If it's hard to explain why some people do the things they do, try a personality test. I thought I'd share the results I got today here. You can take the test for yourself if you scroll down to the end.
An Advocate Type
"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being.” --JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE
Advocates’ unique combination of personality traits makes them complex
and quite versatile. For example, Advocates can speak with great passion and
conviction, especially when standing up for their ideals. At other times,
however, they may choose to be soft-spoken and understated, preferring to keep
the peace rather than challenge others.
Standing Up for What’s Right
Advocates generally strive to do what’s right – and they want to help
create a world where others do the right thing as well. People with this
personality type may feel called to use their strengths – including creativity,
imagination, and sensitivity – to uplift others and spread compassion. Concepts
like egalitarianism and karma can mean a great deal to Advocates.
Advocates may see helping others as their purpose in life. They are
troubled by injustice, and they typically care more about altruism than
personal gain. As a result, Advocates tend to step in when they see someone facing
unfairness or hardship. Many people with this personality type also aspire to
fix society’s deeper problems, in the hope that unfairness and hardship can
become things of the past.
Nothing lights up Advocates like creating a solution that changes people’s lives.
Connecting with Others (and Themselves)
Advocates may be reserved, but they communicate in a way that is warm
and sensitive. This emotional honesty and insight can make a powerful
impression on the people around them.
Advocates value deep, authentic relationships with others, and they tend
to take great care with other people’s feelings. That said, these personalities
also need to prioritize reconnecting with themselves. Advocates need to take
some time alone now and then to decompress, recharge, and process their
thoughts and feelings.
The Cost of Success
At times, Advocates may focus so intently on their ideals that they
don’t take care of themselves. Advocates may feel that they aren’t allowed to
rest until they’ve achieved their unique vision of success, but this mindset
can lead to stress and burnout. If this happens, people with this personality
type may find themselves feeling uncharacteristically ill-tempered.
Advocates might find themselves feeling especially stressed in the face
of conflict and criticism. These personalities tend to act with the best of
intentions, and it can frustrate them when others don’t appreciate this. At
times, even constructive criticism may feel deeply personal or hurtful to
Advocates.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Advocate (INFJ) Strengths
- Creative –
Advocate personalities enjoy finding the perfect solution for the people
they care about. To do this, they draw on their vivid imagination and
their strong sense of compassion. This can make them excellent counselors
and advisors.
- Insightful –
Advocates typically strive to move past appearances and get to the heart
of things. This can give them an almost uncanny ability to understand
people’s true motivations, feelings, and needs.
- Principled –
People with the Advocate personality type tend to have deeply held
beliefs, and their conviction often shines through when they speak or
write about subjects that matter to them. Advocates can be compelling and
inspiring communicators, with their idealism persuading even the hardest
of skeptics.
- Passionate –
Advocates can pursue their ideals with a single-mindedness that may catch
others off guard. These personalities rarely settle for “good enough,” and
their willingness to disrupt the status quo may not please everyone. That
said, Advocates’ passion for their chosen cause is a key aspect of their
personality.
- Altruistic – Advocates generally aim to use their strengths for the greater good – they rarely enjoy succeeding at other people’s expense. They tend to think about how their actions affect others, and their goal is to behave in a way that will help the people around them and make the world a better place.
Romantic
Relationships
It can take time for Advocates to find a compatible partner. Some people
might think Advocates are too choosy, and it’s true that these personalities
can have unrealistic expectations. Some Advocates might hold out for a
“perfect” partner or relationship that ultimately doesn’t exist.
That said, Advocates’ idealism – if balanced with just enough realism –
can actually enhance their love lives. Advocate personalities tend to be in
touch with their core values, so they care about compatibility as well as
surface-level attraction. This can help them avoid matches that aren’t founded
on authenticity or shared principles.
Once Advocates do find a suitable relationship, they rarely take it for
granted. Instead, they tend to look for ways to grow as individuals and
strengthen their connection with their partner. This can help Advocates’
relationships reach a level of depth and sincerity of which many people can
only dream.
