I am an INFP.
Do you know what that is?
Have you heard of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator? MBTI for short.
It’s basically a personality test that categorizes people into one of 16 main personality types. I had heard about it many years ago, but never took the test. I have mixed feelings on personality tests because I think people are complicated and you can’t really reduce someone or define someone in a single personality assessment. Plus, I think a lot of what we consider to be personality is actually coping mechanisms and conditioned behavior.
But I digress.
When I started learning Korean back in 2022 I started watching a lot of Korean content online and one thing that became really obvious really quickly was that Koreans love the MBTI test. You could pretty much ask any Korean what their MBTI is and they will be able to tell you.
So I took the test.
And it turns out I am an INFP.
That stands for (I)ntroverted, I(n)tuitive, (F)eeling, (P)rospecting.
As I said before, I have mixed feelings on personality tests, so I was a little skeptical of this one before I took it.
But man was it accurate.
I quote from their website on the personality traits of the INFP:
Although they may seem quiet or unassuming, people with the INFP personality type (Mediators) have vibrant, passionate inner lives. Creative and imaginative, they happily lose themselves in daydreams, inventing all sorts of stories and conversations in their mind. INFPs are known for their sensitivity – these personalities can have profound emotional responses to music, art, nature, and the people around them. They are known to be extremely sentimental and nostalgic, often holding onto special keepsakes and memorabilia that brighten their days and fill their heart with joy.
A mediator. I have always been a mediator. Since the time I was young I always tried to keep the peace and help people find their way to resolution and peace. I have always loved peace and calm, and feel very unsettled when things get contentious.
A daydreamer. I can’t tell you how much time I spent in my life lost in daydreams. I still do it. My mind is always wandering around, often in made-up scenarios filled with excitement, adventure, and romance. And when I say excitement and adventure, know that it’s my kind of adventure, not Indiana Jones-style adventure. It’s more like that scene from The Secret Life of Walter Mitty where he saves the 3-legged dog from the burning building and fashions the little prosthetic on his way down the stairs. Haha.
I struggled a lot in school because, well, it just wasn’t suited well for me. I couldn’t focus. I was bored a lot. So I spent a lot of time daydreaming there. I would make up stories and put myself in them, living out the life I wished I had rather than the one I was stuck in.
Sensitivity. Oh man, I have always been a very sensitive guy. Some might argue too sensitive. But I’ve never been particularly insecure about that. I’ve always kind of liked that about myself. I can connect well with others and I have a really good sense of the emotions of other people. Some have suggested that I am an empath. Who knows. But I have always been very sensitive to emotions. My own and others’.
Although I will say that over the last 10 years or so that has become a bit disconnected. I have had a harder time connecting with my own emotions. Still trying to work through that.
My personality has led me through life in a way that has been challenging, but rewarding. I am happy to be who I am. Happy to have my personality. But I have struggled to find my footing for a long time. Struggled to figure out what I should be doing with my life, or what I want to do with my life.
I mean, I guess that’s not totally true. Mostly I have struggled to figure out how to survive realistically in this life while doing what I really want to be doing: connecting with people.
If I could spend all of my time having deep and interesting conversations with the people I feel most connected to, or playing fun games with them, or laughing and joking with them, I would be perfectly content and so happy.
But I never found a job where someone would pay me to hang out with a friend and talk until 3 in the morning.
They all wanted me to do “real” work. Whatever that means.
I’m just kidding, I understand the world of capitalism and the open market and, actually, I have come to appreciate it and respect it and even defend it. Capitalism can be just as wholesome and healthy as you make it. It’s all about value creation. Create value for someone else and they give you money in return.
But I digress again.
The point here was to say that I am an introvert who loves to connect deeply with people and who wants to make that a focal point of my life. Who wants to build a career out of connecting with and helping people.
Interestingly enough, the MBTI website has a little more to say about the INFP personality that is quite fitting here:
Idealistic and empathetic, people with the INFP personality type long for deep, soulful relationships, and they feel called to help others. Due to the fast-paced and competitive nature of our society, they may sometimes feel lonely or invisible, adrift in a world that doesn’t seem to appreciate the traits that make them unique. Yet it is precisely because INFPs brim with such rich sensitivity and profound creativity that they possess the unique potential to connect deeply and initiate positive change.
Truthfully I am hoping that this blog allows me to build something of a community of other people who are looking for connection where we can help each other. Where we can support each other. Where you can meet new friends and find some fulfillment in your life.
I know I’ve presented this as though I am sort of just exploring the possibilities and hoping that something pans out, but truthfully I think that the internet gives us the ability to make careers out of things that were never possible to make careers out of before. And this is one of those things.
There are a lot of negative aspects to the internet, and technology in general. It has sped up our world so much and we are overstimulated all the time. I don’t think our nervous systems were built to have the kind of stimulus that we put them through on a daily basis in today’s technology-saturated world. We also tend to look at other people as avatars rather than real people because we only see a picture online. Technology has contributed to the degradation of our social skills. We don’t know how to talk to people in person anymore. Young people especially have a difficulty with this.
So there are a lot of negative side effects to technology.
But there are also some really cool benefits.
If handled correctly, the internet can facilitate real connection with people you never would have been able to meet in the past. It can allow you to serve others and offer value at a scale that was never possible before. This means that people all over the world can learn and share and help each other like never before.
It means that people can share their skills and talents and knowledge with anyone in the world.
And I think that is a really cool thing.
It allows a little INFP to write and share his thoughts and feelings with the world, and, particularly, with those who might find some value in what he has to say. It allows us to create community with other like-minded people, and even invite in those with viewpoints that differ from our own, so that we can learn and grow from and with each other.
That’s the goal here. I hope you’ll be able to find some connection with me and my words. I hope that they will be of some value to you.
Okay that’s all for now. I hope you have a beautiful day and that you remember you are loved.
