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MBTI Guide: ISFJ - Defender

Do you find purpose in helping others and upholding traditions? Discover the ISFJ personality, 'The Defender
 The defender is a calm, kind-hearted, and conscientious person, careful in observing and sensitive to what others feel. It can be counted on to continue working. He usually puts the needs and demands of others before his own needs and desires. Stable and practical, appreciates the prevailing traditions and stability. He cares a lot about how people look at him and how they feel around him. He is very interested in serving people and meeting their needs and requests. He does not seek power.


He was called the Defender because he is one of the people who cares the most about people and preserving their security and safety. His tendencies: introverted, sensual, emotional, strict. The defender is one of the guardians according to Cressey's theory of temperaments. The percentage of defenders, according to a study on a sample of the American population, ranges between (9-14%).


Defender character overview:

The defender's main state is internal, through which he takes a position on things concretely using his five senses. The secondary state is internal, in which the defender deals with matters according to his feelings about them, and how they are integrated into his value system. The Defender lives a life full of kindness and concern for others. He is sincerely affectionate and kind-hearted, and loves to see the best in people. The Defender values harmony and cooperation, and is often very sensitive to the feelings of others. People love a defender because he appreciates their feelings, understands their points of view, and is able to bring out the best in them by believing in their ability to be better.


The defender has an inner world that is not easy for his observers to notice or understand. The defender constantly collects information about people and situations that interest him and stores it within himself. This storehouse of information is often very precise, because the defender has a sharp memory in which he stores things and matters that are important to his value system. Therefore, it would not be surprising if the defender was able to remember an incident in precise detail years after it occurred, if it had an impact on the defender or left an impression on him.


A defender has a point of view about how things should be done, and often strives to achieve that. It estimated security and kindness, and respect the law and the customs and traditions. The advocate believes that systems and laws exist because they have proven their effectiveness. Therefore, the defender will not attempt or accept changing the accepted way of doing something, unless I can concretely prove to him the superiority of the new way.


A defender learns best when he practices or tries. Reading explanations or trying to apply theories often does not help him learn quickly. For this reason, the defender will not be likely to excel in areas that require a lot of theoretical analysis or dealing with theories. He values practicality. Traditional university teaching methods, which require a lot of theorizing and abstraction, will be difficult for the defender. The advocate will learn quickly when he sees the practical application of what is being taught. When the defender learns how to perform the task and its importance, the defender will work with dedication and effort to complete it. The defender is a very reliable character.


The defender has a developed sense of space, roles, and the aesthetics of objects. For this reason, the defender is likely to have a functional and beautiful home. He is often creative in the field of interior design and decoration. This ability, in addition to his awareness of the feelings and desires of others, makes him one of the best at choosing gifts, or choosing the appropriate gift that will be met with appreciation from the recipient.


More than other personality types, the Defender is aware of his own inner feelings, as well as the feelings of others. The defender often does not express feelings and prefers to keep them inside himself. If these feelings are negative, they will often accumulate inside him until the time comes when he releases them in the form of judgments against people that are impossible to undo once they are released. Some defenders learn how to express themselves and release these emotions and feelings in moderation.


Just as he does not like to express his feelings, the defender will not try to express what he believes are the feelings of others. However, the defender will speak up when he sees that someone needs help, in which case the defender will be able to help others by making them understand and deal with their feelings.


The defender has a strong sense of responsibility and duties. He takes his responsibility seriously, and can be relied upon to follow up on the progress of work. Therefore, people tend to rely on cannons. He finds it difficult to say “no” when something is asked of him, and he easily becomes burdened. In these cases, the defender will not express the pressures he is facing to others, because he hates conflicts and prefers to put the needs and interests of others before his own. The defender needs to recognize, assess, and express his own needs if he is not to be exploited or overwhelmed by work and duties.


The defender needs to hear positive feedback from others. If he is not given positive feedback or is subjected to harsh criticism, the defender may become frustrated or depressed. When under extreme pressure or feeling frustrated, the defender begins to imagine that everything is going wrong, that everything is doomed to failure, and becomes convinced that “everything is wrong,” and that “I can't do anything right.”


The defender is warm, affectionate, generous, and dependable. He has special abilities that he can offer to others, from his sensitivity to the feelings of others, to his ability to keep work going smoothly and easily. The defender needs to remember not to be strict with himself, but to give him some of the tenderness and love that he so comfortably gives to others.


Defender as husband/wife:

A defender is a person who is committed to his relationship. He has a lot of strong feelings, which others will not be able to notice because he tends to hide them and keep them in his chest, unless he finds a strong reason to reveal them. These strong feelings make him put the marital relationship before everything else in life. He likes his feelings to be sincere to one person. We can count on the defender to be loyal and loyal throughout his life, once he becomes a husband.