Is This for Real?
Advocates care about integrity, and they tend to bristle when people try to change them or talk them into something that they don’t believe. As a result, Advocate personalities gravitate toward partners who appreciate them as they are. And there’s a great deal to appreciate about Advocates: they’re warm, caring, honest, and insightful, with an ability to see the truth that lies beneath surface appearances.
When it comes to intimacy, Advocates can be incredibly passionate in ways that go beyond the physical. People with this personality type crave an emotional and even spiritual connection with their partner. They cherish not just the act of being in a relationship but also what it means to become one with another person in mind, body, and soul.
Friendships
Advocates (INFJs) have a deep desire for authenticity and sincerity in everything they do – from their daily activities to their relationships. As a result, people with this personality type rarely settle for friendships of convenience. Rather than rely on superficial interactions with the people they see every day at work or school, they generally prefer to have a close circle of confidants.
Advocates tend to light up around friends who share their passions,
interests, and beliefs. Few things give these personalities more pleasure than
connecting with others over discussions about meaningful ideas and
philosophies. Once Advocates know they can trust someone completely, they find
it incredibly fulfilling to share their innermost thoughts, ideas, and feelings
with them.
Searching for a Heart of Gold
Just as Advocates have high standards for themselves, they also have high standards for their friendships. They want to feel compatible with their friends on a deep level. In addition, Advocate personalities generally want to surround themselves with people who will inspire them to grow and improve. Most Advocates don’t just want to have fun with their friends – they also want to learn new things, make new discoveries, and deepen their bonds.
This is a tall order, and Advocates may feel that it’s difficult to meet
the sort of friends they’re searching for. Because Advocates are a rare
personality type, they may meet relatively few people who really remind them of
themselves. As a result, they may feel as if they need to settle for
less-than-fulfilling friendships or else accept being alone.
Fortunately, Advocates are more than capable of finding the types of
friends they long to meet – they might just have to use their intuition to do
so. In their quiet, understated way, Advocate personality types have a knack
for seeing beyond appearances and understanding people’s deeper natures. They
can use this ability to move past first impressions and figure out whether
someone’s interests, values, and attitudes might be compatible with their own.
By doing this, Advocates can befriend people who might seem totally different
from them but who are compatible on a deeper level.
In friendship, it’s as though Advocates are searching for a soul mate, someone who shares every facet of their passions and imagination.
Loyalty and Authenticity
Advocates have a quiet determination that can be quite charismatic, and their ability to express themselves clearly and passionately can make them truly shine. At times, these traits may lead to unwanted attention and popularity for Advocates, who tend to be private.
Advocates may sometimes find themselves surrounded by people who want to impress them. Paradoxically, this can make it more difficult for people with this personality type to find friends with whom they feel a connection. After all, the only way to be counted among Advocates’ true friends is to be authentic, honest, and real.
Once they do find genuine friends, people with the Advocate personality type make loyal and caring companions. With their trademark warmth and enthusiasm, they support their friends’ efforts to grow and expand their lives. In general, Advocate personalities don’t require a great deal of day-to-day attention from their friends. For them, quality trumps quantity – and that includes the time they spend with their nearest and dearest.
As trust grows, Advocates tend to share more of their inner lives with
their friends. If these revelations are met with acceptance and support, this
can herald the sort of friendship that transcends time and distance, lasting a
lifetime.
Over the years, Advocates may end up with just a few true friendships rather
than a wide circle of casual acquaintances. But as long as those friendships
are built on a richness of mutual understanding, Advocates wouldn’t have it any
other way.
Parenthood
“My instinct is to protect my children from pain. But adversity is often the thing that gives us character and backbone.” --NICOLE KIDMAN
As parents, Advocates (INFJs) tend to look at their relationships with their children as opportunities to learn and grow with someone they care about. These personality types also work to achieve another important goal: raising their children to be independent and all-around good people.
