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I Illustrate The Difficulties I Face As An Introvert
I draw “INFJoe Cartoons” to encourage and validate fellow introverts and INFJs (one of the 16 Myers-Briggs personality types). I try to find a little humor in the difficulties introverts and INFJs face while navigating life, so making these cartoons is also a kind of therapy for me.
I began drawing them with a Sharpie on regular copy paper. In 2013, however, when my wife and I planned a 2-month trip to Spain, I bought an iPad to be more mobile and started making them with a stylus and Paper by FiftyThree.
For those of you who do not share the introvert preference or the INFJ personality type, I hope these cartoons will give you a little insight and understanding into our world. Thank you for looking!
More info: infjoe.wordpress.com
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What do you think ?
AmeliaVanDonsel 9 years ago
I'm an INTJ and also a female, the rarest personality type for a girl. It's definitely hard. People think I'm shy and weird; I'm not, I'm just more comfortable alone or with very few people. I instinctively view people as irrational and this really annoys my family, with the exception of my twin sister, also an INTJ. I'm so glad this comic depicts what I do, especially the not-talking part. People get annoyed about that. :)
NinaBelikidou 9 years ago
INTJ female here too!I get easily tired by interaction with other people and quickly bored..:/ I gotta say its hard.Tired of hearing that i'm ''antisocial''
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NikkiL 9 years ago
I absolutely love these! It's good to know that someone else understands how this all feels. Haha. Thank you!
DaliaTamulytė 9 years ago
I am INTP and I guess my case is that I canot accept myself for who I am. I often interact with people but all I say is just a bunch of rubbish because I rarely truly want to have that conversation. This makes people think that I care for them when I don't. It seems that few people have this problem which makes it harder accepting myself for who I am. I want to have a lot of friends but it's hard to text or ask people out regularly because you don't really want to see them. I wish I wasn't an introvert.
CMonday 9 years ago
You couldn't have expressed me any better. You are in my brain. I know, you don't want to be;)
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KathiMcCallum 9 years ago
I recognize myself in some of these cartoons. Makes me feel a bit pathetic. (Sigh.)
INFJoe (Post author) 9 years ago
Oh, no! You are not pathetic! You are just wired in a unique way.
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GrellCornwillSutcliff 9 years ago
Yeah INTJ female too. Last nights work scenario went much like this: "Oh, that's a new face, that's another new face. Where's my regular staff? Please don't sit at my desk. Please don't sit next to me. Oh not idol chit chat. I'm trying to work. Go away now, I have my own stuff to do.....good....you go over there. I'll talk to you later if I need." My other main issue is that I get bored with work that wont allow me to change systems or expand on thoughts and ideas. So...so...bored. So bored, I'm studying a new field. Misunderstood and unchallenged by the mundane.
AgnieszkaBudzińska 9 years ago
female INFP here, I can relate to many of those :D well done! :)
TimmyGriffin 9 years ago
People don't seem to understand that sometimes I don't have anything to say or I don't want to be bothered at all. Often I run my thoughts a couple of times in my brain to hear them how they sound, because when they come out of my mouth they sound illogical, rash something within those lines. That's when people around me misunderstand me and are quick to judge me based on that. PS: I re-wrote and read this at least 5 times....what I mean to say is that I see myself in some of these illustrations.
fredericeeckman 9 years ago
I do the same, my bf calls that "being in my monkey world" :))
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LanaSajaja 9 years ago
OMG I am an INTJ, I just found out from these cartoons, I don't even know what these initials stand for!!! But I am like this and everybody think I'm weird or have psychological issue's, I don't know what to think now!!!! I wanna learn more about it can someone please tell me where I can find the best information about this. Thank you so much INFJoe for sharing you made my day.
INFJoe (Post author) 9 years ago
Hi Lana. There are many resources out there online. Just google "Myers-Briggs". A book that I first started out with was "Do What You Are" by Tiger. Good luck on your journey!
