If you've never heard of it before, the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator is a self-report personality assessment designed to identify a person's personality type, strengths, and preferences. The questionnaire was developed by Isabel Myers and her mother Katherine Briggs based on their work with psychiatrist Carl Jung's theory of personality types. Today, the MBTI inventory is one of the most widely used psychological instruments in the world.

I took the MBTI years ago when I was working as a finance manager and am sad to say I don’t remember the results. Personalities can change over time, so I’d be interested to see how mine did. When I retook the indicator in 2020, my results were close between ENFJ and INFJ, leaning more significantly toward INFJ.

One day, I decided to hashtag one of my Instagram posts with my personality type #INFJ. My thinking was, if the INFJ personality is rare then why not try to find other INFJ’s online. Chances are they might have the same interests as me and perhaps my writing would speak to them. The results were interesting. I didn’t attract a lot of comments or likes, however I attracted a huge number of followers on my social media. Almost like the INFJ’s were (like myself) not interested in interacting, but wanted to listen to what I had to say from afar. How do I know they were attracted by the new hashtag? I noticed the profile of many followers actually listed their personality type. I also noticed that many of my new followers were also following the INFJ hashtag. In addition to that, I have since met many of these internet followers and they've become clients and friends - exciting stuff!

In recent years, there has been a focus on introverted personality types as well as intuition. People seem more likely than ever to expand their awareness of these topics and I’ve met many people who instantly share with me their personality type having taken the MBTI.

So, what is introverted intuition?

Introverted intuition means that you are more introverted in personality and so your intuition may be felt and expressed in this way. Introverted intuitives are great at seeing the bigger picture and are able to take in abstract information and make sense of it. Many introverted intuitives struggle to explain their conclusions having taken in so much information, reading auras, or noticing tone of voice and body language, essentially “the vibes are off” and they don’t know why but they know. There are equal parts psychology and mysticism that go into introverted intuition.

Introverted Intuition (Ni) vs Extroverted Intuition (Ne) 

Introverted Intuition (Ni) is all about noticing and internally gathering information. Ni users typically have an internal goal or understanding and are moved by their own conclusions of the world around them. Being introverted, they tend to share less information with others. Ni types tend to be quiet and intense, value symbols and meaning, and seek harmony and growth. Ni is also the rarest type of intuition with INFJ’s being less than 1.5% of users of the MBTI. Ne is not so rare. Because of this, it makes sense that Introverted Intuitives often feel like they're on the outside looking in, likely because not everyone arrives at the same conclusions or shares their world view. I've met many INFJ personalities that struggle with loneliness and fitting in.

Extroverted Intuition (Ne) is gathering information externally and quickly to share information. For Ne users, they remain open to all possibilities rather than their own internal conclusions and remain expressive and cooperative. Ne people are also better at explaining their conclusions where Ni people tend to struggle with explaining in words.

What does introverted intuition feel like?

Introverted intuition tends to look quiet and feel intense. This is because introverted intuitives are often relying on how they feel to make sense of situations and make decisions. Feeling can take a lot of energy and at the same time introverted people tend to hold all this energy internally and need more time to process away from others.

Is introverted intuition rare?

The MBTI has 16 possible personality types and of the 16 only two use Introverted Intuition dominantly –INFJ and INTJ. These two types are thought to comprise only 3-5% of the population. Introverted Intutives are the rarest type of personality, perhaps because they're so focused inward towards their own inner world and most people naturally focus externally.

Dario Nardi, neuroscience expert and author, explains introverted intuition:  

“The Ni types often show a whole-brain, zen-like pattern. This pattern occurs when all regions of the neocortex are in sync and dominated by brain waves that are medium-low frequency and very high-amplitude….What is this zen state like? When presented with a problem, the Ni types seek to harness all neocortex regions in order to “realize” an answer. Imagine a troop of blind men trying to identify a secret object by touch. One man feels a trunk and says, “tree”; another detects four legs and says “table”; a third feels tusks and says “boar”. Like the blind men, each region offers a different perspective, and a zen-like synchronous state allows the person to reconcile various perspectives to arrive at a best-fit answer (an elephant).”

