How to Recognize an INFJ

Von Hase said:
Here's my take on how to spot an INFJ.

INFJs are deep thinkers who are more concerned with 'why' and 'how' than 'what if' or their current surroundings.
INFJs are people who are more emotionally involved in how they feel things should be than their own personal interactions.

INFJs can look right through you, but have trouble looking at you.
INFJs often know what is about to happen, but sometimes not what is happening.
INFJs want to know why, but get annoyed with people who ask what if.
INFJs will tell you things that make no sense today, and perfect sense tomorrow.

INFJs know how they feel about everything, except themselves.
INFJs know how the world should be, but are seldom able to explain it.
INFJs are more emotionally charged by events that happen to the people they care about than events that happen to themselves.
INFJs will take one for the team without hesitating.
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I about fell out of my chair reading this. :m146:

I find that all these are true statements about myself. fascinating to say the least.
 
I get the part about asking 'why' definitely XD Like me asking 'Why is bread the only food that when cooked by itself has a different name?'
If anyone can answer that question, it would be much appreciated :o it's been bothering me all day.
 
wow...most of those hit the nail on the head with me...
 
I'm sure this is all extremely helpful to you intuitive feelers that can look at people and understand them. But I can't do that, so what should I "look" for when I'm talking to you?
 
You should look for whether or not we are talking back. If not, move away. Move away quickly.
 
HaHa said:
I'm sure this is all extremely helpful to you intuitive feelers that can look at people and understand them. But I can't do that, so what should I "look" for when I'm talking to you?
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First of all: we are rare, so chances are you'll never meet one. Secondly, it's not easy to recognize an INFJ, because we're never what we appear to be to the outher world. Mwhaha :D

When you do encounter one: what Yield said.
 
HaHa said:
I'm sure this is all extremely helpful to you intuitive feelers that can look at people and understand them. But I can't do that, so what should I "look" for when I'm talking to you?
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ENTPs tend not to focus on that sort of thing.

This point might sound insulting, but an ENTP tends to be more interested in what a person's presence can do for them, as opposed to the person them-self.

You either can figure people out, or you can't.

For me, like the rest of us, it's an intuitive process. I watch what people say, how they react to certain words, sentences and situations, what makes them defensive and what makes them open up. It all goes into my head like an emotional maths equation, and out comes a developed analysis of their character.

Depending on the person, I can figure them out thoroughly, and exactly how they will react in any given situation, within a matter of days. It depends entirely on how open an individual they are.

I guess part of why INFJs like ENTPs so much is because they're just so open about who they are, and they're alarmingly easy to figure out.
 
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Words of Irony said:
For me, like the rest of us, it's an intuitive process. I watch what people say, how they react to certain words, sentences and situations, what makes them defensive and what makes them open up. It all goes into my head like an emotional maths equations, and out comes a developed analysis of their character.
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Yeah that's a real good way of putting it.
 
Look for the person that doesn't really know how to respond to you, but is smiling and going along with it anyways.

Then say something about something calloused or totally appalling, like genocide. If they being arguing with you and get kind of snarky, without being domineeringly aggressive, they might be INFJ.

If you want to continue poking fun at them beyond this encounter, there's an even better chance they're INFJ.
 
laurie said:
I get the part about asking 'why' definitely XD Like me asking 'Why is bread the only food that when cooked by itself has a different name?'
If anyone can answer that question, it would be much appreciated :o it's been bothering me all day.
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Maybe it's like refried beans. The first time you cook it, dough becomes bread. The second time you cook it, bread becomes toast.

One possibility is that perhaps it was once referred to as toasted bread, but was shortened over time to just 'toast'.
 
I went from this link, to another one entitled "How to Apologize to a Scorpio" where it mentioned oblations of wine and chocolate, and got exceedingly distracted, lol.
 
You got 2 kinds of INFJ's. The esoteric reclusive ones, and the justin timberlakes who are out at the club. The latter are less common among internet forums.
 
HisDelight said:
* Clumsy, yes! But I have covered it up well in the way I carry myself...at least in public. At home I'll be so lost in thought that I walk into things all the time, thinking
"What? How did that wall get there?!?" Then I think, "What is WRONG with me?!?"

* I am constantly feeling jittery in movies because I can't stand embarassing situations! And there have been times when I've even talked silently under my breath to encourage speakers who are floundering with their speeches. (OMG Don't even get me started on speeches!) Of course they can't hear me and it doesn't do any good, but that doesn't seem to stop me.

* I do notice that I pick up on people and situations quickly. Then I'm left wondering why everyone else can't see it. It just seems so obvious.

* I don't know if anyone else experiences communication difficulties, too. Probably. When listening to others, I tend to only need the "Big Picture" and all the little details just kind of fall into place for me....I get exasperated with people that go over and over and over each detail to tell a story. I mean, "I GET IT ALREADY, MOVE ON!" That's in my head of course. It would be rude to say it out loud! But here's the flip side of that (and it doesn't serve me well at all)...since I like "Big Picture" talking, most other types don't understand what it is I'm trying to share with them...they need each tiny detail explained before they begin to comprehend. Then I just feel kinda clumsy and foolish...ready to go back to my thoughts knowing that I'm right and they "just don't get it". :m093:
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This quote is three years old, but I just had to respond to this. I find it somewhat offensive that you should interpret others' need for fine-tuning as meaning they haven't grasped a concept as quickly or as completely as you had. For example, when my instructor is explaining a difficult concept, I'm often the one who raises my hand the most pushing for more detail, and those who aren't really paying attention may interpret all my questions as my mind being rather slow. BUT IT'S NOT TRUE and NOT QUITE SO SIMPLE. The devil is in the details, as it goes. What I seek to do is to delve to a deeper level of understanding as opposed to merely grasping a concept in a nebulous sort of way. I'm trying to pin things down, to flesh out the idea so that I am sure I've got the concept down pat. And on an exam or something that's where a lack of attention to detail comes back to get you. I'm sure some classmates may roll their eyes inwardly, smugly confident that they'd grasped everything sooner than anyone else, but come exam time, I'm the one getting an A while most of the class is getting C+.

Furthermore, INFJ's can paradoxically be the most long-winded of all types when telling stories as they try so hard to precisely elucidate all the special nuances ONLY THEY personally see as important to the story. I have an ISTP mother who could have uttered the same words about herself you used to describe yourself. She's always rushing me to finish my story, confidently assuming she's already got the point of what I'm trying to say, but in fact, hers is only a rather skewed understanding. And I don't know if I'm just more self-aware or naturally suspicious (or just not as bubbly or quite as fluffy) than most INFJ's, but I am noticing that everyone here seems a bit TOO excited in aligning themselves to the so-called "trademark" INFJ traits - both the good and the bad ones. In particular, all these posts where some of you guys sound almost BOASTFUL about your own clumsiness (because... really who hasn't heard of the brilliant but bumbling, absent-minded professor?) and the tone of it all is rather suspect. Being clumsy seems to be a badge of honor for you since it carries along all the gifts that INFJ offers. So this leads me to feel that there is a more than a dab of wishful thinking behind all this "YES! THAT'S ME!" effusiveness. It makes me doubt whether all of you are true INFJ's.

Just my 2 cents.
 
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