ESI (ISFj)
Guardian — Upholder
Prototype: A person of example strengthened by life’s adversities
Dominant ESI is expressive and talkative with loved ones or friends. She loves to joke and stir up a conversation. In order to assess attitudes, she must receive specific responses. Feeling sympathy for others, she can be the first to take the initiative in bonding, but she may break relationships when they have outlasted their utility. If she meets a worthy partner, she is capable of providing them with a high standard of living and becoming a faithful life companion, making many sacrifices. She remains faithful to her family, which she often happens to lead.
Dominating ESI is eager to help people experiencing difficult moments, providing a variety of services for them. She is able to organize others, be they neighbors or colleagues, on joint business by helping them to assist each other. Issues regarding health, safety, and beautification of her environment are paramount for her; cleaning or making home improvements is often a way to convert her accumulated frustration or anger from a particular issue into a much needed release.
She possesses administrative and household skills that are not too bad. By nature, she is hard and categorical. If needed, she’ll firmly and consistently defend herself and her loved ones. She considers this to be her duty. She wants to clearly know her roles and responsibilities within a group. She is thrifty when using resources and never tolerates waste. Always preoccupied with work of any kind, she requires the same dedication from her loved ones. She is competent in matters of everyday life such as cleaning, cooking, etc.
She strives to ready herself for anything unexpected so as not to be caught by surprise; however, she does not always manage this and can become quite irritated when placed in circumstances of uncertainty and vagueness. It’s very difficult for her to wait passively to address important issues. She hates frequent changes that depart from established plans. Dominant ESI finds it difficult to take people’s individual abilities into account, which is why she is faced with unexpected situations that ruin her view of relationships in either men or women, old or young.
She dislikes it when someone publicly judges her qualities, given that internally she is not always sure of herself. Sometimes she shows aggression to prevent being attacked or manipulated. She does not brag or boast about her advantages and believes that people should behave according to their social status. She trusts only the words of those people with a proven track record.
Periodically this ESI needs an emotional discharge. She can heartily have fun at parties or other recreational events without restrictions and limitations. Difficult situations in life mobilize her to seek quick resolutions. These events cause a lot of distress, and she needs a concrete, pragmatic aim which she can persistently and gradually follow to overcome the challenges life presents.
Guardian — Accoutre
Prototype: Person with a penchant for handicrafts, design, and beautifying landscapes
Creative ESI has a good instinct for people. Reading facial expressions and mannerisms, she can sense insincerity or changes in behavior when in fact there is something wrong. This sensing of problems is not intuitive, but rather driven by her own experience; therefore, it is hard to fool her. She is adept at pleasing and adjusting to a conversation. She seeks to maintain relationships with a lot of people who are valuable to her. She will not tolerate insolence or impudence. At the right moment, she can take advantage of the most vulnerable spot of her foe, humiliating or ridiculing them. She expresses her sympathy not in words, but through actions via the convergence of interpersonal distance.
Creative ESI helps others to do work when they are running out of time and attempting to meet a deadline. She intercedes if she has hurt someone helpless. She never gets lost in extreme situations. She can compromise in a situation she doesn’t feel strong in, but is firm and uncompromising in matters that are considered fundamental. Committed to understanding the needs of her children and enhancing their abilities, she quite often helps them gain more self-confidence, which they lack internally. She needs praise and compliments, though does not like to show this.
She cannot stand narrow-minded nerds and fruitless dreamers, yet she does not condemn unusual people; rather, she tries to understand how they came to be. Initially, she idealizes those sympathetic to her. She tries to be tolerant, and so does not always show her attitude if it is negative. At heart, she condemns bad deeds and remembers them for a long time. In conflict, she exposes the other party’s long list of errors, abuses and misdeeds committed, after which she feels a sense of purification.
She is a good leader of creative teams where there are many grievances and quarrels. Creative ESI does not like to get involved in these disputes, hoping that the other side will not inflate the conflict. Dividing opposing parties, she never allows the conflict to boil over. She is observant and witty, and although an introvert, she is usually not afraid of stages or public speaking. She likes to joke and poke, causing unexpected reactions and then discussing them.
