24 INFPs Explain The Ways In Which They Defy The INFP Stereotype

1. “INFPs are often considered super illogical and irrational in decision making. However, under stress, I often let my anxiety take over my emotional decision making and make over logical decisions. I become almost too logical – I shut down my emotions and enter robot-mode. So we are not always these emotional, cry-baby types. In fact, I am only super emotional in front of those I trust very well and even then they have to break down my walls a bit. I am also not super quiet or reserved like many say INFPs are. I am so protective of my introverted feeling that my personality comes off quite bubbly and outgoing to hide how I am really feeling. Many people confuse me for an extrovert for this reason and are surprised when I say I really need alone time. And although I am spontaneous in my day to day activities, I heavily plan my future and organize my space. I like cleanliness and order in my living areas.”

2. “Just because I’m a dominant introverted feeler doesn’t mean I can’t pick up on other people’s emotions and empathize with them. I do this with ease. I am also very logical.”

3. “I’m an attorney, and hearing officer who is organized, goal oriented, and patient. I am able to attend to details. I use my INFP powers to ensure a fair result in my written opinions. I am no snowflake. When defeated by life, I fall back and take stock of the situation. I gather my strength and never give up. I try to not hold grudges, and understand others’ points of view.”

4. “I can sometimes get stressed if someone changes the plan on me last minute and am not always go with the flow (usually because I get emotionally invested in a particular plan). Sometimes I just feel so ordinary. I (know how to be) immune to emotional manipulation, especially from strangers.”

5. “I’m not a friendly rainbow loving unicorn like so many sites make us out to be – people really drive me crazy and I’m not super nice to them!”

6. “I am often quite aggressive with my peers – think a confident INFP. I tend to be quite righteous and mistaken for an extrovert (which I’m definitely not! Human interaction exhausts me mentally and physically.)”

7. “I am very aware of the fact that my heart isn’t always right – even though so often it feels like I am feeling absolute truth within my ribcage! I’ve had to learn that I am prone to missing data and can come up with off track feelings. And that’s part of growth!”

8. “Despite having rampant Fi, I am really committed to self development. I don’t need to have all my feelings nurtured and coddled! I just need for there to be space for me to talk them through.”

9. I don’t care about everyone and am not a champion of the under trodden.

10. “I do not have foolish ideals – I just don’t believe that the reality we have manifested is the best one available to us and I work towards a better and more connected future.”

11. “There was a time I convinced myself I was INTP because INFPs are made out to be these fluffy, bubbly creatures at best or eternal teenagers at worst. I’m not outwardly emotional but can come across as aloof, if not downright apathetic. There are like a handful of things I feel so strongly about I can hardly stand it, to the point where trying to talk about it automatically devalues them. Mawkishness and petty drama on the other hand, I’m not interested in. Basically, talking emotions is damn hard.”

12. I am logical and constantly am questioning my Fi to be able to come to rational decisions. I don’t trust my intuition. Sometimes, while I still love my friends and family, I am very emotionally detached (except for my children).

13. “I am not inherently selfish! I just feel things through my own filter first. Then I can relate those feelings to others and see where they are coming from. That’s just how Fi works.”

14. “From what I’ve seen, INFPs are usually stereotyped as being super emotionally unstable. We’re viewed as these fragile, empathic creatures that break if you look at them the wrong way and feel EVERYTHING so deeply that they can’t go outside without seeing a dead ladybug and crying. Oh, please. I am more apathetic than empathic. I don’t feel very much, but what I do feel, I’m in touch with. I’m also very rational, thinking in terms of practicality most of the time. Yes, I allow myself to daydream and idealize (it can be fun), but I’m fully aware that my daydreams are not real.”

15. “I am sensitive, but only to a point. I hardly ever cry. If someone’s mean to me, it doesn’t mess with my day or my psyche – I just move on. I’m usually calm, rational, and logical in the way I handle situations. I’m an INFP, not some hippie princess cinnamon roll that cries in the corner 90% of the time and frolics through meadows the other 10%.”

16. “As I age, I don’t require much alone time as is expected of my type. When in meaningful and authentic company where I can pretty much be myself, I won’t need to get away.”

17. “I am really practical. Not that I can’t get lost in thought – I can and I do. But I’m a nurse, so I deal with the right here, right now all the time. I’m good at thinking on my feet and I notice everything that’s happening around me.”

18. “I really do struggle to communicate myself and come across as saying things I don’t actually feel. We may be feelers but we struggle to connect, even within ourselves at times.”

19. “I am actually very capable of rational thought and am very wary of being swept away by my feelings or ideals (maybe I’ve gotten burnt too much and turned cynical). I also don’t believe in moral relativism which seems pretty common among INFPs. I also don’t own a cat or wear tie dye clothes and I am not very gullible.”

20. “I’m not over-the-top sentimental – I have no attraction to unicorns, and (most) sappy Hallmark movies and romance novels nauseate me.”

21. “I am almost never late for anything.”

22. “We seem weepy and weak, but I think we are much stronger than anyone gives us credit for. I cry easily, but I am very, very tough. I bend, but I don’t break.”

23. “Yes I am insanely empathetic. It’s like I feel someone’s pain stronger than they do. I cry in most movies–even How to Train Your Dragon But I also have learned how to control my emotions in many situations and that may come from a lot of crisis experiences in my past.”

24. “INFPs are not super illogical. The more life we experience, the more we learn to balance our feeling function with a healthy dose of logic for some steady security. We are completely capable of understanding how rational types like INTJs think. We become more people-savvy as we get older – we use our introverted feeling to understand other people logically, not just emotionally.”

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