The Life Lesson You Teach the World, Based On Your Myers-Briggs® Personality Type

Do you ever notice that certain people have just the right words to say when you need empathy and solidarity? And have you ever noticed that you go to other people when you need help troubleshooting a problem or getting things done? Each of the 16 Myers-Briggs® personality types has a life lesson they can teach us or an area of advice they wish people would ask them for. What is that for you? Let’s get started so you can find out!

Want to find out what your personality type is? Take our new personality questionnaire here. Or you can take the official MBTI® here.

Estimated reading time: 16 minutes

The Life Lesson Each Myers-Briggs® Personality Type Can Teach Us

The ENFP

“Stay curious and question everything. Ask for what you want and live with the realization that when one door closes, another one always opens.”

open window you didn’t notice because you were too busy crying in the hallway.”

ENFPs are cosmic scavenger hunters. They don’t just chase meaning; they fling themselves into it headfirst and hope the parachute opens on the way down. If you’re stuck in a rut or thinking that rules are sacred and stability is the goal, an ENFP will gently (or not-so-gently) shake your shoulders and remind you that life is short and weird and should probably be lived with a little more curiosity and a lot less apologizing.

They won’t tell you what to do. They’ll just start asking questions like: “Why are you doing that?” “What if you didn’t?” “What if this awful thing is actually the beginning of a better thing?” It’s annoying until it’s liberating. They’re here to remind you that the story doesn’t end just because the chapter sucked. Something else is always around the corner, and sometimes it’s better than what you lost.

Read This Next: 7 Reasons Why You Need an ENFP Friend in Your Life

The ENTP

“Keep an open mind and approach life like a scientist. Think, fail, learn. Don’t be afraid of failure. That’s where the real lessons lie. Realize that your life is an experiment and you can live without fear or regret.”

ENTPs are here to break your brain open in the best way possible. They don’t care about rules unless they can bend them into Möbius strips. Life, to them, is a mad science project — and you’re the one standing there clinging to your lab manual while they’ve already lit something on fire and are yelling, “Isn’t this fun?!”

They’re allergic to stagnation. Their minds are turbo-charged and slightly possessed — by curiosity, by rebellion, by a refusal to accept that “the way it’s always been done” is good enough. If you’re stuck trying to get it perfect before you even start, an ENTP will grab the pen out of your hand and dare you to jump. You’ll be terrified. Then you’ll realize you’re alive again.

Their lesson? Try it. Screw it up. Learn something. Repeat. There’s no final draft of your life — just increasingly weirder and more interesting versions.

Read This Next: 10 Things That Terrify ENTPs

The INFP

“Take time for yourself. Honor your feelings, your intuition, and your inner voice. Learn to trust yourself and be comfortable in your own skin.”

INFPs will never tell you to “just get over it.” They can’t. Their internal world is a kaleidoscope of emotion and meaning — and if they’ve learned anything, it’s that abandoning yourself to keep the peace will wreck you faster than any heartbreak.

They feel everything. The impermanence of life, how joy blends with sorrow, or the existential ache of a passing cloud — and while that sounds poetic, it’s also exhausting. Which is why they’ve had to learn to go inward, not to escape, but to recalibrate. To sit with their intuition like an old friend and say, “Okay. What’s true for me?”

Their lesson isn’t loud. It may not trend on social media. It’s the kind of wisdom that whispers when you’re overwhelmed: You’re allowed to pause. You’re allowed to want more than survival. You don’t have to perform wholeness for people who only love the most convenient version of you.

The INFP won’t demand that you fit in. They’ll hand you the scissors and help you cut yourself out of the mold.

Read This Next: 25 Quotes That INFPs Will Instantly Identify With

The INTP

“You’re a student of life, for life. Your one objective, then, is to keep learning, evolving, and transforming your mind.”

INTPs don’t just want answers — they want better questions. They’re the type of people who fall down Wikipedia rabbit holes at 2am and emerge six hours later with a 37-tab thesis on black holes, ethical paradoxes, and whether free will even exists. You know. Just for fun.