Load More Replies...
LyndaHennell 9 years ago
I never considered that at 62 I might have been an introvert all of my life.. Now many questions are answered, and all I need to do is get my husband to understand. He also thinks I am weird, standoffish and shy. thanks so much for this!!
INFJoe (Post author) 9 years ago
Thank you for looking and identifying. :)
Load More Replies...
fredericeeckman 9 years ago
I always thought I was weird, until I discovered the MBTI and that I was an INFJ... Reading about it helped a LOT to understand myself ! Now I fully embrace who I am ! On many level we are living in an extrovert world, where it's well perceived to socialize, professionnaly you have to create a network, things like that... If you are introvert, you are called "no-life" most of the time, or people think you are just suffering of a mental disease :)) Nope, we are not ill, we are just ourselves, very sane actually :p
HollyWoods 9 years ago
Describes me to a T and I am finally at a point in my life that I am ok with that. It only took me almost 45 years. I have a lot less stress in my life now that I'm not trying to be someone I'm not to please others.
KAKACIMA 9 years ago
Yes I'm like this. I don't know I'm 15-16 and still growing, but I'm quite unsociable. Especially at family gatherings I hate when the attention is on me, I just feel the need to walk out the room and go upstairs and watch random YouTube videos until they all disappear. Even over small things like "why aren't you sitting down?" (I usually stand by the doorway to avoid) Or my favourite "why are you so quiet? She'd so shy" lool please just shush I'm comfortable right now, you're just making things worse.
KAKACIMA 9 years ago
She's* and it's quite comforting knowing that there are other people like this.
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LeahJ 9 years ago
Same here! INFJ. After school I collapse on my bed and tell my parents I'm too peopled out to do anything else
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HauntedSanDiego 9 years ago
I'm an INFJ to the max...LOL. I appreciated and laughed out loud at these!!
KarenCrosby 9 years ago
You really described me as well. Other people in the world do not understand when I need my alone time, how people/conversations can drain me. Thank you for sharing these.
INFJoe (Post author) 9 years ago
Thank you for taking the time to look, Karen.
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LindaNewhouse 9 years ago
I love these. You hit the nail on the head. I hover between INFP and INFJ, with a bit stronger on the P side. My health has been poor for a few years now. I am perfectly happy lying around with just me and my lap top. The first one reminded me of my first roommate in college. We would eat at the same time with each of us reading a book at the table.
INFJoe (Post author) 9 years ago
I'm very sorry about your health, Linda. Yes, it's nice to have someone to share the silence.
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DanielaBlueMoonBoal 9 years ago
I'm INFP however I scored 99% introvert lol Anyway, I can relate to a lot of this :>
IoannaKokkaliari 9 years ago
I have no idea what kind of personality I am (WA, perhaps? weird and annoying :-) but I can relate very well with the wife's exercise walk!
ClaireMilner 9 years ago
Wonderful cartoons! That's me---classic introvert, and proud of it (in a quiet way, lol).
ClaireMilner 9 years ago
This is so who I am--- classic introvert, and proud of it. Thanks for the wonderful cartoons!
StephanieRodrigue 9 years ago
Thank you so much for these. Makes it easier to understand myself.
JoMcRae 9 years ago
The cartoons are amusing! I certainly identify with them. Having just googled INTJ and INFJ, I now know a bit more than 0% about the subject. I was considered a loner and a bookworm as a child - which I think is a better definition of me than a list of capital letters that require a degree in something to understand. However I also dislike being categorised - like someone telling me they know about me because of my birth sign. We are all endlessly variable and capable of so much, especially if we step outside our 'known' behaviour.
EllieLoughlin 9 years ago
I'm an ENTP and I found number 22 funny as I'm totally like that with my phone when walking with my fiance.
