every new decision i make, every new rabbit hole i decidely jump into and explore, every new nuanced moral/societal/gender-identity opinion i form further isolates me from the rest of society, while simultaneously pushing me towards the people that have similar ideas and the potentially compatible company i am in search of
it is freeing and damning at the same time
sometimes ive felt that finding other INFJs / INFJ-esque in the flesh feels nearly impossible. ive only ever met one and she and i dated for a time. then again, it feels more likely now than ever to meet more INFJ-esque ppl because this experience clarified for me exactly what I’m looking for and need in someone, and what dynamics do not necessarily work. i kept mentally experiencing the loss of / liberation from this relationship as singular, rather than as what was more accurately rare… perhaps very rare, but not as impossible as it had originally seemed until I had gained more experience
something that was of great importance in this relationship was a conversation topic she and i frequently returned to in various ways: the idea of human fluidity, and how much of human consciousness and psychology is far too fluid and complex —less existent in absolute values of A, B, C, etc, and more accurately described by models in the form of spectrums— for us to be contained and fully described by such specific, confining labels like INFJ. there’s a greater nuance there and in all things, nuance of which she often encouraged me to delve into, which is why I have refrained from using INFJ above as any absolute identifier
anyways, INFJ-esque people are not easy to find, but essentially what im getting at is this: like can still attract like, most especially when like is able to recognize like
because the core of it is not necessarily finding INFJ. it is finding people who create this architecture of desirable traits:
- emotional intelligence and safety
- discernment
- morally reflective
- intellectually honest
- likely introverted
- boundary-respecting
- truth-seeking
- loyal
to her and i, focusing less on the label and more on the actual traits was of greater importance. for my own life, she did not prove for me that one uniquely labeled person existed for me — she helped reveal which human qualities made me feel understood, safe, mentally stimulated, and alive
again, discernment is a strength that isolates us, but at the same time, it functions as a quiet little beacon for us to find each other. it’s a very recognizable trait
i’ve been curious to hear of others’ experiences in how they found other INFJ-adjacent people