INFPs are deeply aware of and in touch with their inner landscape. Their dominant Fi is inwardly focused and adept at evaluating and handling their personal tastes, values, and emotions. Because Fi is introverted in direction, INFPs process their emotions and experiences on a largely independent basis. With each new feeling, experience, or idea they evaluate, their sense of self becomes a little clearer.

Ne demands novelty. It craves new ideas, connections, and possibilities. It seeks to understand the world (and the self) through the lens of ideas. It therefore comes as no surprise that Ne plays a prominent role in INFPs’ search for self.

Among Ne’s manifold talents is its knack for sniffing out intriguing possibilities. As we’ve seen, INFPs commonly assume the role of wanderer or seeker.

Si is a conservative function. It engenders a concern and respect for the past—for what is routine, familiar, or traditional. For INFPs, a full embrace of tradition can only emerge authentically after they explore it (and its alternatives) through the lens of Fi and Ne.

So even when a given tradition manages to pass muster, it is only after INFPs have personalized it and made it their own, interpreting it in a way that resonates with their deepest values.

Because the inferior function operates on a largely unconscious level, all types struggle to understand and develop it. This function represents a strange and unfamiliar land, one that is difficult to consistently access, which is why it is sometimes called the “lost” or “missing” function. It is often symbolized in dreams as something deep underground, undersea, or in a dark forest.

Its sense of novelty and mystery can make it a powerful source of energy and motivation.