Yesica1993 9 years ago
For all my fellow introverts out there, I urge you to get Susan Cain's book, 'Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking'. If you've never heard/understood terms like introvert/extrovert it explains it all in such a clear, understandable way! It's so much more than being shy vs. outgoing. I cannot recommend this book highly enough! And no, I don't know her or work for her and I'm not getting paid anything to say this. I just want to offer some help to those who may want it.
MaryYamada 9 years ago
Those are great cartoons, but I'd like to see some drawn based on an Introverted Extrovert, which is me. Having gradually lost my hearing until becoming completely deaf at age 21, my extreme extrovertism dimmed (you Introverts might object to the idea of "dimmed"), until I finally learned it was best to communicate with live people over the net.
KarlDesmartes 9 years ago
I may be wrong, but I'd say not an introvert, but a solitary. Introverts have difficulties to communicate, even if they want to. Solitary are better alone, and don't understand the need to communicate.
INFJoe (Post author) 9 years ago
Hi Karl. Introversion and extroversion have to do with where one directs his energy and how one gets energized. In general, introverts focus internally and get their energy from being alone. In general, extroverts direct their energy outwardly and get energized from being around others. We are all somewhere different on the introvert/extrovert continuum. I happen to be an extreme introvert, but an INFJ who is very relational. :)
Load More Replies...
WioletaPodsiadła 9 years ago
I love it who I am! but it surely makes living among well... everyone freaking hard.
INFJoe (Post author) 9 years ago
INTJ is one of the 16 Myers-Briggs personality type. If you google it, you can get more information. There are many assessments online, though it's best to do one with a certified MBTI counselor.
Load More Replies... 
Fruitypuffs 9 years ago
Though I'm an ISFJ, I can relate to some of these because I'm a total introvert and sometimes I do get annoyed that some people have misunderstandings about me.
NickWard 9 years ago
Oh, this is sooooo me. I sometimes feel completely weird for just wanting to be alone for 'me time' -it drives my girlfriend mad- so thank you for highlighting this, and helping me understand that I'm not totally unique in my desire for aloneness!
INFJoe (Post author) 9 years ago
You are definitely not alone! And not weird for needing alone time.
Load More Replies...
ChericePope 9 years ago
I love these! I'm INTJ, but lucky for us that's only one letter off. Thanks for being awesome.
Rachel Gericke 6 years ago
Insightful, wry, authentic and bravely engaging via virtual space 😊 Thank you.
MeghanvanGindertael 9 years ago
I am an INFP and #22 made me laugh, for sure. That is exactly how we go for a walk! :)
SamanthaGump 9 years ago
INTJ female. At this point I will walk away mid conversation or just inform people I am not interested in what they are saying. Sounds so bad when I put it that way but I don't have the mental stability to handle it.
NancyBacon 9 years ago
What does the J stand for? I may be the same but not sure what the whole abreviation means... introvert (something)? Also INFJ?
ElizabethHazen 9 years ago
I'm INTJ but I'm often talkative and loud, but I get tired of people after a bit. Right now I'm a counselor at my camp and I love it and being with the kids but most of the other staff are complete extroverts and don't realize that they aren't excluding me when I read or knit with my ear buds in for our time off or as I like to think of it, break from people time, instead of socializing with them. Its a little weird because at home most of my friends and all of my close friends are introverts and understand our shared need for taking our down time alone.
PaulGoldstein 9 years ago
Can someone help me out with this.....I am extremely extroverted to the outside world but am highly introverted alone. I constantly feel the need to talk to people a lot of the time but also want to be left the first alone. I have a super genius iq / math prodigy (which I can't stand and just want to play some funky bass in my Hiphop band). I was extremely introverted for a long time growing up yet now I can't shut up. A lot of times even when I initiated the conversation in just start to tune out as most people bore me to death with their inane drivel. I like to be home with my girl as much as I like to be the life if the party. I hate going our to eat and would much rather eat in. I have an EXTREMELY logical mind yet love to play improvisational music. When I took the Meyers Briggs test I had trouble answering the questions because the answer depends on my mood. Some people think of my as a buttoned up tech guru while others think I am a Coked up raving lunatic.
