Inside The Mind And Heart Of Your's Truly

As promised, here are excerpts of the report I got when I took the Meyers-Briggs test. It turns out I am a rare type (only 2% of the population is like me, which explains ya'll thinking that I'm weird 8-) that is labeled "INFJ," which stands for Introspective Intuitive Feeling Judge. And no, it doesn't mean I have a problem with "Judge not lest ye be judged." Well, actually I DO have to make sure I don't set myself up as the Holy judge. But anyway, that's not quite what it means. But you can read all about that stuff if you want. Here are some excerpts from the report about me, along with italicized quotes from me, giving you my thoughts on some of these assessments:

INFJs may fantasize about getting revenge on those who victimize the defenseless. The concept of 'poetic justice' is appealing to the INFJ. True. The easiest example is the fact that when my childhood friend Jennifer was murdered back in '92, I fantasized for years about getting the killer. He was executed last year. It doesn't really make me feel good that he was executed, although I'm glad he's not on the streets. But yeah, I am a protective person and I do have thoughts of avenging innocent victims, although actually I've never even so much as punched anyone.

"There's something rotten in Denmark." Accurately suspicious about others' motives, INFJs are not easily led. These are the people that you can rarely fool any of the time. Though affable and sympathetic to most, INFJs are selective about their friends. Such a friendship is a symbiotic bond that transcends mere words. What a great way of describing something I've always felt in my closest relationships: "a symbiotic bond that transcends mere words." Yup. The people I love are very dear to me.

INFJs have a knack for fluency in language and facility in communication. In addition, nonverbal sensitivity enables the INFJ to know and be known by others intimately.

Writing, counseling, public service and even politics are areas where INFJs frequently find their niche. Writing? Naw ... 8-)


Introverted intuitives, INFJs enjoy a greater clarity of perception of inner, unconscious processes than all but their INTJ cousins. So don't try to fool me. I'm onto your games.


INFJs, like many other FJ types, find themselves caught between the desire to express their wealth of feelings and moral conclusions about the actions and attitudes of others, and the awareness of the consequences of unbridled candor. Some vent the attending emotions in private, to trusted allies. Such confidants are chosen with care, for INFJs are well aware of the treachery that can reside in the hearts of mortals.YUP!!! This particular combination of introverted intuition and extraverted feeling provides INFJs with the raw material from which perceptive counselors are shaped.



Sensing, however, is the weakest of the INFJ's arsenal and the most vulnerable. INFJs, like their fellow intuitives, may be so absorbed in intuitive perceiving that they become oblivious to physical reality. Unfortunately this is true. When I was a teen my mom would call the phenomenon "Bobby's world." I'd be daydreaming, writing a song or something in my head, or whatever, oblivious to the world around me. And when I ride the bus to work, I have to be very careful not to become too absorbed in the world of whatever book I'm reading, or I'll miss my stop. It happened last week, in fact. And one time about 4 years ago, I was thinking or something and I GOT ON THE WRONG BUS HOME! And of course started reading, so I didn't realize it for quite a while, when I looked out the bus window and didn't recognize where I was. I had to ride the bus all the way back to the TARC station downtown and then call someone to come pick me up. It was like 7 pm by then.


Strongly humanitarian in outlook, INFJs tend to be idealists, and because of their J preference for closure and completion, they are generally "doers" as well as dreamers. This rare combination of vision and practicality often results in INFJs taking a disproportionate amount of responsibility in the various causes to which so many of them seem to be drawn. Sometimes I can take on too much when I feel passionately about something, or when I'm helping a friend, or when I'm in love. ;-)



They are, in fact, sometimes mistaken for extroverts because they appear so outgoing and are so genuinely interested in people -- a product of the Feeling function they most readily show to the world.YES!!! Totally true. I mean, I'm not a wallflower, and I like new experiences, and I try to branch out in a purposeful manner, and I have a need to communicate as well as to entertain, so some people think I'm this big extrovert. I'm totally not. I'm happiest with my little family, small circle of good friends, significant other ... and I look forward to big planned events periodically, but there are other times when I think it's just gonna be me and my good buddy or buddies, you know, a small group, and then it turns out to be a big group and my initial thought is always, "Oh crap. Well, I WAS looking forward to this but now it's kind of gotten out of hand." It depends. When I'm in a relationship I definitely need my quality time with my girl. And even when I'm not, I need my time with my closer friends. On the contrary, INFJs are true introverts, who can only be emotionally intimate and fulfilled with a chosen few from among their long-term friends, family, or obvious "soul mates." Yup. It's funny how people have a different perception of me based upon when and where they see me. Like, I remember in school, depending on what class people shared with me, I might be described as a class clown, or a popular kid, or a ham, while in another class I might be described as a shy kid, soft-spoken, bookish. Most people who know me well though, would say that I'm shy at first but then fun when you really get to know me.


In their own way, INFJs are just as much "systems builders" as are INTJs; the difference lies in that most INFJ "systems" are founded on human beings and human values,YES, YES, YES!!! rather than information and technology. Their systems may for these reasons be conceptually "blurrier" than analogous NT ones, harder to measure in strict numerical terms, and easier to take for granted -- yet it is these same underlying reasons which make the resulting contributions to society so vital and profound.