INFJ Masters and Leadership

by Darbright on December 12, 2011

It’s been some time since I’ve visited this subject about INFJ Masters and personal development. It’s not an easy topic to share on since life mastery covers many many areas.

But if INFJ Masters do have any characteristic, it is the ability to lead through their vision, inspiration and dedication to the cause.

INFJs and Forecasting The Future

From my experience, INFJs tend to have the ability to forecast the future. By saying this, I don’t mean that INFJs can see what WILL happen in the future, but more towards the ability to see the probabilities of certain events taking place.

How Introverted Intuition (Ni) Works for INFJs

Someone has ever asked me to describe how Ni works (Ni being Introverted Intuition). The best way I can describe how this dominant function in INFJs work is through the following:

The INFJ Introverted Intuition (Ni) works to forecast or anticipate the future by taking as many factors into account as possible. It’s based within a framework of understanding the larger picture, how the possible human behaviors work within that larger picture, potential push and pull factors, current momentum, anticipated future events, surrounding elements of a person’s social circle and network.

INFJ Ni Takes EVERYTHING Into Consideration

When an INFJ looks towards the probable futures, he or she takes everything into account and applies an intuitive weightage towards each factor. Based on everything, the INFJ then makes an educated and intuitive guess about what the future will be.

INFJs who have developed their Ni  and understanding of global forces will also be able to anticipate global changes and trends based on current and possible future events. This is a major reason why INFJs are so dedicated towards humanity.

They can “see” the direction and future of mankind.

INFJ Masters and Leadership

What does forecasting the future have to do with becoming an INFJ Master?

The truth is, an individual is not able to change or influence the future on his or her own. If he or she is able to gather, influence and share his or her vision with a group of people, the INFJ Master will have leveraged his ability to influence the future of his community and society.

Many INFJs who are able to forecast the future have yet to develop this leadership ability. Not because they aren’t able to, but by nature INFJs prefer to stay out of the spotlight and allow others to shine. Hence you find INFJs are typically the “shadow masters”, or the people who influence from behind the scenes.

But if you are an INFJ seeking a life more fulfilling and purposeful, leadership is something that you inevitably must learn.

There are many forms of leadership. INFJs do not lean towards the showy and blustery style of leading. Instead, because of their desire to get things done (from their “J”ness), they tend to lead by example and usually get involved with the actual work.

Other Leadership Traits of an INFJ Master

An INFJ Master leads by sharing his vision and passion, usually inspired by the need to help humanity. His values typically border on doing things for the greater good and towards a balanced, vibrant and growing community (as one of the things that also guides an INFJ is the need for growth).

An INFJ Master not only inspires others through his vision of the future, but also by lending his efforts towards making sure processes are in place, people are engaged and fulfilled, others have ownership of the vision and that basically everyone is taken care of in every way possible.

But Mastery comes not only through the ability to lead, but also knowing when to lead and when to allow others to lead. Through his or her understanding of the future, an INFJ Master’s ability to read a person will allow him to guide another who is more fitting for a position to step up and shine.

Whoever is best for that job is given that job, because through his or her performance the greater community benefits.

INFJ Masters also learn to set aside their own desire for being out of the spotlight to take up the reins if necessary.

When the future of the people they care about is at stake, there are things more important than staying in the shadows doing their own thing.

An INFJ Master is able to set aside his own desire for peace and quiet, because he understands that this physical life is temporary. As much as he desires to linger beside quiet waters, bubbling streams and the coolness of nature, if there is work to be done…. an INFJ Master does it until it is.

Does this mean that INFJ Masters don’t have their own fears, misgivings and setbacks?

INFJs tend to be harder on themselves than the people around them. Each mistake, no matter how slight or inconsequential, can linger on his or her mind for days until they have made peace with it.

With their strong Fe (Extroverted Feeling), they are aware of how things are and how they should be. For them, the saying that for those who are given much, much is expected, holds true. With their strong abilities to intuit and feel, they hold themselves to higher standards because they “know better”.

Yet, being human, mistakes are inevitable. Emotions and feelings hold sway over rational and logical judgement. People make mistakes.

INFJ Masters and Self Acceptance

INFJ Masters have learnt this and understood that they are also a part of humanity and are  susceptible to mistakes. They have learnt to accept that they are not perfect, to acknowledge when they have made a mistake and then take the necessary actions to correct them if possible.

In many ways, an INFJ Master doesn’t just work on his external environment. His or her work takes place in both worlds, internal and external. As he works on developing and improving the external world around him, he is also constantly working on improving the inner world that exists within.

INFJ Masters, in their leadership, do not show they are “perfect”. Instead, they acknowledge their humanity and connection with everyone else. It is through this acknowledgement of connection that helps to bring everyone together. It is through the realization that change and growth can only come if everyone works together instead of against each other.

