ENFP Description

"There's nothing I know for sure, because I know for sure that things change."

Creative, inspiring, and idealistic, ENFPs are quirky and unorthodox people persons who cherish unconventional social interplay and dynamics. They often feel that their own potential, as well as that of others, can only truly be realized through the joint exploration of talents, ideals, and frames of mind. Their cognition tends to revolve around possibilities, not just in a purely intellectual way like with their ENTP counterpart, but around possibilities in the social realm; of people making a difference and living the lives they want to live. Many ENFPs have a gift for searching out and uncovering the deeper aspirations and desires of others. Similarly, many ENFPs are good at motivating others to go beyond the limitations that they had hitherto set for themselves.

Lifestyles and courses of action that others find curious or odd are often imbued with a special sense of meaning and significance to the ENFP. As fact would have it, they are extremely unconventional, freedom-loving and imaginative. Being extroverts of a somewhat cerebral bent, many ENFPs also find a particular sense of enjoyment in investigating and probing the ideas of others and the novel possibilities that may arise in exchanges with others. They genuinely enjoy learning about the endless idiosyncrasies and variations of human nature - the quirkier the better. Consequently, they tend to see diversity as a strength and often think that everyone should be able to share who they are and express what makes them unique.

While the excitability and imagination of ENFPs may easily lead them to undertake new projects, their highly agile minds and penchant for novelty also mean that they have an easy time running out of steam once the initial demands of a project are met. Once the project requirements move from the brainstorming of broad and abstract lines to the more nitty-gritty managerial concerns of everyday planning, the ENFP may find themselves zapped for energy and ready to move on to other projects that still hold the promise of novelty and excitement. Consequently, many ENFPs are often saved by more practical and down-to-earth types around them whom they have initially motivated and inspired to get on board with their ideas and who may be more suited to actually following through and putting them into practice. ENFPs are starters, inspirers and idea people much more than they are stabilizers and maintainers. They tend to work better in collaborative open-ended settings than in hierarchies with strict chains of command.

Open-minded and unprejudiced, ENFPs tend to be very easygoing with people, and they tend to be good at creating a tolerant and lighthearted atmosphere at work as well as in life. Accordingly, they are at their best in professional and social settings where their enthusiasm for ideas and unconventional contributions to the social interplay can be allowed to come to the fore. Jobs which require a combination of interpersonal openness and a passion for new ideas are therefore the ones in which the ENFP may really shine.

Many ENFPs maintain a youthful attitude at heart irrespective of their actual age. Versatile, innovative and dynamic, it is not uncommon for ENFPs to be beset by a sense of wanderlust throughout their lives, or to always experience a sense of wide-eyed enchantment at the promise contained in their latest new idea. Expressive and appreciative, the passion and enthusiasm of ENFPs often means that they will chase after whatever stimulates their fancy or appeals to their idealism. This can sometimes make them seem naïve in the eyes of others, since they can be so enamored with their latest new idea that they apparently fail to take stock of the obvious limitations or challenges that their idea will face, or to address how they will tend to the day-to-day demands of everyday life while simultaneously putting their all into this latest new idea.

As they mature and grow, however, most ENFPs will eventually come to better know themselves and what they are capable of, seeing that not everything in life is about pure conceptual or idealistic inspiration, but that grit and attention to detail must inevitably go into a project in order to make it successful. The projects of such ENFPs are not only inspiring to others, but far more likely to leave a lasting impact on the world as well.

Charming and sensitive, ENFPs are usually blessed with broad intellects and capabilities and talents in a wide range of fields. They have a deep-seated need to be independent and a natural instinct to rebel against those who seek to control or define others in ways they do not wish to be defined. ENFPs take their personal values and ideals very seriously, and they usually extend a great deal of tolerance to others. They are exceedingly unlikely to believe that good things will come out of hierarchies and control. They have many gifts which they use to make a genuine difference to those around them, believing as they do that if people would only dare to be themselves and allow others to be themselves too then we would be living in a better world.