“Social Battery - The amount of energy a person has for socializing.”
While some personality types thrive on social interactions to charge their life force energy,
the INFJ usually keeps their social experiences to a bare minimum to avoid burnout. So,
what’s behind this “recharge-requirement” and why is their social battery life seemingly deficient?
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Alright, let’s get right into it starting with..
Number 1: Their introverted intuition requires solitude
With introverted intuition as their main cognitive function, many of the INFJ personality type’s
innate characteristics stem from this internal system. Not only does it allow them the ability
to store information accurately through a web-like map of intricacy, it also gives them
the eerily-accurate skill of future projecting. This incredible network of information provides
a dreamlike quality that is equally made up of imaginative ideas as well as concrete facts.
While the majority of this puzzle-like structuring happens subconsciously, it still requires ample
amounts of solitude. When they’re not using their alone time to recharge from their subconscious
whirlwind of thoughts and ideas, they’re actively diving deeper into their findings.
When it comes to relating this back to their social battery life,
it often interferes more than they notice. In fact, not only does the INFJ prefer to spend
time ruminating in their vivid imagination over socializing with friends, but it tends to take
a good captivating conversation to pull the INFJ away from their subconscious external analyzing.
Number 2: Their extroverted feeling function makes socializing exhausting
At the root of the INFJ’s social skills, and also considered the main depletor of their
social battery life, extroverted feeling gives this otherwise introverted type the interest in
human interaction. It is the filter in which they receive communication from their conversations
and relationships, serving their intuition but absorbing accurate emotional vibrations
from others. This is what gives the INFJ the ability to genuinely relate to others while
providing an honest understanding of other people’s experiences. However, since they
can’t help but to absorb the energetic feelings of others, they can quickly become depleted.
When they are around happy, up beat people, they can absorb that feeling but can quickly become
drained by all the energy it takes to keep up. And on the flipside, they can easily become dragged
down by lower-vibration people, also causing them to exhaust their energy. In other words,
because they’re challenged with feeling not only their own feelings, but also that of others,
they must keep their social life to a minimum in order to keep a proper mental equilibrium.
Number 3: Their hobbies are rarely community-based
When it comes to how the INFJ prefers to spend their spare time,
you’ll rarely find them willingly catching up with old friends, or trying out for a
community sports team. In fact, once the INFJ has created their circle of close social relations,
there’s rarely any room or energy for them to invest into any additional social endeavors.
In relation to the much-needed solitude they require as an introverted intuitive,
this personality type is drawn towards solo hobbies and self-help activities.
Things like journaling, painting, reading, horticulture, hiking, and the list goes on..
INFJs much rather spend their spare time expanding their minds solely in their own company.
So, this means the interest they have in sparing their unaccounted-for time
for the sake of socializing is already quite low prior to the consideration.
Number 4: Their extroverted sensing is their least developed function
With so much emphasis on their internal functions,
the INFJ personality type holds a grounding function known as extroverted sensing.
This least-developed function allows for the INFJ to keep their feet firmly planted on the ground,
and without it they’d probably float off into dreamland indefinitely.
In fact, the INFJ’s extroverted sensing function works by helping this introverted intuitive to
be aware of their surroundings by being fully present and connected to the physical world.
While their extroverted feeling function gives them the understanding of the people around them,
extroverted sensing gives them the patience and curiosity to experience the physical world.
Unfortunately, this underdevleoped function is also where the INFJ sources the energy to
supply their so-called social battery. And so, when a social setting escalates
to an intensity that demands their full focus, this function can easily become
overwhelmed leading the INFJ to feel overly stressed out with a depleted social battery.
Number 5: They can be quite picky of their environments
In order for the INFJ to genuinely enjoy themselves when it comes to social surroundings,
there are multiple factors that come into play. The simplest of aspects such as the
amount of people around, the tone of the social gathering, the moods of the people associated,
and even the external stimuli such as lighting and sounds can have an effect on the INFJ’s ability to
actually enjoy the experience. In fact, the ideal social setting for this introverted personality
type would include only people they are already familiar with, in a calm and quiet setting.
And even when their preferences are met, duration can either make or break the INFJ’s interest in
the entire ordeal. Despite their willingness to adapt to their surroundings combined with their
ability to utilize their chameleon-like social skills, without these particular ideals the INFJ
social battery life will deplete at record speeds. This is especially true when they’re required to
analyze and observe new-comers, something they can’t avoid when meeting new people.
Number 6: They have a natural disconnection to their outer world
Speaking of being picky with their social surroundings, there’s no environment where the
introverted intuitive INFJ enjoys spending time in more than their own imaginative paradise. In fact,
not only does this personality type naturally feel drawn towards their inner thoughts and fantasies,
but they seem to have this innate feeling of alienation to their external world because of
it. This makes any type of external interaction, social or not, feel rather unnatural at times;
ultimately leading to the depleted willingness and energy to connect with
it. However, in order to properly bask in their introverted intuitive glory,
they actually require a certain standard of security in their outer world. They’re
constantly expanding their inner universe which involves the external input of information.
Yet, despite their need for some sort of external information every now and then,
unlike those with extroverted intuition as their driving function who often feel uninspired unless
they have a steady influx of new experiences, introverted intuition users do not need a
constant stream of novel stimuli to have new epiphanies. Which brings us to our next point..
Number 7: Their memory bank can become overloaded
With the constant absorption of new information through the external environments, the INFJ
tends to have an astounding ‘working memory’. This means that they can’t help but to retain
numerous facts and details, not only for their immediate use, but also to analyze later through
their introverted thinking function. While this allows them the accuracy when it comes
to attention to detail, it also gives them the ability to retain a bigger picture viewpoint.
However, when they experience an influx of incoming information without the breaks
needed to process, they can end up suffering from a form of internal overstimulation.
When there’s too much coming in and not enough being organized within the facets of their
imaginative minds, they can fall into the trap of holding multiple half-thought-out perspectives;
ultimately leading them to feeling trapped and panicked. This becomes even more challenging when
it’s associated with deciphering the safety level of new people and new environments.
And lastly..
Number 8: They want to avoid burnout at all costs
Burnout is nothing new to the INFJ personality type, who tends to ignore their requirements for
R & R when life gets hectic. However, there’s a certain sense of physical,
emotional and mental burnout that comes with turning a blind eye on their dying
social battery. While most INFJs could probably push themselves past their learned comfort zones
of just how much interactive mingling they can handle, the clever INFJ takes
initiative to revert back to their notorious hermit-mode far before things get out of hand.
In other words, this head-strong personality type could probably run on empty for longer than most
types, however, their version of empty comes on a lot quicker; and usually a little more intensely.
So, by the time their social battery begins giving them warnings such as disinterest in
their surroundings, a continuous drifting off into their minds, and the unshakable
need to find the closest exit, they know it’s probably time for them to take a step away.
Well PSYCH-Os, that’s it for today.. So, would you agree with the assumption that
the INFJ personality type has the shortest social battery life in comparison to other
MBTI types? Let us know in the comments below! Also, make sure to leave us a like,
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