They’re not here to be the expert — they’re here to understand. To chase truth like a mythic beast, knowing full well it’ll always stay just out of reach. And that’s the point. The learning is the living. The moment you think you’ve got it all figured out, they’ll probably assume you’ve stopped thinking.

Their lesson is a quiet rebellion against complacency. Don’t get comfortable. Don’t settle for the first explanation or the loudest voice. Keep asking. Keep evolving. Stay curious even when it’s lonely — especially then.

The INTP isn’t trying to be right. They’re trying to make sense of a world that doesn’t.

Read This Next: 10 Things That Excite the INTP Personality Type

The ENFJ

“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” – Pablo Picasso

ENFJs look at you and don’t just see who you are — they see who you could be if you stopped playing small and apologizing for taking up space. They’re the people who somehow believe in your potential more than you do, which is both inspiring and deeply annoying when you’re trying to hide under a blanket of mediocrity.

They’ll tell you to get up. Dust yourself off. Use your voice. They’re not interested in shallow pep talks — they want transformation. Growth. A fire lit under your soul that makes you remember what you care about and actually do something about it.

Their lesson? Your gifts aren’t an accident, and they’re not just for you. The world needs what you have — the weirdness, the warmth, the thing you almost threw away because someone told you it wasn’t “practical.” ENFJs will remind you that purpose isn’t found in chasing success. It’s found in giving what you’ve got, exactly as you are, to something bigger than yourself.

The ENTJ

“Action is the key to the life you want. Rather than ruminating, complaining, and making excuses, take action even if you risk something. One step ahead is always better than being stuck.”

ENTJs don’t do waiting. Or whining. Or “finding themselves” by journaling for three years while everything quietly falls apart. If something’s broken, they’re already sketching blueprints to fix it while everyone else is still emotionally processing the damage.

They’re not heartless — they just don’t believe in staying stuck when motion is an option. You say you’re overwhelmed? They’ll hand you a list. You say you’re confused? They’ll hand you a strategy. You say you’re scared? They’ll look you dead in the eyes and say, “Do it anyway.”

Their lesson isn’t glamorous. It’s not soft. But it works. Start before you’re ready. Act before you’re sure. You can edit the plan in motion — but if you never take the first step, you’ll still be in the same place next year, wondering what went wrong.

ENTJs will remind you that no one’s coming to rescue you. But you? You’re more capable than you think.

Read This Next: The ENTJ Personality Type and the Enneagram

Read This Next: The ENTJ Personality Type and the Enneagram

The INFJ

“There is no greater gift than the gift of understanding.”

INFJs don’t just understand people — they absorb them. Their inner world is like a hall of mirrors that can reflect anyone, even people they don’t like, even people who hurt them. It’s unsettling. It’s exhausting. It’s also kind of a superpower.

They’ll find meaning in places you forgot to look — the silent glance, the thing that wasn’t said, the dream you almost dismissed because it didn’t make sense. They’re not here for shallow answers or surface-level living. They want the truth beneath the truth — even if it breaks their heart.

Their lesson? You don’t have to agree with someone to understand them. And understanding doesn’t make you weak — it makes you human. They’ll remind you that empathy doesn’t mean excusing harm, but it does mean seeing the full picture before you decide how to act.

They’ll also challenge you to zoom out. Are you chasing something that actually matters to you — or just something that looks good from the outside? INFJs believe meaning is the real currency of life. Everything else is just noise.

Read This Next: 24 Signs You’re an INFJ, the Mystic Personality Type

The INTJ

“When you play the quick game you win small. It’s better to play the long-game. Be impatient with your actions, but be patient with your results.”

While everyone else is sprinting toward shiny distractions, INTJs are quietly building something that won’t collapse in a year. They don’t care about viral, flashy, or immediate. They care about effective. And they’re playing chess while most people are still figuring out checkers.