KonstantinNanov 9 years ago
I am an INTJ and I don't care much about any of the comments below !!!
fredericeeckman 9 years ago
*tricking the INTJ* Well, you say you don't care but you comment about it, it's not very rational :D
Load More Replies... AmeliaVanDonsel 9 years ago
I'm an INTJ and also a female, the rarest personality type for a girl. It's definitely hard. People think I'm shy and weird; I'm not, I'm just more comfortable alone or with very few people. I instinctively view people as irrational and this really annoys my family, with the exception of my twin sister, also an INTJ. I'm so glad this comic depicts what I do, especially the not-talking part. People get annoyed about that. :)
NinaBelikidou 9 years ago
INTJ female here too!I get easily tired by interaction with other people and quickly bored..:/ I gotta say its hard.Tired of hearing that i'm ''antisocial''
Load More Replies... NikkiL 9 years ago
I absolutely love these! It's good to know that someone else understands how this all feels. Haha. Thank you!
DaliaTamulytė 9 years ago
I am INTP and I guess my case is that I canot accept myself for who I am. I often interact with people but all I say is just a bunch of rubbish because I rarely truly want to have that conversation. This makes people think that I care for them when I don't. It seems that few people have this problem which makes it harder accepting myself for who I am. I want to have a lot of friends but it's hard to text or ask people out regularly because you don't really want to see them. I wish I wasn't an introvert.
CMonday 9 years ago
You couldn't have expressed me any better. You are in my brain. I know, you don't want to be;)
Load More Replies... KathiMcCallum 9 years ago
I recognize myself in some of these cartoons. Makes me feel a bit pathetic. (Sigh.)
INFJoe (Post author) 9 years ago
Oh, no! You are not pathetic! You are just wired in a unique way.
Load More Replies... GrellCornwillSutcliff 9 years ago
Yeah INTJ female too. Last nights work scenario went much like this: "Oh, that's a new face, that's another new face. Where's my regular staff? Please don't sit at my desk. Please don't sit next to me. Oh not idol chit chat. I'm trying to work. Go away now, I have my own stuff to do.....good....you go over there. I'll talk to you later if I need." My other main issue is that I get bored with work that wont allow me to change systems or expand on thoughts and ideas. So...so...bored. So bored, I'm studying a new field. Misunderstood and unchallenged by the mundane.
AgnieszkaBudzińska 9 years ago
female INFP here, I can relate to many of those :D well done! :)
TimmyGriffin 9 years ago
People don't seem to understand that sometimes I don't have anything to say or I don't want to be bothered at all. Often I run my thoughts a couple of times in my brain to hear them how they sound, because when they come out of my mouth they sound illogical, rash something within those lines. That's when people around me misunderstand me and are quick to judge me based on that. PS: I re-wrote and read this at least 5 times....what I mean to say is that I see myself in some of these illustrations.
fredericeeckman 9 years ago
I do the same, my bf calls that "being in my monkey world" :))
Load More Replies... LanaSajaja 9 years ago
OMG I am an INTJ, I just found out from these cartoons, I don't even know what these initials stand for!!! But I am like this and everybody think I'm weird or have psychological issue's, I don't know what to think now!!!! I wanna learn more about it can someone please tell me where I can find the best information about this. Thank you so much INFJoe for sharing you made my day.
INFJoe (Post author) 9 years ago
Hi Lana. There are many resources out there online. Just google "Myers-Briggs". A book that I first started out with was "Do What You Are" by Tiger. Good luck on your journey!
Load More Replies... LyndaHennell 9 years ago
I never considered that at 62 I might have been an introvert all of my life.. Now many questions are answered, and all I need to do is get my husband to understand. He also thinks I am weird, standoffish and shy. thanks so much for this!!
