As an INFJ personality type, I have this tendency to analyze my behaviors, thoughts, actions, and feelings. Lately I've been going down this rabbit hole of examining my Myers Briggs personality type and applying it to my daily life. Both Heesun and I were categorized as INFJ after taking the personality test.
INFJs are the rarest of all personalities, accounting for about 1-2% of the population. Apparently our pros and cons include:
- Creative
- Insightful
- Inspiring
- Determined and Passionate
- Altruistic / Gentle / Caring
- Complex
- Protective
- Strong value systems
- Gentle and easy going but simultaneously have high expectations of themselves and their loved ones
- Can be perfectionistic (in a bad way)
- Always need a cause / purpose
- Care a lot about people who especially understand their gifts of depth and caring
- Private
- Can burn out easily
- Sensitive
Traveling as an INFJ For 2 Years
1. Intuition
Firstly, my entire 2 years of travel was sparked by this gut feeling that I needed to take on this journey. I had this burning desire to quit my job and see what life was like outside of my bubble (as well as build passive income streams to create the financial freedom necessary for an unrestricted lifestyle). INFJs are very intuitive and they're usually (supposedly) right. When they follow their gut feelings and brave through life with confidence rather than get sucked in by outside influences, they can be unstoppable forces making their way to their fullest potential.2. Travel Planning: Structured Yet Unstructured
Before I embarked on my 2 year digital nomadic journey, I had already booked my travels 6 months in advance. That meant I had accommodations and flights already figured out for half a year. I knew that in this way, I could get the best value in prices and I wouldn't have to worry about what my schedule would look like. It also let me know for a fact that I was good financially as most everything was already covered. By creating my plan beforehand I wouldn't have to face indecision and could focus on building my passive income streams, meeting locals and other nomads, and exploring the unknown.At the same time, I barely knew anything about the places I was going to as I was visiting with no expectations. I liked it that way because I enjoyed discovering new sights and people, and taking in my surroundings day-by-day without a fully rigid plan. The "structure" I had each day was essentially my work at cafes or co-working spaces, but other than that I left my days pretty open ended.
3. Slow Travel
I traveled solo and stayed at places for months at a time, because I enjoyed exploring new lands to learn the local culture. I liked walking down the streets, talking to new people, observing locals and expats, sight-seeing, walking into random stores or places while listening to music, and more. INFJs enjoy deep conversations with different people and connecting the dots between different situations and analyzing abstract ideas. Talking to locals gave me insight on how I lived in a bubble and made me think about the meaning of life/my purpose a lot. I think slow traveling helped fuel this desire to connect abstract concepts cause I was able to observe new ways of living and tie it to my own perspectives and background.
4. Constant Thoughts About My Life Purpose
While I was gone for 2 years, I constantly thought about my life purpose. I'm not the type who can just chill without doing anything with my time. I'm always trying to fulfill my life potential. INFJs won't be happy without purpose and meaning in their lives, so they're constantly thinking over what their bigger picture goals and passions are. Many people could mistake my time around the world as a "break", but I actually wanted to make sure I was always working towards something. For me, I was building passive income and blogging about it on DigitalNomadQuest as well as writing on MeWantTravel about my findings.
5. Structure Around Hitting Goals
As an INFJ I like structure in terms of listing out my milestones, tasks, and goals. Even though I was embarking on this new journey, I still created a lot of lists around my goals and milestones I wanted to hit. I had spreadsheets documenting my expenses, income, net worth, and monthly milestones, a document outlining my goals, and a Google Keep notepad outlining what I had to do each day. This is how I was actually able to not only cover my expenses but also save money while traveling for 2 years, build passive income channels, and grow my blogs.
6. Alone Time
I enjoy my alone time while traveling, why is why I go to movies by myself, sit at restaurants by myself, and work at cafes by myself. The solo travel works for me cause I could retreat when I wanted to, and nobody knew who I was. I didn't worry much about how other people perceived me.
7. Connecting with a Select Few People
Though #6 holds true, we're not total recluses as we crave those engaging convos with interesting, deep people. With travel, we can have both if we not only go into hermit mode, but also remind ourselves to get out of our comfort zone from time to time. I remember during my solo Europe trips, I would hang out at a bar or hostel communal area to see if I could talk to someone new and have engaging conversation. I have nomadic friends who I still talk to each day (who I met in Bucharest):
8. Creating
INFJs have this innate need to create. Before I traveled, I fulfilled this through my music and other entrepreneurial endeavors. During my travels, I created by building passive income streams through Etsy and Amazon, and I blogged about my experiences. I also documented on Word documents any revelations I had. It was necessary to have outlets for expression and ability to create while abroad. So that's why MeWantTravel exists - to talk about my thoughts on places I travel to and my feelings!
Are you an INFJ, or are you into Myers Briggs? Let us know in the comments what you think and how you travel!