ANTI-MAGNETIC ARCHETYPE #6
THE PLUNGER
"If it stops feeling good, I'm out!"
Driven by creative impulses and dopamine highs, you love starting things and loathe the reality of slow progress. While being immersed in the joys of new projects is natural for you, once that new project smell has worn off and you're faced with obstacles, lack of results, and the slow grind, you look for any excuse to abandon ship—all because of a deep fear of failure.
...it's likely The PLUNGER has a lot of "pull" right now, and is costing in more ways than you may realise.
→ In a cycle of starting projects, changing your mind, then aborting them
→ Rarely getting to the stage of optimizing your creations & building momentum
→ Operating with an all-or-nothing, pass or fail mentality
→ Haunted by a trail of unfinished projects... and unused domain names
→ In a cycle of starting projects, changing your mind, then aborting them
→ Rarely getting to the stage of optimizing your creations & building momentum
→ Operating with an all-or-nothing, pass or fail mentality
→ Haunted by a trail of unfinished projects... and unused domain names
IF You'RE:
Signs The PLUNGER is running the show
MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL
A life where you never get to experience the fruits of your labour (and one that's spent on the run -- trying to avoid having your perceived failures catch up with you). While you may taste test many experiences in life, the one that you're lacking is the satisfaction of seeing something through. Of sticking with it, of being able to celebrate your grit and patience, and being changed by that experience for the better -- even if it didn't lead to the results you expected.
Never getting to taste the fruits of your labour
THE COST TO YOUR BEING
Your fear of having things fail - of looking like a fool - can have you operating in a state of hyper-activity (and reactivity) that leaves your team/clients/audience's heads spinning and unable to keep up with you. And your own lack of follow-through will be modelling an unhealthy pattern to those who look up to you; teaching them it's ok to cut loose at the earliest signs of trouble, to pivot every time someone throws a new idea at you. So in attempting to avoid failure, you end up instead risking be labelled flaky.
Not being a source of stability for others
THE COST TO YOUR LEADERSHIP
While you may throw yourself wholeheartedly into new platforms and strategies, the second there's a sign it's not working as expected, or feels a little bit uncomfortable, you might "coincidentally" hear about some other MUCH better strategy/platform/tactic and realise it is a far better use of your time, thus ditching what you were doing and throwing yourself just as excitedly into the next. Meanwhile, you never build any real traction on anything you're doing and the world never gets to experience your true brilliance.
Lots of effort but very little momentum
THE COST TO YOUR BRAND
Your business is likely to look like a trail of unfinished projects, abandoned launches, and offerings that never made it past iteration 1 before you felt the urge to burn them to the ground and try something else. The opportunity cost alone is huge, but you're also never allowing your work to accrue "compound interest" in terms of finances, yes, but also a streamlined workflow, improved results for clients and other things that mean future you don't have to work so hard.
Never getting paid for all the hours you pulled
THE COST TO YOUR BUSINESS
(NOT SO)
THE HIDDEN COSTS OF OPERATING FROM THIS ARCHETYPE
NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS
THE PLUNGER'S MAGNETIC POTENTIAL
The Plunger's patterns are simply the unhealthy expression of the natural strengths you were born with. And once we become conscious of them, they can be transformed into a higher expression that puts an end to the "self-sabotage" (in quotations because this is actually just a form of self-protection) and becomes a part of your toolkit for success.
THE GIFTS HIDING IN THE SHADOW OF THE PLUNGER
The Plunger has two gifts hiding in plain sight: courage and adaptability. Courage lets you dive into the unknown, try things others wouldn’t dare, and bring bold ideas to life. Adaptability lets you learn fast, course-correct, and leave behind what no longer serves — but only if you can tell what’s worth keeping and what’s safe to release. Problem is, without discernment, both gifts can turn against you. Courage becomes impulsiveness, and adaptability can feel like chaos. But when you apply both with care, you gain devotion: the ability to see a project through from start to finish, trusting the discomfort and delays as part of the process that shapes both you and your work.
SACRED GIFT
DISCERNMENT
COURAGE
STRENGTH
RECKLESSNESS
SHADOW
YOUR ALCHEMICAL MAP
We fall into the shadow when we're operating from fear and doubt, but it's just the other side of the coin to the strength, which we already have within us. The real magic though? It's in accessing the sacred gift, which we earn with time and through alchemising these shadow patterns.
The outward expression of all you are, this is what most think of as personal branding, as it's about how you choose to position and package yourself in the outside world, from what you wear to how your website is designed.
Harder to measure, but easy for others to sense, this is your energy, your vitality, that spark people feel when you walk into a room (or the dark cloud, depending on your mood). This energy gets poured into all of our interactions AND our creations, so it's essential to your magnetism.
How you're showing up in the world. The actions you're taking (or not) the habits you've adopted (whether they're helpful or not) and the way you express yourself. Our actions can change our reality including how we feel, so it's next in line.
Your belief systems and the stories you hold about everything -- from yourself and your own potential, to other people, to how the world works. Our thoughts manifest as reality, so until our beliefs align with our desires, we'll struggle.
