A very special person in my life is going to tell us about her personality type. Don't forget, if you want to be part of the 16 Personality post series, take the test (http://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test) and email your results to christiellaryder[at]gmail[dot]com. If the slot for your personality type is still open, you will get a chance to help people understand YOU!
Hi there!! I am here to
tell you about the mysterious mind of the ISFJ, Nurturers/Defenders!!
I have been studying personality types for a few years now and I
find it amazing that we can understand why people act the way they do
because of the combinations of these four areas. I do want to
mention that even though we fall into one of these personality types
does not mean that we are the same. We are stamped with the
handiwork of God and are each unique. We are here for a special
purpose and even though we find out which personality we are, doesn’t
change the fact that we are created with great worth and we make up
the only one on this earth that is us. So without further ado, here
is a small portrait of what makes me an ISFJ.
I think the biggest desire
in my heart is to love everyone and to make them happy. I want to
believe the best in every person that I meet. In group settings I
strive to keep unity among all members and I am constantly looking
out for the feelings of those around me. I almost have an alarm in
my body that goes off when someone is upset, I can feel it inside and
I work hard to calm the doubts or fears that the individual is
expressing. This strength of mine is a huge weakness too. Pleasing
people is not always a positive thing. I am not saying that helping
people or telling them that you are thinking about them is bad.
ISFJ’s however often will make decisions so that it will help out
their friend. That still doesn’t sound so bad, but just imagine
that you multiply that friend by 5 and all of a sudden you have a
whole family of people to please. It can’t be done, and this can
often make the ISFJ feel like they have failed.
My biggest strength is
listening. I love to sit down and hear about people’s lives, their
dreams, their fears. If you want to talk, I will listen. I will
share your passion and understand why you feel the way you do. I can
remember conversations for a long time, and your emotions or facial
expressions or intonation will be cemented into my mind. ISFJ’s
internalize everything and they store it away so that it will be
usable in the future with encouraging someone. ISFJ’s value people
and work to know them on a deeper level.
My inner world is a
mystery. It is not often opened to you, and in the small chance that
I let you in, I will only share what I am absolutely confident in. I
love to talk about what is going on in your world, but before I tell
you about my world I need to have processed. I need to have a plan
of action to tell you what is going on, but I constantly take things
in, and am thinking about them. I can also harbor negative feelings,
and those do not come out as easily. This is a huge weakness because
when I get overfull, I start spilling a confused flow of feelings.
ISFJ’s need to learn to share what they are feeling and let the
negative feelings free. Those can be harmful to the mind of the ISFJ
as they will continue to think about the negative feelings and feel
sorry for themselves. Learning to talk through the feelings that
they have with people would greatly impact the ISFJ’s ability to
serve.
I do not like to say no.
I want to help everyone! If I hear that you need something, or you
ask me to do something, I want to please you and to make life as easy
as possible, so I am going to say yes! This becomes a weakness all
too soon. My calendar and life becomes stressed and strained. I
have to constantly tell myself that I can help out but I need to make
sure that I have enough time to get my things done as well.
I easily become stressed
or discouraged if I think that my work is not noticed. As you can
probably tell, there is a lot that I do, and I like to work
backstage, but I need to hear encouragement. I live my life for
other people but it can often become tedious and hard to please
everyone. ISFJ’s are prone to say “I can’t do anything right.”
This thought pops into my head very frequently and I try and
remember that I am made just the way I am supposed to be. When I am
told “thank you” or “you did a wonderful job with that”. Just
that sentence can boost my stamina and confidence. Positive
encouragement is crucial to my life or I can easily feel left out.
ISFJ’s hide from
conflict. They are the nurturers and they like to avoid a disruption
to the flow of life. If they are the cause of the trouble, the will
take criticism personally and internalize it. I often need to remind
myself that conflict is what makes relationships stronger as we work
through differences. It is still a struggle but I am getting better
at coming into conflict with an open mind and talking about what I am
feeling.
In a nutshell, ISFJ’s
are dependable, they will love you with everything they have and they
are generous and will selflessly serve you. They are altruistic and
it doesn’t bother them at all. They have a strong desire to keep
things running smoothly and they often need to remember that they
need some of the love that they share with everyone else.
If you would like to
understand more about ISFJ’s you can read about them here:
or here
Rachelle lives in New
Mexico with her family. She teaches piano and directs a preschool
choir. Right now she is planning her wedding and can’t wait to
marry the love that God brought into her life. While she is not busy
teaching piano or calling vendors she enjoys photography and cooking.
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