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.

Principles are what governs a person's life, rules that determine one’s every action and decision. Thus, Specialists believe that it is crucial for them to ensure that their principles are airtight. To evaluate their truths, they refer to their past, deeply contemplating on their experiences and refining their tenets to near faultlessness. This meticulous process results in reliable and practical principles that guide Specialists from the simplest decisions to the toughest choices.

However, Specialists are not perfect. Sometimes, they form principles that might seem logical but are actually flawed. This may arise as their principles are usually developed from their own subjective thoughts and experiences. When Specialists refuse to seek opinions from others, they subject themselves to biased perspectives. Thus, they may be blinded by their limited scope of the world, leading to principles that work only in their minds.

Taken to the extreme, some Specialists might unknowingly form self-serving principles. As they are often in their own world, they tend to rely on their own personal biases as a measure of right and wrong, forming axioms that benefit only themselves, even at the cost of others. Disregarding any external input, these Specialists might believe that they are upholding righteous principles. But in truth, they are merely justifying their selfish desires.

As independent thinkers, Specialists tend to develop their own judgments free from the influence of others. They examine every situation objectively through a meticulous thought process, ensuring that every detail is properly considered. By doing so, they are able to understand the workings of a system, identifying any flaws and errors within. Thus, they arrive at conclusions that are not tied to popular sentiments, but on validity and truth instead.

Despite their intellect, Specialists can often come off as self-centred. They tend to make decisions based on their own needs, doing whatever suits them. Insensitive to those around them, they fail to see how their actions, or inactions, affect others. Because of this, they might be hard to work with and people will eventually distant themselves from the Specialists over time.

At their worst, Specialists might become egoistic and arrogant. They see themselves to be intellectually superior to others, dismissing any opinion that is different from their own. Without humility, Specialists will get into arguments constantly as they assume that they are always right. When people get irritated and annoyed, they will stop tolerating Specialists and leave them in their own isolated bubble.

For any complex scenario, Specialists are prepared with a framework to keep everything well in order. These models link cause and effect systematically, allowing Specialists to make accurate predictions of the outcome. By optimizing these systems through proven knowledge, they develop guidelines that produce consistent results, thus, bringing risks and mistakes down to a minimum.

Although reliable, following their frameworks strictly could potentially narrow their perspective. Not all situations are the same. Many are nuanced with varying factors at play. In certain cases, Specialists might overlook the key components which could possible make a huge difference. As such, being stuck to their systems might not only blind them from better alternatives, it could lead to dire consequences.

If taken too far, Specialists might become overly attached to their frameworks. They may be living in a delusion, believing that their way of thinking is perfect. When Specialists see everything from their own biased lens, they are unable to accept different points of view, causing their judgment to become skewed. Instead of using their models to get the best decisions, Specialists are just insisting on the answers they want to hear, becoming deaf to reason.

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