INFJ personality traits are those fine-drawn qualities and attributes that makes them stand apart in the crowd. The INFJ personality type is rare and has exclusive attributes. They are reserved and thoughtful, compassionate, and highly planned people. 

Knowing their key traits will help you to spot them easily. Due to their shy and intuitive nature, INFJs will never beat their drums in front of others. They will keep their reserved nature intact even in various social circumstances. 

They are helpful people and take pleasure in supporting others in trying times. Most INFJs dwell on contradictions. They’re introverts yet enjoy social connections. Moreover, they can be both logical and emotional at the same time. 

These factors make them rare and special in subtle ways.

In this think piece, we will talk about the various signs of being an INFJ personality type and how they aim to make their life a purposeful one.


INFJ personality traits

INFJs are the people who approach life in systematic ways. They will not do things in haste instead prefer to go by the rules and plan. INFJs are full of contradictions. 

On one hand they are fiercely logical and analytical. Contrary to this, they are sensitive and emotional too. These individuals are driven by strong values that help them to lead a purposeful life.

People with INFJ preferences are exceptionally talented and creative. They’re driven by the vision to accomplish big goals in life. These individuals are dedicated towards their work and know how to do it in the best possible way. 

Since they’re a creative bunch, they prefer to think out of the box and build great strategies for problem solving. Given the ability to feel for others, INFJs are sensitive and caring. They can intuitively look into people’s minds and know what is going on there.

These individuals are insightful and can see through people’s emotions. However, they prefer to keep their feelings deep inside them. Being a shy person, they find it uneasy sharing their deepest feelings with others. INFJs are private people and thus it is difficult to know their subtle feelings.

INFJs are idealists and envision a bright future for them. They prefer to solve complex problems rather than solving the simple ones. To others, INFJs appear sensitive, shy, and quiet people. They are found patiently listening to others’ woes and can come up with insightful solutions to their problems.

With decision making, INFJs will put a lot of emphasis on emotions instead of understanding the objective facts and evidence. But, it doesn’t mean that they will believe things blankly. They will use their intuition in judging the right and wrong and arrive at what is the ultimate truth.

These individuals are totally against deceit and lying. They cannot stand people who lie or use malicious intentions to harm others. They are loyal and prefer the same level of loyalty and integrity from others.


The 20 traits in Detail

Some of the best known personality traits that make an INFJ stand alone in the crowd are discussed in detail in this section of the article.

1. Calm and poised demeanor

INFJs are introverts and it is no surprise that they are calm and peaceful people. These individuals are never showy and prefer to stay away from the public spotlight. They’re quiet, less talkative, serious, and always calm and poised. 

People with INFJ preferences will prefer to spend time with like-minded people who understand them fully. They also prefer to handle situations as peacefully as possible. 

Their outward behavior is slow-paced, considerate, and easygoing as well. You may not find them acting out their anger and annoyance unless the situation is too bad in their daily lives.

2. Prioritizes alone time

INFJs prefer to spend time with them. Probably they are more intelligent and less socially fluent than others. Moreover, they love to live in their heads, preferring ideas to be created every now and then. These individuals are intelligent and ambitious, and have far-sighted goals to work with. 

Thus, spending time alone does allow for introspection and insightful thinking that can actually help them make grand plans to realize their life goals.

3. They feel different from all others

Most INFJs behave like mystics. They feel that they’re somehow not fitting into a social group. They always tend to feel isolated and secluded in social setups, in spite of being a humble and caring person. 

Others may find it hard to interact with them. They may tend to fake their true ‘self’ so that they belong to a group and feel accepted. Maybe, these individuals feel aloof from a very tender age and want to be praised by others for who they are.

4. The intricacies of human psychology inspires them a lot

INFJs harbor a deep wish to know others well. They would prefer to dive deeper into others’ personal wishes and emotions. Coupled with intuitive-feeling qualities, INFJs can easily read between lines. 

They show a great deal of interest in knowing others deeply, as if keen to know the finer aspects of human emotions and behavior. It’s inspiring for them to know the various facets of how human behavior changes according to their innate nature and environmental influences.

5. INFJs love complex things

INFJs are not inclined to know simpler things. They may feel bored and may not show interest to know the same things all over again. Being a creative bunch, they show interest in knowing the unknown. 

They prefer to wade through the deep details of everything rather than knowing things only from the surface. INFJs are passionate learners who are curious to know the mysteries of life. 

They wish to remain thorough with the topic of their interest. They would love to join the dots and develop a deeper meaning of life that is interesting and purposeful.

6. Empowered with empathy

INFJs are the storehouse of compassion and empathy. They will quickly see through others’ pains and suffering. Moreover, they can quickly put themselves in others’ shoes and analyze the situation deeply. 

Their deep empathy makes them true humanitarians. Their deep empathy can either be a blessing or curse for them. INFJs may become too sensitive and feel overwhelmed due to their empathetic traits. Thus, they need to balance this quality and use it wisely.

7. Seeks wisdom and knowledge all the time

INFJs are lifelong learners. They’re passionate about learning the unknown. Being a curious soul, any new information can strike their chord of knowledge quite easily. They love to gather information and seek true wisdom from their parents and teachers. 

You may also find them probing into abstract ideas and creative imaginations that can be turned into a reality. These individuals desire for continuous self-improvement. 

They prefer self-learning and get into the deeper aspects of the subject matter quickly. For them, knowledge is power and wisdom is priceless. Both are treasures of a lifetime.

