INFJ Description

Brief Description

Often called “the sage”, INFJs are highly intuitive and empathic and have a natural view into the psyches of others. INFJs prefer their deep inner world of possibilities and intuition over the external world of mundane realities. This does not mean that INFJs are out of touch with reality since they ultimately seek to understand underlying causes and implications and to go beyond mere appearances to discover truth. In their quest for understanding logical systems and finding truth, INFJs are motivated to develop their understanding in order to impart wisdom to and enlighten others. They want to help people to find and follow the correct path and to help people and society as a whole to improve. In this way, INFJs have historically inspired social change. INFJs view everything as an interwoven and connected system, and they often take this view into philosophy and the spiritual realm. INFJs experience their intuition as flashes of insight into the workings of the universe and people’s lives. This ability can make INFJs seem almost prophetic in their ability to read into people and things. In terms of empathy, INFJs easily pick up on the vibes or feelings of those around them. This is both a blessing and a curse as INFJs cannot help but take on both positive and negative emotions of others. As a result, they need to be careful about who they allow into their lives if they do not want to take on negative patterns and energy. INFJs are also skilled at reading the nonverbal communication of others, further improving their ability to read people. As INFJs can easily understand others, they often find themselves in the role of counselor or therapist. They are typically good listeners and have a soft spoken and gentle manner that calms people and encourages them to open up to the INFJ. However, though INFJs feel that they understand others, they rarely feel understood themselves. They have a sort of mysterious aura to them and are very private and careful about sharing their own feelings with others. Their empathy is backed up by logic and this dichotomy can give the INFJ a projected warmth but a cold and harsh logical core. This adds to the feeling of mystery and complexity that often defines the INFJ on first glance. INFJs are idealistic in that they are the ultimate perfectionists. They are not satisfied with an incomplete understanding or a presentation of something until it is complete and perfect. They are driven to find an ideal vision and path to solve problems for society in the future and make the world a better place. Their perfectionism is also manifest in their insecurity in terms of how they come off to others and their performance anxiety. They want to present themselves well and have high standards for their behavior and how they look. INFJs want to be valued by others and to be helpful but end up feeling lonely because of the high standards they hold for themselves and others. They can feel alienated from others who are not able to perceive the world in the way that the INFJ does. Moreover, INFJs prefer to keep a close inner circle of trusted friends. In relationships, INFJs look for loyalty and high sense of moral awareness. They need open communication and trust to know how their partner feels so that they can help them. INFJs can be selfless and believe that they are worthless and so need appreciation from their partners. For more on INFJ relationships and best romantic matches, check our INFJ Relationships page.