Hey there!

There's a version of you that doesn't exist.

You know them well. They're more disciplined than you. They already started the thing. They handled that conversation cleanly. They don't check their phone like that. They're about six months further down a road you keep almost setting out on. You can picture them exactly. You've just never actually been them for longer than a Tuesday.

Here's the strange part. That imaginary person runs a huge amount of your real life. Most of what you feel about yourself gets measured against them, not against where you started. Which is why you can do well and still feel behind. Behind who? Behind the one in your head. They're always a little ahead. That's their entire job.

And everyone's imagined self is built differently, which is the part nobody mentions. The ENFP has already started four things and finished one. The INFJ has finally said the true thing out loud, calmly, and it landed. The INTJ has optimized the system and is three moves ahead of everyone. The ISFJ has finally done enough that they're allowed to rest. Same ache. Different play.

So here's the thing nobody told you: you don't have a motivation problem. You have a casting problem. You keep comparing your behind-the-scenes to a highlight reel you wrote, directed, and starred in.

The imagined self isn't the enemy, by the way. It's a compass that thinks it's a scoreboard. The whole trick is learning to read it as a direction, not a grade.

— Ru

the16types

PS: Where is your imagined self most ahead of you?

In case you missed it → I’m writing a book for every personality type. One by one. That’s completely nuts, right? I guess it is. Book One is coming in September!

The mission: to give every single one of you a field manual to yourself. One that you can also share with your loved ones. And better yet, you’ll have the manual on them too!

WEEKLY UPDATE:

I’ve received my first print proofs of the book, and they’re… not good enough yet! 😅 I had selected the matte finish for the cover, but actually I should have gone with the glossy option, fully in line with how energetic ENFPs are, don’t you think? For the paper, I tested old school cream and white, white clearly wins in my humble opinion.

Next up… I just ordered a few new tests. Keep you posted ;-)

Oh, and the book now counts 282 pages full-on ENFP ⚡️