8. Prefers one to one social interaction

Being a lone wolf, INFJs love to spend time with them. Their socialization process is limited and they prefer to connect only with a small group of friends and family members. At the same time, they find a lot of discomfort in doing group interactions. 

INFJs love one to one thoughtful discussions, they hate small talks and gossip that are more probable in group settings. When people crowd them, they feel uncomfortable and may not know how to relate with them socially. One to one deep conversations are an absolute delight for an INFJ type.

9. INFJs are reserved and guarded

INFJs are sensitive and feel deeply for others. People may find them contradictory when it comes to sharing their thoughts and feelings with others. Most often, they prefer to stay guarded and may not share their opinions, dreams, and farsighted goals with others unless asked to share in detail. 

People with INFJ preferences are not keen to share their intimate and personal life stories because of their shy, impersonal, and withdrawn nature.

10. INFJs are quick to notice changes in surroundings and people

Being an intuitive personality type, INFJs will quickly notice subtle changes in their immediate surroundings. They have the power to judge people and understand the hidden intentions as well. INFJs can easily notice changes in people’s behavior and actions. 

If someone is not virtuous and their intentions are not noble, INFJs will not find it easy to relate well with them. They may cut off all ties with such malicious people immediately.

11. They are good cheerleaders for their friends and families

INFJs will gently cheer those who matter the most in their personal lives. These individuals can show care and deep concern for everyone. Thus, they can motivate others to become their best selves. If anyone is suffering silently, an INFJ can put their compassionate hand over their shoulders and boost their low spirits also.

12. INFJs hate interpersonal confrontations

People with INGJ preference hate conflicts and confrontations. They are too gentle and sensitive when it comes to handling such stressful situations. In that way, they prefer harmony and peace at all cost. 

These individuals would be the last one to initiate a fight or disagreement. They prefer to remain as ultimate peacemakers instead of nitpicking others’ faults intentionally. 

INFJs may start to empathize much more than what is really required in reality; just with the intention of maintaining harmony in the situation.

13. Their emotions can be both hot and cold

INFJs are sensitive and it’s not a surprise that they will always take care of how others might be feeling in a situation. People with INFJ characteristics will like warm hugs and emotional distancing equally well. They are a bit contradictory when it comes to expressing their own emotions. 

If they’re too happy about something they may keep it with themselves rather than overtly showing the feeling to others with cheers, laughter, and fun. INFJs also want space and hates being too personal in social situations unless the relationship is too close. 

Any sorts of intrusions and interference in their private space can make them feel stressed out in no time. Their emotional responses appear odd to others but the reality is, they are born with such traits and whatever you do, it won’t change for better.

14. Inner world is vivid and enriched with ideas

INFJs are a creative bunch. They also possess a lighter note along with their too serious external demeanor. There inner world is enriched with ideas but they are also playful and mischievous deep inside. 

At times, they would love to crack jokes and spent time enjoying life to the fullest. The serious INFJ also enjoys light-hearted conversations that can give them pure joy and content. 

15. INFJs are the dreamers

People with INFJ traits are the dreamers. They envision a bright future for themselves. Their imaginative world can think about abstract ideas.

These individuals are equally hard working and dedicated. They will take actions to make their dreams a reality and create their own world of success and pride.

16. Sensory overload and escapism are true when stressed out

In stressful times, INFJs may behave in odd ways. Since they’re hypersensitive to conflicts, they may either start anxious binge eating and overstimulated their senses or they can withdraw completely into a safe cocoon away from the outer world. 

Thus, they will escape or overdo things in the face of stress. They will develop a sudden mental restlessness that may even go unchecked if their anxious level doesn’t come down sooner.

17. Too many detailing can irritate an INFJ

INFJs are interested to see the overall picture. They hate seeing and understanding the details. It makes them feel stuck in a situation with no future possibilities. INFJs have extraverted sensing as an inferior function.

Thus, they struggle with detailing and find it extremely boring and cumbersome. Overwhelming feelings of nervousness may set in if they are not able to visualize future possibilities clearly.

18. INFJs get bothered with others’ opinions and evaluations of them

INFJs are caring people. Their gentle and helpful nature may immerse them more into others’ life than what they can actually think of. People with INFJ traits may tend to impress others because they subtly seek external validation to strengthen their self-esteem. They get bothered with how others perceive them in various situations. 

19. INFJs will think beyond the ordinary level

INFJs are creative and deeply thoughtful. They prefer to share their deep insight with others as well. Their mind can capture possibilities that others might have ignored completely. 

Even the mundane idea can be turned into a creative masterpiece by an INFJ. Given the ability to think in depth, they often come up with extraordinary ideas that are new and out of the box. Their self-absorbed nature allows for insightful thinking and introspection.

20. Tolerance level for unpleasant behavior of others is low

INFJs are driven by strong values and principles. Therefore the unpleasant and socially unacceptable behavior of others can put them on the edge. They hate rude behavior, or demeaning remarks that are meant to humiliate others. 

In such a circumstance, they would ideally prefer to avoid such people altogether. In short, opposing opinions and actions can annoy them in no time.


To Sum Up

INFJs are sweet and pleasant to deal with. Their warm and affectionate nature makes them everyone’s favorite. People with INFJ traits are loved and liked by all. They are the gem when it comes to supporting others in times of distress. 

It is obvious that only emotions do not define them. They are also logical and curious. Being an introvert gives them an extra edge to stay reserved and pensive in their daily life.