Inner Character Detector

Inner Character Detector

“The easiest person to deceive is one’s own self.”
– Edward Bulwer-Lytton

"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain."
– The Wizard of Oz

We’re versatile. We’re complex. And sometimes we do things that leave us looking back and shaking our heads wondering, "What was I thinking?"

Each of us has a cast of "Inner Characters" – aspects of our personalities that seem to step in and take over from time to time. Sometimes subtle, other times like a bull in a china shop, Inner Characters can help you through the day or they can trip you up. Of course, these are not real characters in a clinical sense. The term "Inner Character" is merely a lighthearted way of describing styles of behaving that sometimes get in our own way. The book Secrets You Keep From Yourself describes several Inner Characters. Here are a few:

Moviemaker: Entertains you with Hollywood-style fantasies

Indulger: Distracts you with escapist activities

Persuader: Explains away uncertainty or rationalize aims and behavior

Mini-Me: Seeks safety by becoming inconspicuous

Capt. Superior: Seeks validation through perfectionism or putting others down

Escape Artist: Avoids demands by procrastinating, spacing out, or giving up

King Kong: Sidesteps your conscience and gives in to impulses

How to Spot Each Character in Action

Detect Characters in Yourself

Portraits of the Inner Characters
Character	EXAMPLE #1 You're asked to do something you don’t want to do. You respond by doing something like:	EXAMPLE #2 You want someone to do something for you but you're afraid to ask. So you do something like:	PATRON SAINT
MOVIEMAKER	Fantasize about different ways you could say no	Mentally rehearse asking to the tune of imaginary background music	Walter Mitty
INDULGER	Take the rest of the day off	Go for ice cream	Bacchus
PERSUADER	Agree even though you can’t possibly do it	Assure yourself that they'll realize what you want without your having to ask	P.T. Barnum
MINI-ME	Tell them that you’re feeling too tired to do anything	Avoid them	Henny Penny
CAPT. SUPERIOR	Tell them how it should be done	Begin by telling them that they owe you a favor	Dr. Laura Schlessinger
ESCAPE ARTIST	Agree, then forget about it	Tell yourself that they’d probably say no, so why bother asking	Harry Houdini
KING KONG	Bite their head off	Contemplate the threats you’ll use if they say no	King Kong
From Secrets You Keep From Yourself published by St. Martin's Press Copyright © Dan Neuharth, Ph.D. All rights reserved. www.SecretsWeKeep.com

Inner Character Detector
This chart can help you spot when Inner Characters are present in yourself or others Instructions: Think of a specific situation that troubles or puzzles you.. Go down each column and note any applicable behaviors and feelings. Rows with the most number of items noted may indicate that Character was present. More than one Inner Character can be present at the same time.
You’re OVERDOING one or more of the following behaviors:	You want to avoid feeling:	You want to feel:	Your Inner Character
Fantasizing Daydreaming Wishful or magical thinking Getting lost in memories Having an "active" imagination	Bored	Entertained Distracted	Moviemaker
Shopping Eating Drinking TV viewing Computer games or web surfing Other escapist activities	Stressed Deprived	Gratified Satiated	Indulger
Rationalizing Exaggerating Underestimating odds or risks Oversimplifying Overanalyzing Focusing selectively Viewing life in all-or-nothing terms Smooth-talking yourself	Uncertain Invalidated	Justified Validated In-the-know	Persuader
Eliciting excessive caretaking Hiding behind a facade Avoiding attention Being a people pleaser Failing to assert yourself Becoming dependent on others	Exposed Scrutinized	Safe Inconspicuous	Mini-Me
Interrupting others Being arrogant Being perfectionistic Having a know-it-all attitude Winning at all costs Putting others down Being compulsively organized	Flawed Inferior	Special The "Best"	Capt. Superior
Numbing or zoning out Living half-heartedly Feeling apathetic Avoiding commitments Being forgetful or easily sidetracked Procrastinating or stalling Being indecisive or unable to initiate	Pressured Trapped	Stress-free No Demands	Escape Artist
Obsessing or becoming fixated Acting impulsively Emotionally regressing or "losing it" Self-depriving or self-criticizing Ignoring long-term consequences Taking unwise risks Avoiding responsibility	Small Irrelevant	Big Powerful	King Kong
From Secrets You Keep From Yourself published by St. Martin's Press Copyright © Dan Neuharth, Ph.D. All rights reserved. www.SecretsWeKeep.com

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