Knowing the INFP strengths and weaknesses will help us to know the fundamental skills and blind spots that this Myer Briggs type possesses.
An INFP personality type is loyal and lives life with utmost integrity. Being an introvert, they are self-contained and quiet.
These individuals are also devoted to making the world a better place for all. With their humility and gentleness, they can feel the finer emotions of others. They are deeply caring and their personal relationships mean a lot to them.
On the flip side, they possess certain weaknesses that need to be overcome for their healthy personality growth. At times, they are too idealistic and may expect others to behave in similar ways.
Let’s learn more about the positive and negative side of their personality.
INFP Strengths and Weaknesses
The greatest strength of an INFP is their strong moral compass. They are built with values and ethics and prefer to live life as righteously as possible. An individual with this personality type is sober, soft-spoken, and caring. Their feeling function enables them to care for others’ needs and wishes.
INFPs are flexible and can adapt to any kind of complex situation. Another good quality that these individuals possess is their ability to remain calm and collected during difficult times. An INFP is mentally strong, though some people think that they are too soft-hearted and meek.
In reality, they will always be inclined to do the right things in life. They are honest, loyal, kind, and trustworthy. More to this, they are insightful and prefer to devote a lot of time thinking about abstract ideas that can have a future relevance.
An INFP type always looks for opportunities. They are dreamers who believe in aiming for big things in life. For this, they put a lot of effort in professional accomplishments that takes them nearer to their big goals.
Their greatest strength lies in their commitment towards their relationships. They live with others happily and never intend to hurt anyone. Moreover, their deep sense of moral convictions never allows them to choose wrong paths in life.
Contrary to this, INFPs have some weaknesses that make them more sensitive and submissive than many other 16 personality types. As they rely on instincts, they may lose out on practical knowhow. This poses a threat while resolving real-life issues as well.
They are also overly-sensitive and cannot handle evaluative judgments thrown at them by others. INFPs will take things personally and may become extremely emotional. These individuals are also self-critical and feel bad if negative feedback comes from anyone close to them.
These ultra-fine weaknesses need to be overcome or completely removed from their personality make-up in order to function effectively in their daily lives.
10 INFP Strengths
INFPs are introverts and it’s no surprise that they derive their mental energy from being alone. They prefer ‘me-time’ to rejuvenate their tired souls all over again. People with an INFP personality type are incredibly attached to values and morality.
Their greatest strength lies in their value-oriented lifestyle that always makes them follow righteous living. INFPs are caring and compassionate people.
Others find them humble, friendly, and gentle from all ends. Though they are introverts and maintain a low-end social life, they are deeply praised and honored by others because of their soft-spoken nature.
INFP personalities have some noteworthy qualities that set them apart from others.
1. Liberal and magnanimous
INFPs are liberal minded individuals. They are caring and giving by nature. INFPs will feel great when they get an opportunity to share the good things in life with others. People with this personality type are open to giving credit to the person who deserves it.
Sometimes, they will be more generous than what is needed. By this, they envision building a better world where everyone gets equal rights and opportunities to showcase their talents and contribute positively to the overall growth of the society.
2. Blessed with empathy
INFPs are kind and caring. They show empathy for all, even those who are not known to them. These individuals can share joys and sorrows, regrets and failures of others equally well.
INFPs are sensitive and kind-hearted; therefore they do not like to visualize anyone in pain and suffering.
They also hate hurting others even if others try to take advantage of their compassionate nature. INFPs will forgive those who sin against them rather than harboring deep-seated resentments and anger somewhere deep inside them.
3. Open-minded and flexible in their outlook
INFPs are perceiving personalities. They are flexible as far as their daily interaction with others is concerned. They are tolerant of varied opinions and never annoy others openly. INFPs also know how to give space to their relationships.
None of their personal and professional relationships appear clingy and emotionally dependent. At the same time, they prefer to be given enough space as well; otherwise they feel overburdened and stressed out.
These individuals will never judge anyone’s ideas, choices, decisions, and lifestyle ways. Rather, they will be highly accepting of varied opinions and changes. People with INFP personalities are good confidants for many because of their tolerant and easygoing mentality.
4. Unconventional and master of unique ideas
INFPs are creative and always think of something new and innovative. They prefer not to think in one line, or in ways that are common. These individuals are unconventional and hate to go by the rule book. They will think over new ideas that none other have ever thought of.
Similarly, they will hate to follow the traditional ways of doing things. As they are open to adapt and adjust to new situations, they prefer to think right off the bat.
They find pleasure in thinking about abstract ideas and future possibilities that will have a purposeful relevance in their daily life.
INFPs are sharp thinkers and as such, any mundane tasks do not interest them at all. They will not conform to the crowd and settle for anything lesser in life.
