Why It’s Important to Know Your Personality Type 

Firstly, it’s important to understand that personality typing is not designed to pigeonhole a person or to say that one personality is better than another. Each personality comes with its unique characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses. Personality typing is an empowering personal development tool that will help you to:   

• Identify your strengths and weaknesses and make sense of your thoughts, feelings, and motivations 
• Make informed education and career choices   
• Be confident in a job interview  
• Maintain happy and healthy relationships 
• Thrive in the workspace 

Introduction to Personality Typology  

Understanding one’s strengths and weaknesses, needs, and wants gives one the:  

• Ability to identify relevant opportunities  
• Access career information  
• Ability to plan and take career-related decisions  
• Ability to present oneself effectively to gain access to courses or jobs  
• Ability to network and build relationships

The road to modern personality typology was first paved by Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist, and psychoanalyst. Based on his work, psychologists Isabel Briggs Myers and Katharine Briggs created the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The MBTI identifies 16 different personalities, and it’s one of the most popular methods of personality typing today.  

To explain how people differ in the way they use their personality preferences/cognitive functions, Myers and Briggs use the following four preferences for their self-evaluation personality assessment. 

1. Introversion (I) or Extraversion (E). Where do you draw your energy from, from your inner world or the outer world? 
2. Sensing (S) or Intuition (N). How you receive information. Do you prefer to receive information from your surroundings, or prefer to interpret and add your meaning? 
3. Thinking (T) or Feeling (F). How you make decisions. Do you take a logical approach, or do you prefer to look at people and circumstances before deciding? 
4. Judging (J) or Perceiving (P). How you interact with the outside world. Do you like to have things decided and organized or do you prefer to remain open to new information and options? 

The letters that are assigned to each of the above four preferences make up a four-letter code for each of the 16 personality types. This simple coding system shows you how your four preferences interact, and which one you tend to use first.  

How you use these preferences can change over time and some of these preferences may be used more often than others.  

For example, the ISFP personality type uses the following preferences in this order: introversion, sensing, feeling, and perceiving. 

ISFPs are introverts 

As an introvert, ISFPs like to focus on and draw energy from their internal world, and they prefer a solitary life.  

ISFPs may be described by others as being quiet and reserved, but they do enjoy meaningful social interactions. Introverts tend to avoid socializing in large groups because they prefer to channel their energies to one or two people and will need some time alone to recharge their energy levels.  

Personality Profile of the ISFP and Characteristics 

Overview  

The ISFP personality is also called the Adventurer and the Artist because these types of people are naturally curious about people and things, and they live in a rich, colorful sensual world that inspires their creative spirit. 

Free-spirited and spontaneous, ISFPs don’t worry too much about the future and they avoid planning things or being organized. Their flexible, adaptable nature means they like to take things as they come, so they don’t miss out on any new opportunities. 

ISFPs take pleasure from everyday experiences, and they value the simple things in life like family, friends, food, and music. ISFPs have a strong appreciation of beauty and art and they like aesthetically pleasing things. If a room needs to be redesigned, or you need a new outfit for a party, an ISFP person will intuitively know which is the right color and style. 

ISFPs are quiet and reserved and may come across as aloof, but once you get to know them, they are friendly, kind, caring, considerate, and peaceful. They are very tolerant and accepting of other people’s beliefs, but they will stick to their values and beliefs rather than societal expectations. 

Their introverted nature means they prefer not to be in the spotlight but are the happiest working on their own in the background and being helpful to others.  

ISFPs live in the present so you won’t find them dreaming about the future. They are pragmatic people who have a straightforward approach to life and like to deal with things practically. 

While ISFPs are highly sensitive to other people’s feelings, they can have trouble expressing their own emotions, but will show their care and concern for others in actions rather than words.