by If there is any MBTI type that is into hobbies, it’s the ENFP personality type. There is no ENFP out there who hasn’t had multiple hobbies, probably dozens across their lifespan. Most ENFPs dream of their hobby becoming a profession. That way they wouldn’t technically have to work for the rest of their life.
What kind of hobbies are they into?
According to the MBTI manual where they’ve done polls on a large number of people, the most popular hobby and leisure time preferences pertaining to education among ENFPs were:
- writing
- appreciating art
- playing a musical instrument
- listening to music
- education/learning very important
- reading
- watching TV
I’m not sure if drugs can be considered a hobby, but ENFPs according to polls are overrepresented among new college students referred for a substance abuse workshop. 🙂
Other hobbies that ENFPs report online on places like forums and Reddit are: backpacking, rock climbing, snowboarding, mountain biking, dancing, swimming, urban inline skating, photography, roleplaying (like Dungeons and Dragons), drawing, hydroponics, thrifting, traveling, playing pool.
Additional thoughts
The good thing about ENFPs is that they’ll try anything. They are very exploratory. Most other people are stuck in their comfort zone, more and more scared to try new things as they get older and that way they’ll never truly realize what they could have been or what they are talented at. You might be a genius at some thing you haven’t even heard of yet, but you’ve never tried it.
The bad thing about ENFPs is that they usually find it hard to stick to one thing for a longer period of time. Almost every ENFP has experienced getting excited about a new hobby, buying equipment for it, trying it for a few days or weeks and then burning out, losing interest and leaving it. This is a tendency that ENFPs should fight against, because is also true that you’ll never find out what you’re good at if you don’t stick to a thing for a longer period of time. Being bad at something is the first step towards being kinda good at something, which is the second step to being very good at something. All those steps lead to being world class at something. Nobody is good at something from the very beginning.
Now, of course, a hobby doesn’t HAVE TO become a profession. There is a certain kind of tyranny that the modern world presents us by feeding us with dreams and unattainable goals and intentionally or unintentionally sending us a message that an average life is not worth living. There is nothing wrong with being a mediocre guitar player. It’s certainly better than not knowing how to play at all. Think of it this way: 99% of people on the planet aren’t even mediocre guitar players.
