I did this test about a year ago, and was not surprised. In fact, I felt incredible relief, cuz I always wondered what the hell was going on with me............now I know.........
Terri
Idealist - Healer (INFP)
| Introduction |
In a world filled with unique individuals, when it comes to personality there are only four different temperaments and 16 types of people. Understanding these personality types and mastering your own can be the keys to achieving your goals.
Your temperament is the Idealist (NF). Idealists are rare, making up no more than 10 to 15 percent of the population. Yet their ability to inspire people with their enthusiasm and idealism has given them influence far beyond their numbers. Your particular personality type, the Healer (INFP), is even scarcer. Individuals of your type make up little more than one percent of the total population.
| About Your Idealist Temperament |
There are four types of Idealists (NFs): Healers, Counselors, Champions, and Teachers. These four personality types share several core characteristics. Firstly, Idealists are seekers focused on both personal journeys and human potentials. MORE >>
| Being A Healer (INFP) |
Healers (INFPs) like you typically present a calm and serene face to the world. As a result, you can seem shy, even distant around others. However, inside you're likely anything but serene. There can be great depths of feeling and waves of emotion present in you. In fact, you have a capacity for caring rarely found in the other types. MORE >>
| Work and Career |
Conscience almost always looms large for you, so in almost any work situation you can feel compelled to measure yourself, other people, and the conditions of your environment against your personal morality.
About Your Idealist Temperament
Idealists are spiritual, intuitive people who can enjoy spending a great deal of time and energy working toward a better understanding of who they are. The ultimate hope of this group is to attain true wisdom. For the most part, Idealists are enthusiastic individuals who can find joy meaningful relationships as well as the world around them. People of this temperament can pride themselves on being loving, kindhearted, and authentic. Other fine traits include being more giving and trusting than many around them. An often-passionate temperament that yearns for romance, Idealists can make intense mates, nurturing parents, and inspirational leaders.
Being a Healer (INFP)
As a Healer, you have the capacity to care deeply about the inner lives of those close to you, as well as about favorite causes in the world at large. More than other types, you can have a great passion and ability to heal the conflicts that trouble individuals or divide groups. In your efforts, you seek to bring wholeness and health to others as well as to yourself.
Healers typically possess a profound sense of idealism, the kind that comes from a strong personal sense of right and wrong. As a result, you may view the world around you as an ethical, honorable place, full of wondrous possibilities and potential goods. For others to understand you well, they should know the kind of deep commitment you can have to the things you see as positive and good. At times, you can display an almost boundless selflessness. This willingness to make extraordinary sacrifices for the people and things you believe in can be very inspiring.
Because your type is set off from the rest of the world by a sense of privacy and the mere fact that there are so few of you (around one percent of the population), Healers like you can sometimes feel isolated in your idealism. You may also feel a sense of separation because of an often-misunderstood childhood. If your early years were as fantasy-filled as most Healers' were, you might have been discouraged or even punished for your wild notions. If grownups told you to get your head out of the clouds, you probably began believing that being fanciful or dreamy was bad. This belief may have lead to a bit of an ugly duckling complex. In truth, you likely were - and are -- quite all right just as you are. Know that you're simply different from most others, like a swan reared in a family of ducks.
In professional and scholastic situations, your type can be quite adaptable. This tendency can include an ability to welcome new ideas and information, as well as having patience when complicated situations arise. You are not, however, one to be patient handling routine details. Chances are, you have a natural interest in scholarly activities. You're also apt to demonstrate a remarkable facility with language, a talent possessed by most of your fellow Idealists (NFs). Others likely admire your gift for telling tall tales, or for writing stories of your own in lyrical, poetic fashion.
Socially, you tend to relate well with others because of your ability to keenly tune into people's feelings. However, because of your usually private nature, you can also be quite happy alone. When it comes to making decisions big and small, you're apt to follow your heart rather than your head. So although you sometimes make errors of fact, you'll seldom make errors of feeling. You're a person who tends to be well acquainted with your inner life, and who can use that knowledge to your benefit. Frequently this inner voice can call you to go forth into the world and help others. This is a message you seem ready to answer, even if you must sometimes sacrifice your own comfort to do it.
Work and Career
You may have a tendency to perceive questions of meaning in trivial office matters and to worry about far-flung consequences of your actions. In your ideal work environment, you would likely be free to pursue depth rather than breadth, and quality rather than quantity. You tend to feel most rewarded when your projects and daily tasks allow you to immerse yourself in your personal process. It's ordinarily important for you to satisfy your inner standards of quality. At times, you can be uncomfortable with the notion of authority. As a result, you may avoid both leading, as well as being led, either consciously or unconsciously. Adhering to fixed roles and rules can feel like an abdication of your responsibility to exercise your own conscience. This can make most corporate environments difficult for you.
Like other Idealists, you are wired to pursue personal growth, authenticity, and integrity. You yearn to develop yourself fully as an individual and to facilitate that growth in others. You tend to thrive when you can turn your attention to the personal concerns of your coworkers, clients, and customers - as well as to your own personal growth.
At Work with the Four Temperaments
At Work with Artisans : Artisans (SPs) are wired to seize freedom and spontaneity. They hunger for the liberty to act on their impulses, to play, and to create. They make up about 35% of the population.
In business, Artisans are crisis managers and troubleshooters. They can be expert at solving problems and doing what is necessary, whether they are expressly permitted to or not. They are practical, resourceful, flexible, and risk-taking individuals. Coworkers are apt to enjoy their creativity and verbal wit, but may perceive Artisans as indecisive or even as troublemakers.
