Is the INFJ really real?

Christopher Columbus!

Do you know he is the first explorer from Europe to sail west seeking a route to the West Indies? Unfortunately his discovery as we know it today is of the "New World". Along with the discovery of the "New World", Europeans came to America and now celebrate Columbus day...

Columbus documents in his diary the natives his crew encountered. He noted the type of behavior and thoughts of these "Other" people. Columbus notes the behavior of the natives are "very gentle and do not know what evil is; nor do they kill others, nor steal." As Columbus puts it, the natives lived in harmony with nature. They did not seek power over one another. They treated each other gently for they had to work together as a tribe to survive. There was little or no room to kill each other or steal since they were spiritually infused with a connection to nature which allowed them to see past their differences.

The natives were so oblivious to seeing the world in a rational perspective, upon witnessing Columbus and his crew's arrival, it appeared they were from heaven. Columbus took advantage of the natives' of prescribing them the teachings of Christianity, which they accepted for the economic reasons that it would "acquire great riches all for Spain."

Now.. put yourself in the perspective of a native American. Who's to judge you if you don't know yourself any better than others? You took a personality test- your results to you mean you are now 1% divergent?

Of course not..any "INFJ" knew themselves before the personality test. They have their own personal history. The description is an analysis why you answered the questions the way you did. It's not the end all be all. I suggest to use the personality test's information as a tool, not a self-diagnosis of character. You learn there are other people similar to you out there? Yea..we're not alone. what do they have to say. It looks you have a lot going for you. You mixed though personal convictions to a constructive question that gives a hazy misunderstanding of what is "right" and real is being objective. Your subjective description of your life does not substantiate a definition of an INFJ, as you you've been led here to gain clarity which is more value to you then what any one says, including me. That's why I share a story.
 
I definitely just wanted some insight into what I was thinking. I don't think I am unique or have special abilities or anything, and I also believe that every single person is unique. Each person grew up seeing different things, doing different things and belonging to a different cultural background. It's almost crazy just how unique every single person is. Now, the thing that I believe kind of differentiates people is that every person is born with their own certain abilities, and end up honing them as they are growing up. So it really would make sense to say that INFJs exist, and that ENFPs and ESFJs exist, because each person has general "preferences" that they follow through life. For example, some people like showing off their bodies, their sense of style, what they own, etc. So they have general preferences towards image, but how they think about that image, what they are trying to convey, the clothes they like, where they shop, how much money they spend on the items, etc is all going to vary. And maybe one uses his image to attract the other gender, or maybe one uses his image to get ahead in the work field. So yes, you can make generalizations, but those only give you a glimpse into maybe 1% of their being. The rest is uniquely theirs.
And one thing that I REALLY don't appreciate is people that come onto threads and already have some pre-conceived notion of what they think is right. I don't post on here to get yelled at for being selfish, when I already worry about that on an every day basis. I come on here to post a thought and get a discussion going. Yes, you can state what you believe, but when you don't even consider what I wrote or how I feel, it is almost abusive to come on here and post something that will only start an unwanted argument. I have no patience for that.
But thank you everyone else for your input. It is really refreshing when I can post something really, really private and actually get some thoughtful responses.
 
phaedra said:
Has anyone ever thought that perhaps that the "rareness" we imply in our type is just us people all flocking onto a crazy, made up idea that we are somehow special people?
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special implies how one is treated, not how rare they are.

It's just hard to understand sometimes because couldn't our weirdness/uniqueness/abilites simply be just plain ordinariness, or no ability at all?
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Grab yourself a dictionary, and look up 'weird'/'unique'/'ability' before trying to justify to yourself that they are the opposite of what they mean.