5. Idealists with a strong sense of intuition
Another notable strength that these people possess is their strong sense of righteousness. They prefer to live life happily. They are the perfect idealists who will always follow conscience and never think of doing things in wrong ways, even if it seems tough or impossible.
INFPs will always strive for perfection. They are visionaries who prefer to do everything as per moral values and judgments.
6. Deep thinkers
INFP personalities are passionate thinkers. Whenever an idea strikes them, they try to nurture the idea and brainstorm over it for a long time. In this way, they visualize future possibilities that many others will either ignore or not pay attention to.
They will devote a great deal of time in creating ideas and imaginations that can give them a purposeful living. Since they prefer abstract ideas, they will look for positive patterns in the present day situations that can help them reap the fruits in future.
They are insightful and prefer to contribute positively to the community in general. If their ideas are good enough, they feel good in using them for the benefit of other fellow beings. In this way, you can say that they are generous too.
7. INFPs can think of multiple perspectives
INFPs will always make informed choices in life. Though they’re introverts, they may not be vocal about their varied perspectives.
But in professional settings, they use their expertise to bring positive changes in the workplace. They are able to embrace opinions of others and build their choices that suit their typical typology.
Having the ability to embrace various opinions and perspectives also means that they are keen to know what others think and do in similar situations. INFPs will take the good things from everyone and will use it to build up their lives in purposeful ways.
8. Advocates of cooperation
INFPs are the advocates of harmony and cooperation. They believe in giving equal opportunities to all. Being an introvert, they are reserved but prefer to work together with others also.
For a common good, they will cooperate with others and lend their support whole-heartedly. INFPs are keen to put their ideas to real-life applications with the help of those who wish to work with them.
9. INFPs are humble and polite
Another key strength that makes them unique is their friendly and approachable personality. They are humble, understanding, considerate, and polite. INFPs will hate to say harsh words or pass rude remarks to anyone.
If they do not like anything, they will leave the social space immediately but will not be involved in judging or evaluating people and situations. They prefer to give space to everything in life.
10. INFPs are silent mentors
INFPs are keen believers in human potential. Therefore, they help others grow and develop their individual skill set. People with an INFP personality type prefer to attain remarkable benchmarks in their workplaces.
At the same time, they help their colleagues grow by strengthening varied work skills. So, you can say that they indirectly mentor many others beyond their understanding. INFPs strive to bring a positive impact to the lives of many others living with them.
10 INFP Weaknesses
Mediators see this world as a nice place and that is the biggest weakness that they possess. INFPs fail to understand the nitty gritty of real life hassles. They see this world through colored glasses and can be overly optimistic at times.
INFPs will feel disheartened if they see a mismatch between dreams and what it is in reality. People with this personality type are reserved, and struggle with expression of emotions.
Even if they are hurt, they may not show it up directly to others. They keep their pain with them, and suffer silently.
Let’s analyze some of their key weaknesses:
1. Self-critical
INFPs are self-critical. They are harsh on themselves as they expect themselves to be perfect in every small way. For them, there is no room for mistakes and flaws. INFPs are too self-conscious.
They get bothered with how others see them in the real world. In the face of even slight criticisms, they tend to push themselves for some more perfection. It seems that they see themselves as inadequate or lesser in certain ways.
This goes true in the workplace and relationships also. INFPs cannot thrive in social spaces that test their worth and self-esteem.
2. Less of practical knowhow
INFPs do not have enough practical knowhow. They live in an imaginative world with big dreams and opportunities. Some of their ideas may not have any real life relevance but still they love to think big.
These individuals will have creative problem solving strategies in place where the real requirement is more practical and pragmatic. Sometimes, they ignore real-life details and only survive in their imaginative world that is nowhere close to the actual.
3. Hard to be understood in depth
As already mentioned, INFPs are introverts with a reserved mindset. They hold privacy and personal space as dear to them. Therefore, they are not easy to be known in depth. Moreover, they are quiet emotionally and verbally.
These individuals are less expressive emotionally and you will not be able to know how they might be feeling in a particular situation. On the outset, they may look fine but the real story of pain and suffering remains elusive to others.
4. INFPs have a sensitive nature
INFPs are too sensitive and feel lonely deep within when they see that their high-held values are ignored by others. Even, they can feel bitter during adverse times in life, when negative emotions make them feel depressed and sad.
INFPs are overly sensitive and can’t see others’ suffering. They will try hard to extend their warm support even to unknown people. INFPs are prone to a lot of anxiety when they find that their idealism is not getting recognized in this harsh world.
5. They’re too selfless
INFPs tend to neglect or ignore their self-interests to a great extent. They may not voice their needs if they find that it is the need of the hour to please others in order to maintain peace in the situation. INFPs will suffer in silence but will not open their mouths.