At Work with Guardians : Guardians (SJs) are wired to seek belonging to a group or community. They often stabilize relationships and institutions through their responsible, conventional behavior. They make up about 45% of the population.
At work, Guardians tend to be administrators and managers. They can be expert at doing what needs to be done, and in the manner is must be done. They are dependable, accountable, realistic, and service-oriented. Coworkers likely appreciate their desire to belong and contribute, but may perceive Guardians as being either slave drivers or sticks-in-the-mud.
At Work with Rationals : Rationals (NTs) are wired to acquire competence and intelligence. Ordinarily, they strive to learn, know, predict, and control the resources and ideas in their environment. They make up less than 10% of the population.
In the workplace, Rationals are often the researchers and strategists. They can be expert at conceptualizing and seeing the big picture, as well as architecting and implementing the necessary systems. They are logical, precise independent individuals who usually are responsive to new ideas. Coworkers often appreciate their ingenuity and competence, but may perceive Rationals as being impersonal and not good with follow-through.
At Work with Idealists : Idealists (NFs) are wired to pursue personal growth, authenticity, and integrity. They can yearn both to develop fully as individuals and to facilitate growth in others. Idealists make up 10-15% of the population.
In work environments, Idealists are usually positive, helpful, and people-oriented. They can be expert at dealing with the human resource concerns of an organization, whether these issues are part of their job description or not. Idealists are warm, idealistic, caring individuals. Coworkers are apt to appreciate their authenticity and loyalty to the human side of the business, but may perceive Idealists as not being effective enough or even of being flaky.
Tips to Help You Find the Right Workplace
- Try to seek out an aesthetically pleasing, personal, and democratic environment in which you and your co-workers are free to be yourselves and to build friendships.
- Be wary of career moves that take you away from the core of what you love or compromise your strong ideals.
- Don't underestimate the value of life experience you picked up outside the parameters of formal schooling or paid work. Give yourself credit for all of your talents.
- Consider creating your own job.
In general, as an Idealist, you're part of a pretty satisfied bunch when it comes to work. About 75% of Idealists are either extremely or somewhat satisfied in their current positions. This contentment doesn't appear to be related to flexible schedules, lucrative stock options, altruistic practices, allowing pets in the workplace, or even company-sponsored parties on Fridays. Having challenging work seems to tip the scales a little bit. However overall, Idealists like you simply seem to like what they do. With this statistic in mind, it appears that career choice in itself will be the key to your workplace happiness and success.
Love and Relationships
Rare are those people able to leave you enough space for your solitary quest while still meeting your need for deep connection. You're apt to seek a partner who won't be frightened by or critical of the expanse of your imagination. Oftentimes, you'll fall for "diamonds in the rough" because of your rare ability to see the positive qualities that others have overlooked in them.
In loving relationships, you're likely to a seek partner with a well-developed inner life. You want to be with the kind of person to whom you can freely express your wild ideas. However, because you can tend to go through periods of extreme withdrawal, followed by periods of wanting intense closeness, you'll also be wise to find a partner who can roll with the punches. Idealists are known for being high-maintenance mates in this way. Still, over time you're one to give as good as you get, and then some.
Your Compatibility with Other Temperaments
Idealist (NF)/Artisan (SP) : Idealist/Artisan pairings are likely to be imaginative romps, marked by freedom, spontaneity, and sensual pleasures. However, these couples don't always see eye to eye as Idealists are typically focused on self-realization while Artisans have little patience for exploring their inner lives.
Idealist (NF)/Guardian (SJ) : Idealist/Guardian pairings can be true-blue partnerships focused on comfort, stability, and mutual dependability. Also, because Guardians and Idealists are usually law-abiding types who believe in following the rules, they can make a good match. Problems may arise at times because Idealists' morals and values tend to waver more than their Guardian mates'.
Idealist (NF)/Idealist (NF) : Idealist/Idealist pairings can be result in deep and meaningful love because Idealists often find tremendous satisfaction in sharing each other's inner world and exploring their mutual personal development. In essence, each partner helps the other along the road to self-knowledge. However, if the couple is too much alike the relationship risks becoming narrowly focused or even boring.
Idealist (NF)/Rational (NT) : Idealist/Rational pairings can be highly satisfying relationships based on exploring the world of ideas. Imagining possibilities - whether romantic or pragmatic -- and creating dreams for the future can represent the epitome of quality time for this pair. However, conflicts can occur if either partner's closely held ideals don't match those of the other.
Famous Healers
Did you know that Dr. Albert Schweitzer and aviator Anne Lindbergh were both INFPs too? It's not so surprising when you think about it. Through his writings and his work in Africa, Dr. Schweitzer is known for being an advocate to the unfortunate who was greatly concerned with man's inhumanity to man. Through her writings, Anne Lindbergh showed herself to have a Healer's intense feelings and romantic spirit. It's also notable that she was also a very private person who took the time to nurture those close to her.
What Each Letter Means
The pair of letters are E-I, S-N, T-F, and J-P. No single letter should be taken as naming a type of person. For example, there are no "Extraverts" or "Thinkers," as such. A personality is a complex union of traits. These letters merely suggest stronger or weaker tendencies in a person's overall makeup. The pairs of letters stand for the following qualities:
| E = Extraversion | I = Introversion |
| S = Sensation | N = Intuition |
| T = Thinking | F = Feeling |
| P = Perception | J = Judgment |