Written by: Amelia Harshfield, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
INFPs have incredible strengths in business. Their strong sense of values helps guide their business to stay tuned to their compass. They can effortlessly generate solutions to big or small problems. They work well with others who are similarly aligned. They have big-picture ideas for how the world can be better. They are a force to be reckoned with when they are balanced.
However, they can prevent themselves from reaching their big dreams in similar ways. They can put themselves into certain traps, knowingly or unknowingly. These traps can keep them from achieving their dreams. These are four ways that INFPs put themselves in their own way toward success.
The first way they might get themselves stuck is to not feel they are doing anything right. This can be very challenging when they feel far away from their big aspirations. They might feel like they are not getting anything done. They might feel like a failure in their business because they have not made their mark on the world (yet). It’s tough to believe the steps are not getting done without looking for evidence of whether this feeling is real or not. INFPs can tend to rely too much on their feelings, especially when they are having a hard time. If they can notice when they are making generalizations based on how they feel rather than what they know, they can live a balanced life that keeps moving them and their mission forward.
The second way they can sabotage themselves is by only noticing the bad outcomes of different opportunities. They might be afraid to step into a new direction because they see all the ways that direction could fail. They might be repeating this pattern when opportunities arise that are outside of their comfort zone. They can be using their future-looking intuition to keep themselves safe in their present life (even if they do not want to stay there) rather than stretching forward with fear. No opportunity is 100% guaranteed. But if they can learn to address their intuition's fears about the future, they can progress with ease.
The third way that INFPs can trap themselves in business is by looking at their previous failures and believing they will continue to fail in the future. They can interpret a big client backing out as behavior of every sizable client in the future. They might believe that an unsuccessful marketing campaign means they can’t make money off that product. They might believe that because they have not been successful yet, they will never be successful. INFPs can put too much weight on their past experiences, especially when they are negative. The better INFPs become at identifying this voice and knowing how to quiet it, the more time they can spend achieving their dreams.
The fourth way an INFP business owner can block themselves in business is by believing they have to be effective all the time. When INFPs believe they should be doing more and more they often suffer because of the consequences. They might mentally beat themselves up when they are trying to rest. This voice can struggle to see the importance of slowing down, resting, and having time away. That thought process can make sense. However, knowing how to slow down so they can keep pushing forward will pay off massively in the long run.
The world needs INFPs to show up as their brilliant selves. INFPs have so much insight and knowledge to make the world a better place for everyone. The better they get at moving closer to being the person they want to be, the more likely their vision can actualize. But they need to put in the work to get themselves out of the way to attain their vision.
If you are an INFP and have not reached your goals yet you are probably blocking your progress. As a fellow INFP entrepreneur, I know how frustrating it is when you are not able to hit the next level of expansion. I’ve created a workbook that teaches INFPs what I’ve learned to help me move faster with less effort utilizing your Myers Briggs type and Inner child healing. It teaches you how to understand what is occurring within you when you are off, know how to address that so you are less impacted by it, and how to live more authentically. It costs $14 USD and can be purchased here.
For more info follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website!
Amelia Harshfield, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Amelia Harshfield is fascinated and motivated by what impact makers can achieve as they become more resilient. With a solid education and a master’s degree in economics, she has been creating passive income in Real Estate investing for over 5 years. Her key foundational work is The Overcoming Anxiety Method™, a powerful 4-step formula for playing a bigger game without being crushed by fear. This process is paramount to finding an authentic version of freedom and wealth. Mentoring and educating high-level operators is her passion, her work has been featured in magazines, podcasts, conferences, and she has been a trainer on Sir Richard Branson's Necker Island.
