The Seven: A gift for spreading joy

Following on from my previous post when I talked about how our gifts can also be our burdens and vice versa, I thought that over the next posts I would give some examples of this for each of the Types. I thought I would start with the Seven, which is a type that people can wish they were because the Seven attitude to life is fun-loving and outgoing. They feel that the more pleasurable experiences that can be packed into life the better. And who wouldn't love that?

However, this can also cause problems for Sevens. Their pleasure principle can mean that they are always looking out for, and looking forward to, the next good thing. This means they become almost completely future-oriented and therefore do not live in the present moment. As a result they can often find themselves dissatisfied without knowing why but living in the moment is necessary if we are to truly appreciate what we are experiencing. Secondly, because Sevens are fun to be around and their energy and enthusiasm is infectious, they naturally lift up the mood of a room and spread joy. This can go too far however because Sevens dislike negativity or even the idea of depression and so can find it very difficult to acknowledge their darker or unhappy feelings. Such feelings may be so unfamiliar to them that they don't understand or know how to deal with them (in contrast to the Four who is willing to 'go there' and explore all of their feelings) and so they can quickly feel overwhelmed. Furthermore, they may not want to show or admit their true feelings to others because, even if only subconsciously, they feel that it is their job to keep everyone else 'up' and feeling good. This is fine while they are feeling good themselves but if they are struggling then it creates a huge pressure on their psyche.