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.

Bold, spontaneous, and engaging, there is never a dull moment when Realists run the show. Whether they are starting new projects or venturing into bold endeavors, they always know how to take activities up to the next level. They believe that productivity is at its highest when everyone is engaged. Thus, Realists are constantly presenting their team with new challenges, making every activity worth the ride.

As exciting as spontaneity may seem, Realists often forget how things can go out of control. What may look like a thrilling challenge at first can easily take a dark turn. Being who they are, they might overlook the risks of these challenges, pushing themselves and their team to go past the limits. Realists could unknowingly put everyone in great amounts of danger, and when something bad happens, the repercussions might be too severe for them to bear.

Unfortunately, not everyone is in favor of such an engaging work style, but Realists may not be able to accept that. As such, they often try to engage with those who do not participate, pushing people well past their comfort zones. This may eventually lead them to cross certain lines, inviting unwanted backlash. Realists who pester too much will only come off as forceful and annoying.

No matter how detailed a plan may be, it will still crumble when faced with sudden changes. But as sharp thinkers, Realists can adapt and manage their schedules on the go. This allows them to coordinate others and overcome challenges effectively. As such, Realists are often regarded as versatile leaders, as they can navigate their teams through one crisis after another with absolute ease.

However, this fast-paced management style of Realists might come off as overly demanding. Always striving for challenges, they may notice that some others are struggling to keep up. But instead of lowering their standards, they may react by raising their expectations higher, believing that all their team needs is a harder push. Little do they know, Realists are simply pushing their team further away.

When taken to the extreme, the actions of Realists may be seen as harassment. They would often condemn those who fail to meet their sky-high expectations. As such, they are prone to become overly harsh and critical, forming unhealthy relationships with everyone in the team. This aggressive approach may win Realists the obedience of some, but in turn they lose the respect of all.

Oftentimes, it is not the lack of resources that causes failure, but the lack of resourcefulness instead. Realists embody this principle, as they are constantly coming up with adaptive solutions when tackling problems. They easily use the surroundings to their advantage, making the most out of what they have. Because of this, people always ask Realists for help, as they know how to improvise and overcome any challenge that comes their way.

Unfortunately, not every problem can be solved by the Realist’s quick fixes. Instant solutions may clear up the gutters, but only detailed, well-thought-out ones can prevent them from clogging up again. This is where Realists falter, as they may not think deeper about their solutions. As such, problems supposedly solved by Realists may often resurface, sometimes coming back even worse than before.

At their worst, a Realist's logic can be a mess of contradictions. Only knowing how to provide superficial solutions, they may have little to no regard for the consistency of their reasoning. This is proven by the variety of reasons that they would casually throw out, simply slapping a band-aid on the problem. Believing that they are solving problems, careless Realists might just end up complicating things further.

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