I'm a Rarity

When I was catching up on my blog reading yesterday, I saw THIS post by Ashley over at The Grits Blog. She and I are both doing the #100HappyDays challenge and it's really making a difference in how I'm viewing my life. Ashley stepped it up and took a personality test to help her figure our what her triggers are so she can better understand what makes her happy in life. What a good idea right?

Follow me on Instagram (here's Ashley's) to see my #100HappyDays in real time, or stop by my #100HappyDays Page.

So I hopped on over to the 16 Personalities site, answered all the questions, and here's what I got:

Ok, I'm an INFJ. But what does that mean for me? I clicked the button that directs you to the description of your personality. What I read there made so much sense and I now understand why I am the way I am, to an extent.

Turns out the INFJ personality is rare, as in less than 1% of people have it. The results also point out that I'm also a bit of a walking contradiction, for example: 

"Even though their presence can be described as very quiet, INFJ personalities usually have many strong opinions..."
or 
"As INFJs are generally eloquent and persuasive, they tend to be quite popular and influential. The INFJs themselves are often quite bemused by this as they are very private individuals who do not really need nor enjoy the attention." 

When I saw that, I was like YES! That is so me! This rarity also explains why I have never really felt that anyone has really "got me."

As I clicked around the information about INFJs, the word "perfectionist" is used A LOT. Over the years, I have come to realize that I am a perfectionist, and it sometimes impacts my relationships, both platonic and romantic, in a negative way. I have learned, and am still learning, to take a step back and be more understanding that most everyone does not think like me. This test just proves that theory about myself. And like Ashley and her ISFJ personality, I tend to take things personally or read into things much farther than I should. This trait will, forever, be an ongoing obstacle that I will have to work on and learn to accept.

There are lots of great things about my personality as well. Let's make a list!

1. INFJs tend to be very loyal and supportive friends and are sought out by many other personality types for their wisdom.

I will be your friend faithfully, until you give me a reason not to. 

2.  INFJs are masters of written communication, with a distinctively smooth and warm language.
Hey hey! No wonder I've always been drawn to blogging.

3. INFJs take great care of other people’s feelings and expect others to return the favor.
I spend a lot of time thinking about how my actions affect others. I don't want to hurt or offend anyone, this is going to be a challenge when it comes to planning my wedding.

4. INFJs find it easy to decipher other people’s motives and are rarely affected by manipulation or sales tactics. 
This means I have a decent Bullshit Detector when it comes to most people. I have a friend who says my BS detector is crap when it comes to men I'm romantically involved with. And maybe that is true, but I think I'm getting better.

5. It is very rare to see an INFJ do something just for their personal benefit.

This has been a hot button between my mother and myself. She sometimes sees me as severely self-centered, and in some situations I am. I admit that. But is most cases, my intentions are purely outside of myself and I really just want to help, I just have a weird way of communicating it. 

I learned a lot about myself with this test and I am curious as to what Philip's results will be (if he takes the test). Have you taken a test like this? What were your results?