The INFPs I know in real life tend to underestimate themselves, questioning everything and anything, curious about everything and anything, in case it has impact on themselves. They lean towards being a bit self-absorbed since everything is internalised and if something goes wrong, they tend to blame themselves. They're a pretty bright and inquisitive group though but their dark side can take a chunk out of their ability to gain the confidence that they need to succeed in the areas they're focused on.
Correct, I see this in my best friend from college, who's INFP. That man is so smart and sweet, but he doubts himself every step of the way and he beams it out. He cannot finish a sentence under 5 minutes due to all the err, and ahhh and silences when he goes back up in his head, making other people finish his sentences for him, which in turn makes him even moooore self-conscious, his entire bodylanguage shows insecurity and submissiveness as he's never sure of anything he does, as well. Meanwhile he rebels against how all people treat him, has a very specific taste in typical artsy areas such as music, to the point where he's an elitist, to then feel guilty that he's excluding people. And, if he does get into telling a story, he takes *forever* not just due to the sentence thing, but also coz he tends to be wordy, wanting to describe every little luscious detail and building up drama. He's a born writer, as well, better than I'll ever be, but he tries to do this in every day conversation which, with his lack of confidence in speaking, tends to be a snooze fest for others.
He's a brooding beautiful ball of Fi in a cute bunny suit
I somewhat relate to the insecurity and the questioning yourself on everything, but by distracting people with some Ne-tricks and just making a joke out of myself (and therefore not having to be serious or being taken seriously), I can circumvent looking that insecure, which makes me able to finish my sentences (not that anyone really gets them anyway as they tend to be pure stream of consciousness, but still!).
I try to make it a point to wait patiently for him to finish his sentence, and you can tell his passion grows as his self-consciousness vanishes and he actually gets to the heart of his story. I love to see that passion, it teaches me a thing or two every time