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[ENFJ] ENFJs (and INFJs)

hazelsees

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Feb 1, 2013
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124
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INFJ
Tell me a little about ENFJs, please.
How do they look different from an INFJ when the INFJ is in social mode?
I have a new ENFJ coworker.
Maybe there is a thread comparing the two types that I couldn't find?
Thank you.
 

21%

You have a choice!
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My sister is ENFJ and she seems to have a lot of energy, compared to me. She seems to care a lot more about real things happening in real life and is less 'in her head' than I tend to be, and a lot of Fe characteristics are way more prominent (like going to extreme extent in making sure people are taken care of, getting more upset when someone is being inconsiderate or selfish or 'doesn't follow the rules', etc.)

Overall, she is a lot more 'open' and 'out there', and a lot more 'normal' :laugh:
 

zago

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INFJs like to sit around in their heads and read literature, fantasy, poetry, musicals, and god knows what other weirdo shit. ENFJs only really differ in that they take a more active role and become things like English teachers, actors, activists, missionaries, and etc.
 

Lexicon

Temporal Mechanic
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INFJs like to sit around in their heads and read literature, fantasy, poetry, musicals, and god knows what other weirdo shit.


:laugh: Guilty.


ENFJs only really differ in that they take a more active role and become things like English teachers, actors, activists, missionaries, and etc.

Not to be terribly pedantic, but - you do realize INFJs (& a lot of other introverts) pursue performing, as well, right? (music/acting)
 

Lexicon

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Did you know a lot of ISTP's do, too?


:whistling:

*nod* Hence the parentheses.


Clint Eastwood's a good example of an ISTP actor.. Pretty sure he just plays himself (in terms of type, anyway). Over and over.
 

zago

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:laugh: Guilty.




Not to be terribly pedantic, but - you do realize INFJs (& a lot of other introverts) pursue performing, as well, right? (music/acting)

Yes but less so. INFJs can be very strange and disconcerting to me, honestly. I was a science major in college and I was friends with a couple of INFJ girls who seemed to have no outside interest in science, like they just did it because they were able to with their dominant Ni or something. One would write poetry in organic chemistry class. If I ever tried to talk about sciency things with them outside of class they would be really uninterested.
 
W

WALMART

Guest
*nod* Hence the parentheses.


Clint Eastwood's a good example of an ISTP actor.. Pretty sure he just plays himself (in terms of type, anyway). Over and over.


Ah, yeah, I just kind of skimmed. Reading is for suckers.


When I first came across typology and looked at the list of famous ISTP's, the only thing I really saw listed was famous actors... Burt Reynolds comes to mind.


(also, I was hinting at your istpness :ninja:)
 

Lexicon

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Yes but less so. INFJs can be very strange and disconcerting to me, honestly. I was a science major in college and I was friends with a couple of INFJ girls who seemed to have no outside interest in science, like they just did it because they were able to with their dominant Ni or something. One would write poetry in organic chemistry class. If I ever tried to talk about sciency things with them outside of class they would be really uninterested.

:thinking: Maybe some INFJ's here will be able to provide you with new input on that. Some of us enjoy the sciences. Though I'll be honest, if it gets too far into the math, I'll back out.

However, I just attribute that to being a woman, vs INFJ. Math is hard for women. :cry:
 

Siúil a Rúin

when the colors fade
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I would say difference in energy levels socially.

I know MBTI is not about skill, but generally I would say the ENFJ is probably more at ease communicating with people in general, and especially people they don't know. They can skim through a group of people and figure out just what needs to be said to this one or that. They are at ease in the group. I don't know if this relates to other INFJs, but my Fe is based on individual empathy, so I can do quite well one-on-one perceiving specifics about a person and communicating, but I cannot navigate a group.

ENFJs might also not be quite as off-beat from the norm as an INFJ will tend to be.
 
S

Society

Guest
from the perspective of interaction:

when communicating with an INFJ, i more or less feel on the levels on all things concerning Fe - yes mine is not as developed, but the control over engaging and disengaging my Fe, rather than letting Fe control me, gives me more then enough compensating leeway on the matter (i am more easily frustrated by their similar ability to disengage Ti - while i'm my own Ti's bitch - but that's again on a similar level).

with ENFJs, there is no such luck. they make the spin, they set the standards, the aren't just playing the game they set the rules of the game. going in on any interaction with an ENFJ without being prepared for the storm, you might as well give them your brain on a silver plate offering them to do their bidding.. and oddly you don't seem to really mind at the end, when they reprogrammed it they reprogrammed you to like it.
 

Eilonwy

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Yes but less so. INFJs can be very strange and disconcerting to me, honestly. I was a science major in college and I was friends with a couple of INFJ girls who seemed to have no outside interest in science, like they just did it because they were able to with their dominant Ni or something. One would write poetry in organic chemistry class. If I ever tried to talk about sciency things with them outside of class they would be really uninterested.

:thinking: Maybe some INFJ's here will be able to provide you with new input on that. Some of us enjoy the sciences. Though I'll be honest, if it gets too far into the math, I'll back out.