This emotional burden can feel heavy at heart and they may suffer from burnout. INFPs will have to be more open voicing their pains and disappointments to lessen their overwhelming feelings.
6. Vulnerable and insecure in the social space
One of the most probable weaknesses that INFPs should overcome is their too easy going mentality. Their compassionate and soft nature is misused by manipulators all around.
Others can take advantage of them in various ways, leaving an INFP feeling completely drained. They may be exploited by people intentionally. Therefore, they need to be little restrained before allowing others to overuse them.
7. Self-isolated in nature
INFPs long deeper emotional connections but their reserved and private nature does not allow them to freely mix with others. In social situations, amidst many people, they feel self-isolated.
They are not good at making new friends and unknown situations can make them feel emotionally overwhelmed. Therefore, they feel lonely and isolated in setups that are crowded and intrude with their private life.
8. Unfocused and messy
INFPs are not organized people. They prefer to do things suddenly without planning. Their rich ideas may not always be productive because they tend to lose interest in the task they are doing presently. INFPs suffer from procrastination.
They live in the dream world and prefer to take help from organized people to get their things done. After the spark of imaginations wears out, they may lose focus and leave the task half-way. Thus, they struggle to remain on time and accomplish their tasks as per the deadline.
9. People-pleasers
INFPs are the real negotiators. They hate to get into conflicts, thus tend to please others even if they know at heart that the other person is morally incorrect. As they find it hard to handle disagreements, they prefer to follow the crowd.
Being a soft-hearted person, they struggle to maintain a strong emotional boundary. They are always busy clearing the air if they sense things are not going as per peace norms.
10. Struggles to say ‘no’
INFPs will struggle to say ‘no’. Being an introvert, they remain quiet and are considered as submissive beings. Their friends and family members can pressurize them with work requests beyond their wish.
Most often, they will keep such requests even if they are feeling overburdened deep inside. INFPs struggle with setting clear-cut boundaries, thus struggling to say ‘no’ to people who matter most in their life. It makes them prone to burnout as well.
INFP personality growth and development
Personality growth is a continuous process. It cannot occur in one day. It holds true for any personality type. If you are an INFP, you will have to make certain changes every day in your behavior, so that your weaknesses can be minimized and the strengths flourish on their own.
In order to reach your utmost potential, you’ll have to follow a definite path of growth, such as the one discussed below:
1. Practice self-care
It is important for you to understand the difference between genuine caring for others and compromising your self-interests to accommodate others. Try not to give away too much than what is actually needed.
Stop feeling backed down by criticisms if you do not attempt to please others. You will have to learn assertive communication style and set healthy boundaries so that others cannot misuse you to meet their own interests.
There is no point in pleasing and caring for others’ needs if you are not happy yourself. Thus, embark on a journey of self-care so that you become a fulfilled being from within.
2. Use your dreams and imaginations to create a real world for you
You will always be swayed by ideas and imaginations to a land of fantasy that may not be related to the real world. Therefore, it is important for you to stay grounded and focused in reality.
Your idealism will hunt for limitless possibilities that are impractical and far away from the real world. You may start digging more into what can be done next in line, totally ignoring your present work commitments. In this way, most of your present assignments appear as halfway trials and never get done.
It is vital for you to learn some basic organization skills, use your talents in a direct manner, and stop procrastinating; so that your dreams become a reality sooner or later.
3. Learn not to become too emotional
INFPs tend to become too emotional in adverse times. They may also feel the emotional turmoil of others, especially people who are close to them. At times, this leads to faulty decision making in their daily lives.
Therefore, it is important for them to get into the details of the situation and not study it on the surface.
They will have to stop analyzing things on the surface, and then their logical mind will see a different version of the story. The bottom-line is they should overcome their tendency to empathize when it is not needed at all.
4. Stop being too harsh on yourself
INFPs act as perfectionists because they get busy comparing their self-worth with others. They set their personal standards quite high and when they are unable to meet the expected benchmark, they may fall in despair and gloom.
People with this personality type fail to prioritize their happiness and start setting expectations that are unrealistic and impossible.
They should learn to become more realistic in their approach and forgive themself every time they are below standards. In this way, they will be in touch with their inner joy.
To Sum Up
By learning the INFP strengths and weaknesses in a detailed manner, we can conclude that they are inventive and are full of ideas and fantasies that are fertile grounds for innovations.
The only thing that is missing is their organization skills and intense focus that is needed to put these dreams into a reality. Their admirable personality traits are enough to give them success in life, but it is also important to overcome some of their innate weaknesses so that they can reach their full potential effortlessly.
