Jul 3, 2020
An ISFJ’s Take On Being Best Friends With An ENTP, ENFP, & INFJ
As someone who studies the MBTI, it’s always interesting to find out your friends’ personality types. Are they as similar to you as you thought? Or are they completely different? What’s the positives and negatives of being too similar or too different? In today’s blog, I want to discuss three of my best friends who are an ENTP, ENFP, and INFJ. To preface this, my ENTP and ENFP friends have known me since elementary school. While, my INFJ friend and I became friends our first year at our college.
First off, if you are unfamiliar with MBTI, it’s basically an “unscientific” personality test invented by a mother and daughter — Katherine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers — in the mid-twentieth century who wanted to figure out an explanation as to why people saw things differently. In so doing, they created what is now known as the Myers-Briggs test. Like I mentioned in my previous blog, Success With Strengthsfinder, there are four categories that these sixteen personality types fall into. According to the version you take online (16Personalities, Myers-Briggs, Truity), the names of the types and categories can vary. However, they really mean the same thing.
Personally, I have used 16 Personalities and continue to use it when having others take the test. It’s free and can email you your results, which is why I like it! Plus, the little figures are cute. Anyways, there are 16 Personalities:
- ISFJ / ESFJ
- INFJ / ENFJ
- ISFP / ESFP
- INFP / ENFP
- ISTJ / ESTJ
- INTJ / ENTJ
- ISTP / ESTP
- INTP / ENTP
Each letter means something different. The easiest letter is the first one: Introvert / Extrovert (that’s how I arranged them!). The second, third, and fourth letters stand for Sensing / Intuitive, Feeling / Thinking, and Judging / Perceiving. Using myself as an example, ISFJ, I am:
- Introverted (how I get my energy)
- Sensing (how I see information)
- Feeling (how I make decisions)
- Judging (how I organize things)
What this means is that I like people, but need alone time to recharge. I like seeing the big picture, but prefer the details. I use logic, but base my decisions on how I or others feel. And I am not naturally very spontaneous because I like to follow rules and schedules. But after finding out this information, how do I know other people are going to work well with me? Good question. Remember when I mentioned there are four categories? This is how you know well you may automatically get along with someone.
First off, there are the Analysts. They are very logically focused, and you might notice some of your favorite fictional characters fall into this category!
- INTJ (Sherlock Holmes)
- INTP (Bruce Banner)
- ENTJ (Miranda Priestly)
- ENTP (Captain Jack Sparrow)
Second, there are the Diplomats. They are very peace-keeping focused.
- INFJ (Galadriel)
- INFP (Frodo Baggins)
- ENFJ (Elizabeth Bennet)
- ENFP (Michael Scott)
Third, there are the Sentinels. They are very dutifully focused.
- ISTJ (Hermione Granger)
- ISFJ (Samwise Gamgee)
- ESTJ (Dwight Schrute)
- ESFJ (Jack Sheppard)
Finally, there are the Explorers. They are very adventure focused.
- ISTP (Indiana Jones)
- ISFP (Jesse Pinkman)
- ESTP (Ant Man)
- ESFP (Jack Dawson)
If you share more traits with someone else, it’ll be more likely that you see things the same way. Hence, you will be more likely to get along with each other without difficulty! Like I mentioned before, I am an ISFJ (Samwise Gamgee) and fall into the Sentinels category. Naturally, the other category Sentinels will most easily get along with is the Diplomats. Why? Because, though we are different, our world views are usually somewhat similar by approach. The next closest would be the Explorers, and then the Analysts. It’s not like any category is bad. And I certainly don’t want to paint a picture that your friends (who are in the furthest categories from you) will never get along with you.
My elementary school friends differ by one trait between each other: Feeling / Thinking. One is an ENFP, the other an ENTP. My ENFP friend falls into the Diplomat category, the closest to the Sentinels. However, my ENTP friend falls into the Analysts category, the farthest from the Sentinels. Is this bad by any means? No! I repeat, this is not a bad thing. Simply, I have learned more about my weaknesses and strengths by being friends with her. We are exactly opposite in every way and by being so, I believe we have taught each other valuable lessons. She is the spontaneous Captain Jack Sparrow. We approach life differently, that’s all. In fact, I’m so glad that I have such a close friend to learn from regularly. And, my ENFP friend is cool because we share one of four traits. Feeling. Even being in closer categories, we still differ a lot and that’s okay! She, too, has taught me more about myself because of our differences. She is the energetic Michael Scott.
Now, I know everyone says that childhood friendships are way different from college friendships. But my INFJ friend is super fun! Unlike my childhood friends and I, we differ by one trait: Sensing / Intuitive. She is the elegant Galadriel. In the Diplomat category as well, she shares those values — the first characteristic that connects us is being introverted. My extroverted friends are awesome, and help me be more social than I naturally would; I definitely need them. But my introverted friendship with an INFJ helps balance that need for quiet time, too.
Overall, I admire the unique traits that comes with being another personality type. My observations have proven that:
- ENTPs are wonderful at living life on the edge.
- ENFPs are talented at making each day an exciting adventure.
- INFJs are awesome at making others feel understood.
I like being represented by Samwise Gamgee. For, though ISFJs are quiet and safe-players, we can be courageous when it comes to defending and protecting our loved ones. If you know what MBTI type you are, please make sure to comment below. You are so, so valuable. Knowing your MBTI can help you understand how others see you. Coming soon will be a blog about the Enneagram and how you see others!
All my love,
JustACollegeStudent
