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 teeming with interesting theories and ideas, waiting to be explored. Knowing this, Trailblazers are always on the lookout for novel ideas, seeking to enrich their minds with every new concept they come across. In the name of knowledge, they would eagerly dive into any subject, knowing that there is always something new to be discovered. Their insatiable curiosity is a hallmark of their intelligence, as they will never stop learning wherever they go.

Despite their curiosity, the attention span of Trailblazers tend to be short-lived when it comes to topics of interest. As soon as a new subject piques their interest, they move on, resulting in a superficial understanding of the previous subject. Thus, Trailblazers may appear to have knowledge of many different things, but the truth is, their understanding has barely scratched the surface.

Though Trailblazers may have many different interests, their knowledge amounts to nothing if not put into motion. Trailblazers see the practical aspects of an idea as tedious and difficult, preferring to dwell on the theoretical side instead. Over time, they may come to realize that they lack substantial accomplishments in life, as their time has been wasted on hypothesizing and speculating rather than taking action.

There comes a time where hardwork and determination alone will not suffice. What's required is creativity. Thus, Trailblazers are constantly thinking out of the box, coming up with ingenious new ideas to help answer the mysteries of the world. With these revolutionary thoughts, they are able to forge paths through seemingly impenetrable topics, putting themselves at the forefront of every new discovery.

However, their theories may come off as absurd at times. Being the futuristic thinkers they are, Trailblazers often generate concepts that are out of this world, both figuratively and literally. These ideas tend to have a perfect and sound theory, but lack the practical, real-world considerations to make it work. As such, Trailblazers often struggle to push their ideas beyond just the conceptual phase.

Unfortunately, some Trailblazers might waste their lives chasing endlessly after new ideas. Their tendency to hop from concept to concept prohibits them from focusing on any one topic at a time. Without commitment, their theories will never be developed into anything useful. The countless brilliant ideas that they have may simply go to waste, vanishing as quickly as they came.

All too often, ideas get dismissed simply because they are too puzzling. Trailblazers however, see them as gold mines of discovery. Never limiting themselves to conventional beliefs, they trust that any theory has the potential to be true, so long as it is backed by sound and logical reasoning. After all, only those who dare to challenge the norm will uncover the wonders the world has to offer.

Both a gift and a curse, their tendency to consider every single option impedes their ability to make decisions. Trailblazers often fear that an early conclusion will only close them off to other alternatives. Always looking to keep their options open, Trailblazers will not make decisions until the very last minute. Little do they know, these delays will cause them to lose even more opportunities in the long run.

Worse yet, some Trailblazers might be too open-minded that they fall for the most ridiculous of ideas. They tend to evaluate a theory solely on conceptual grounds, never considering its realistic implications. This causes their opinions to come off as baseless and absurd, often completely out of touch with reality. Although these Trailblazers might think that they are intellectually sophisticated, in reality, society views them as mad conspiracy theorists instead.

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