The defender tends to be selfless in a marital relationship, putting the needs of others before his own. This may backfire on him if he finds himself in a situation where he is exploited and does not express his needs and vent his feelings. In such cases, the defender will start accumulating negative emotions, until he takes a stand on the other side. Therefore, the defender must try to accustom himself to recognizing and expressing his need, and meet it whenever possible, and not put the needs of others before his own. If the defender cannot take care of himself and meet her needs, how will he be able to meet the needs of his spouse?


The defender is affectionate, and unselfish. He will put in a lot of time and effort to accomplish what he feels is his duty. What makes him feel most satisfied with himself is people’s gratitude and appreciation for him. Therefore, the best thing a defending spouse can do for him is an expression of love and appreciation.


The Defender finds it difficult to deal with conflicts or disagreements, and will prefer to ignore them rather than deal with them directly whenever possible. Sometimes confronting a dispute or conflict helps to resolve it, so the defender must remember that the world will not end if he confronts a conflict, or expresses his opinion about it. A situation of disagreement or conflict is not necessarily a problem that must be eliminated, nor is it a mistake caused by the defender. A common problem that defenders face is that the defender does not begin to speak and express his opinion except when he is forced and pushed to speak, then the defender explodes and utters words that he later wishes he had not said. This outburst can be reduced by expressing opinions more regularly, rather than keeping them in the chest of defenders.


In general, the defender is usually a traditional person, who loves to raise and maintain a family, and puts the comfort of his husband and family before everything else in life. He can be relied upon to provide the family's daily needs, and to provide care and deep love for its members, which is rarely found in other personality types. The defender invests a lot in making the marital relationship successful, and strives to make things go smoothly. The defender is a reliable lover.


Although any relationship between people of the 16 classifications may be successful, the Defender's natural partner or spouse is: the Promoter (ESTP) or the Performer (ESFP).


Defender as a parent:

The advocate sees parenting as a natural duty. The defender will provide the basic practical needs of his children, and will try to teach them rules and observations that will help them grow up and be independent and responsible children in society.


The defender may have trouble imposing punishments and disciplining his children, although he may be able to overcome this if he feels that instilling values and morals in his children is the first priority in his relationship with them. Because he is a person who values order and arrangement, he often creates boundaries and roles that govern his relationship with his children and they act within them.


The defender will feel remorse if one of his children grows up to be an adult but is not a good person or has a lot of problems, because the defender believes that he is the reason, because he did not put in enough effort and did not work hard in raising that son. That may be true or it may be false, but it doesn't matter. The defender usually puts in a lot of effort and time, and does not give himself credit for those efforts.


In many ways, the advocate is the ideal parent. His children will not lack order, guidelines, tenderness or encouragement. The children remember their father, the defender, as being affectionate by nature and putting in a lot of effort for the benefit of his children.


Defender as a friend:

Although the defender puts his family before his friends, he genuinely enjoys spending times with his friends and colleagues. In fact, the defender prefers to discuss issues and problems with his friends before making a decision about them. Some advocates prefer to discuss these matters with friends rather than with family.


The defender enjoys spending time with any personality type. He likes to observe people's reactions and emotions in different situations, and he likes to have friends of all personality types. The defender prefers to remain discreet and does not reveal himself to people too much. However, because he likes to talk about things in order to make a decision about them, he actually needs some dedicated friends in his life. The defender prefers these friends to be “sensual,” “emotional,” and “strict.” The defender also respects “intuitive” and “emotional” people, but is unlikely to have a strong relationship with them. The defender's friends respect him for his kindness, dependability, and deep understanding of their feelings.


Strengths in social life:

  • Passionate, friendly, and encouraging by nature.
  • helpful, works on making others happy.
  • A good listener.
  • Exert a lot of effort and time to accomplish his duties and obligations.
  • He has a good ability to organise.
  • Good at working on practical things and daily needs.
  • He is usually good with finances, and may appear conservative to some.


Weakness in social life:

  • He does not pay attention to his own needs.
  • He finds it difficult to fit in and enter new surroundings.
  • He greatly dislikes conflict and criticism.
  • He is unlikely to express his needs, and this results in frustration building up inside him.
  • He finds it difficult to get out of bad relationships.