Their advice won’t give you instant relief. It’ll give you a plan. A reason to stop feeling stuck. A reminder that progress isn’t always visible — but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening. They’ll ask: Is what you’re doing today aligned with who you want to be five years from now? If not, why are you doing it?

The INTJ’s life lesson is simple, brutal, and oddly comforting: You don’t have to win today. You just have to not quit. Keep showing up. Adjust the system. Ignore the noise. Trust that what you’re building is worth the wait — and that most people give up right before it gets good.

Read This Next: 24 Signs That You’re an INTJ, the Strategist Personality Type

The ESFP

“You grow rich when you seek new experiences, not material things.”

ESFPs won’t give you a ten-year plan. They’ll hand you a mango smoothie, drag you outside, and say, “Look at that sky. Isn’t it insane?” They live for the full-body, all-five-senses version of life — not the spreadsheet, not the algorithm, not the abstract existential crisis you’ve been chewing on for a week straight.

Their lesson isn’t about avoidance — it’s about presence. They know life hurts. They’ve felt it, too. But they also know the cure isn’t always found in thinking harder. Sometimes it’s found in laughter, in music, in making a memory you’ll still smile about when everything else falls apart.

They’ll remind you that meaning isn’t something you discover after three degrees and a midlife breakdown — it’s something you make, moment by moment. You’re allowed to enjoy things. You’re allowed to stop bracing for the next disaster. Not everything has to be earned through suffering.

The ESTP

“Life is all about taking risks and seizing opportunity. If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.”

ESTPs came to move. To act. To grab life by the collar and say, “Let’s go.” While the rest of us are stuck in a mental PowerPoint presentation titled Reasons I’m Not Ready Yet, ESTPs are already halfway up the mountain with no rope, a half-smile, and zero regrets.

They don’t confuse caution with control. They know that waiting too long is just fear in a better outfit. Their superpower is cutting through the noise and asking, “What’s the smartest risk here — and why haven’t you taken it yet?”

Their lesson? Stop over-preparing for a life you’re not even living. Sometimes clarity comes after the leap. Sometimes the door doesn’t open until you kick it. They’ll challenge you to bet on yourself — not recklessly, but decisively.

The ISFP

“Self-love is born from self-acceptance and self-awareness. And the only way to attain all three is through solitude—how else can you create the space to look inside yourself?”

ISFPs are all about listening. To figure out what’s real and what’s just static. They know that if you never slow down, you’ll end up living a life that looks good on paper and feels like a stranger in your chest.

Their lesson? Find the stillness. Not the Pinterest version of peace — the awkward, sometimes painful kind that comes from being alone with your thoughts long enough to hear what they’re actually saying. They’ll remind you that knowing yourself isn’t optional. It’s survival. And the world doesn’t need a louder version of someone else — it needs the clearest version of you.

ISFPs invite us to pay attention to beauty. To integrity. To what lights you up when no one else is watching.

They’re not here to tell you who to be. They’re just asking if you’ve bothered to find out.

Read This Next: 24 Signs That You’re an ISFP, the Virtuoso Personality Type

The ISTP

“Assumptions are the mother of all screw-ups. Don’t make assumptions, and always test your hypothesis.”

While the rest of the world is jumping to conclusions and emotionally live-tweeting their every impulse, ISTPs are in the back, quietly building something useful — or dismantling your argument with three calmly delivered facts and a raised eyebrow.

They don’t do drama. They do data. And their lesson is simple: slow down, shut up, and verify. Don’t assume you’re right just because you feel strongly. Don’t trust your gut if your gut hasn’t been updated since 2007. Question your inputs. Recheck the wiring. Be willing to scrap the whole thing and start over if it doesn’t hold up under pressure.

And this isn’t about micro-managing your decisions. They just want you to stop driving blindfolded because someone told you “trust yourself” and you took it literally.

Read This Next: 10 Things You Should Never Say to an ISTP

The ESFJ

“Take care of the people you love. It’s more important than anything else in life.”

