­How to Make Decisions as an INFP

If you’re an INFP,  you’re a creative, compassionate person with a vibrant inner life and a big heart. You might seem quiet on the outside, but inside your imagination is dreaming up endless possibilities. You’re also sensitive and empathetic, so you care deeply about other people and their feelings.

Your introspective nature means you tend to live in a world of ideas, rather than practicalities or productivity. So, when it comes to turning thoughts into actions, you can be unfocused. Making decisions is tough for you—and even harder when you’re worried about how your choices may affect others.

You might try to deal with this by following the usual advice and weighing a pros and cons list. Maybe you even try to “just do it,” making a decision and worrying about the consequences later. Both approaches probably feel wrong, because you need your choices to feel meaningful and true to who you are. Instead of trying to be more like other, more decisive types, let’s look at how you can use your strengths to start making the right choices for you.

Why Do INFPs Struggle to Make Decisions?

Certain personality characteristics suit contemplation more than action. They can also drive some individuals to make choices based on fear, rather than confidence, which can increase feelings of anxiety or nervousness.

As an INFP, you have a combination of personality traits that can make it challenging to make a decision:

Introversion: Introverts focus their energy on processing information internally, rather than looking outwards at the world around them. This tendency to think and reflect can lead to excessive rumination. You can easily become paralyzed by endlessly analyzing situations, second-guessing yourself and feeling unable to pull the trigger on anything.

Intuition: Intuitive types focus on patterns and possibilities, rather than facts and details. Your vivid imagination means you’d rather think about abstract concepts than concrete tasks. But this tendency can turn into worry and anxiety as you imagine all possible outcomes and fear making the wrong choice.

Feeling: As a Feeling type, you value harmony and positive relationships with others. Your dominant cognitive function is Introverted Feeling (Fi), which means you make decisions based on your strong personal values and how your choices will affect others. You can become extremely indecisive when a decision might hurt other people, or there’s a risk that others will reject you socially.

Perceiving: You’re a Perceiving type, so you prefer to keep your options open rather than making quick decisions. You like to be spontaneous rather than adopting a more planned approach, and you’ll resist being pinned down to one possibility. That adaptable, easy-going attitude is great when you want to keep plans flexible, but it can make it difficult to commit to one choice.

Strategies to Help INFPs Make Decisions

For INFPs, fear of making the wrong decision can stop you from making any decision—and it’s impossible to reach your goals without making some judgment calls along the way. Here’s how you can harness your INFP strengths and develop the confidence you need to start making things happen.

1.     Go with your gut

Instead of looking only at the facts, trust your gut feeling. Your intuition will let you know which option is an authentic reflection of you and your values. Your choices may not be the same as everyone else’s, but your values are important to you, so focus on what feels right.

2. Remind yourself that few decisions are final

Your preference for keeping options open is a strength. Use it as a way to gather information and make decisions that work for you right now. You don’t have to stick with the exact same decision for the rest of your life. Think of your choices as the first step on the road to possibility, not an end. 

3.  Use your heart and your head 

While your natural tendency is to follow your heart, remember to use your head as well, especially when it comes to major life choices. It’s easy to let your feelings take over, but whether you’re trying to decide where to live or who to date, it’s important to balance your excitement with some hard, cold facts.

Once you’ve gathered the facts—about the job, the city or the person—pause to notice how each option really feels for you. Let the facts inform your decision, but give yourself permission to choose what lines up with both your logic and your intuition. Your introverted preference for reflection can help you think things through logically, but avoid over-analyzing for too long. After you’ve thought things through, trust your gut and take a step forward, even if you aren’t 100% sure yet.  

4. Break every decision down to its smallest step

You find it difficult to make decisions because you can so easily imagine multiple possibilities, and this can be overwhelming. To avoid becoming frozen into inaction, try breaking down your choices into smaller, more manageable pieces so you can make decisions one step at a time. For example, if you’re trying to decide where to go to university, choose a class you’d like to take first instead of trying to make the big decision of where you want to study. Concentrate on the factors you can influence instead of worrying about every possibility. This smaller focus will help reduce anxiety and motivate you to take further action as you move closer to your goals.

5.    Set a deadline

To break away from endless rumination, give yourself a timeframe to gather information and weigh your options, then commit to making a choice by that deadline. Take the time you need to avoid feeling anxious, but don’t let your anxiety grow. For example, if you’re trying to decide what to wear to an event, set a deadline for the end of the day. For bigger decisions, give yourself a week or more. The important thing is to stick to it. Meeting that deadline will alleviate your stress levels and help you think in a more clear-headed way.

6.    Practice self-compassion

You don’t have to make the perfect decision every time. Fear of making the wrong decision can leave you feeling anxious and worried. You won’t always know the outcome of your choices and sometimes you may get things wrong, but that’s okay.

Taking a step forward will help you learn more about yourself and what you need, even if you have to retrace your steps or change direction later. What matters is doing what feels right for you.

Final Thoughts

As an INFP, you may not feel that decision-making is one of your strengths, but I’m here to tell you it can be. Harness your natural ability to think things through and trust your intuition, and your choices should start aligning with your personal values. Trust that your inner compass will guide you—sometimes all you need is a little patience and permission to move at your own pace.