Attention and motivation

What becomes important first

Attention is selective. In the same meeting, one person may notice a missing safeguard, another an unacknowledged contribution, and another an opportunity to move forward. The theory looks for the recurring priority beneath those observations.

This is different from having an interest or a skill. Someone can be excellent at planning without organizing their identity around security. Someone can care deeply for other people without depending on being needed. Look at the repeated emotional stakes, especially when the usual response is no longer useful.

Core concerns across the nine types

These short formulations introduce the motivations used in this wiki. Read each alongside the fuller type article.

• Type 1, Purist: To live with integrity and do what feels right.
• Type 2, Aide: To feel loved, wanted, and connected.
• Type 3, Trailblazer: To feel valuable and worthwhile, and to have that worth recognized.
• Type 4, Muse: To understand and express a meaningful sense of identity.
• Type 5, Scholar: To feel capable and equipped to understand the world.
• Type 6, Pragmatist: To feel secure, supported, and able to rely on guidance.
• Type 7, Spark: To feel satisfied, free, and able to enjoy life.
• Type 8, Kingpin: To protect their autonomy and have a say in their own life.
• Type 9, Consul: To feel inwardly settled and connected with others.

From a useful response to a repeating cycle

A response can solve an immediate problem while reinforcing a larger difficulty. The Purist's example is a correction that improves the work but leaves responsibility concentrated in one exhausted person. The immediate success can make the response seem indispensable.

To examine a cycle, separate the situation, its interpretation, the action, and the consequence. Then ask what other response could meet the real need. The aim is to understand the mechanism, rather than simply naming a trait as good or bad.

• A shared task contains a mistake.
• If I leave this, I am being irresponsible.
• Correct it immediately and take on the remaining work.
• The result improves, but nobody knows how overloaded I feel.