The INFP's Antidote to Inaction

INFP's tend to have rich inner lives which are abounding with emotion and a nuanced sense of personal values. This inner strength can be an asset, but one of the potential liabilities is becoming too inwardly focused. The attention that INFP's pay to what is inward may come at the detriment to their outer worlds, where they may neglect acting upon their inner values.

To avoid falling into this imbalanced trap, INFP's can do the following.

1. Pay attention to what "plucks your strings". The good news is that most INFP's already do this! Notice and take note what makes you feel strongly. This is a prerequisite for step 2.

2. Use the information from #1 as clues to highlight what action or path is being laid out for you to take. There is a danger for INFP's to stop with #1 and get stuck in cycles of rumination. But those things you feel can be viewed as clues to indicate what you should do or what path you should walk down.

3. Use the "2/3rd's rule" to act decisively. As perceivers who don't like to limit their options and may never quite feel that they have enough information to act, INFP's may get stuck in ruts of inaction. Knowing this about myself as an INFP, I like to use the "2/3rd's rule" as a mental trick to avoid getting stuck. The 2/3rd's rule is this: if I am 2/3rd's sure that I know what to do, then I do it. This, of course, means that sometimes I make imperfect decisions. But I find that the lessons learned from mistakes are oftentimes much more valuable than the marginal benefit would have been of making the right decision. And the 2/3rd's rule helps move INFP's away from a common bias for inaction, which integrates their values more cohesively into all parts of the personality.

While the INFP's focus on the inner world comes with its many strengths, the tendency towards inaction and rumination can be a limiting factor in the INFP's life. As INFP's use the vast amount of information they learn from their inner worlds as clues to help advise their actions, they become more likely to shape the outer world into the type of world they want to live in, all while becoming more balanced themselves.

Subscribe to RECEIVE the INFP Therapy Newsletter!