Archetypes Part IV

The Rebel is the independent thinker, revels in freedom and they never give up on freedom or what they want. In theory sound great, free thinkers, love freedom and all that jazz and in a balanced, mature personality this to some degree can be great, even in educational settings, they can start great trends. However, as with everything there is the other side of the coin and if taken to the extreme, not always so great. In the extreme they are loners, never really form bonds on a deep emotional level and they don’t know when to cut loses and move on, so they may hang on to things. In life you have to know when it is time to let go of things and move on, or admit maybe it was a lousy plan, maybe have to step back and tweak the plan. The rebel may also have a hard time working and collaborating, thus everything takes longer and collaboration might be like pulling teeth. It can be frustrating, so sometimes you just have to walk away when dealing with the rebel or find a way to steer them to something they can really sink their teeth into and that is or the greater good.

The Lover is passionate has strong convictions, empathy and sympathy, so on the positive side can be a great person to motivate others, really understand others, as they make strong emotional connections. The downside in the extreme lover archetype is that they don’t think with a level head and rely only on their emotions for decision making. Let’s face it if you only think and decide based on the strength of your emotions and passions, it can get really messy, really fast. Part of the maturity process is learning to balance the head and the heart, so when you make a choice, decision it is not bull in a china shop or running screaming over the cliff. While being in touch with emotions is great, being ruled by them, not so great long term. Bringing someone who is rash etc…to restraint is not easy and sometimes you have to stay calm, so as to not agitate the rash personality further. Listen, say you want to understand why this has to be done now and then calmly paraphrasing back what they say offer a compromise. The tone matter here because if they perceive you are judging them or want to force compliance it makes them more rebellious. Remember the goal is to have them realize themselves with guidance that they need to find a middle ground.

The Seducer is the charmer, charismatic, lots of sex appeal and for romance, that’s awesome and can be quite inspiring for romance novels, keep relationships interesting and all that. What about in the long term? They can also be arrogant, shallow, easily corruptible and not necessarily big on loyalty. They know they can always get the gal or guy, so they may have the attitude of plenty of fish in the sea and they might also get easily bored. Honestly not the type of person to look to for any long term commitment, a fun date yes, but long term commitment, no.

Archetypes exist in all of us to some degree and sometimes we are a combination, hopefully we reach a maturity level where we can be the best of the positive aspects of certain archetypes. Amen!