The guardian personalities

Guardians are cooperative and practical. You love to create order, stability, and security.

ISTJ: The logistician

You are introverted, sensing, thinking, and judging. You are also honest, dutiful, responsible, practical, and an easy communicator.

You are hard-working and thorough with strong traditional values. You are fiercely loyal and are known for your reliability and ability to plan. You are motivated to meet the goals you set for yourself.

You enjoy working to a high standard and are admired by others. But when things do not go according to plan, you can be too hard on yourself.

How change impacts you

You need time to prepare for changes and can be hesitant of a change initially. You enjoy stability and a sense of the familiar. So, having to suddenly react to a change can be stressful for you.

If there is a strong, logical reason for a change to take place then you will usually get on board and be very helpful and thorough in preparations. But if the change seems poorly-planned, illogical, or impulsive you will be very skeptical and wary of embarking on such a venture.

Planning and taking care of details is essential for you.

Overcoming the stresses of life

You get more negative and stubborn when stressed. You tend to withdraw and may behave impulsively.

Redoing your to-do list can help you prioritise and focus on becoming more flexible.

How you can achieve your goals

Not much goes wrong with the goal-setting but your inflexibility may slow you down. You do not like to incorporate new information. You set milestones, objectives, tasks, and actions in stone. A little flexibility could help you achieve your objectives more quickly, with less stress.

To adapt, you should:

• Regularly review what you have learned and think about how it could improve your progress.
• As part of your overall plan, schedule regular times to update milestones, objectives, tasks, and actions.

ISFJ: The nurturer

You are introverted, sensing, feeling, and judging. You are also supportive, reliable, imaginative, hardworking, and practical.

Your main focus in on helping others. Valuing relationships and ensuring that those around you are happy brings you a sense of well-being. You are the perfect host and gets satisfaction in seeing others succeed.

You are so concerned about others’ needs that you are in danger of neglecting yourself. You need people to encourage and value you if you are to continue to have the energy to give out to those around you.

You are not suited to environments that are changeable and thrive where established ways of doing things are followed.

How change impacts you

You are least likely to be excited by change. You thrive on stability, consistency, and a sense of routine. You like knowing what to expect and enjoy working in fields where you have developed expertise and deep knowledge. Having to change, especially if there does not seem to be a strong reason to, can be very stressful for you.

You can appreciate change if it will improve your relationships, your security, or can promote a cause that you believe in. You can also enjoy change if you are given time to prepare yourself for it and acclimate to the idea.

Change that is thrust upon you without warning is the most unsettling to you.

Overcoming the stresses of life

You obsess over details and can start to feel out of control.

Get out of your head and connect with supportive friends, family, or co-workers to express what is bothering you.

How you can achieve your goals

When it comes to reaching your goals, you have a few areas to work on. You are a perfectionist and may stall your progress. You tend to procrastinate, then get frustrated. You are stubborn and even when you should, you do not change course.

You also crave positive feedback and give up when you do not get it. You can turn down help even when you need it.

To adapt, combat each of these tendencies by:

• Setting clear measures of success to combat your perfectionism and move on when you reach them.
• Work on your goal first thing every day or during your time of peak productivity.
• Review your goals and adjust as needed, at least monthly. When you make the review a part of your process, you are less likely to resist making changes.
• Work with a trusted friend to get feedback.
• Asking for help or saying yes to help when it is offered.

ESTJ: The guardian

You are extroverted, sensing, thinking, and judging. You are also dedicated, strong-willed, honest, patient and organised.

You want to set standards and connect with people. You pride yourself on your traditional high moral standards and good citizenship. You will be frustrated by disorganised or unpredictable environments. Your methodical and logical approach to life helps you find fulfilment when focussed on organising tasks and people.

You are a natural leader and able to ensure that tasks are completed in an organised and constructive way. You enjoy tradition and are likely to connect with others of a like mind. You want to improve the community around you in practical ways.

How change impacts you

You will hate change if the people handling it are wishy-washy, vague, or unrealistic in your objectives.

While change is not especially exciting for you, you tend to accept it if the goal is pragmatic and logical. You want to have a certain amount of control when change occurs and will be irritated if you are expected to just sit around and let things happen.

You enjoy organising, planning, and creating effective systems so that the objectives are met on an agreed-upon timeline.

Overcoming the stresses of life

You take a my-way-or-the-highway approach, ignoring the ideas of others. Your level of sensitivity increases while you try to suppress your emotions.

Instead, talk through your concerns with people you trust – friends, family, co-workers, etc.

How you can achieve your goals

The standard goal-setting system works well for you, except when you resist better ways to do things, get pulled off track, or worry too much about appearances.

To make goal-setting work better for you, add a bit of flexibility by:

• Processing information. Take in new information and think about how it applies to you before you reject it.
• Set a goal to pick up where you left off when life throws you something unexpected.
• Focus on results and the approval will come naturally.

ESFJ: The caregiver

You are extroverted, sensing, feeling, and judging. You are also practical, loyal, warm, and dutiful.

You need to look outwards to fully realise your potential. You are excellent at making connections with others and are usually very popular. You have a highly compassionate side to your personality and are happiest when using this to help others. You live to make others happy and are most fulfilled when doing this. You enjoy doing this either in a social or caring setting.

You do not enjoy constant change and work better in stability. You are best suited to situations that are conflict-free.

How change impacts you

Change can be unnerving for you. You enjoy mapping out your future and having all the details worked out so that life is on track to reach your goals.

You enjoy consistency, traditions, and fellowship with well-known friends and family members. While you can enjoy the occasional adventure, you still appreciate stability and consistency.

Change that is handled with concern and support can be exciting to you if it leads to a promising future. You just need to feel that your relationships are not at stake and that the people in charge will be supportive and competent.

Overcoming the stresses of life

You try to fix the problems of others around you and have trouble being open to new things. You may become critical of others for little things.

Start to work on something that lets you see clear progress or divide your work into small, achievable tasks.

How you can achieve your goals

Because you are strong people-oriented, you get derailed when your goal does not serve a bigger purpose. You worry about failure. You spend too much time in your comfort zone, which can limit you from doing all that you could. Staying motivated, for you, requires positive feedback.

You will master goal-setting when you:

• Set goals that serve yourself and your community.
• Reframe failure as a positive learning experience.
• Stretch yourself by setting goals that are just a little bit outside your comfort zone.
• Work with a trusted friend.