Personality and Personal Growth: The ESFJ

If you fall into the ESFJ group, a handful of recognizable traits tend to follow you around, and you can lean on them while putting together a plan for your own growth. People with this type get real satisfaction from looking after others and staying attentive to what those around them need. Responsibilities matter to them, and they take the ones they accept seriously.

Emotionally, the ESFJ reads a room well. They notice how others see them and care about those impressions. Harmony appeals to them, so they work hard to keep the peace and to please the people in their circle. Tradition and loyalty carry real weight here.

Family and friends sit at the top of the list, no exceptions. An ESFJ gives freely of their time, energy, and feelings. When someone they love runs into trouble, they tend to absorb that trouble as if it were their own and move it to the front of the queue. Bringing a little order and warmth into other people's lives is part of how they operate.

There is a firm moral code underneath all of this, and they hold others to it too. For many ESFJs the world sorts fairly neatly into right and wrong, and they will say so out loud when someone steps out of line. In their view, the rules ought to apply to everyone equally.

How common is the type? Quite. It ranks as the second most frequent personality overall, which probably won't shock anyone who knows a few ESFJs. The breakdown goes like this: about 12 percent of the general population, roughly 8 percent of men, and around 17 percent of women.

On the subject of hobbies: a full life needs them, but the payoff depends on picking ones that actually suit you. Your type steers which activities will feel worthwhile, and doing them regularly feeds into the personal goals you've set for yourself.

A few facts tend to hold across almost everyone with this type. Substance abuse is underrepresented in the group. They rank second among all types in the likelihood of believing in a higher power. Finishing college is common for them. At work they gravitate toward clear structure, chances to help, and a sense of security, which lands many of them in healthcare, education, and religious work.

Stress handling is a strength for ESFJs. They also come out on top in a couple of satisfaction measures: no type is more likely to be happy in a marriage or close relationship, and none is more likely to genuinely enjoy their coworkers. Job satisfaction tends to run high as well.

Famous figures are often easier to understand once you know their type, since so much of how a person behaves traces back to it. A number of well-known people share the ESFJ profile.

With this picture of what ESFJ means, you have more to work with when shaping your own development. Put these traits toward finding a career that fits and toward making the different parts of your life feel more complete, so your personality works in your favor rather than against you.

References: http://www.truity.com/view/types and http://www.mbtilist.com/