How do you know someone is INFP? | Page 2 | INFJ Forum

How do you know someone is INFP?

"Think life is meaningless yet demand meaning?"
You might be an INFP!

"Or, you think life is meaningful, and don't demand anything from anyone?"
You might be an INFP!

"Do you yearn for true love yet fear commitment?" (fixed)
You might be an INFP!

"Do you love hoping for the best and expecting the worst?!"
You might be an INFP!

"Do you hate hoping for the best and expecting the worst?"
You might be an INFP!

"Do you think that guy over there is a total a$$hole?"
You might be an INFP!

"Can you relate to the pain he's gone through that made him the way he is?"
You might be an INFP!
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That's the first post from the second link.
I can relate to all of that. But I don't know if an outsider would be able to spot any of it.
 
alt ctrl del said:
That's the first post from the second link.
I can relate to all of that. But I don't know if an outsider would be able to spot any of it.
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Well, there's 26 pages to that thread, so there's bound to be something in there that'll be useful for an observer (at least I should bleedin' well hope so! :lol: ).
 
I guess we tend to be a bit melancholy on the outside, but still nice, you know?
I don't think I know any other INFPs, so I'll just have to go by what I've heard and what applies to me.

Some of us tend to dress a bit flamboyantly in public, but still remain reserved. I sometimes just throw on a whole bunch of junk that I feel expresses who I am, wheather any of it matches or not. Bracelettes made by kids, boots in the summer, layers of mis-matched clothing, etc. XD;
 
alt ctrl del said:
"Do you think that guy over there is a total a$$hole?" You might be an INFP!
Click to expand...

Sounds like I might be INFP then. =P

Kastor said:
Some of us tend to dress a bit flamboyantly in public, but still remain reserved.
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Ditto. But that's just because I sew and want to be an indie fashion designer when I grow up.

As for the INFPs I know, they dress pretty normally.
 
"Or, you think life is meaningful, and don't demand anything from anyone?"
You might be an INFP!

"Do you love hoping for the best and expecting the worst?!"
You might be an INFP!
Click to expand...
I can relate to these two things. The second one I would rewrite, "hope for the best and plan for the worst". I always have as many contingency plans as are available.

My boyfriend actually thinks I'm an INFP and told me I was the most easy-going person he has known. He has seen me at my worst for anxiety, so I guess that's pretty good. My family would say INFJ. I have a funny confusion with the J and P thing because I am rather organized and feel peaceful when I work out a good system for organizing just about anything, but I'm also open-ended in my thinking to a fault. Occasionally I naturally muster some certitude, but I so often lack it that I am consciously trying to be more sure and it feels a bit unnatural. My natural tendency is to see something from so many points of view, that my own can get lost because i see it as just another vantage point in a massive sea of conflicting perspectives. I have an overwhelming sense of peering over a precipice, that what I know is a fleeting fragment of the whole.

I will say that when I compare the descriptions of INFP and the quotes John Lennon has made, it is one of the most perfect matches. If that is correct, then it could be one useful real-world application of the type that most people have some sense of.
 
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You read the tattoo written on there forehead.

Shouldn't be hard to miss it says INFP right on it.
 
The only INFP I know told me she was INFP and gave me the test to take. It is largely thanks to her that I know that I am INFJ now.

She is a very artsy dreamer type person.
 
Julia said:
I can relate to these two things. The second one I would rewrite, "hope for the best and plan for the worst". I always have as many contingency plans as are available.

My boyfriend actually thinks I'm an INFP and told me I was the most easy-going person he has known. He has seen me at my worst for anxiety, so I guess that's pretty good. My family would say INFJ. I have a funny confusion with the J and P thing because I am rather organized and feel peaceful when I work out a good system for organizing just about anything, but I'm also open-ended in my thinking to a fault. Occasionally I naturally muster some certitude, but I so often lack it that I am consciously trying to be more sure and it feels a bit unnatural. My natural tendency is to see something from so many points of view, that my own can get lost because i see it as just another vantage point in a massive sea of conflicting perspectives. I have an overwhelming sense of peering over a precipice, that what I know is a fleeting fragment of the whole.