I honestly find it hard to connect with so many people on deep levels and people are constantly doing things I never in my mind would even think of doing (murdering, stealing, doing meth, cheating on others with no remorse, terribly manipulating people, etc... keep in mind that you can do these things accidentally while having good intentions. acts come from both good and bad intentions) and I get this feeling to not trust a lot of people, that I just should't be friends with them. Then I see these people where I just feel safe around them, that I just know they'll be good for me in the long run, and eventually they are. They help me become who I am. But then I see people befriending all these terrible people that just end up really hurting them in the end, and I think, that does't really happen to me? But on the other note, I feel I am SO much more gentle than most people. I can't stand hurting others' feelings, physically hurting others, manipulate people into doing the things I want them to do (even though I know I could, and have on my bad days), and other things. I have remorse for even the smallest bad things I do. I can remember slighting a friend years ago and remember her being mad at me, and me feeling so disappointed in myself. But at the same time, I doubt myself all the time on whether I am interpreting these signs correctly. I can easily look at a different situation with strangers and tell you what's happening, but if the situation involves me, I haven't a clue. So when I am constantly thinking about myself and what all these people around me mean, I feel so freaking selfish. Like is it normal to think about these people and me in these situations over and over again? Who knows. Then after that, I just bring into question the whole INFJ personality type. Like where the fuck am I getting all this knowledge from? I don't try that hard at all. I read something once, I usually get the general idea and can build from it. I went to high school, got high distinction, and I am in college now with a 3.75 or so. I do drugs all the time (weed everyday, molly sometimes, and I've done everything you can name besides heroin and meth). I study, do all my homework. Hard to explain. I should probably stop this high questioning now before I become even crazier sounding.... but I want opinions on what you think about this.
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So the moral of this story is... you're 19?
 
phaedra said:
And one thing that I REALLY don't appreciate is people that come onto threads and already have some pre-conceived notion of what they think is right. I don't post on here to get yelled at for being selfish, when I already worry about that on an every day basis. I come on here to post a thought and get a discussion going. Yes, you can state what you believe, but when you don't even consider what I wrote or how I feel, it is almost abusive to come on here and post something that will only start an unwanted argument. I have no patience for that.
But thank you everyone else for your input. It is really refreshing when I can post something really, really private and actually get some thoughtful responses.
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The posts that seemed "harsh" maybe were a genuine response to an attitude that they perceived in your opening post, there wasn't anything abusive from them imo. It's a pretty refreshing experience when you learn not to take yourself so seriously, let yourself "happen" to others without having to go down and ruminate over minor things, specially given the amount of your actual experience in contrast with how much you can experience from now, specially if you're indeed a 19 year old as your profile says.
 
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It's like this. I'm an arrogant, underachieving, do good, know it all in this Western world. That is considered bad. People don't want to be that. Thus, rare.
 
AIntel said:
Christopher Columbus!

Do you know he is the first explorer from Europe to sail west seeking a route to the West Indies? Unfortunately his discovery as we know it today is of the "New World". Along with the discovery of the "New World", Europeans came to America and now celebrate Columbus day...

Columbus documents in his diary the natives his crew encountered. He noted the type of behavior and thoughts of these "Other" people. Columbus notes the behavior of the natives are "very gentle and do not know what evil is; nor do they kill others, nor steal." As Columbus puts it, the natives lived in harmony with nature. They did not seek power over one another. They treated each other gently for they had to work together as a tribe to survive. There was little or no room to kill each other or steal since they were spiritually infused with a connection to nature which allowed them to see past their differences.

The natives were so oblivious to seeing the world in a rational perspective, upon witnessing Columbus and his crew's arrival, it appeared they were from heaven. Columbus took advantage of the natives' of prescribing them the teachings of Christianity, which they accepted for the economic reasons that it would "acquire great riches all for Spain."

Now.. put yourself in the perspective of a native American. Who's to judge you if you don't know yourself any better than others? You took a personality test- your results to you mean you are now 1% divergent?

