Intro to Survival Archetypes
Learn about the CTD Survival Archetypes so you can use your automatic survival instincts to guide you to the right gene key to work with in any situation.
Soon you’re going to learn the step-by-step process of using The Gene Keys as your guide to inner and outer breakthroughs in life. From my perspective, there are two pathways to do this:
Path 1: using your personalized Hologenetic Profile to point you to the right gene key to work with to reach your desired outcome
Path 2: using your automatic survival response to point you to the right gene key to work with to reach your desired outcome
Path 2 is where the “Survival Archetypes” play a role and make an impact for you. The Gene Keys can be used universally and I want it to be accessible to anyone. If the personalized profile feels too limiting and spiritually-tied with planetary placements determining the gene keys you explore, then you can use self-assessment to find gene keys in the system to work with in any given situation.
The Connect the Dots method helps you find which gene key to use no matter what you’re going through and whether or not you want to use the profile as your guide. You’ll learn how to use both approaches soon!
You’ve already learned about The Gene Keys through the introduction post and Quick Start Guide. Now, let’s learn about the “Survival Archetypes” that I’ve curated from science-based sources that can guide you to the gene keys you need in any given moment to transform without the profile.
Overview
As you learned about in the Intro to Polyvagal Theory post, your nervous system is wired to prioritize survival and this inner mind-body intelligence has a job to detect and respond to threats. The way you’ve perceived and responded to real or imagined threats in your past determines your automatic survival responses in the present. Awareness of your automatic survival responses can help you determine how, when, and why you’re weaving into the Yellow Zone or Red Zone of your nervous system, and therefore, help you self-regulate effectively to feel safe in your body as you grow, take risks, and access your potential in the Green Zone. Lets get into it!
Automatic Survival Responses
To understand the survival archetypes and how they play a role in your life, you must know that you’re built to respond to these threats in 4 general ways — fight, flight, freeze, or fawn:
Fight — Survival pattern to mobilize and confront danger. You spring into action to face the threat directly to reach safety.
Flight — Survival pattern to mobilize and avoid danger. You spring into action to run away from the threat to reach safety.
Freeze — Survival pattern to immobilize and confront danger. You aim to control and limit the threat to reach safety.
Fawn — Survival pattern to immobilize and avoid danger. You aim to limit the threat by surrendering to reach safety.
We’re going to break these survival responses down and specifically name the behavioral archetypes of each one that show up in the human experience. When you know how your survival instincts are showing up in any situation, you can then pinpoint which gene keys may be most useful to work with.
8 Survival Archetypes
When reviewing the survival archetypes, you’ll see a general definition that explains how embodying this behavior is linked to your survival instinct. To help you assess whether or not that archetype defines your present behavior, you’ll see advantages and liabilities of each archetype defined for more context.
Remember, we weave in and out of these archetypes depending on the present circumstances, situation, and phase of our lives. The goal is not to define yourself as one archetype, but to recognize how you relate to and embody the ones that are most representative of your survival patterns and life experiences!
NOTE: These survival archetypes have been informed by the evidence-based archetypes established through Positive Intelligence (PQ) saboteur research.
Fight
The Overachiever: You’re wired to achieve and fixate on conquering challenges in order to feel safe. Your focus shifts to gaining external validation to boost your self-worth, so achievement becomes essential for survival.
Advantage = bold & driven to reach wildly high standards of success
Liability = tunnel vision that creates disconnection with authentic desires & burnout from misusing willpower
The Controller: You’re wired to take control of situations and impose structure to tackle challenges in order to feel safe. Your focus shifts to managing everything on your terms to boost your sense of certainty, so authority becomes essential for survival.
Advantage = highly direct & capable, as well as efficient & persistent to make things happen
Liability = alienate people or allies in life thru intensity & dominance or can be a wild card with unpredictable emotional volatility
Flight
The Procrastinator: You’re wired to avoid and dissociate from challenges in order to feel safe. Your focus shifts to temporarily alleviating pain through postponement, so deflection becomes essential for survival.
Advantage = thorough planner & highly intentional with your actions
Liability = wait for conditions to be perfect to act & live in frustration thinking about what could’ve been
The Restless: You’re wired to seek stimulation and distract from challenges in order to feel safe. Your focus shifts to staying busy, so distraction constantly becomes essential for survival.
Advantage = incredible at starting things & creating wildly innovative ideas fueled by pure passion & purpose
Liability = ignore limitations & take on too much, so that you don’t commit or follow through on anything
Freeze
The Perfectionist: You’re wired to seek order and aim for ideal conditions in the face of challenges in order to feel safe. Your focus shifts to gaining control through organization, so creating predictability becomes essential for survival.
Advantage = reliable & highly disciplined with impeccable follow through
Liability = inflexible & wildly critical of self or others, living in ongoing internal or external distress
The Vigilant: You’re wired to hyper-prepare and remain on high alert to address any challenges in order to feel safe. Your focus shifts to assessing all conditions of a situation, so being on high alert becomes essential for survival.
Advantage = extreme sensitivity to enviro & others makes you savvy with navigating situations effectively & with finesse
Liability = anticipating issues & threats at all times, limiting access to flow & creative zones because you’re on high alert
Fawn
The Pleaser: You’re wired to prioritize others’ needs and find reassurance from others in the face of challenges in order to feel safe. Your focus shifts to finding one’s purpose and worth through others, so codependence becomes essential for survival.
Advantage = extremely socially aware & natural at creating authentic connection
Liability = reliant upon external validation & curates self-image for others’ perception or approval
The Victim: You’re wired to surrender to life’s stressors and ride the emotional rollercoaster of challenges in order to feel safe. Your focus regularly shifts to the difficulties you’re going through, so surrendering to the conditions before you becomes essential for survival.
Advantage = uniquely resilient & in-tune with depths of holistic human experience, making you highly empathetic & relatable to others
Liability = perpetual emotional turmoil is distracting & off-putting, mimicking false sense of aliveness
Takeaway
For now, pay attention to which archetypes are showing up in your current life experiences. Are you a pleaser in friendships and an overachiever in career? Are you a vigilant with your money and the victim in your partnership? For now, this is just about awareness building. And soon, you’ll learn how to connect this all with The Gene Keys to thrive and experience your desired outcomes in any area of life!
P.S. - Which survival archetype speaks to you the most? And if it’s hard to tell… ask yourself which seems to be most influential in an area of life that’s causing you the most distress or discomfort?
I’d love to know your thoughts in the comments below or over in the chat thread! Remember… awareness and insight deepens when you challenge yourself to articulate your thoughts and experiences to others 🙂