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As an enthusiast, you seek variety in life. You have a spontaneous nature and a love for adventure and excitement, pursuing new goals with optimism. You go through life like a kid in a candy shop, excitedly collecting new ideas, experiences, and opportunities.
As a leader, you are forward-thinking, planning for the future and always looking for ways to improve and set new goals. You are an asset in collaborative efforts because your quick-thinking mind powers through brainstorming, quickly coming up with exciting ideas and new possibilities. You want to hear input from everyone because you love having options, so you inspire a great atmosphere for innovation.
You want life to be exciting, and you keep things interesting. You cheer on the people around you, celebrating milestones and lifting spirits with your contagious energy and optimism. If there is greener grass, you don’t hesitate to climb the fence and experience it for yourself.
You know that life is all about variety and new experiences. You do not allow roadblocks to get in your way and your flexibility allows you to overcome them. You prefer to think as you go, adapting to new circumstances quickly and enjoying the challenges they present. You believe that better things are out there, and you are intent on finding them.
You fear missing out, being bored, and lack of freedom. Fear is a healthy emotion that alerts us when it is time to get prepared. Fear alerts us to the fact that something needs assessing. When you live in the space of fear it can become paralyzing and confusing. The feelings of anxiety and overwhelm can present themselves as guarded and tense. The opportunity is to embrace the fear as your friend. Shift the shallow breath to a deep breath and ask yourself, “Is this fear justified?” If so, “What do you need to prepare for?” It is also an opportunity to shift your story. Are you telling the story of optimistic vs unrealistic, excitably spontaneous vs recklessly impulsive, or driven vs restless?
So, before you read the shadow side, I invite you to see this as an opportunity for growth. Feedback is often not your friend as you prefer to avoid negativity and can see feedback as a negative criticism. Your intentions are pure, yet they can create discord in your collaboration.
Your drive to find something better can lead to great innovation in your work, but when the enthusiast is not serving you to be your best, this can lead to dissatisfaction with your work and the work of those around you which can sometimes make you overly critical. While others appreciate being encouraged to do their best, if their best is not enough this can be very disheartening. Allowing yourself to step back and let people do their work without being overcome by the need to ensure that it is perfect at every step can relieve a lot of stress for you and avoid causing resentment.
As an enthusiast, you do not want to miss out on opportunities or limit your options. While your excitement for experiences and your energy for pursuing new things is admirable, it can sometimes lead you to taking on too much and leave you scattered. Trying to experience a little bit of everything can keep you from fully committing to anything, which can be frustrating for those around you. Sometimes quality is better than quantity, and picking an opportunity that you know will serve you well is often better than taking on anything that comes your way.
You value your freedom and happiness as an enthusiast, and there is nothing wrong with that. When the enthusiast is not serving you, however, this desire for personal freedom and happiness can sometimes manifest in impulsively pursuing your own interests. The people around you may feel that you are not a team player if you abandon common interests to chase your own, and as someone who loves to cheer others on, this is certainly not your intention. It can be helpful to realize when it is not the right time to pursue an attractive new option, so that you can avoid abandoning common goals.
Life is not always easy for the enthusiast. The fear of missing out on your chance for happiness can be overwhelming and can make it very difficult to be satisfied with the life you are currently living. Because you are future-oriented, you often worry about the long term effects of the decisions that you make and worry that they will negatively impact your future, leading to a lot of stress. As an optimistic person, negative situations can be hard for you to confront, and constantly needing mental stimulation to distract from them can leave you exhausted.
Enthusiasts make good entertainers, photographers, entrepreneurs, and travel bloggers.
Fred and George Weasley in Harry Potter
Peter Pan
Lydia Bennet in Pride and Prejudice
