Life as an ENFP is no walk in the park.
Despite the happy-go-lucky attitude they exude, only those who share the specific preference for extroversion, intuition, feeling and perceiving on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator can truly understand the unique form of chaos that governs this type’s restless mind. Embodying a profoundly strange stack of cognitive functions, ENFPs approach the world with both the enthusiasm of a child and the wisdom of an old soul.
In this detailed, type-based survival guide, seasoned MBTI author and shameless ENFP Heidi Priebe explains how to manage the ups, downs and inside-outs of everyday life as one of the most passionate yet self-contradictory types. – Goodreads
Once upon a time, I thought I was an INFP.
I was wrong.
First off, I love Heidi Priebe. After all, I just finished How You’ll Do Everything Based On Your Personality Type. If you haven’t checked her out on Thought Catalog, I highly recommend it. If you don’t know your MBTI, go here.
As an ENFP, I feel crazy about 98% of the time. “Having a thousand great ideas that you never follow through on”, “wanting to be alone….but like, with other people nearby” and “being a walking contradiction in almost every way” are my three favorite descriptions of myself that I read in this book. Along with a multitude of others, because that’s the point of MBTI, right? To read a description, snap your fingers and go, “Yes! Someone gets me!”
The book is split into sections — Introducing the ENFP, Growing Up ENFP, ENFPs in the Workplace, Unhealthy ENFP Behaviors, ENFP Relationships, etc. The breakdown made sense and flowed well. The ENFP in me fought to skip past the boring cognitive function section, but it proved useful and actually quite interesting.
My favorite part of the book was the section on Unhealthy ENFP Behaviors. Yes, it’s all fun and games to read funny stuff about your type. But the nitty-gritty-shitty stuff is where it’s at. Of course, as Priebe states in the book, it’s a spectrum. Characteristics range from healthy to unhealthy and all the bits in between. For example, a healthy ENFP is reflective, meaning they need alone time to recharge and reflect on their emotions. However, on the flip side, an unhealthy ENFP may become reclusive, where they avoid social interaction in favor of obsessing over their feelings. There is a difference between being principled and self-righteous, etc. It was enlightening to read about these behaviors and spot the ones where I may lean toward the unhealthy side — IE the difference between being agreeable and a pushover.
It was a long, delightful read that I looked forward to opening each night.
In the end of the book, a group of ENFPs describe why they love their type. This one summed it up perfectly, and I couldn’t have said it better myself.
“I like that I can lead a group, sit in solitude for days, think far ahead, improvise, be a huge ball of energy, calm down others when they’re stressed, be a mushball, be tough and decisive, create new opportunities for myself, adapt to the world around me…I defy so many stereotypes, and I like it that way!”
If you’re an ENFP, pick this up. If not, pick up her other book that features all of the types. Or hit Thought Catalog. Whatever. I rated this a 4/5.
lifebetweenreads.com 