P E R S O N A L I T Y   6 K

ISTJ -- The Trustee [Inspector]

More than anyone else, ISTJs keep the wheels of organizations well-oiled and rolling properly. Practical and dependable, the typical ISTJ is hard at work behind the scenes making sure that any enterprise with which they are associated is functioning efficiently.

ISTJs tend to make it a point of personal pride to insure that anything entrusted to them remains safe and sound, whether it is clerical data such as accounting numbers, production line quality, or blue-chip stock portfolios. As risk-averse as most Sensing-Judgers, ISTJs protect those things in their care.

At home, ISTJs are just as conscientious, careful, reliable, low-key, patient and persevering. They expect (and usually get) their homes to be run with a quiet attention to detail. Ostentation and conspicuous consumption will be shunned; an ISTJ's home will usually be filled with practical, durable (but comfortable) furnishings. In children, rowdiness and "getting into trouble" are often treated first as personal insults to the ISTJ. If these rebellious behaviors continue or worsen, the ISTJ will usually engage in "where did I go wrong?" self-criticism that may endure for years.

If this happens, few will be aware of it. The ISTJ preference for the impersonal over the personal can lead others to believe that the ISTJ is cold and unfeeling, when the truth is that ISTJs can be profoundly hurt by others. One of the worst offenses to an ISTJ is the breaking of one's word; anyone who betrays an ISTJ's faith will generally not be verbally attacked for it... but the ISTJ will never trust that person again.

While they may never forget, ISTJs may be persuaded to forgive. ISTJs tend to resemble ISFJs in their willingness to become caretakers for the irresponsible. They, too, experience the cycle of trust, abuse of trust, lecturing, promises of reform, periods of good behavior leading to renewed trust, followed by repeated backsliding. ISTJs differ from ISFJs in this regard only in that they are likely to take steps to end the pattern sooner than ISFJs.

But for those ISTJs who find good relationships, duty becomes a way to satisfy their desire to be useful in preserving value. ISTJs enjoy serving in civic organizations such as the Boy Scouts, which allows them to help transmit the private virtues which they believe make for good public citizens. "Heritage" and "tradition" mean as much to most ISTJs as "duty" and "simplicity."

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