Advocate parents generally strive to be devoted and loving toward their children at all times. As they imagine their children’s futures, what Advocates really look forward to is being able to interact and connect as equals with the people they helped raise.
Advocate (INFJ) parents: Be Unique, Just Like Me
At the same time, Advocate personalities may also push their children to
think independently, make their own choices, and develop their own beliefs.
Depending on the child’s developmental stage and temperament, they might find
these expectations confusing or stressful – even though their Advocate parents
have the best of intentions.
If all this independence is taken to heart, it can cause some trouble for Advocate parents as their children move into the more rebellious phase of adolescence. This is especially true if their children choose beliefs that go against their values as Advocate parents. In this situation, Advocates may feel as if their children are criticizing or rejecting them – a hurtful thing to such a sensitive personality type.
A Job Well Done
Ultimately, Advocate parents tend to realize that it isn’t a sign of failure if their children turn out differently than they’d expected. Instead, they come to see this as a sign that they’ve successfully helped raise someone who has the ability to form their own ideals. Advocates’ children often come to appreciate the combination of independence and integrity with which they were raised – especially as they get older.
Advocates strive to make sure that their children grow up with a firm
understanding of the difference between right and wrong. Parents with this
personality type encourage their children to fight for a cause they believe in
and to be the best they can be. Whatever age their children might be, Advocates
can find a great deal of fulfillment and meaning simply in helping their
children learn to be true to themselves.
Career Paths
“It’s better to fail while striving for something wonderful, challenging, adventurous, and uncertain, than to say, ’I don’t want to try because I may not succeed completely.’” --JIMMY CARTER
In fact, many Advocates have trouble deciding which job is best for them
because they’re able to imagine so many possibilities. These personalities may
see 10 wildly different paths forward, each with its own set of rewards. This
can be exciting but also stress-inducing, because picking just one means
letting go of so many others.
Truth, Beauty, Purpose
Advocates want to find meaning in their work and to know that they are helping and connecting with people. This desire to help and connect can make roles as counselors, psychologists, teachers, social workers, yoga instructors, and spiritual leaders very rewarding for Advocates. Careers in health care – especially the more holistic varieties – can also be attractive options for this personality type.
Many Advocates are also strong communicators. This explains why they are often drawn to careers in writing, authoring many popular books, blogs, stories, and screenplays. Music, photography, design, and art can all be viable options as well, allowing Advocates to focus on deeper themes of personal growth and purpose.
That said, Advocates can excel in a range of fields. Wherever they work,
people with this personality type can find ways to help others. They can also
find ways to use their creativity in nearly any position. No matter what it
says on their business cards, Advocates’ insight can enable them to spot
unusual patterns and come up with out-of-the-box solutions, creating real
change in others’ lives.
For Advocates, money and Employee of the Month simply won’t cut it. These personalities want a career that fits their values and principles.
Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood
Advocates’ needs may be hard to meet in some work environments, especially those that offer little independence and agency. Advocate personalities are sometimes drawn to behind-the-scenes and noncompetitive roles, but these jobs can lead to frustration if they don’t allow Advocates to act as they see fit, grow as individuals, and make a difference.
For this reason, people with the Advocate personality type may feel
fulfilled by seeking out leadership positions or by starting their own
business. By finding jobs that offer more autonomy, Advocates can focus on
applying their creativity and integrity to everything they do. Advocates may
also find it gratifying to create bridges between seemingly disparate
professional fields – for example, by writing about psychology or by being an
environmental lawyer. These hybrid careers can offer plenty of opportunities
for Advocates to exercise their creativity and their love of learning.
Where Advocates struggle is in work that doesn’t take personal needs into consideration, is overly repetitious, or promotes conflict. Jobs with these characteristics can leave Advocates frustrated and unfulfilled. People with this personality type may also chafe at the criticism and pressure that come with cutthroat, competitive work environments.