5 signs of introverted intuition

1. You feel that you receive “downloads” from your intuition, the universe, or a higher power.
2. You have a rich inner world and love to daydream. 
3. You have a difficult time finding the words to explain  your strong opinions and perceptions of things.
4. You view things symbolically and believe everything is connected.
5. You consider yourself “future-minded” and spend a great deal of time thinking about the future. 

How to develop and strengthen YOUR introverted intuition

1. Journal your observations, dreams, and abstract thoughts.

Journaling is a simple yet underrated skill that introverts can use to help themselves connect to intuition. Because introverted intuition is a heavily internal experience and one that introverts rarely feel comfortable to speak about, journaling can be a key factor in self development and understanding. 

When it comes to journaling these are the top two things I recommend:

• A “brain dump”

When you are feeling anxious, confused, or disconnected from your feelings about a situation try a brain dump. This is an exercise where you’ll write absolutely everything that's on your mind, your inner thoughts and stream consciousness down on paper. It helps to remember this is just for you (you don;t need to share, explain or make sense of your thoughts.) Try to write for five minutes without stopping or lifting your pen off the paper. Go over your brain dump with compassion and take a look at what your inner world has to say. What stories are you telling yourself? Are they helpful?

• Journal about your dreams or any “downloads” you receive from your intuition during waking hours. 

Since introverted intuitives tend to be symbolic in their thinking, we are likely to receive messages from our intuition through symbols. Use a free online dream dictionary or keep your own.

2. Begin building a relationship with your spirit guides.

It's common for people with introverted intuition to feel lonely and disconnected as a result of spending much of their time focused internally. The truth is, we are never truly alone. Spirit Guides are infinitely loving beings that are in our lives to guide, teach and protect us. Everyone has Spirit Guides regardless of their Spiritual beliefs. Even if you don’t see, hear or feel your guides yet, you do have them. There is not a person on this planet that is alone in their life experience: we are all connected, guided and loved. Take time to quiet your mind and ask your guides to be with you in meditation. Connecting with your spirit guides can help you to strengthen and connect to your psychic senses and intuition. Learn more about connecting to your guides.

3 examples of introverted intuition

You find yourself noticing “problems” when other people don't. Since Introverted Intuition (Ni) is all about noticing and internally gathering information you may often find yourself picking up on things that others don't. You can likely see right through others words and behaviors into their true meaning or character. You might even find yourself pointing these things out to others and being met with confusion or even accused of “seeing issues where there are none” or “trying to create drama.” The truth is that those who experience the world as introverted intuitives are likely un-bothered by others behaviors and tend to be open minded and non judgmental, however, they tend to be confused as to why they are the only ones noticing seemingly obvious nuances in the behaviors and energetic impressions of others they receive. 

You are always assessing and predicting future events. This is a key part of the Ni make-up since they're so future focused and solution oriented. Ni types tend to zoom out and take a birds eye view of things as they sort sensory information and search for a prediction or solution to future events. This can also occur through “daydreams” or visions the Ni type experiences and is often expressed through premonition dreams in highly intuitive people that may predict future events. 

Being alone helps you to connect to your intuition. If you identify as an introverted intuitive, have you ever noticed how spending time alone can lead to more accurate gut feeling or intuitive impressions? Many introverts know that spending time alone or in nature helps them feel energized and that planning breaks to decompress after stimulating environments helps them cope. Consider how your intuitive awareness can be nurtured by spending time alone and pay attention to how often you receive “downloads” or extremely accurate gut feelings when you make honoring your need for solitude a priority. 

While it’s interesting to learn about personality types and this can lead to greater self discovery, remember that you are much more than a label or set or personality traits! Connecting to your soul is by far the most important part of understanding your purpose and the true essence of you.

Read next: Psychic Exercises to Improve Your Intuition (Solo & Group)

If you need help with connecting to your soul, try this guided meditation.

Or to go even deeper into intuition and how to develop yours (based on my many years of psychic experience!), check out my new book: Uncovering Intuition: Guidance, Inspiration, and Exercises to Unlock Your Inner Wisdom