Eager in practical matters, she may do a few things at once, not bothering to qualitatively bring each task to an end, but in critical situations, she shows ingenuity and quickness. Thanks to these qualities, she is excellent at grasping new territories and quickly settling into them. Whether it is at home or another setting, she seeks beautiful and original decorations and arrangements both inside and outside. She also dresses brightly and originally and is capable of doing needlework and gardening.
Guardian — Condemning
Prototype: An individual with a puritan morality
Normalizing ESI is good at sensing relationships between people. She is conscientious, not because of coercion, but by her own comictions. She adheres to established and time-tested methods of work. She is punctual and sometimes comes to meetings ahead of schedule. She is committed to a job from start to completion; otherwise, she will feel burdened. This ESI prepares for everything in advance and does a job carefully and consistently, overcoming laziness or apathy. This is a person of duty, yet she won’t sacrifice her personal interests for the team or external causes.
Normalizing ESI is inclined to clearly divide people into categories of good, bad, or neutral. Neutral is only for those at a distance, especially in the absence of contact. She analyzes eyes and facial expressions to figure out an attitude, judging whether someone is rude or not. She appreciates true friendship that offers mutual support, especially in times of adversity. She is capable of separating work from pleasure.
She spares no time or effort maintaining order in her area. She examines instructions and carefully conducts documentation. She handles money efficiently, controlling finances and avoiding debt. She is consistent in her habits and affections. Normalizing ESI values family and loves spending time with relatives. Generally, she has good aesthetic taste and loathes dirtiness and untidiness. She is endowed with pedagogical skills.
While noticing other people’s shortcomings, she is never inclined to express them without necessity. When a person’s negative aspects become intolerable, only then will she feel the need to confront them, and if the issue is not resolved, she may end all relations with them. She is generally considered a moralist who upholds strong values. Injustice and unethical behavior affect her greatly. She is very sensitive, returning good for good and evil for evil. She often believes that others neither notice her diligence nor her professionalism.
Guardian — Solacer
Prototypes: Farmers, conservationists
Harmonizing ESI appreciates comfort most of all, both in life as well as in relationships. She adapts to a new environment only if she is not threatened. In unfamiliar society or with few people around, she feels awkward and tries to escape unnoticed. Her attitude is expressed not so much in words, but in her tone of voice and looks. Her delicate nervous system gives rise to increased sensitivity. She is inclined to spend time dwelling on her pain and sorrow, having to justify her failures. Her psychological mood is linked to her own outward appearance.
Harmonizing ESI accumulates numerous facts and impressions in her memory about people she has encountered. She makes connections between past events and what is happening at the moment. She is wary of strangers, but more willing to excuse them. Although extremely cautious and mistrustful, she is afraid of making a mistake, and so won’t hesitate to agree to proposals if she feels the results are imminent. Dissociating herself from the evil and misfortune of the outside world, she furnishes her own clean and well-maintained house or plot.
She often changes her goals, and can take radical steps at critical moments, which are often subsequently regretted. Generally, she will not want to move or be strained, preferring to be in her own territory on the principle of “my house — my fortress.” She is inclined to live independently and apart, not wanting to be disturbed or to trouble others. Harmonizing ESI appreciates the peace and rest around her greatly. Sudden anger and resistance manifest only when someone intrudes on her territory.
She acutely senses approaching deadlines; she becomes nervous and ready to do anything to finish, as she is afraid of running out of time. She tends to share work responsibilities with others. Undemonstrative, she dislikes being put out there and attracting undue attention. Her emotions are driven by the situation: amongst cheerful people, she’ll be merry, and amongst gloomy circumstances, serious.
At first, she may seem somewhat unapproachable, wary, and distrustful; however, once approached, this feeling disappears. Over time she comes to relax and starts to behave in an uninhibited manner. She dislikes unexpected guests and quickly grows tired of them, though if guests wish, she will provide a good table for them. She greatly values things that are beautiful and functional at the same time. She usually won’t get involved with extraneous things, as she is driven by present needs and circumstances. She admires concrete work and is associated with the creation of material value. After work, she is able to relax.