INFJoe (Post author) 9 years ago
Thank you for looking and identifying. :)
Load More Replies... fredericeeckman 9 years ago
I always thought I was weird, until I discovered the MBTI and that I was an INFJ... Reading about it helped a LOT to understand myself ! Now I fully embrace who I am ! On many level we are living in an extrovert world, where it's well perceived to socialize, professionnaly you have to create a network, things like that... If you are introvert, you are called "no-life" most of the time, or people think you are just suffering of a mental disease :)) Nope, we are not ill, we are just ourselves, very sane actually :p
HollyWoods 9 years ago
Describes me to a T and I am finally at a point in my life that I am ok with that. It only took me almost 45 years. I have a lot less stress in my life now that I'm not trying to be someone I'm not to please others.
KAKACIMA 9 years ago
Yes I'm like this. I don't know I'm 15-16 and still growing, but I'm quite unsociable. Especially at family gatherings I hate when the attention is on me, I just feel the need to walk out the room and go upstairs and watch random YouTube videos until they all disappear. Even over small things like "why aren't you sitting down?" (I usually stand by the doorway to avoid) Or my favourite "why are you so quiet? She'd so shy" lool please just shush I'm comfortable right now, you're just making things worse.
KAKACIMA 9 years ago
She's* and it's quite comforting knowing that there are other people like this.
Load More Replies... LeahJ 9 years ago
Same here! INFJ. After school I collapse on my bed and tell my parents I'm too peopled out to do anything else
Load More Replies... HauntedSanDiego 9 years ago
I'm an INFJ to the max...LOL. I appreciated and laughed out loud at these!!
KarenCrosby 9 years ago
You really described me as well. Other people in the world do not understand when I need my alone time, how people/conversations can drain me. Thank you for sharing these.
INFJoe (Post author) 9 years ago
Thank you for taking the time to look, Karen.
Load More Replies... LindaNewhouse 9 years ago
I love these. You hit the nail on the head. I hover between INFP and INFJ, with a bit stronger on the P side. My health has been poor for a few years now. I am perfectly happy lying around with just me and my lap top. The first one reminded me of my first roommate in college. We would eat at the same time with each of us reading a book at the table.
INFJoe (Post author) 9 years ago
I'm very sorry about your health, Linda. Yes, it's nice to have someone to share the silence.
Load More Replies... DanielaBlueMoonBoal 9 years ago
I'm INFP however I scored 99% introvert lol Anyway, I can relate to a lot of this :>
IoannaKokkaliari 9 years ago
I have no idea what kind of personality I am (WA, perhaps? weird and annoying :-) but I can relate very well with the wife's exercise walk!
ClaireMilner 9 years ago
Wonderful cartoons! That's me---classic introvert, and proud of it (in a quiet way, lol).
ClaireMilner 9 years ago
This is so who I am--- classic introvert, and proud of it. Thanks for the wonderful cartoons!
StephanieRodrigue 9 years ago
Thank you so much for these. Makes it easier to understand myself.
JoMcRae 9 years ago
The cartoons are amusing! I certainly identify with them. Having just googled INTJ and INFJ, I now know a bit more than 0% about the subject. I was considered a loner and a bookworm as a child - which I think is a better definition of me than a list of capital letters that require a degree in something to understand. However I also dislike being categorised - like someone telling me they know about me because of my birth sign. We are all endlessly variable and capable of so much, especially if we step outside our 'known' behaviour.
EllieLoughlin 9 years ago
I'm an ENTP and I found number 22 funny as I'm totally like that with my phone when walking with my fiance.
Yesica1993 9 years ago
For all my fellow introverts out there, I urge you to get Susan Cain's book, 'Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking'. If you've never heard/understood terms like introvert/extrovert it explains it all in such a clear, understandable way! It's so much more than being shy vs. outgoing. I cannot recommend this book highly enough! And no, I don't know her or work for her and I'm not getting paid anything to say this. I just want to offer some help to those who may want it.