I enjoy math (loved Calculus and was the only person, male or female, to get an A the first time taking the class with this particular teacher; and I loved Numerical Analysis.), chemistry, computer science (I have an Associates Degree in Computer Science), biology, physics, boolean algebra (form of logic), and astronomy. I wasn't very interested in statistics, but then I had a teacher who spent most of the class time telling us about his golf games, so that may be why.

I enjoy a good poem, but it's not my favorite style of literature. I tend to prefer prose. I like both fantasy and science fiction, but tended to prefer science fiction as I got older.


However, I just attribute that to being a woman, vs INFJ. Math is hard for women. :cry:
Not sure if you're kidding or not, but my niece is a math major and is going to be teaching higher level math after she graduates. I think it just depends upon the person, and maybe how the subject was taught--not so much type or gender, though they probably do influence to an extent.


To the OP...
I know one ENFJ (she took the MBTI test). She's in Sales and she's very good at it. If I compare myself to her, she is much more energetic, outgoing, sociable, and sure of herself. She gets in the thick of things, while I sit back and observe. She organizes gatherings by getting in touch with everyone, makes sure everyone is taken care of, and is drawn to positive teachings. I tend to be more in the background when organizing gatherings, although I still want to make sure everyone is taken care of, it will be more one-on-one, and I'm more drawn to the darker, negative aspects of life. In short, she is much more extraverted, enthusiastic, and energetic than I am.
 

Lexicon

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Not sure if you're kidding or not, but my niece is a math major and is going to be teaching higher level math after she graduates. I think it just depends upon the person, and maybe how the subject was taught--not so much type or gender, though they probably do influence to an extent.

Definitely kidding. I have an odd taste for misogynistic humor. It's terrible, haha.
 

Eilonwy

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Definitely kidding. I have an odd taste for misogynistic humor. It's terrible, haha.

Well, you know what they say about women who like science (especially math)? No sense of humor.

;)
 

hazelsees

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INFJ
Thanks for the replies.
Wondering if he's been mistyped and is really an INFJ...
 
G

garbage

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with ENFJs, there is no such luck. they make the spin, they set the standards, the aren't just playing the game they set the rules of the game. going in on any interaction with an ENFJ without being prepared for the storm, you might as well give them your brain on a silver plate offering them to do their bidding.. and oddly you don't seem to really mind at the end, when they reprogrammed it they reprogrammed you to like it.
Guilty as charged

Tangentially: A group with no direction and no goal very much grates me. If nobody will take charge, I try my best to step up and establish the rules of the game. If that fails, I lose my patience and usually bow out. The smaller the group, the easier it is to get it under control. Usually, it's about setting a direction at all, even if it isn't my preferred direction.
[MENTION=17656]hazelsees[/MENTION], feel free to ask some questions or somesuch.
 

HongDou

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I have both an ENFJ (2w3 sx/so) and INFJ (4w3 sp/so) best friend, so let me write about some differences I see between them:

ENFJ is much more active in general. She loves running, video games, photography, art, etc. Not to mention that she's pretty good at all of those things and more. :newwink: Her Se kicks in her own environment (her room, cubicle, places that are her own) and she gets very excited about her ideas. She also plays an active role in her friends' lives including mine, often giving advice and telling us what we should do. In her relationship with her on-again-off-again INTP boyfriend, she always takes the lead when discussing problems in their relationship. It usually goes like this: he wants to break up, she figures out why, she tells him it can be fixed, they're back together. She has this aura about her (like other ENFJs I know) of rigidness. She can be silly, but only to a certain degree. If you go beyond her point she'll just laugh it off and be like "oh you!" She loves doing things with other people as opposed to INFJ who prefers doing things by himself.

INFJ is someone I find it hard to talk to. Not that there's anything wrong with him, but because we live on opposite sides of the country I rarely see him come online. And it's not that he's out doing something, he just can't be bothered to get on Skype and talk. He'd rather be playing video games or living inside his own head. Every summer I come to his house to stay with his family and that's when he becomes more social; it's as if he's only social with people he has to live with. :dry: He has less interests than ENFJ but he's more invested in them. Whenever we want to do something out of his comfort zone, we have to constantly push him into doing it. And a lot of the time he calls it quits in the middle of it. He stresses the idea that he's special and unique if the topic comes up, but in social or active situations he tends to mimic what I do (I'm only a year older than him but I'm pretty certain he looks up to me in some way). He's not very organized and what he lacks in Se he makes up for in Ti. He gets into Ti-mode especially when he gets defensive.
 
G

Glycerine

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from the perspective of interaction:

with ENFJs, there is no such luck. they make the spin, they set the standards, the aren't just playing the game they set the rules of the game. going in on any interaction with an ENFJ without being prepared for the storm, you might as well give them your brain on a silver plate offering them to do their bidding.. and oddly you don't seem to really mind at the end, when they reprogrammed it they reprogrammed you to like it.
So true. It's kinda fun to mess with ENFJs' (especially e3) expectations and play them at their own game. :devil: Seeing their reactions can be quite priceless. I am usually amused when people do it to me in a somewhat unexpected way. It usually goes :wtf::overreact:;):D
 
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