lot of external structure, even if it is self-imposed. And I believe xxxPs are a lot more self-regulated and chill. I, for instance, cannot think 'oh, I have to study', and magically start doing it, with my laptop and a book, still in bed, wearing a pajama. No: I have to get up, exercise a bit, take a shower, change my clothes and leave home to go to the library and THEN I am able to study. Because that's my routine; because that's where you study; in libraries; not in bed.
I am, therefore, quite a mess: unless everything goes smooth and I can maintain my good routines, things start getting chaotic. And my Je (mixed with Ni striving for ultimate grounds) favors and all-or-nothing, black-or-white mentality: I either live in a crystal palace or in a pigsty. There is seldom a middle ground.
I can be loud
That's Fe: I like being around my friends. I need to be alone half of the time and be around people the other half. I don't know who said us INFJs are the introverts among the introverts but it cannot be true, simply because Fe is our auxiliary function, and Fe needs people, Fe needs both society and community. And Fe can get loud: it parties, it laughs, it screams, it jumps with a bunch of friends on a mattress like hyper children; Fe can get hectic and maniac. And it's fun.
I am superficial
Take Ni, with its inclination to the greatest, ultimate Good and then add Fe, with its focus on socially accepted norms and protocols and you get a quite superficial person! Of course, I also care about all these deep things INFJ are supposed to care about: social justice, art, ecology, etc. But I unconsciously recognize what society values and can unawarely strive to achieve it. And what is that? Well, power, money, comfort, luxury, beauty, love, affection, admiration and recognition, I'm afraid.
And, remember, Ni always strives to get to the ultimate things. Meaning? I am never satisfied :sad:
Please add your experiences!
I am selfish
Far from the INFJ cliché, I am a pretty selfish individual, in a particular sense of the word. I distinguish, broadly, two types of selfishness: the conscious one and the unconscious one. I believe that, often, when we say that someone in particular is selfish, what we want to say is that he is consciously selfish; that is, that she decides to act in ways that benefit her and makes an effort to put herself first. On the other hand, we tend to use the other definition of selfishness when describing human nature; when we , for instance, say that everyone is selfish: we are thereby saying that people are unconsciously selfish, because it's human nature, because this is what is instinctive to do, regardless of whether individuals are also consciously selfish or not. Being unconsciously selfish amounts to being quite oblivious of things that do not have a direct effect on us.
As an INFJ, because of Ni's constant review of all possible perspectives and Fe's focus on other people and on my connection with them, I could not be unconsciously selfish. Of course, as an introvert —and, specially, since Ni is an introverted perceiving function, meaning that I can easily spend hours "perceiving" things that do not exist outside my head— , I have to admit that I am somewhat self-absorbed, but, still, I do not think that I qualify as unconsciously selfish and I was definitely selfless as a child.
What happened was that, instead of staying a sensitive butterfly to infinity and beyond :words:, I decided to toughen up at some point, in order to protect my feelings and in order to focus on my own happiness. This meant thinking about me before helping some people, setting boundaries and making sure other people acknowledged them. Being assertive, in two words.
It is still a work in progress but, as long as I am aware of what the situation is like and as long as I have time to think about the place I occupy within the field of social networks, I am no longer that selfless butterfly. I had to learn to say 'no', to put myself first, to ponder whether a person is good for me, to analyze whether a situation will be beneficial for me and to believe in myself.
Of course, my first innate reaction will always be to put others first. That's because of Fe, but also because of Ni's ability to grasp others' perspectives. Ni + Fe = the ability to really put yourself in other people's shoes. But I get to decide what I do with this ability. Just because your pain is in my heart doesn't mean that my heart goes out to you.
I am in touch with my feelings
There is this cliché that, while INFJ are really aware of other people's feelings —which is true, btw—, they are quite oblivious of their own. This is not the case for me: I am very much aware of my own feelings; I instantly sense when something disturbs my intellectual and lucid nature :t: (Ni, Ti), when something emerges from the depths of my own self and irrupts in the intricate web of otherness that Fe is constantly weaving.
Once this feeling or emotion is quickly detected, the recognition path begins: I want to know what this feeling really is (Ni), why it is there (Ni) and I want to label it precisely (Ti). Overall, I want to embed this experience into a pattern of previous and, potentially, future experiences (Ni).
Another related phenomenon is that I am generally really aware of my inner dynamics. You know these characters from films or TV series who constantly act a certain way yet deny the causes or consequences of their actions even to themselves, when they are really apparent? Like guys constantly checking out guys yet denying being gay or bi or just plain non-straight. Well, these characters are like my exact opposites: I can lie to others, but I cannot lie to myself. Ni eventually always finds out the ultimate truth (almost!).
I am, therefore, in touch with feelings and emotions. Very much so. They are, nonetheless, pretty disturbing; that's true. I am, however, not in touch at all with my likes and preferences: what type of relationship do I want? what do I want to do this year? what do I want for lunch? And the hardest questions: who am I? how am I? what do I want to achieve in life? I can enumerate whims, say trivialities about myself, but it is hard for me to label myself and say 'I am this, I am that; I want this, I want that'. Most times, it is not that I do not know how to impose myself; it's that I don't have anything to impose.
I am a mess
You see that 'J' there? INFJ. It is supposed to mean I am a judgmental OCD asshole. Yep. There's Je somewhere in me: I judge, according to shared moral and sentimental standards (Fe). I, however, am a perceiving type! Ni (perceiving function) - dominant!
I nonetheless believe that this Je thing goes beyond my Fe-ness: it is true that I need a lot of external structure, even if it is self-imposed. And I believe xxxPs are a lot more self-regulated and chill. I, for instance, cannot think 'oh, I have to study', and magically start doing it, with my laptop and a book, still in bed, wearing a pajama. No: I have to get up, exercise a bit, take a shower, change my clothes and leave home to go to the library and THEN I am able to study. Because that's my routine; because that's where you study; in libraries; not in bed.
I am, therefore, quite a mess: unless everything goes smooth and I can maintain my good routines, things start getting chaotic. And my Je (mixed with Ni striving for ultimate grounds) favors and all-or-nothing, black-or-white mentality: I either live in a crystal palace or in a pigsty. There is seldom a middle ground.
I can be loud
That's Fe: I like being around my friends. I need to be alone half of the time and be around people the other half. I don't know who said us INFJs are the introverts among the introverts but it cannot be true, simply because Fe is our auxiliary function, and Fe needs people, Fe needs both society and community. And Fe can get loud: it parties, it laughs, it screams, it jumps with a bunch of friends on a mattress like hyper children; Fe can get hectic and maniac. And it's fun.
I am superficial
Take Ni, with its inclination to the greatest, ultimate Good and then add Fe, with its focus on socially accepted norms and protocols and you get a quite superficial person! Of course, I also care about all these deep things INFJ are supposed to care about: social justice, art, ecology, etc. But I unconsciously recognize what society values and can unawarely strive to achieve it. And what is that? Well, power, money, comfort, luxury, beauty, love, affection, admiration and recognition, I'm afraid.
And, remember, Ni always strives to get to the ultimate things. Meaning? I am never satisfied :sad:
Please add your experiences!