ESFP

Life isn’t meant to be lived perfectly…but merely to be LIVED. Boldly, wildly, beautifully, uncertainly, imperfectly, magically LIVED.

Mandy Hale

Overview of “the Performer”

ESFPs are Extroverted, Sensing, Feeling, and Perceiving.

  • Extroverted because they are energized by time spent with others and connect most with the outer world.
  • Sensing because they explore practical details of the physical world and focus primarily on the past and present.
  • Feeling because they prioritize personal values and emotions when making decisions.
  • Perceiving because they live spontaneously and follow their inspirations and energy to complete tasks.

ESFPs are bold, energetic people who make their presence known. They want to live life to the fullest and experience everything that it has to offer them. They are very social creatures and have a large web of friend groups and acquaintances. Easily the life of the party, they are known for their enthusiasm, playfulness, and spontaneity.

ESFPs are definitely people persons and need time to connect with others. They are strongly empathetic and will use this trait to navigate various social situations. Although they are incredibly bubbly, they are also extremely practical and down-to-earth. They have a good grasp on reality and flow with the ever-changing needs of their immediate situation. ESFPs are engaging, entertaining, and positive to be around.

Cognitive Functions

In the Myers-Briggs personality system there are eight cognitive functions. Your unique personality is a road map pointing to the four cognitive functions that you access consciously. Every personality will have two extroverted functions and two introverted functions. Every personality will also have one feeling function, one thinking function, one intuitive function, and one sensing function. For more help and practice identifying cognitive functions for the sixteen Myers-Briggs personality types check out this worksheet. All eight functions are as follows:

  • Extroverted Intuition
  • Introverted Intuition
  • Extroverted Sensing
  • Introverted Sensing
  • Extroverted Feeling
  • Introverted Feeling
  • Extroverted Thinking
  • Introverted Thinking

Se (Extroverted Sensing) – Dominant

An ESFP’s dominant cognitive function is Extroverted Sensing, abbreviated as Se. Dominant cognitive functions are used approximately 80% of the time by an individual and are hardly noticed by the user. This function will feel like second nature and “drives” an ESFP.

10 Signs You’re Se-dominant

  1. You make verbal observations about the world
  2. You get bored and restless easily
  3. You live in the moment
  4. Quick reflexes gives you athletic tendencies
  5. You have a good sense of direction
  6. You notice physical changes in other people
  7. Actions speak louder than words to you
  8. You dislike being controlled
  9. You learn through experience
  10. You are a realist and dislike the theoretical

Positives of Being Se-dominant

  • Observing the world well and accurately
  • Enjoying every second of right now
  • Reacting quickly to current events
  • Maximizing the moment

Struggles of Being Se-dominant

  • Easily feeling bored
  • Taking unnecessary risks
  • Playing with fire
  • Not realizing future implications

A note to the ESFPs reading…

Ever wondered why you need to get out of the house and experience life? That’s Se. Ever noticed that you often vocalize your physical needs (hunger, temperature, etc.) for everyone to hear? That’s Se. Ever feel an incredible, incurable boredom that seems to stretch into your very bones? That’s Se.

Extroverted Sensing is the reason why you’re good at reacting to things in the moment, horrible at sitting still for very long, eager to push the boundaries of what’s possible, unlikely to dwell on the future, and excited when you take new risks. It can be your secret weapon and your Achilles heel if it isn’t properly balanced with the other cognitive functions.

Fi (Introverted Feeling) – Auxiliary

An ESFP’s secondary function is Introverted Feeling/Fi. If someone is an extrovert, their dominant function will be extroverted and their auxiliary function will always be introverted. Balance is necessary — especially in the brain! Fi helps process the information brought to it by Se.

10 Signs You’re Fi-auxiliary

  1. Authenticity is important to you
  2. You have strong “gut feelings”
  3. You will not force your opinion on others
  4. You are not necessarily an open book
  5. You crave personal freedom
  6. You are fairly independent and individualistic
  7. You can step into someone else’s shoes
  8. You have a strong sense of empathy
  9. You can be sensitive to criticism
  10. You have a deeply rooted value system.

Fi takes a backseat to Se. Because Se is the driver, Fi responds to the information after Se has already lived the experience. This is why ESFPs might leap without looking and speak before they think. Se is racing a million miles an hour and Fi later processes all this data.

ESFPs will need occasional breaks from their social interactions to process things with Fi. This may look like deep one-on-one conversations, journaling, walking through nature, meditating/yoga, listening to music, and engaging with art. It is possible this alone time may lead ESFPs to think of themselves as ISFPs, but a quick look at Se verses Fi should help them realize which cognitive function they use more dominantly and which cognitive function assists the other.

Te (Extroverted Thinking) – Tertiary

An ESFP’s tertiary cognitive function is Extroverted Thinking/Te. This position as third in the “cognitive stack” often means that SeFi is running the show the vast majority of the time. Because of this, Te is a bit underdeveloped and usually starts to show up in an ESFPs mid-20s. Tertiary functions usually have the maturity level of a ten-year-old child — they can serve as a strength or a weakness depending on how the user responds to it.

Tertiary Te is why ESFPs love making lists but often work only half way through them. They may have one sudden extreme urge to deep clean the entire house… but only a couple times a month-ish. This function helps explain their nerdy love for random facts and why they can remember the tiniest piece of data on a dime. Te helps them stay productive despite Se impulses, but since Te is not fully developed an ESFP will often find themselves abandoning their original approach (even when it was effective). This function keeps them sharp, motivated, and determined in spontaneous, sporadic, and almost knee-jerk ways. For many ESFPs, a well-developed Te function is the make it or break it factor in achieving their goals.

Ni (Introverted Intuition) – Inferior

An ESFP’s inferior cognitive function is Introverted Intuition/Ni. This function is typically concerned with hidden meanings, symbols, abstract data, shifting perspectives, pattern recognition, and the future. Because of this late-blooming, there will be many times Ni pops up in uncomfortable, weak, and even self-destructive ways.

Healthy Ni-inferior looks like

  • Predicting things accurately
  • Understanding new points of view
  • Insightful comments
  • Offering wise advice
  • Being patient with outcomes

Unhealthy Ni-inferior looks like

  • Miscalculating implications
  • Short-term vision
  • Jumping to false conclusions
  • Turning a blind eye to the future
  • Wrongly attributing meaning