Challenger

The Challenger embodies critical thinking; they do not accept every answer as the inherent truth, as doing so can lead to groupthink, which in extreme cases will manifest into atrocities.  A Challenger is interested in seeking truth and growth for all parties involved.  They ask the questions:  Is this right?  Is this relevant?  Is this harmful? And, what does this mean? In order to understand, connect with, and grow any creation, the Challenger elicits a response from the Creator.  We may often play this role in ourselves as we hone a new skill.

The Challenger reacts to new information through a curious lens to seek clarity and understanding.  The difficulty for the Challenger is recognizing that they may cause pain to the Creator (in much the same way that the Villain causes pain to the Victim), as growth is often very painful. However, the difference is that a Challenger seeks to offer the most amount of growth with the least amount of harm possible.  The difference between the Villain and the Challenger is that the Challenger knows that the Creator has a limit of experiencing a challenge before they become overwhelmed.

Remember the threshold of stress described in scarcity? There is a threshold of stress for the Creator in abundance as well.  In fact, there is a threshold for each role that includes either too much or not enough.  The Challenger knows how to back off and let go of a disagreement or misunderstanding as they can recognize when the Creator’s capacity has been reached.  This might be manifested by an individual walking away when they notice either the other person or themselves, becoming agitated.  It can also involve letting go of a challenge that you are trying to overcome after you have reached the threshold that is conducive to growing, as to go further, without rest, would cause suffering, inhibit growth or roll back what you have previously learned.

Think about a time you attempted to learn something new, a new skill, like riding a bike.  You may have the desire to learn, however, if you do not meet the threshold of motivation, you may end up in extreme underwhelming circumstances.  This usually looks like self-defeating talk such as, “I’ll never learn so I might as well give up and binge watch streaming videos.”  If you stay in this place long enough, without the challenge or motivating factors, you end up in an experience of indifference that eventually leads to clinical depression if felt long enough.  On the other hand, if you meet the threshold of motivation, and attempt to learn the skill to the point where you are overwhelmed and extremely frustrated, this means you have hit the opposite threshold between underwhelming and overwhelming.  It’s important to note that everyone has their own threshold and learning about your own threshold helps you learn to live in sync your own natural instincts and biological rhythms.