The Why of You
Helping you discover...you!
What makes you…you?
Is it your particular facial features? Your height? Your weight? Your eye, hair, or skin color? Your talents? How about your voice or swagger?
Which of those traits do you feel is God-given?
From scripture, we learn a bit about that.
In the pre-existence, we lived with God, had agency, and developed talents.
We were becoming “us” long before we were born.
Additionally, we know we’ll carry our agency, talents, and personalities with us into the life after.
So this is where my harebrained idea comes in.
It’s a theory.
And…is for fun.
Here’s the thing. If, when we’re born, we come equipped with things like an eye color, a skin color, and a hair color that is unique to us; is it possible that our personality is just as identifiable?
Stick with me here.
My "hair"-brained theory
Each of us is born with a particular hair color.
Depending on our ethnicity and genetics, it may be curly, straight, wavy, glossy, thick, etc.
Throughout our lives, it undergoes changes.
With exposure to the sun, we get highlights. Cleanliness and regular care keep it healthy.
Conversely, if it’s over-processed with dye, treated harshly, or neglected, it can cause damage.
Some factors are completely out of our control. An illness, age, genetics.
But, when all is said and done, we are still the same blonde, black, brunette, or redheaded person underneath it all.
This is how I feel about personalities.
We come to this earth already equipped with them.
Time, environment, and other outside influences may affect them, but throughout this life and after it, we still have the same base personality, or, as I like to call it, archetype.
Archetypes
The theory of archetypes began with Plato and was further cultivated and given a name by the Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung.
And I think these fellas were really on to something.
Very simply put, it’s the idea that people fall into certain personality categories.
Yep, just like hair, skin, and eye color.
Googling archetypes gives you quite the buffet of ideas to choose from.
Some say there are only a handful of archetypes, others bump the number into the thousands. Some link them with astrological signs and others include things like shadow archetypes.
My theory leans toward the less…ah—sketchy?—side of things.
In The Family: A Proclamation to the World, we learn that our spirits are male or female. Additionally, we understand that each of us has a specific destiny and purpose in relation to our gender.
Knowing this, I was thrilled to find a list of archetypes divided into specific male and female groups.
Amazingly enough, the more I tested the idea and tweaked it into my own, I found that the people I archetyped did, in fact, fall into specific categories.
Awesome! Crazy! Fascinating!
The why of you
When I archetype someone, I’m looking for the reason why they do things.
Figure out your why—figure out your archetype.
For some, that reason is clear and found quickly.
For others…yeah, not so much.
Why is that?
Well, I think it goes back to the “hair”-brained thing. What events, people, places, etc. have affected your base archetype? Is it clear to see or will it take more effort to discover?
Who are you underneath it all?
Why do you do the things you do?
It’s amazing how your perspective can change when you find the answers to those two simple questions.
Oh! That’s why I love doing ___.
Sheesh. No wonder I don’t get along with people who ___!
Wait. You mean there’s a reason why I don’t fit in with ___?
What? I’ve always had the potential to ___?
Holy cow! That’s why my roommate makes me so ___.
Oh yeah! Maybe ___ is the reason I haven’t found the right person to date yet.
One of my favorite things about archetyping is discovering those things right along with you.
And best of all, getting to see that look when something clicks.
SO cool.
Why the why
As a culture, we’re the ultimate second-milers.
Knowing our archetype can help us understand the different ways we like to serve.
But knowing another’s archetype can help us know how best to serve them.
And not just help them. Truly understand them.
If we venture to understand the “why” of others, perhaps we won’t be so quick to judge. Maybe we’ll be able to see things a little more clearly from another’s point of view.
And can’t the entire world use a bit more of that?
Look. Archetyping, from my HPOV, is meant to be a tool.
An idea.
An idea that, maybe, if we gave it a go, just might change things for the better.
Maybe it isn’t your thing.
That’s cool. No bigs.
But if you think you’d like to learn more, then let’s give it a shot together.
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