With every MBTI personality, come a series of strengths and weaknesses. The INFP is no different. Not everything is sunshine and rainbows, and being an INFP comes with its set of challenges and struggles. Here are seven of the main weaknesses associated with the INFP personality type.
Indecision and Non-commitment
As perceivers, INFPs are known to be adaptable, open-minded, and flexible. They tend to resist being locked into long-term commitments or limiting their options.
For this reason, INFPs can struggle with many decisions and find it difficult to fully commit outside of their passionate interests for fear of settling for less than they could potentially achieve. INFPs make decisions based on their personal values and feelings.
What feels right to them will ultimately dictate what they will or won't do. While they may have fairly consistent values and principles that govern their choices, INFPs can be subject to sudden changes of heart that lead to actions that appear irrational and irresponsible.
INFPs tend to have strong values and opinions, but making practical decisions in their daily life can often be a dilemma for them.
Lack of Objectivity
As someone who makes choices primarily based on what they feel is right for them, INFPs can be susceptible to making decisions that appear inconsistent in their application.
This is because they rely more on an internal standard than an external one. INFPs can sometimes be confronted with facts and figures that conflict with what they believe in deeply or want to believe in.
For INFPs, their idealism and subjective notions of reality can seem more real to them than reality itself. Their idealism can often challenge logic, and this can sometimes do more harm than good depending on the situation.
INFPs may struggle to accept uncomfortable truths and may be guilty of occasional cognitive dissonance. They can be extremely tenacious in their faith and commitment to what they know in their heart.
When it comes to their personal values, they can be stubborn and deny when reality does not validate their hopes and dreams.
Distraction and Neglect of Details
For INFPs, tending to details is not their strong suit. While they may be very perfectionistic about certain things, their minds often float away from reality and drift like a balloon.
They are often reprimanded for not paying enough attention or following instructions correctly. INFPs tend to focus on the bigger picture, extracting a more general impression or the gist of everything.
Consequently, they may miss or neglect some important and relevant specifics. This can extend to a lack of awareness of their own responsibilities for which they can also be neglectful.
Managing mundane and daily tasks is something that INFPs can easily forget to do when their attention is so often preoccupied in la la land.
Impractical Thinking
As their inferior Te (extroverted thinking) suggests, INFPs place less emphasis on efficiency and regimenting their lives highly systematically.
They tend to consider such lifestyles as restrictive and boring. Instead, they favor a more explorative lifestyle that emphasizes the process of discovery and creativity, however impractical.
Consequently, INFPs can often be blinded by their idealism and neglect the logistical sustainability of their ideas or expectations.
Additionally, INFPs can sometimes be too attached to doing things differently or their way and sometimes run into obstacles that could have easily been avoided if they followed a more conventional and practical approach.
INFPs can struggle to keep their lives organized and running smoothly. When they exercise their inferior Te, it is often under stressful circumstances, and INFPs can become intrusive, hypercritical, and more.
Being too hard on oneself
INFPs are sensitive and often take minor things too personally. Criticism and negative feedback can easily make an INFP feel attacked.
Additionally, they can dwell on their own failures and mistakes. INFPs can lose sleep over things they said or do to someone and wish they could take it back. Their conscience is a neurotic voice in the back of their head that can give them a lot of pain.
INFPs can really indulge in self-pity and despair, perhaps because they somehow appreciate their pain? After all, it provides them with material to write songs, poems, and stories.
However, INFPs take their values, ethics, and moral codes, whatever they may be, very seriously, and when they feel they have not lived up to those standards, disappointment can haunt them.
Verbal communication and socialization
As introverts, INFPs can be very isolated and generally find it difficult to express themselves verbally as they do in their writing.
Social inhibition can make them stumble over their words and be vague and cautious. INFPs tend to be more thoughtful and adept at choosing their words, and thus real-time communication often does not give them enough time to adequately organize their thoughts and feelings.
Although INFPs tend to create highly imaginative and eloquent writers, their verbal communication skills often fall short.
Of course, this can be developed with effort, and INFPs who engage and strengthen their social muscles will undoubtedly be able to impress others with their verbal and literary spirit. INFPs generally prefer to communicate via text and email much more than face-to-face or on the phone.
Time management
INFPs tend to struggle with time. They are constantly late or arrive too early. Managing their time effectively is a skill that INFPs need to work on.
INFPs can often have 1001 things they want to do but can't accomplish a single one unless they develop a realistic attack plan.
When they are excited and motivated, they can become too zealous and disperse their energies too widely.
Blocking time and not allowing themselves to be distracted is essential. Their aversion to routine can make it difficult, but incorporating some rituals and routines can help simplify their lives and help them focus and accomplish more.
Conclusion
In conclusion, while the INFP personality type has many strengths, there are also several key weaknesses that can hold them back in their personal and professional lives.
Being too hard on themselves, struggling with verbal communication and socialization, and having difficulty managing their time are just a few of the challenges that INFPs face.
However, it's important to remember that these weaknesses are not set in stone. With effort and practice, INFPs can overcome these challenges and develop their skills in these areas. It's all about finding a balance and taking small steps towards improvement.
Moreover, it's important to recognize that weaknesses are not inherently negative. They can be opportunities for growth and self-discovery. INFPs can use their weaknesses as a tool for self-reflection and improvement, leading to a more fulfilling and meaningful life.
So, if you are an INFP and struggling with any of these weaknesses, remember that you are not alone. With a bit of effort and self-compassion, you can overcome your challenges and become the best version of yourself.
And for those who may not be INFPs, perhaps this article can serve as a reminder to embrace our own weaknesses and use them as an opportunity for growth and self-discovery.
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