Confused again! Help!

[Charmain]

When I do a test (I've only done free tests), I end up INFP, but when I read about the different types I feel I am INFJ. Keirsey says INFP's are the Healers and INFJ's are the Counselors. I am not a Healer in the sense that I am not a person that want to help others and sacrifice my own life and happiness for it. I am also not that sweet and loving....haha! Okay, I still like helping people, but not that much or in that extreme selfless way. (Forgive me if my rambling doesn't make sense, English is my second language.)

So, after reading about the Healer(INFP) and the Counselor (INFJ), I feel I am Counselor. Why do the tests say that I am INFP? I don't know why such a minor detail is frustrating me so much! Maybe I don't know myself at all!

Also, the Enneagram test said I am type 4. I am a dreamer/romantic, but I'm more of a planner and routine person, I'm not that free spirited.

Please help!

 

[VagrantFarce]

Don't rely too much on tests, the only way you can know for sure is to examine the types and how the functions play out.

For example, INFJs have dominant Introverted Intuition (Ni), whereas INFPs have auxillary Extraverted Intuition (Ne). Introverted Intuition is associated with a strong sense of certainty about the future that transcends all possible situations, whereas Extraverted Intuition is more about fostering situational possibilities and connections. Ni is "I just know that this is going to happen in the future, I don't know what informs it but nothing could convince me otherwise!" and Ne is "Wow, the things we could do with this thing sitting in front of us! So many possibilities staring us in the face!".

e.g. upon meeting a person, Ni would tell you that this person is not to be trusted. You don't know what could possibly be pointing to this conclusion, but you trust it instinctively; you trust your mind's ability to pick up on patterns that are consistent through time and space that you are simply not aware of. Dominant Ni users are often stereotyped as wannabe psychics.

Ne is much more situational and probably wouldn't make such crass judgements about a person with so little information. Indeed, Ne would push you to seek more information about a person before making a judgement. However, you have to be careful here since what we're dealing with is Auxillary Ne which can be drowned out by your Tertiary function, in this case being Introverted Sensation (Si). Si focuses only on your past experience, and has a similar "knowing" to Ni. So if you're in an angry mood or you'e not interested in participating with this hypothetical person, your Si would tell you that this is all a waste of time and you are likely to come to snap judgements about the person to justify this. You might regret it later on, though.

So be mindful of the different between Introverted Intuition (which is guided by future possibilities which are formed by recognising patterns over time, and is primarily imaginative) and Introverted Sensation (which is more about having a gut physical feeling, and is focused only on past experience).

I hope some of that made sense.

 

[Xenon]

If you read and a type description and research that type and it doesn't sound like you at all, it likely isn't, even if some online test says so. Those free online tests aren't that reliable. Many people get different typing results on different tests, or get a type that doesn't seem to fit them. I usually get INTJ on those, but the more I read, the more convinced I become that I'm more of a P.

You don't have to decide right now if you aren't sure. Plenty of people think they're a certain type and change their mind after learning more. You can read some more, maybe try a cognitive function test, compare and contrast type descriptions and descriptions of functions, etc.

 

[Charmain]

Don't rely too much on tests, the only way you can know for sure is to examine the types and how the functions play out.

For example, INFJs have dominant Introverted Intuition (Ni), whereas INFPs have auxillary Extraverted Intuition (Ne). Introverted Intuition is associated with a strong sense of certainty about the future that transcends all possible situations, whereas Extraverted Intuition is more about fostering situational possibilities and connections. Ni is "I just know that this is going to happen in the future, I don't know what informs it but nothing could convince me otherwise!" and Ne is "Wow, the things we could do with this thing sitting in front of us! So many possibilities staring us in the face!".

e.g. upon meeting a person, Ni would tell you that this person is not to be trusted. You don't know what could possibly be pointing to this conclusion, but you trust it instinctively; you trust your mind's ability to pick up on patterns that are consistent through time and space that you are simply not aware of. Dominant Ni users are often stereotyped as wannabe psychics.

Ne is much more situational and probably wouldn't make such crass judgements about a person with so little information. Indeed, Ne would push you to seek more information about a person before making a judgement. However, you have to be careful here since what we're dealing with is Auxillary Ne which can be drowned out by your Tertiary function, in this case being Introverted Sensation (Si). Si focuses only on your past experience, and has a similar "knowing" to Ni. So if you're in an angry mood or you'e not interested in participating with this hypothetical person, your Si would tell you that this is all a waste of time and you are likely to come to snap judgements about the person to justify this. You might regret it later on, though.

So be mindful of the different between Introverted Intuition (which is guided by future possibilities which are formed by recognising patterns over time, and is primarily imaginative) and Introverted Sensation (which is more about having a gut physical feeling, and is focused only on past experience).

I hope some of that made sense.

Thanks! This confirms even more that I am INFJ, but I have much more to learn.

 

[Charmain]

If you read and a type description and research that type and it doesn't sound like you at all, it likely isn't, even if some online test says so. Those free online tests aren't that reliable. Many people get different typing results on different tests, or get a type that doesn't seem to fit them. I usually get INTJ on those, but the more I read, the more convinced I become that I'm more of a P.

You don't have to decide right now if you aren't sure. Plenty of people think they're a certain type and change their mind after learning more. You can read some more, maybe try a cognitive function test, compare and contrast type descriptions and descriptions of functions, etc.

Sadly they are not correct. I'll try a cognitive function test, thanks! The only thing I'm really sure about, is that I am dominant Melancholic.

Thanks for your reply. xx