Who Are You Meant to Be? Read Free

consciously, and some of the reasons why. We discuss why our culture places little value on becoming acquainted with our selves, our needs, and our emotions, and therefore most of us receive no systematic training in how to do so. This chapter also explains how excessive adaptation causes us to live in survival mode and how that gets in the way of becoming who we are meant to be.
    Chapter 2 introduces you to the theory behind the Striving Styles and the key elements of how they function. It also provides a brief description of each of the eight Styles and their predominant need. It shows why it is so important for needs to be satisfied and what happens when they are not.
    Chapter 3 gives an overview of the anatomy of the four quadrants of the brain and the Striving Styles Squad, and how they work together. This chapter explains how the quadrants function so that you begin to understand the mechanics of your mind. In addition to providing information about the quadrants of the brain, the chapter lists the activities that each quadrant is most efficient and least efficient at performing.
    Chapter 4 discusses how the human brain develops. It also introduces Dr. Paul MacLean’s triune brain theory and a very important component of the SSPS—the self-protective and self-actualizing systems of the brain. This chapter helps you understand how at birth, the brain is the most undifferentiated organ in the body, which means that it is still raw material waiting to be formed, molded, and developed during our childhood and adolescence. This perspective on brain development brings new awareness to the reasons for both growth-oriented, or self-actualizing, behaviors and defensive, or self-protective, behaviors. It also demonstrates how your brain’s development can get stalled and why despite this you can continue to develop your brain no matter what your age.
    Chapter 5 contains the Striving Styles Self-Assessment. Taking the assessment lets you discover your own Predominant Striving Style. This chapter gives instructions on how best to answer the questions to pinpoint your Style and what to do if your results don’t match your idea of yourself. It also helps you narrow down what your three Associate Striving Styles might be.
    Part 2: The Eight Striving Styles
    The eight chapters in this section contain descriptions of each of the Striving Styles. As you will see, each style is represented as a character, and you will learn about its patterns of behavior in relationships, social activities, and communication. Each chapter highlights how each individual Style gets its predominant need satisfied and what happens if it is not. You will learn about each Style’s blind spots and what each can do to make sure they are using self-actualizing behaviors rather than self-protective ones.
    Part 3: Becoming Your Best Self
    Part 3 is the working, practical section of the book. It includes the SSPS Roadmap for Development, a comprehensive, step-by-step approach to achieving your potential based on your Predominant Striving Style. Full of exercises for you to complete, this part of the book gives you all the tools you need to understand your brain, chart a course for your development, and move to action.
    Chapter 14 lets you immerse yourself in learning about your Predominant Striving Style and helps you figure out how often you get your predominant need met. It has a series of charts for you to fill in, which will help you reflect on your current state as well as determine which activities you can use to help you strengthen your Self-Actualizing System.
    Chapter 15 takes you to the next step in the process and includes the Who Are You Meant to Be Planner. The planner leads you through the process of brainstorming your desired future state by identifying both the fears that will block your progress and the action steps required to achieve your potential. It also includes specific habits to incorporate to support your success as you move to