Of course not..any "INFJ" knew themselves before the personality test. They have their own personal history. The description is an analysis why you answered the questions the way you did. It's not the end all be all. I suggest to use the personality test's information as a tool, not a self-diagnosis of character. You learn there are other people similar to you out there? Yea..we're not alone. what do they have to say. It looks you have a lot going for you. You mixed though personal convictions to a constructive question that gives a hazy misunderstanding of what is "right" and real is being objective. Your subjective description of your life does not substantiate a definition of an INFJ, as you you've been led here to gain clarity which is more value to you then what any one says, including me. That's why I share a story.
Click to expand...
Native Americans went to war with other tribes. They were not peaceful by any means.
 
There is a certain sense of longing and mission that INFJs share. From my experience it is felt much more deeper than other types. It is not the same as neediness or to feel special and better. it is a strange deep feeling that we are supposed to accomplish some type of service to humanity. Because of this; there is a strange sensation of discovering ourselves to fulfill or at least understand this longing to serve. I am sure other types do feel the same type of service to others; but something much more metaphysical about infjs that just does not seem to be anywhere else. By bonding together; infjs feel much more stronger in their mission to serve.

INFJ typology works as a framework for development. You can use it as a crutch or an excuse for stupid behavior and ego inflation or you can just see it as an abstract perspective of your personality that tells you the basics but not everything that makes up who you are. it is a good place of grounding and self discovery and whatever else you do with it and how it can help you live better is whats important.
 
There are ~320 million people in the US.
Depending upon the source, 2-5% of the population is INFJ.
2-5% of 320 million is a big number.
 
It is all just a helpful description. It is "real" in that I can see huge personality differences between the types IRL and for that reason, the descriptions are very helpful to me in my profession. Having said that, we are all people. Testing as any type does not mean we are exactly the same.
I can say that in real life, I have not come across more than 2 other confirmed female and 1 confirmed male infjs among thousands I have met. For that reason, I do agree that those who test as the infj type are rare.
 
MBTI is a marvelous tool indeed to help understand that people not only see the world differently but process information differently, and for me personally to understand why and where I click with some people and clash with others. A friend of mine, upon discovering he was ISFJ as well, asked me, "Doesn't everyone think like we do....?" and the answer most assuredly and delightfully is NO, they do NOT, and isn't it wonderful? We are all part of the multifacted human experience and thank goodness we all don't think alike!

That being said we are all special snowflakes. Just like everyone else! <3

individualitydemotivator.webp
 
I see a lot of different types delve into the motivation of others. This can be good because obviously knowing and understanding eachother allows for better communication and unity. This can be very dangerous if the focus is too much on the negative aspects of those around you. You could eventually subject yourself to paranoia and inflated ego.
 
Who is the individual? The person who agrees with the majority or the person who disagrees with the majority?

I agree with AIntel though. You cannot discount it, but you cannot use it as a crutch. I'm already moving on to cosmology. This is taking the backseat again. Really, AIntel has the best answer. It is the one I use.

Low blow taking a stab at me. Implying that I'm not an individual? Implying I am weak? Hopefully my response is equal in return. Of course, I must admit I'm in a fighting mood. I'm quite stressed and you all probably are too. If you don't wish to indulge in my fighting, just say so.
 
[MENTION=12965]Alomoes[/MENTION] When I say You,I mean it in a general sense, not in a personal sense so don't take it personally, please.

While you(I mean this personally this time) mentioned multiple times that you agree with [MENTION=12573]AIntel[/MENTION] as if you were trying to make it seem that my statement wasn't of any value, I also agreed with [MENTION=12573]AIntel[/MENTION] as well and basically generalized what he said.

If you scroll up and see the first comment I made on this post, you'll see that you responded first to my comment,ok? So what that proves is that you were emotionally tied to your question already, which is why it feels like a "stab" to you!

Shoot me in the mouth for trying to comment on your question, I was only trying to be polite!
 
I apologize. I was in a bad mood, and have been in a bad mood for quite a while now.
 
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