Your literal foundations: who you are, how you were built, the state of your nervous system, and the way you naturally see and experience the world. If we don't understand these things or let them get out of whack, everything else falls apart!
FROM PLUNGER TO PURPOSEFUL PIONEER
Magnetism isn't some switch you flick on. It's created from 5 different sources that are all essential parts of you. And since one impacts the next, you can think of this as your "Magnetic Hierarchy of Needs". I'll quickly explain what they are before diving into tailored recommendations for each of these areas specific to The Plunger.
To heal the pattern of The PLUNGER and step into its highest expression as The PURPOSEFUL PIONEER, we must work from the Inside Out.
CROSSING THE THRESHOLD
YOUR MAGNETIC MAKEUP
YOUR MAGNETIC MYTHOLOGY
YOUR MAGNETIC M.O.
YOUR MATERIAL MAGNETISM
YOUR MAGNETIC MOXIE
SO NOW YOU KNOW THE LINGO, LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT IT TAKES TO GO FROM PLUNGER MODE TO PURPOSEFUL PIONEER ENERGY!
Magnetic Makeup
And yet your ability to be patient, to stick with things long-term, and to detox from that dopamine addiction... it's going to unlock your potential for long-term success.
Start small by giving yourself a window each day where you tune out all the noise and sit with yourself to tune into how your body is doing and what thoughts are flying around.
LAYER ONE:
Magnetic Mythology
A helpful exercise is to start by journalling on the worst possible scenario so you can face your fears head-on. Keeping adding "...and if that happens..." until you run out of fears.
Then flip to the best case scenario and follow the same process. Does anything about it scare you?
LAYER TWO:
Magnetic M.O.
Next time you feel the urge to jump ship or pivot your plan, pause. Breathe. Then pull out your journal and articulate what's going on right now.
How are you feeling and why do you feel the need to act?
This is enough to disrupt the pattern and make a different decision.
LAYER THREE:
Magnetic Moxie
So I want you to get fired up again. Write yourself a mission statement that connects your actions to a bigger picture purpose.
How will this change YOUR life? And how will it change the lives of the people you serve?
Connecting to your deeper "why" will activate undeniably magnetic energy.
LAYER FOUR:
Material Magnetism
So it's time to commit in a bigger way. Not to results, but to what YOU can control.
How many episodes will you publish?
How many times will you launch or talk about that offer so you know you've done everything in your power to help it succeed?
LAYER FIVE:
Build Up Your Baseline
Shift Your Story
Align Your Action
Elevate Your Energy
Bridge Your Brilliance
YOUR PERSONAL ROADMAP
While this magnetic hierarchy of needs is universal, what's required to break you out of your own patterns and activate your highest potential is unique. Tap on the orange arrows to view your personal magnetism prescription.
MAGNETIC MAKEUP
There's a good chance you've spent a lot of your life chasing dopamine highs and feeling incredibly uncomfortable when you have to sit in stillness, in the messy middle. And yet your ability to be patient, to stick with things long-term, and to detox from that dopamine addiction... it's going to unlock your potential for long-term success. Start small by giving yourself a window each day where you tune out all the noise and sit with yourself to tune into how your body is doing and what thoughts are flying around.
BUILD UP YOUR BASELINE
MAGNETIC MYTHOLOGY
Somewhere in your subconscious lies a fear of failure... OR a fear of the consequences of success. And until that is healed, you'll continue abandoning your plans before you get to benefit from the fruits of your labour. A helpful exercise is to start by journalling on the worst possible scenario so you can face your fears head-on. Keeping adding "...and if that happens..." until you run out of fears. Then flip to the best case scenario and follow the same process. Does anything about it scare you?
SHIFT YOUR STORY
MAGNETIC M.O.
It's time to put an end to emotional decision making. Whether it's jumping into things when you're hyped up or ditching things when it feels all hope is lost, both of these habits keep sending you back to square one. Next time you feel the urge to jump ship or pivot your plan, pause. Breathe. Then pull out your journal and articulate what's going on right now. How are you feeling and why do you feel the need to act? This is enough to disrupt the pattern and make a different decision.
ALIGN YOUR ACTIONS
MAGNETIC MOXIE
It's easy to run out of fuel when it feels like the finish line is nowhere in sight. But that's more likely to happen if you feel like everything is just a tedious item to check off your to-do list. So I want you to get fired up again. Write yourself a mission statement that connects your actions to a bigger picture purpose. How will this change YOUR life? And how will it change the lives of the people you serve? Connecting to your deeper "why" will activate undeniably magnetic energy.
ELEVATE YOUR ENERGY
MATERIAL MAGNETISM
The biggest thing you're costing yourself is the chance for your work to continually deepen, refine and become more powerful - more magnetic and unmistakably your own - because your ideas never reach maturation. So it's time to commit in a bigger way. Not to results, but to what YOU can control. How many episodes will you publish? How many times will you launch or talk about that offer so you know you've done everything in your power to help it succeed?