Qualities of a defender at work:

  • He has a wide and rich store of information collected by the people’s defender.
  • Awareness and alertness to people’s feelings and reactions.
  • Good memory for information that interests him.
  • In harmony with its surroundings, and has a good sense of roles and space.
  • He can be relied upon to follow up on a job until it is completed.
  • He will work hard and for a long time until he sees that he has accomplished the task required of him.
  • Stable, practical, humble. He hates working on theories and abstract ideas.
  • He hates working on tasks that he does not understand or sees no reason to do.
  • Values security, peaceful coexistence, and traditions.
  • Servant, focusing on what people want and need.
  • Kind and cares about others.
  • He often puts the needs of others before his own.
  • Learns best through practical application.
  • Enjoys creating order and structure.
  • He takes his responsibilities seriously.
  • He hates disagreements, conflicts, and confrontation.


Works that suit defender:

  • Interior designer.
  • designer.
  • nurse.
  • Administrative or manager.
  • Assistant Director.
  • Child care, early child development.
  • Social worker or counselor.
  • A preacher or religious guide.
  • Home Economics.
  • Accounts registrar.
  • Store manager.


Famous defenders:

  • George H. W. Bush (former US President).
  • Jimmy Carter (former US President).
  • David Petraeus (CIA chief).
  • Prince Charles (Prince of Wales).
  • Mother Teresa (Nobel Peace Prize-winning nun).
  • Heinrich Himmler (one of Hitler's fiercest leaders).
  • Laura Bush (Bush Jr.'s wife).
  • Tiger Wood (golf champion).
  • Bruce Willis (American actor).
  • Vin Diesel (American actor).
  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (American basketball player).


Enhancing your defender's strengths:

Your personality is superior to other personalities in a number of aspects. Knowing these points, and focusing on them and developing them, will help you stand out and excel over your peers. Most defenders will notice these qualities in themselves, which they should focus on and nurture:

  • You have the ability to discover and achieve the right balance in your surroundings. Which makes people around you feel comfortable and safe with you.
  • You have a talent for discovering things that make people feel happy about their lives and themselves. Helping them will bring you benefit and personal development.
  • You can determine what is right and wrong, what bothers you or others, and what are the things that satisfy those who disagree and solve their problem. Using these abilities earns you the trust and respect of others.
  • You have a strong memory for remembering details of things, places, and events, as well as the connections between them. Also, when you bring it up, you remember its flaws and advantages, which makes you one of the best people to give advice and help others.
  • Inside yourself, even if others do not notice, you commit yourself to standing by whoever is trying to succeed or achieve something, until he succeeds or gives up. In this, you do not see yourself as offering anything other than duty, but in reality this is a quality and advantage that makes you the best friend or husband when things get tough.
  • You work hard, and when you are given work, you can be relied upon to finish it.

A defender who develops his ability to express his feelings, through actions. That is, he succeeds in creating an interaction between his emotion and the society or things around him. He will be able to:

  • His work will not be a duty for him, but rather a gift he offers to the world.
  • In his social relationships, he will succeed in expressing his emotions.
  • Others will always feel comfortable in your presence.
  • Your efforts and works will be appreciated by others.
  • You will begin to search for solutions to problems and differences that satisfy others, satisfy you, and do not harm you.
  • Most of the time, you'll know exactly what to say, buy, and do to make things better or resolve conflicts.
  • You will be able to get a better picture of the situation, the people involved in it, and the point of view of each person. Thus, you will be able to solve the problem or achieve justice between the parties.


Expected problems for the defender:

Most of the problems that a defender is expected to have stem from his introverted, sensual nature. Therefore, some of these characteristics may appear on it:

  • He may find it difficult to express his feelings without anger or fear.
  • He may find it difficult to determine the best solution when he has more than one solution to a problem.
  • May be suspicious of others' intentions.
  • He may not notice emotional problems before they occur.
  • He may ignore or not acknowledge work methods that do not achieve his view of what is right or the right way.
  • He may attribute the disturbance in his life to certain people, just for their presence in it.
  • He may act harshly and unnecessarily harshly towards those who violate social behavior.
  • He may not be able to read the opinion and view of others.
  • He may tend to be strict about his ideas about the world and its problems, and not see or believe in anything other than them.
  • He may be a victim of the scams of ex-criminals, fraudulent companies, extremist and suspicious ideas of others.
  • He may respond violently and angrily to those who oppose his personal views on the world or disagree with his decisions.
  • His admiration for his opinions may blind him from noticing the pain he may cause to others if he makes a decision.
  • Under pressure, he is likely to make a harsh, selfish decision to save himself without worrying about others.

To overcome these points, you must expand your awareness to include other people's feelings and values. In order to be able to see and accept new opinions and ideas from the outside, he will have to accustom himself to not seeing that information as a threat to your value system. You must also start changing your outlook on other people's feelings and emotions, as they are real and not isolated from reality.

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