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.

Problems can be intimidating. And because of this, people prefer to keep it to themselves. However, Torchbearers understand that by working with others, solutions can be found more efficiently. Through such collaborations, they are able to fuel their creativity by bouncing ideas off others. This will then enable them to generate innovative methods to solve problems more effectively.

However, like a wandering nomad, Torchbearers migrate from one interesting collaboration to another without actually settling down. Their attention is constantly being diverted to newer and more innovative ideas, under the excuse of finding better solutions. But due to these distractions, nothing can be accomplished as they will not be able to follow through with any of the proposed solutions properly.

Worse yet, Torchbearers struggle to sustain the fire of productivity themselves, as they are often only able to spark ideas when working with others. When alone, Torchbearers may find it difficult to remain motivated and accountable. This can lead them to becoming stagnant in life, wandering aimlessly without direction. Ultimately, this lack of self-discipline may cause others to view Torchbearers as unproductive slackers, tarnishing their reputation as effective leaders.

Eyes wide open, Torchbearers are constantly scanning the horizon for creative ways to improve existing systems. From developing clever products to devising new management techniques, they always have fresh ideas to tackle the many challenges of our times. Although their suggestions may seem unorthodox, it is important to note that all great things started off as crazy ideas. This ingenuity allows Torchbearers to be innovative, heralding the changes that can impact the world.

However, Torchbearers may overlook the fact that ideas exist only in the abstract and may not necessarily translate well into reality. While their suggestions may seem promising in theory, testing may reveal that they are impractical. Moreover, the reasons used to support their ideas may also lack substance, and hidden flaws may emerge over time, making it less likely to reach a viable solution.

Assuming that their ideas are practical, Torchbearers may face another significant challenge: the inability to commit to an idea. Torchbearers tend to switch their focus quickly, always in pursuit of better and more creative solutions. Sadly, their insatiable thirst for new ideas combined with a lack of focus often veers the Torchbearers off-course, distracting them from taking real action. This can leave Torchbearers with a pile of undeveloped concepts, and ultimately, zero results.

Where others see a closed door, Torchbearers see an open window. They are able to look beyond the horizon of the so-called impossible, where infinite possibilities lie. No matter how challenging an idea may seem, they are always willing to give it a shot. To them, it is only a question of how it can possibly be done. By keeping an open mind, Torchbearers can always see potential in the impossible.

However, when Torchbearers are too open-minded, they might fail to differentiate good ideas from the bad. To them, there is potential in even sub-par proposals, and throwing them out may feel like losing opportunities. What Torchbearers don't realize is that these bad ideas can gum up the works. Hence, by trying too hard to make challenging ideas work, Torchbearers might only be creating more challenges for themselves.

Worse yet, the receptiveness of Torchbearers may turn into naivete. In that state of mind, as long as an idea sounds unconventional, they may embrace it without a second thought. This makes them awfully gullible as they overlook the importance of gathering hard data and detailed facts to prove the feasibility of such ideas. As a result, Torchbearers might end up easily swayed by novelty, falling for any half-baked concepts arriving at their doorstep.

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