Complementary Pairings - Artisans/Guardians
Pt.II in Series
By DrLovegood on 03-13-2008
Last week we looked at Rationals with Idealists. This week we’ll look at the other complementary pairing, Guardians with Artisans. Guardians and Artisans both live in the real world. They pay attention to what is happening and respond accordingly. They’re more like to look for solutions to problems in what they do rather than how they think. Both like to engage in physical activities. Guardians engage in physical activities more for the common good, and Artisans do it more for the sheer pleasure of acting..jpg)
Guardians are drawn to Artisans because of their zest for life, their cool in crisis, and their easy acceptance of many different kinds of people. Artisans are drawn to Guardians because of their planning ahead, their organization, and their hard work on behalf of those they love.
Melissa was attracted to Darren because he was fun to be around. Whenever they got together, even if they didn’t do anything special, she found herself laughing more than she’d laughed in a long time. No matter what happened, nothing fazed him. He could handle just about anything without getting flustered or angry. He was a former linebacker with a great body. She wondered why he liked her, especially since he was popular.
For his part, Darren thought Melissa was beautiful, especially when she was laughing. She took good care of herself but wasn’t stuck up about her looks. She had plans for the future, unlike many of the bimbos chasing him. She admired him, not just his popularity. Besides being beautiful, she was smart, hardworking, and lived an orderly life so he figured she’d be good at managing a household.
After they got married and had children, Melissa began to wonder if Darren ever got serious about anything, and Darren began to wonder if Melissa really admired him. After some adjustments they both made, Melissa realized she could count on Darren and did less nagging and more admiring.
Dr. Keirsey recommends Guardian-Artisan pairings and suggests pairing with the ‘opposite’, just like with Rationals and Idealists. The combinations would be ISTJ with ESFP, ESTJ with ISFP, ISFJ with ESTP, and ESFJ with ISTP. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence which says these are good pairings.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Posted by tdcloyd on Apr 3, 2008
So does this mean that Guardians and Idealists won't work out? I'm a Guardian Inspector male. My wife hasn't taken the profile yet, but she has read over some info I printed off about each of the temperments and she feels like she is more in line with Idealist Healer. We are currently going through some marital issues (after being together 17yrs and have 2 kids)and I thought it might help to see how our personalities compare/contrast. I feel like we complement each other, but I think other factors are clouding that right now. |
 |
 |
Posted by Badlands17 on Apr 3, 2008
Not necessarily. Guardians and Idealists both have a strong drive to help others (closely related to three Idealists here) and describe their purpose in terms of serving humanity. It's just that Guardian-Artisan has the highest success rate; you can make any pairing work, it would just be very hard with some of them to the point where keeping them together just wouldn't seem right. In particular, I think Guardian-Rational, especially if the Rational is Percieving, would end in hardship; Percieving Rationals just want to go off and do their own thing much of the time and the Guardian wouldn't like that because they're being lazy and not contributing to the housework, bills, etc. Personally, I would prefer an Artisan pairing to an Idealist pairing, so by no means is this set in stone. |
 |
 |
Posted by LalaChan on May 7, 2008
I'm an idealist (enfj) and the best relationship I've ever been in was with an guardian (isfj)..we got along so well. His family fell apart though, so we're waiting for the pieces to get picked up before we pick our relationship back up..however, there are som rationals out there that I get along with very well. For the most part, artisans kind of annoy me (sorry guys) because there isn't that rationalist "well I was working on this..its amazing" to justify the "i dont care" attitude. And some guardians bug me (sorry to you guys too) because they care too much. I think it really does just depend on the person as an indidvidual or subtype (architect/teacher) rather than a cluster or group (rational/idealist) |
You couldn't be more right! I have always enjoyed relationships with Artisan guys the most. Honestly, I can't imagine "marrying the mirror" - ugh! Boring. Artisans get me to loosen up and have fun. I know that left to my own devices, I would never take the risks that come naturally to an Artisan - trying new things, going to strange places, having adventures. Its definitely better to expand one's horizons. Thanks for the article!