I don't think we can "change" our type. It's something we're born with. It'd be like being left-handed all your life and then at 30-years-old deciding you had become right-handed.
Nonetheless, we can strengthen our weak cognitive muscles to buttress our weaker functions. This comes through practice. It takes a lot of work to not use the cognitive function that feels most comfortable to you, and instead use the one best suited to the situation at hand.
So if you really are an ENFP, you always have been one. It is easy to confuse ENFPs and ESFPs at first glance. BlackCat's
link about how to differentiate between these two types is a really good one that I had not seen before. (Thanks for posting BlackCat.)
I have a good friend who is an ESFP. We are so much alike in soooo many ways. We're both unafraid to jump into new things. We both sit back and take it all in before we make a decision. We both are attuned to people's feelings and have a wide-ranging group of friends and contacts. And, we're both basically happy-go-lucky people.
But there are stark differences as well. I'm always seeking the meaning in things. She takes things as they are.... And, while she's willing to jump into a new situation and can change on a dime, she feels no compelling need to do so unless she can see a clear, logical reason for making changes or seeing a situation from a new, different light. Not so with me who loves to toy with ideas, examine things from all angles, and change just for the hell of it... and with little regard as to if there is a tangible reason to change.
It drives her nuts sometimes how I jump around in the conversation flitting from idea to idea. It drives me nuts sometimes how she can be overly blunt in her speech.
But nowhere do I feel more different from her than when we talk about people we know. My interactions with my friends / professional contacts / and adversaries, are all part of a bigger story in which I'm living. I ruminate on the people in my life and take great joy in interacting with them and then analyzing those interactions. I crave deep, meaningful, and authentic emotional connections with people.
My ESFP friend could not be more different from me in this regard. She has tons of friends, but they just do things together... which for her is enough. This baffles me. Such connections are at the core of who I am.
So welcome to ENFP-land! We're glad to have you.
- Josephine