ESFJs are the ones who remember your birthday, your worst fears, and the fact that you hate cilantro — and they act like it matters, because to them, it does. They know life isn’t built in big, dramatic moments. It’s built in casseroles delivered during grief. In forgiveness when it’s earned. In showing up when you said you would.

Their lesson? Relationships are the point. Not the bonus round — the actual game. They’ll remind you that connection doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does have to be intentional. Say the thing. Apologize. Make the call. Love is a verb, and they’ll help you remember how to live it.

They believe in second chances. In choosing people, again and again, even when it’s messy. Especially when it’s messy. Not because it’s easy — but because it’s worth it.

For the ESFJ it’s not just about being “nice.” They want you to care loudly — and follow through.

The ESTJ

“Work steadily towards your goals, create more than you consume, and master a skill that will make you valuable.”

ESTJs don’t believe in overnight success. They believe in waking up early, showing up when you don’t feel like it, and doing the thing right — especially when no one’s watching. While the world screams about shortcuts and hacks, ESTJs are over here quietly building empires from scratch and side-eyeing your excuses.

Their lesson? Consistency beats intensity. Anyone can sprint. Can you sustain? They’ll challenge you to stop romanticizing potential and start delivering results. Not because hustle is your worth — but because showing up for your goals is how you build a life with structure, meaning, and actual momentum.

They’ll remind you that being “busy” isn’t the same as being effective. And that mastery doesn’t happen by dabbling — it happens by digging deep, getting specific, and learning the boring stuff no one else wants to.

The ESTJ isn’t trying to make you a machine. They just want you to stop waiting for permission and get to work.

Read This Next: The Top 7 Gift Ideas for ESTJs

The ISFJ

“It’s the small moments that give life magic. Don’t rush through life, take the time to experience the little things deep within your soul.”

ISFJs are the keepers of the quiet magic — the ones who remember the little things, those simple but meaningful moments that make you think “life is beautiful right now.” They notice when your laugh sounds a little off. They remember the exact way you take your tea. They anchor life in the details most people step over.

Their lesson? Slow. Down. That thing you think you’re chasing — the big goal, the next milestone, the version of yourself you think you’ll finally like? It’s not going to matter if you missed your life trying to get there. They’ll remind you that wonder isn’t something you have to earn. It’s in the way your kid lights up when you read the same story again. It’s in the smell of dinner cooking while the sun sets in that specific way only your kitchen knows.

The ISFJ won’t yell it. They’ll just live it. And if you’re lucky, they’ll pull you gently back into your own life — where it’s already happening.

Read This Next: 24 Signs That You’re an ISFJ, the Protector Personality Type

The ISTJ

“Learn from those who have gone before you, and find a way to streamline their teachings.”

ISTJs don’t really care about hype or what’s “trending.” They’re here for what works. They’ve watched enough people burn their lives down in the name of “fame” or “passion” to know that structure isn’t the enemy — it’s the net that keeps you from faceplanting when the high wears off.

Their lesson? You don’t have to learn everything the hard way. You can listen. You can read. You can ask questions and pay attention to the people who’ve already walked the road you’re stumbling down barefoot. Progress doesn’t have to be dramatic — it can be methodical, measured, and deeply effective.

They’ll encourage you to build slowly. Thoughtfully. To look backward before charging forward. Not because they’re afraid of change — but because they want your change to last.

The ISTJ knows that wisdom isn’t flashy. It’s quiet. Practical. Usually covered in dust and found in the margin notes of people who didn’t have the luxury of shortcuts.

Read This Next: 24 Signs That You’re an ISTJ, the Detective Personality Type

What Are Your Thoughts?

What special life lesson have you learned from the other personality types? What life lessons have you given others? Let us and other readers know in the comments!

Explore more about your personality type in our eBooks, Discovering You: Unlocking the Power of Personality Type,  The INFJ – Understanding the Mystic, The INTJ – Understanding the Strategist, and The INFP – Understanding the Dreamer. You can also connect with me via Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter!