ENFJs are regarded as one of the most outgoing of all the personality types within the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. Depending on the circumstances, outgoing people can sometimes be seen as shallow due to how friendly they are to everybody they meet. ENFJs are a lot more complex than they may seem, however.
ENFJs are not inherently shallow people. They are deep, loyal people who strive for authenticity within themselves while constantly searching for it in other people. ENFJs actually crave making deep connections with other people, but certain aspects of their personality can make them appear shallow.
Anybody who doesn’t know an ENFJ particularly well may start to think that they are actually shallow people. However, it is only certain aspects of the ENFJ’s personality that can appear shallow to those who don’t know them. ENFJs are actually deep, sensitive, and authentic people who strive to form relationships with like-minded people.
Are ENFJs Shallow?
ENFJs are not shallow individuals. In fact, they are quite the opposite of shallow. ENFJs abhor shallowness in general, and they tend to see depth in every aspect of life – physical and emotional. ENFJs constantly strive to be as authentic as possible, and they crave making deep connections with other people.
ENFJs are extremely intuitive people, and they have a deep care for humanity as a whole. ENFJs also tend to be extremely emotional, intense, and passionate on the whole. However, there are some moments in an ENFJs life when they simply want to be lighthearted, and they don’t want to take their lives too seriously. It is in these moments where they can be seen as shallow to some degree.
ENFJs have a deep craving to be seen, heard and fully understood by others. This is reciprocated in that they also strive to give this same level of understanding to everybody else in their lives, and they treat the people in their lives with utmost care and kindness.
For those who don’t know them well, an ENFJ can come across as light and playful on the surface. This can sometimes be seen as shallow. However, this is simply part of the ENFJs personality where they sometimes enjoy keeping things light so as to ensure a happy, harmonious environment for everybody.
Remaining happy and bubbly on the surface can come across as shallow to some, and this is sometimes one of the ways that the ENFJ will keep people at arm’s length as far as possible. They will do this if they don’t fully trust somebody or understand their intentions.
ENFJs can happily talk about silly, meaningless topics that are appropriate to the company in which they find themselves. They may only show the deeper side of themselves to those they trust and can confide in. Their deeper side may also only be shown in certain aspects such as their creativity.
ENFJs Are Overachievers
ENFJs are generally extremely driven people who have high aspirations. They will often stop at nothing to achieve their goals, and they are very good at getting other people involved in any task to help them achieve their goals. This is not to say that they will use people in order to get what they want, but they are highly adept at leading people towards achieving something.
Being an overachiever can sometimes come across to certain people as being shallow. This is particularly true if the ENFJ is sometimes oblivious to how their aspirations can affect those around them. The ENFJ’s goal, however, is most often to help people in whatever way they can.
Those individuals who are not emotionally close to the ENFJ can sometimes misconstrue their driven, ambitious, goal-driven nature as inherently self-serving and somewhat shallow.
ENFJs Are Charming
ENFJs are generally very charming people who have the ability to talk to anybody about almost anything. They are extremely chameleon-like by nature in that they can adapt their personalities to suit the company in which they find themselves. This can sometimes come across as shallow.
However, it is simply the ENFJ’s incredible intuition and empathy that allows them to adapt their behavior according to the environment. They are able to relate to almost any type of person, and can converse with almost anybody about almost any topic. ENFJs have a wide variety of interests and know a small amount about a broad range of topics.
When engaged in conversation – or faced with any type of challenge – an ENFJ can draw upon their broad knowledge base to allow them to be fully competent no matter the circumstances.
This can appear as shallow to some people in that the ENFJ can happily jump from one conversation to the next with a seemingly limitless knowledge and relatability. However, the ENFJ always strives for authenticity as far as possible, no matter the circumstances.
ENFJs & Vanity
ENFJs tend to care a great deal about their appearances. They take great pride in their own physical appearance. While this can sometimes come across as shallow, they have their own good reasons for it. Firstly, ENFJs realise that people are generally treated differently according to their appearances.
As a result, the ENFJ knows that in order to progress in life and make the necessary connections, they must ensure they always look their best. This is related more to their ambitious nature than it is to any superficial reasons.
ENFJs are able to appreciate beauty in everything around them, and they often notice beauty in places where others may never have seen it.
ENFJs Seek Harmony
While ENFJs may appear to want to be liked by everybody, they simply want to avoid conflict as far as possible. An ENFJ ultimately seeks harmony in any environment they find themselves in, and they will try to ensure that any social setting will remain harmonious at all times. They are generally likeable people, and they don’t enjoy conflict.
This can sometimes be construed as people-pleasing behavior.
Conclusion
Despite sometimes appearing to be lighthearted and gregarious, ENFJs are generally not shallow people whatsoever. In fact, they are quite the opposite of shallow. ENFJs are inherently deep-thinking, deep-feeling individuals who care a lot about the people in their lives. They enjoy maintaining harmony in their environments as far as possible.