MaryYamada 9 years ago
Those are great cartoons, but I'd like to see some drawn based on an Introverted Extrovert, which is me. Having gradually lost my hearing until becoming completely deaf at age 21, my extreme extrovertism dimmed (you Introverts might object to the idea of "dimmed"), until I finally learned it was best to communicate with live people over the net.
KarlDesmartes 9 years ago
I may be wrong, but I'd say not an introvert, but a solitary. Introverts have difficulties to communicate, even if they want to. Solitary are better alone, and don't understand the need to communicate.
INFJoe (Post author) 9 years ago
Hi Karl. Introversion and extroversion have to do with where one directs his energy and how one gets energized. In general, introverts focus internally and get their energy from being alone. In general, extroverts direct their energy outwardly and get energized from being around others. We are all somewhere different on the introvert/extrovert continuum. I happen to be an extreme introvert, but an INFJ who is very relational. :)
Load More Replies... WioletaPodsiadła 9 years ago
I love it who I am! but it surely makes living among well... everyone freaking hard.
INFJoe (Post author) 9 years ago
INTJ is one of the 16 Myers-Briggs personality type. If you google it, you can get more information. There are many assessments online, though it's best to do one with a certified MBTI counselor.
Load More Replies... Fruitypuffs 9 years ago
Though I'm an ISFJ, I can relate to some of these because I'm a total introvert and sometimes I do get annoyed that some people have misunderstandings about me.
NickWard 9 years ago
Oh, this is sooooo me. I sometimes feel completely weird for just wanting to be alone for 'me time' -it drives my girlfriend mad- so thank you for highlighting this, and helping me understand that I'm not totally unique in my desire for aloneness!
INFJoe (Post author) 9 years ago
You are definitely not alone! And not weird for needing alone time.
Load More Replies... ChericePope 9 years ago
I love these! I'm INTJ, but lucky for us that's only one letter off. Thanks for being awesome.
Rachel Gericke 6 years ago
Insightful, wry, authentic and bravely engaging via virtual space 😊 Thank you.
MeghanvanGindertael 9 years ago
I am an INFP and #22 made me laugh, for sure. That is exactly how we go for a walk! :)
SamanthaGump 9 years ago
INTJ female. At this point I will walk away mid conversation or just inform people I am not interested in what they are saying. Sounds so bad when I put it that way but I don't have the mental stability to handle it.
NancyBacon 9 years ago
What does the J stand for? I may be the same but not sure what the whole abreviation means... introvert (something)? Also INFJ?
ElizabethHazen 9 years ago
I'm INTJ but I'm often talkative and loud, but I get tired of people after a bit. Right now I'm a counselor at my camp and I love it and being with the kids but most of the other staff are complete extroverts and don't realize that they aren't excluding me when I read or knit with my ear buds in for our time off or as I like to think of it, break from people time, instead of socializing with them. Its a little weird because at home most of my friends and all of my close friends are introverts and understand our shared need for taking our down time alone.
PaulGoldstein 9 years ago
Can someone help me out with this.....I am extremely extroverted to the outside world but am highly introverted alone. I constantly feel the need to talk to people a lot of the time but also want to be left the first alone. I have a super genius iq / math prodigy (which I can't stand and just want to play some funky bass in my Hiphop band). I was extremely introverted for a long time growing up yet now I can't shut up. A lot of times even when I initiated the conversation in just start to tune out as most people bore me to death with their inane drivel. I like to be home with my girl as much as I like to be the life if the party. I hate going our to eat and would much rather eat in. I have an EXTREMELY logical mind yet love to play improvisational music. When I took the Meyers Briggs test I had trouble answering the questions because the answer depends on my mood. Some people think of my as a buttoned up tech guru while others think I am a Coked up raving lunatic.
KonstantinNanov 9 years ago
I am an INTJ and I don't care much about any of the comments below !!!
fredericeeckman 9 years ago
*tricking the INTJ* Well, you say you don't care but you comment about it, it's not very rational :D
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