A Sense of Mission
In truth, Advocate personalities can do well in any field. To be truly
happy, however, they need to find work that aligns with their values and allows
them some independence. Advocates crave opportunities to learn and grow alongside
the people they are helping. When this happens, Advocates may finally feel as
if they are fulfilling their life’s mission, contributing to the well-being of
humanity on a personal level.
Workplace Habits
Advocates (INFJs) have some specific needs when it comes to a satisfying work environment. People with this personality type want to know that their work helps people and promotes their own personal growth. This means that their work must be in line with their values, principles, and beliefs.
In the workplace, Advocates tend to thrive when they have opportunities to express their creativity and insight, and they’re especially motivated when they know that what they’re doing has meaning. They also tend to do best when they can ignore workplace politics and hierarchies and simply do what matters to them. Most people with this personality type prefer not to think of themselves as above or below anyone else – no matter where they are on the job ladder.
Fortunately, Advocates are resourceful and creative, and they can find ways to make nearly any position work for them.
Advocate Subordinates
Advocates value cooperation, sensitivity, and independence. As employees, they tend to gravitate toward managers who are open-minded and willing to consider their input. Advocate personalities may become frustrated when they feel unheard, so having a manager who listens to them can make all the difference.
Ideally, Advocates will also find a manager whose values align with their own and who offers them encouragement and praise. Because Advocates tend to act on their convictions and aim to do their best, their morale can be vulnerable to criticism, particularly if it’s unwarranted. Other morale killers for these personalities may include strict rules, formal structures, and routine tasks.
Of course, a perfect work environment isn’t always possible. Advocate
employees with less-than-ideal managers may need to draw on their inner
resilience and seek out other mentors. The good news is that people with this
personality type are more than capable of handling workplace challenges,
including the challenge of having a difficult manager.
Advocate Colleagues
As colleagues, Advocates can be quite popular and well-respected. People with this personality type are likely to be seen as positive, eloquent, and capable coworkers. Among their greatest strengths is their ability to identify others’ motives and defuse conflicts and tension before anyone else even senses a disturbance.
At times, efficiency may be less of a priority for Advocates than collaborating with and helping colleagues who need a boost. While this is usually a strength, there is a risk that others will take advantage of their desire to help. Advocates may find themselves picking up the slack for their less dedicated coworkers at the expense of their own energy and well-being.
Although they tend to be warm and approachable colleagues, Advocates are
still Introverts. From time to time, they may need to step back and work alone,
pursuing their own goals in their own ways.
Advocate Managers
As managers, Advocates may dislike wielding their power. These personalities prefer to see those who work under them as equals. Rather than micromanage their subordinates, Advocates often prefer to empower them to think and act independently. They work hard to encourage others, not to crack the whip.
That’s not to say that Advocates have low standards – far from it. Their
sense of equality means that they expect their subordinates to live up to the
standards that they set for themselves. Advocate personalities want their
employees to be rigorous, motivated, reliable, and unfailingly honest, and they
will notice if their employees miss the mark.
Compassionate and fair, Advocate managers often take pride in identifying their subordinates’ unique strengths. They make an effort to understand their employees’ motivations – an effort that is helped by Advocates’ Intuitive insights.
That said, people with this personality type can be quite stern if they catch someone behaving in a way that they consider unethical. Advocates have little tolerance for lapses in reliability or morality. When their employees’ good intentions match their own, however, Advocates will work tirelessly to ensure that their entire team feels valued and fulfilled.
Conclusion
“In the end, it’s your actions, how you respond to circumstance, that reveals your character.” --CATE BLANCHETT
Yet Advocates face challenges too. Even the most idealistic and dedicated of personality types can become frustrated when it comes to navigating interpersonal conflicts, confronting unpleasant facts, pursuing self-realization, or finding a fulfilling career path. As a result, you may sometimes find yourself questioning who you really are – and who you’re really meant to be.
Take your own test at: https://www.16personalities.com