One message that is important and resonates through the soul of INFJ Masters… is the message that we are all connected at varying levels and in varying degrees. What one person does will ultimately affect another because no one is truly separate.

It is because of this understanding and awareness that INFJ Masters strive to better humanity and society, sometimes to their own cost. Yet it is also because of their awareness of the soul that they have the drive to push beyond physical barriers, knowing that there is life on the other side of the veil.

INFJ Masters light the way.

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Gratitude Is The Right Attitude

by Darbright on September 25, 2011

The Attitude of Gratitude Can Change Your Life In Amazing Ways…

Complaining and searching for all the things gone wrong seems to be the default that most people operate in. I know that I’ve done my fair share in the past, so I’m certainly guilty of this one. However, when I look back at the times that I deliberately chose to be grateful for what I have instead of what I didn’t, I realized that gratitude made a profound difference.

When I started choosing to be grateful for what I have, I noticed there was an immediate impact on my perception and experience of reality.

My Experience With Gratitude

It starts with a conscious decision to make a mental shift. To look at things from a perspective of what I have rather than what I don’t. And this is the most important part of gratitude being the right attitude.

It isn’t actually finding things that you are grateful for. The critical element of gratitude is, in truth, shifting from a perspective of *abundance* as compared to *scarcity*.

I mean, you probably have heard many times that you should have the abundance or prosperity attitude. But no one’s ever really told you what it actually is, right? I mean, what exactly *is* the abundance mindset?

It’s not about believing that you have something that you don’t have. It’s not about believing that it’s your right to have a million or billion dollars, or having that beautiful house, sports car, exotic holidays or the like. 

The Abundance Mindset… What It Really Is

Having an abundant mindset starts by realizing that you already have everything you need right here and now. It may not be as much as the person next to you, but you have what you have.

We are all dealt a hand of cards in this life and it’s up to us to play the hand given the best we can. When you know how to play the game right, you never know… you might just end up winning a game that you thought you should have lost.

The abundance mindset comes by identifying what you already have and being grateful for it. Take the things that you have and appreciate the value of it. As you do this, you become aware of the infinite possibilities and potential of the things you already hold in your hand.

For example, when I’m feeling low or just having a down day, I’m glad that I have the ability to appreciate the beauty of the sun shining off the rich green leaves and vibrantly colorful flowers. I’m glad that I have the ability to hear the harmonies of lifting music. I’m glad that I have the arms, legs and body to do something to make things right.

Gratitude Changes Your Perception of Life

Gratitude changes the way you perceive things. It creates a shift in your emotions, pushing away the melancholy and heaviness that worry brings. It helps bring clarity to your mind to see that you always have had the potential to change your surroundings, even if just a little.

If You Are Worried About Stuff

For example, if I’m worried about money, I can review what I have and be grateful for them. Like the ability to write and share my thoughts (I could write a book!). Or that I have a decent educational background and intelligence that gives me the ability to search for opportunities. Or experience that allows me to create value (like this article) to share with others that may potentially create further opportunities for wealth creation.

And if you have no educational background, you can be grateful for the intelligence that allows you to read (and go to your public library!) and gain information that may possibly help you.

Being Grateful Helps You Be Proactive

I’ve realized that in many situations, just being grateful changes the way I view things. While it doesn’t change the situation directly, it affects how I respond to the environment. It makes me a little more accepting of the current situation and thus a little more proactive about doing something to change it.

I don’t practice this often enough myself, but the times that I have I almost always lift up my own spirit when I am down. It makes life a little brighter and optimistic, and gives me that boost I need to get through the day.

When you are grateful for what you have, you start looking at the things you have like apple seeds. While you can count the number of seeds in an apple, you can’t count the number of apples in the seed. The possibilities are limitless and infinite.

Gratitude Creates A World Of Possibilities

It may seem that we live in an “objective” world, that what you see around you is what it is and can’t be changed. But my experience has told me otherwise.

Just shifting my attitude and mindset alone changes the way I perceive reality. In fact, I would say that all positive and sustainable growth starts from the inside, where no one sees the growth first taking roots.

When you start taking concrete and definite actions, it’s more than possible to start shifting and changing your external reality. Experiencing a better life is an inside job that no one else can do for you.

You can read all the positive and affirming materials that you want, but it’s only when we decide to change our attitude to gratitude that things begin to change.

Will *gratitude* create an immediate transformation of your external reality?

It’s not an immediate transformation, but the *magic* doesn’t always happen at the snap of the fingers, does it? It’s more like the budding of a flower, or the first sprout of the seed that breaks the shell while still in the soil.

The things that we experience today didn’t occur overnight. It’s usually a culmination of our thought habits and actions that we’ve taken over the years. 

What I can say is that it *will* change how you perceive life, thus affecting how you act towards it. And when your actions change to reflect your inner attitude, sooner or later your external reality will change.

I’m grateful that I can share these thoughts with you. So if you ask me, I’d say that Gratitude is the Right Attitude

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