8 Signs You’re Not An ENFP

And, now for the “Signs You’re Not An ENFP.” To catch you up to speed, in case you haven’t been following us, we’ve been writing a series on the “signs you are NOT” a particular personality type. It’s the opposite of what I typically see out there (since articles usually cover the signs you ARE a specific personality type). I personally find that negative information is more informative, but perhaps that’s just personal preference. Either way, today I’m going to talk about the 8 Signs You’re Not An ENFP. (And be sure to check out some of the other articles in this series, such as the signs you’re not an ESTJ or the signs you’re not an ISFP.)

Bear in mind, that Ryan and I tried to keep the individual point headers succinct and straightforward, but don’t mistake them for absolute tendencies. The reasoning under each point is the key. After all, cognitive functions define thoughts processes, not behaviors. Certainly, specific thoughts processes commonly lead to specific behaviors, but there are always exceptions given the wide variety of life experiences people can be influenced by. Therefore, be sure to read the explanations, and let me know if there are any anti-ENFP signs that you look out for!

8 Signs You’re Not An ENFP (Ne-Fi-Te-Si)

1. You’re often succinct and brief

Contextually, I’m not referring to social extraversion in this point. After all, as we’ve stated many times, cognitive extraverts are not necessarily going to be social extraverts. Many people quiet down in social atmospheres that they’re unaccustomed to. (Of course, some people are just loud no matter where they’re at.) Either way, that’s not what I’m referring to. Rather, I’m referring to scenarios in which the ENFP is comfortable and conversation is free-flowing. Extraverted Intuition (or Ne) tends to lead NPs to be “wordy”. They’ll pull in a lot of tangential information or potential connections, and share these connections almost immediately, as the thought occurs to them. (Sometimes before they’ve had a chance to really think it. They like to bounce ideas off of people to see what sticks.) In addition, Ne’s natural divergence can surface as a tendency to relay more information than necessary, in an effort to explain the bigger, ever-expanding, picture. Someone who rarely offers much of an explanation, tends to jump straight to the point, and needs lot of prompting to share extra context is not typically an ENFP.

2. Sticking to a consistent schedule is easy

Introverted Sensors (or SJs) tend to excel at sticking to routines or schedules, due to their preference for familiarity. ENFPs, however, are inferior Si users. As such, consistency can be their Achilles’ heel, so to speak. ENFPs tend struggle with long-term consistency. Many jump from one thing to another, whether that be a hobby or a fixation, only focusing on each for a limited period of time. On a daily basis, they can struggle with establishing consistent patterns, like when to eat. They’ll change things up somewhat frequently, following their current inclinations. Of course, I’m not saying that ENFPs can’t stick to consistent schedules, but someone who does so easily, and generally appears to be a patterned person or a “creature of habit” in every area of their life is not typically an ENFP.

3. You don’t naturally think about future possibilities

Ne focuses on possibilities, which means that ENFPs are not exactly anchored in the present. For the record, these personality types often excel at jumping on opportunities in the here and now, but often because they see the future possibilities that the current opportunity represents. Because of this, ENFPs often consider themselves future-oriented. They often scan future possibilities by default and mentally run potential scenarios, seeing where things might go or how things might play out. Of course, other types can project out into the future as well, but for ENFPs it’s more playful, in a sense. For instance, many people project out into the future under stress, or when trying to chart a course for their life. ENFPs can and will do that, but they’ll also consider possibilities for the novelty, or for the “what if”. They’ll enjoy playing in the theoretical realm even if it’s not entirely practical, or not immediately useful. ENFPs in particular can get quite fantastical with the things they’re willing to consider, because they‘re not as anchored down by logic. Instead, they’ll allow their whims and fancies to carry their thought process to fantastical places.

4. You’re not focused on your feelings

Introverted Feeling, or Fi, draws one’s attention to their personal feelings, and the values that their feelings have attached to. As such, FPs, like the ENFP, are usually closely connected to their feelings. Of course, all personality types have feelings and are affected by them, even thinkers. The difference is that ENFPs will pay more attention to their feelings, viewing the data as valid. Although, that doesn’t make them irrational. They’ll just start from the assumption that their feelings are valid, before any in-depth analysis begins. Someone who continually denounces their emotions (consciously or subconsciously), or loses track of them is unlikely to be an ENFP. For instance, it’s common for FJs to merge with the emotional environment, and it’s common for thinkers to require rationalization to validate their emotions.

5. You don’t prioritize self expression

ENFPs are typically very expressive people. Their preference for Fi causes them to prioritize emotional declarations, which in turn encourages identity expression. Many ENFPs are known for acting the same wherever they go, because they’re doing minimal adjusting for others. They just are who they are. Sure, these types can pay attention to social cues, and try to tone themselves down a bit, if need be. However, as a general rule, they stay true to themselves, and don’t shift their image based on the context. They march to the beat of their own drum, and let the chips fall where they may. Many TP types will use social protocol to fly under the radar, or intentionally break social protocol to stir things up. ENFPs are more likely to be oblivious to all of this, just expressing who they are and embodying their values, whilst accidentally running into problems due to being blunt, socially inappropriate, or etc.

6. You don’t dabble or just try things out on impulse

NPs sometimes get mistakenly framed as indecisive, while anyone prone towards action gets automatically pegged as an SP. That’s a misconception. ENFPs, as dominant Ne users, are focused on the external world and driven to interact with it in an Ne way. This doesn’t mean they live in their heads. Some less confident ones might, but the average ENFP should be driven to experiment, dabble, and explore new things. Jung describes dominant Ne users as being very good at sniffing out business opportunities, and the possibilities in the environment around them. They don’t just observe; they dive into things and figure out the details as they go. Of course, since the focus is on novelty, many ENFPs move on to something fresh and new quickly, once the novelty from the current fixation has worn off. Someone who is content to keep everything internal and theoretical, rather than feeling the need to test it out in the real world, is unlikely to be a cognitive extravert like the ENFP.

7. You’re good at accounting for all the details in advance

It’s actually not uncommon for an NP type, like the ENFP, to consider themselves to be detail-oriented. Their inferior Si, when honed in on something, can dive deeply into the weeds and become very detail-oriented. However, to be fair, many people, no matter their personality type, can be detail-oriented when it comes to the things that matter to them. Their inferior Si, in regards to struggling with the details, will show up more when they have to plan things out in advance. To give you a comparison example, the ISTJ, when starting a home project, will map everything out, figure out exactly what they need, and then buy it all at once so that they can complete the project uninterrupted. The ENFP might try to do that, but chances are, they’ll end up making several spontaneous trips to the store because they realized partway through that they missed something else. You can apply this general to tendency to different scenarios. Because ENFPs are like this, it makes them good at pivoting last minute, and finding novel ways to complete their task. Someone who typically excels at figuring out all the details in advance, and finds it extremely important to do so (because they need that level of advance preparation) is unlikely to be an ENFP.

8. You consistently focus on single projects from start to finish

Because of the ENFPs mix of Ne and Fi, they are known for being the type that has a lot of passion projects. They are also known for struggling to focus on and work through a project they are not currently in the mood for. Because of these tendencies, it is relatively common for ENFPs to have several different projects all going at the same time and to juggle between them depending on the mood they are in. They option to pivot to a completely different project if they are stuck or not feeling particularly inspired is alluring to the ENFP and can give them a sense of freedom until deadlines start to loom close. Types that are focused first and foremost on practical efficiency or streamlining their projects so they can wholly devote themselves to one project start to finish is unlikely to be an ENFP.