#infjstrength

[infjstrength]

Never forget who you are, for surely the world won’t. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.

- George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

[infjstrength]

You kept a distance out of fear you'd break, but what good's a single wind-chime hanging quiet all alone? The music our collisions would make, is the sound that turns "the road that leads us back home" into "home."

mewithoutYou, "In A Market Dimly Lit"

[infjstrength]

"There's no one I'd rather be than me."

Disney's "Wreck-It Ralph" has a spectacular message about valuing yourself as you are, particularly for people who aren't what their society typically values.  I'd highly recommend it if you haven't seen it yet, I found it to be quite moving.

[infjstrength]

The INFJ is a most interesting creature when it comes to problem-solving. When given a task, or when initiating a task ourselves, we are inclined to search for the best system to complete it. This will often result in a few failed attempts, and will almost surely extend the duration of the task, but it is demanded by our perfectionist/idealist nature. We regularly discern flaws in widely accepted methods, and this sort of inefficiency drives us mad. We intuitively see patterns on a large scale, and it’s easy for us to improve on a method for solving a problem. This is often misunderstood by other types as procrastination, daydreaming, or “goofing off,” but that is because they may be inclined to simply follow the recommended method, or perhaps they adhere to “sooner begun, sooner done."

Build your foundation.  Take the time to do things right.  Not because our method is superior, but because it is ours.  Embrace your way of doing things.  Draw strength from your tendency to seek out efficiency.

[theghostinwinterfell]

My new blog, infjstrength, has accumulated more followers in a day and a half than my personal blog has in a year and a half.  I'm not entirely sure how I should feel about this, but it's wonderful that what I'm writing is resonating so strongly with tumblr's INFJ community.

[theghostinwinterfell]

My first post is up over on infjstrength!  Go check it out!

[infjstrength]

INFJs are known perfectionists. We are not inclined to settle, nor are we inclined to accept the status quo. If something fails to meet our standards, we quickly lose interest or become annoyed. Our Se allows us to quickly and accurately assess our surroundings (immediate or societal), and our Ni grants us an immediate understanding. Flaws in our external world are always readily apparent to us. For this reason, we are largely immune to trends. INFJs opt, instead, for more classic styles and artistic movements, or more cerebral ones. Our fashion tends to be simpler, as our Fe and Se make us feel less attached to our physical selves than any other type. An exception would be when we are trying to make a statement with our appearance, like in the case of INFJ shock-rocker Marilyn Manson (a more extreme example, but you get the idea). However, those same traits that draw us out of our physical selves make us want to invest in and enjoy the world around us. We are repelled by all the flash-in-the-pan entertainment we encounter on a daily basis, though. The fact of the matter is that our heightened discernment leaves no place for the opinions of others. We know what we like, and popularity doesn’t factor into what we enjoy. INFJs walk past the Twilight displays at their local bookstore and head for either the classics or the most complicated modern fiction they can find. A lot of people are going to attend the Three Days Grace show at the local arena, but their INFJ friends are headed to a small club to catch any manner of diverse acts, from Zoe Keating to The Dillinger Escape Plan. It’s not that we eschew things because of their popularity, but rather that the plot elements, characters, chord changes, textures, rhythms, etc., that are employed to draw in the widest audience are just glaringly transparent to us. We don’t want to be pandered to, we want to be challenged. We don’t want the familiar, we want the novel. We want to be moved, and our Fe brings us wider emotional ranges than what these shallow forms of entertainment can offer, so we dismiss them. We are not normally dismissive of other people that enjoy such things, though, because our Fe allows us to understand their point of view. We are not elitists. We enjoy things the same way other types do, just different things for different reasons.

Remember, when you doubt yourself, that it’s only because you can see the rest of the world more clearly than you can see yourself.  It’s an advantage.  Use it with confidence, but never in a way that would make others feel inferior.  Draw strength from your discerning nature.

[theghostinwinterfell]

Go follow my BRAND NEW blog infjstrength!  There's only one post now, but I'm going to fill it with positive messages about the INFJ personality type, and I will be creating at least three posts a week.