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.

Compassionate and caring, Protectors love sharing advice if it means helping someone in need. They often speak in a step-by-step manner, ensuring that others can understand them clearly. With words that are kind and considerate, they can say their point of view in a way that makes people feel cared for. Be it a conversation, discussion, or speech, Protectors have little difficulty getting their point across.

Although Protectors may be nice and kind, their opinions might not always have substance. They say things that make people feel good, but when one listens properly, their words might actually be meaningless. They give the usual clichés and platitudes just because it's the right thing to say. As such, their advice is at times no different than cotton candy; it may be sweet, but it holds no weight.

Worst yet, Protectors who do not evaluate their words may continue to insist that their advice is insightful even though it’s obviously flawed. When questioned, they may be taken by surprise, only to realize that they themselves do not fully understand what they’ve said. Lost for words, they may play the emotional card, accusing others of being negative and judgmental. If this behavior persists, people will one day be fed up with Protectors, unwilling to listen to them at all.

Protectors look after the people around them, ensuring that the needs of their loved ones are always met. They take care of the well-being of others and keep them out of harm's way. In times of trouble, Protectors extend a helping hand to those in need, always lending a shoulder for others to lean on. No matter what happens, they will always be there to support people, making others feel safe and cared for.

Reliable as they may be, there are times where Protectors help people only because they fear upsetting them. Occasionally, Protectors might be asked to help with something they'd rather not do. But because they don't want to be seen as selfish or uncaring, they decide to take on the requests. When Protectors get too worried about what others think of them, they might end up as pushovers, bending over backward just to please everybody.

Unable to reject any favors, some Protectors might eventually take on more than they can bear. Yet, they won't take a rest, feeling that they must first meet everyone else's needs before they can prioritize their own. Exhausted and dismayed, they get crushed by the overwhelming pressure and just can't fulfill their promises anymore. Such Protectors need to stop pushing themselves so hard and realize that if they really want to help others, they must first learn to help themselves.

With empathy and patience built into their core, Protectors can always be counted on to keep the peace within their groups. When conflicts arise, they calm the situation down by listening to both sides, ensuring that every concern is heard. As Protectors address these worries one at a time, they slowly bring everyone to a common ground. As such, Protectors can easily guide others toward a mutual understanding, turning bitter disputes into peaceful agreements.

However, due to their fear of offending others, Protectors may struggle immensely to tell the honest truth. They may pick their words extremely carefully, steering clear of harsh remarks that may disturb the peace of the group. Unfortunately, doing so only makes light of the problem, allowing it to fester for an extended period of time. If Protectors do not learn to be forthright with the truth, problems will only escalate, returning bigger and stronger than before.

Driven to the extreme, some Protectors might not even have a stance of their own. These Protectors might just agree with whoever they are with at the moment, following along with the group's consensus to avoid sparking arguments. Protectors who do this might think that they are being accommodating, but really, they are just being unprincipled. Eventually, people will come to realize that these Protectors are nothing but fakes whose words cannot be trusted.

Thus far, we have explored both the Protector'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 [Protector]