9 Ways ISFJs Protect Humanity

The ISFJ personality is one each of us has encountered throughout our lives. They are fundamental to the health of our society in protecting our traditions and our relationships. Possibly the most nurturing of individuals, they have an intrinsic sense of duty directed toward providing for others. They are not without their own fears, worries, and weaknesses, yet perseverance through the most difficult challenges of life comes naturally for them.

The ISFJ archetype is the Defender. They structure their cognition as Introverted Sensing (Si) Hero, Extraverted Feeling (Fe) Parent, Introverted Thinking (Ti) Child, and Extraverted Intuition (Ne) Inferior in order of preference. Guardians by disposition, preferring concrete reality over high-minded idealism and duty over personal desire is typical. They are affiliative, aware of what “should be”, and averse to disrupting alternatives presented by pragmatism. In terms of communication style, ISFJs are introverted, preferring small intimate gatherings of family or friends, even solitude, rather than large public affairs where they risk rejection. They prefer a methodical approach toward realizing their goals, yet they defer to others in conversation, being more informative than direct.

ISFJs are loyal, responsible, loving, and long-suffering. They are our mothers, fathers, and our protectors. For this, we offer them our tributes:

For Self-Sacrifice

Thank you ISFJs for supporting family and friends in their endeavors, for helping them reach far more than you cared to achieve yourself. You live your life behind the scenes, away from the limelight, preferring instead that others receive the recognition, the applause, the fame. Your happiness comes from knowing your personal sacrifice strengthened another and gave them a better life.

For Commitment

Thank you ISFJs for your love of family and for defending the institution. When a member is in difficulty, you are first on the scene to help, to protect, and to advocate on their behalf. You are at the forefront in the fight against forces which do them harm or damage family unity. At points, your ideal of family transcends and can overshadow the individual needs of a wayward child or struggling partner. These dynamics are not threatening to the optimal, but are times requiring your patience and affection to keep them in the fold. Yet, facing a true threat, you are formidable.

For Empathy

Thank you ISFJs for your empathy, for knowing another’s emotions as if you had shared in their experiences of joy and pain. Your need to share in the feelings of others because it only strengthens your ability to know and cherish them. You may doubt your self-worth and seek recognition to compensate. Those who do not value your company risk exclusion from your care, yet this potential for selectivity belies your capacity for true selflessness and purity of motivation in service to all.

For Duty

Thank you ISFJs for being responsible and taking your duty to society personally and seriously. Without you, our traditions, ethics, and norms would not survive from one generation to the next. Their protection creates stability and predictability in life, aspects necessary for individual success and happiness. You set the example for self-discipline and patience, for showing us the pathway toward the meaningful despite the expedient.

For Esthetics

Thank you ISFJs for filling our homes with beauty and order, for looking your best and ensuring others do. While you may over-concern yourself with the impression you give, you offer everyone pleasant, organized, clean, and welcoming surroundings. You know of your particular presentation and that of others, and you are not above pointing out a smudge, a stain, or even a lack of personal grooming in a loved one. Outward appearance expresses one’s character and is critical to success in life.

For Joy

Thank you ISFJs for your laughter and ability to enjoy life despite the suffering that befalls you. Your smile uplifts a spirit and your delight brightens a day. Your jokes and stories remembered from long ago still have the power to amuse and entertain. More often than not, you are laughing at yourself even to the point of tears, but this self-deprecation endears others to you.

For Conviction

Thank you ISFJs for your faith and conviction. While the struggle with fears of the future, of others’ intentions, and of betrayal is strong, you have hope in outside powers, upon which you draw the power to sustain through any adversity or challenge. You take serious your spirituality and that’s where you find your courage. There is security in knowing the desires and intentions of others, as these become guideposts for identifying what you should do to fulfill them. You are duty-bound to decrease your own needs in favor of helping others maximize their own potential.

For Endurance

Thank you ISFJs for your fortitude in adversity. You carry within yourselves a level of patience beyond which most of us can muster. Faced with personal hardship and pain, your ability to endure is exemplary. Your pledge to the principles and traditions held dear can put you at risk of mistreatment at the hands of others. Escaping an abusive relationship can be difficult with this inhibition, yet that same commitment founds your strength. As you rely on your own experience and reasoning in verifying your beliefs, you find the courage to forge ahead. If not for your own sake, then for those who depend on you.

For Loyalty

Thank you ISFJs for your loyalty, for your dependability and consistency. You are the rock upon which family and friends rely, unshakeable in faith and unwavering in commitment, provided they stay faithful. Not handing over your devotion lightly, you dedicate yourself only when others have proven trustworthy and appreciative. You are a hero, quick to protect loved ones from injustice and swift to punish those who give offense.

As I ponder the characteristics of the ISFJ personality, my thoughts go to my mother, an exemplar of the type. Placed for adoption during the Great Depression, raised in an abusive foster home, and bound in an unfaithful marriage, she found the courage and determination, against the odds, to raise three children alone. Hers has been a journey of hard work and self-sacrifice to make sure that my brother, sister, and I retain the chance for a better life. She succeeded on all accounts and I will be eternally grateful.