Supportive traits are like great personal assistants that help us navigate through life’s challenges more smoothly. From handling day-to-day responsibilities to tackling complex issues, we often and consciously rely on these trusted aides—our supportive traits—knowing that they are capable and reliable at what they do. Ultimately, living in the absence of our supportive traits is akin to losing both our arms; we would struggle tremendously to function without them.

Your habits shape your identity,
and your identity shapes your habits.

James Clear

As our supportive traits come naturally to us, we tend to employ them effortlessly, as if we are writing and drawing with our dominant hand. Therefore, we often take our supportive traits for granted, not realizing how valuable they are to someone of a different archetype. If left unchecked, we might even run the risk of overusing them, preventing other parts of ourselves from flourishing.

Like our dominant traits, our supportive traits are simply facets of our personalities. Whether they are strengths or weaknesses is entirely dependent on the way we utilize them. If we cultivate and develop our supportive traits well, they can become valuable additions to our toolbox of super strengths. However, if we use them in an unhealthy manner, the same traits will ultimately lead to our undoing.

The world is a paradise full of grand and exciting adventures. With an unquenchable thirst for the new, Free-spirits seize every experience they can get their hands on, from fine arts all the way to extreme sports. If they had their way, they would spend their lives exploring every corner of the globe until nothing is left to be discovered. Living life in the fast lane, Free-Spirits will never turn down an opportunity to chase their passions, as fortune always favors the bold.

Sadly, their burning passion for things can often fizzle out as quickly as it is ignited. Free-Spirits have rather short attention spans because their minds are always looking for new experiences to dive into. Plus, they rarely feel guilty for tossing out a topic of interest as soon as they are bored of it. Because of that, Free-Spirits are constantly scratching the surface of a wide range of things, never truly understanding them.

On top of that, Free-Spirits often gather experiences without an actual purpose. Sure, they may possess a great deal of knowledge and facts for a whole bunch of things. But what purpose do they actually serve? That is the question that Free-Spirits rarely ask themselves when they delve into their passions. Therefore, they often miss the forest for the trees, seeking out superficial experiences that hold no deep meaning.

Born with a knack to make the best out of any situation, they can easily navigate themselves through challenges that wear out even the most hardy of people. Instead of going into fight-or-flight mode, Free-Spirits improvise. Whether it be dancing on the spot or rushing to meet a deadline, Free-Spirits always seem to be on top of it all. Hence, they don't fold when they are dealt a bad hand. Instead, they stick to their guns and turn the tables into a winning game.

Although Free-Spirits are aces in adapting on the fly, they tend to fall short when it comes to planning ahead. In fact, most of them barely plan at all because they find it to be an absolute drag. They would rather go with the flow and play things by ear. However, without a plan, they often end up making unnecessary mistakes that could have been totally avoided. If Free-Spirits continue to do things haphazardly, they might end up facing some serious consequences.

In the heat of the moment, Free-Spirits might even go all in without a second thought. When they act on impulse, it is not a surprise to see them backflip into a pit of fire just to prove something to themselves. Everything may seem fine at the moment, but Free-Spirits don't realize that they are playing a very dangerous game. If they do not put an end to their reckless behavior, their actions will eventually snowball into a giant mess of consequences, leading to their biggest regrets.

People often complain that there aren't enough opportunities to go around. But with a mindset of abundance, Free-Spirits see a sea of potential in every direction. Even under mounting adversity, they can always find a way to somehow turn their challenges to their favor. They do not fear failure because they see it as nothing more than an extra chance to learn and grow. After all, life is too short to wait patiently for opportunities, so Free-Spirits make their own.

The downside to this is that Free-Spirits often struggle to commit to anything. Seeing enormous potential in every opportunity, they find it hard to let even a single one go in favor of another. As such, they feel reluctant to stick to a destination for fear of closing off other paths. To avoid this, Free-Spirits might not decide at all. Instead, they continue to jump aimlessly from opportunity to opportunity. Unbeknownst to them, doing so will only lead them to a dead end.

But how many opportunities is too many? To find out, one only has to ask a Free-Spirit. At times, they may get too ambitious or even greedy when it comes to seizing opportunities. They might undertake certain ventures for the sake of it, afraid that they will miss out on things they aren't apart of. Because of that, they might bite off more than they can chew, piling their plates higher and higher. When they finally slip up, everything will come down to a fatal crash.

Thus far, we have explored both the Free-Spirit's dominant and supportive traits. In our jargon, these traits are known as one's heroic traits. Think about it, don't we all look like heroes when we put these traits to use? Not just wannabe heroes, but real ones—those who are truly powerful yet unimpressed with their own abilities.

Superhuman strength and the ability to fly are awesome superpowers that we all wished we had. But Superman doesn't pride himself in any of those abilities. To him, using those powers to save the world is just another day on the job. Similarly, even though we are great at our dominant and supportive traits, we do not find them the least bit amazing. From our perspective, there is nothing special about these mundane things that we do every day.

That said, as heroic as our traits may seem, no hero in the world is perfect. Even the most powerful heroes, such as Naruto, Thor, or Wonder Woman, have their own flaws and weaknesses. However, that does not invalidate them as heroes; it only makes them all the more admirable. The same goes for our own heroic traits. They may not be perfect, but our strive to improve them is what sets us apart.

I am not a hero. I just did what any
decent person would have done.

Miep Gies

When our heroic traits bask in the light, they will inevitably cast shadows—traits that we tend to neglect. Our shadows are foreign to us, as they are the complete opposite of our natural traits. Because we fear what we don't understand, most of us will subconsciously push away or suppress these parts of ourselves. Unfortunately, if we allow the fear of failure to overpower our minds, these suppressed shadows will eventually swallow us whole.

Nevertheless, shadows are not our weaknesses. They are simply parts of ourselves that we are unfamiliar with, and therefore, would rather avoid. But if we harness our shadows, they will eventually become our hidden strengths. It may be daunting at first to explore these dark and unknown parts of ourselves. However, with a curious mind and a compassionate heart, there's nothing to be afraid of. With that said, let us venture deep into the shadows within us.

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Shadows Within [Free-Spirit]