My Myers-Briggs personality type has been very influential in helping me to understand my self better. I first took it when I was in high school, and discovered that I was an INFJ. I was not confident in myself at the time, but by discovering my personality, I started to understand myself better and realized that I was not crazy for thinking the way I did. (I've always sort of felt different than everyone else) When I found out my personality type, it helped me realize how I viewed the world and be more confident in who I was. Being an INFJ meant a lot to me.
Then recently, a friend of mine who was also an INFJ said the she had taken the test again and was surprised to see that she had changed to ENFP. I was surprised, and though i initially dreaded the concept, I decided to take the test again. To my surprise, I also got ENFP.
At first, I was very disappointed. I liked being an INFJ and it has helped me discover myself. Also, an extrovert??? What is that? I find pride in being an introvert. However, the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. I’ve grown a lot this semester, especially socialy. In fact, I’ve found myself wanting to hang out with people more and more. I’ve also made a lot of progress in overcoming social anxiety, so in retrospect, it makes sense. There’s also the fact that I am more of an ambivert, very close to the border of extroversion and introversion. ENFP and INFJ are very similar to each other, and are actually referred to as shadow personalities. INFJ’s are introverts with extroverted tendencies, and ENFP’s are extroverts with introverted tendencies.
So after getting over the initial shock of my personality changing, it actually made me happy. I’m growing as a person, and college has definitely shaped me in new ways, like extroversion apparently. I was afraid of losing my identity, but instead, i realize that it is blossoming. It makes sense that personalities change as we continue to grow throughout life, and I look forward to understanding myself even better through this new ENFP lens.