I will say that when I compare the descriptions of INFP and the quotes John Lennon has made, it is one of the most perfect matches. If that is correct, then it could be one useful real-world application of the type that most people have some sense of.
Click to expand...

If you're struggling to decide between P and J for your type, it's usually best to have a look at the cognitive function descriptions for each type (Fi + Ne for INFP, Ni + Fe for INFJ), rather than try to decide based on the notion that Js like to plan and Ps don't.

People are always tying themselves into knots over their type because of that, but I think it's just too situational to be of much use when it comes to typing.

(Oh, and I think just about every type has tried to claim Lennon as one of their own at some point, so IMO it's not a good idea to use him as a definite example of an INFP).
 
alt ctrl del said:
What's your friend like?
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humm, actually it all fits, but the day I wrote it I was a little pissed with her and confused about somethings she does....

Now she's feeling more comfortable around me and is opening up a bit more which means she isn't playing the social forcedly sympathetic girl with me anymore. I mean there are somethings she often does just to fit around other people that I get she's not actually there and it bothers me sometimes... do INFPs do it a lot?
 
overainbows said:
humm, actually it all fits, but the day I wrote it I was a little pissed with her and confused about somethings she does....

Now she's feeling more comfortable around me and is opening up a bit more which means she isn't playing the social forcedly sympathetic girl with me anymore. I mean there are somethings she often does just to fit around other people that I get she's not actually there and it bothers me sometimes... do INFPs do it a lot?
Click to expand...

I think it's true of younger, or more insecure/less self-confident INFPs (at least it was true for me when I was younger).

Plus there's the fact that like all NFs we're all about promoting harmony, so sometimes we can play at being a social chameleon if we think it'll help things go more smoothly.

I don't think we're very good at it though (INFPs, that is), we're just too damn idiosyncratically INFP (dominant Fi won't let us be anything other than what we are, you know?) so our efforts can sometimes come across as being really forced.
 
DefectiveCreative said:
I think it's true of younger, or more insecure/less self-confident INFPs (at least it was true for me when I was younger).

Plus there's the fact that like all NFs we're all about promoting harmony, so sometimes we can play at being a social chameleon if we think it'll help things go more smoothly.

I don't think we're very good at it though (INFPs, that is), we're just too damn idiosyncratically INFP (dominant Fi won't let us be anything other than what we are, you know?) so our efforts can sometimes come across as being really forced.
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Very well said!

After sometime I perceived it's just to be harmonious. But when she gives that extremelly forced smile that lasts half a second at just about every sentence people finish, it kills me! I know she's not being false or anything but it's that my mind is registering it isn't true and though I understand it's just to avoid being harsh to people for letting them know she wasn't very interested or paying attention it's hard for my INTPness to deal with it! But now I'm getting over it.


My T usually conflicts with her F. I had to change a lot of my conversation style because I perceived it was too harsh for her and she felt a little threatened. Now she is much more comfortable around me and hangs with me and almost doesn't do those forced things to another people. Also in the beginning she couldn't understand why I didn't force myself to be around people I didn't feel good being around and thought I had some kind of problem (as most people think about us introverts) specially because I'm always watching people and can't help being ironic about what they do.

And that's another problem we have. We're always watching people including each other and none of us feel comfortable being watched. I analyze everything very brainly including her and off course it bothers her and she takes conclusions about me in a very 'compassionate' way that bothers me as well. :lol: Now I laugh most of the times but sometimes it's complicated. But I really try to understand her.
 
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DefectiveCreative said:
I think it's true of younger, or more insecure/less self-confident INFPs (at least it was true for me when I was younger).

Plus there's the fact that like all NFs we're all about promoting harmony, so sometimes we can play at being a social chameleon if we think it'll help things go more smoothly.

I don't think we're very good at it though (INFPs, that is), we're just too damn idiosyncratically INFP (dominant Fi won't let us be anything other than what we are, you know?) so our efforts can sometimes come across as being really forced.
Click to expand...

It's still true for me and I hate it. It was good at highschool or work where I just wanted to get along with people but I dug myself into a hole when I wanted to make actual meaningful relationships with them. I limited myself in what aspects of my personality I would emphasise or downplay. It's incredibly unfilling, not surprisingly.
 
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alt ctrl del said:
If you find yourself bickering over misspelled words, it's likely you're bickering with an INFP.
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And that's why you never play Scrabble with an INFP. :lol:
 
DefectiveCreative said:
I think it's true of younger, or more insecure/less self-confident INFPs (at least it was true for me when I was younger).

Plus there's the fact that like all NFs we're all about promoting harmony, so sometimes we can play at being a social chameleon if we think it'll help things go more smoothly.

I don't think we're very good at it though (INFPs, that is), we're just too damn idiosyncratically INFP (dominant Fi won't let us be anything other than what we are, you know?) so our efforts can sometimes come across as being really forced.
Click to expand...

On second thought.. I'm all for promoting harmony, however, the social niceties that go along with all of that--I have a difficult time with...

All of these social customs and whatnot! Inappropriate things that should be left unsaid, white lies that should be told: I fumble all over these rules, and as a result, FAIL at making that sparkling first impression every time.

If you ask me if your ass looks fat or if your haircut looks stupid, chances are that if your ass looks fat and your haircut looks stupid, I'm going to tell you in the most diplomatic way I possibly can, and then be utterly baffled when you are offended.

So maybe if a person is quiet, and awkward, and says all the wrong things upon being acquainted with you--they are an INFP as well?


Nemo said:
And that's why you never play Scrabble with an INFP. :lol:
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I'm a word nerd. I read the dictionary to amuse myself.
 
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alt ctrl del said:
On second thought.. I'm all for promoting harmony, however, the social niceties that go along with all of that--I have a difficult time with...

All of these social customs and whatnot! Inappropriate things that should be left unsaid, white lies that should be told: I fumble all over these rules, and as a result, FAIL at making that sparkling first impression every time.

If you ask me if your ass looks fat or if your haircut looks stupid, chances are that if your ass looks fat and your haircut looks stupid, I'm going to tell you in the most diplomatic way I possibly can, and then be utterly baffled when you are offended.

So maybe if a person is quiet, and awkward, and says all the wrong things upon being acquainted with you--they are an INFP as well?
Click to expand...
I can relate to some of this. People get funny ideas about me because I struggle with the pleasantries and social rituals. It can feel a bit pressuring when someone gets out the baby pics, someone else talks about their nephew graduating from MIT, and another about their daughter's wedding. I smile, nod, but am reduced to saying things like "ooooh" "wow" "ah, I see", etc. I am happy for them, but it can feel like certain reactions are demanded and that makes me shut down a bit. I do try to smile at people.

I tend to find white lies to be insulting. Not only does it imply that there is something terrible that must be masked, it also suggests that the person is too flimsy to deal with the truth. If someone's buns look big in a pair of pants, is it such a huge shame that it can't be spoken? Are they that bad? So bad no one dares speak of it? I'd rather hear that those pants are alright, but if the goal is the appearance of the littlest buns possible, then the black pants are preferable.
 
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Cuddle Donor said:
It's still true for me and I hate it. It was good at highschool or work where I just wanted to get along with people but I dug myself into a hole when I wanted to make actual meaningful relationships with them. I limited myself in what aspects of my personality I would emphasise or downplay. It's incredibly unfilling, not surprisingly.
Click to expand...

I wonder if this is one of the reasons why it's so hard for me to get to know people on a fulfilling, personal level.

I wish I could for example cry in front of people. For example, about a week ago I had a discussion with a friend of mine about networking with people. The topic of discussion made me feel really bad, as I have horrible experiences about trying to network with others, so at first I defiantly declared my negative attitude towards all kinds of networkings, and then I... I started crying because I felt so bad. I wish I could have shown it to my friend, shown him that I was crying and feeling bad. (We were taking a walk and it was foggy, so he couldn't see it.) But I just can't let people see things like that because I try to give a normal, happy, diplomatic, compromising and socially well-behaved image of myself to other people, and showing weakness would destroy it. :/ So I can't show the "real me" even to friends. :(
 
INFP's match me so much it's scary..Is almost l ke I was a combo of iNFJ,INFP,INTJ and INTP. I think that most INFP's would be quite diroganized, lost in thought and fantasy, I think they are quite warm, but can think negatively too often and often view the world in a very gloomy way. They always fear the worst etc etc.
 
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