Is Your Inner Emperor Ruling Your Life? (And If So, What Can You Do?)

A gentle tyrant.

Perhaps, sometimes, even not-so-gentle.

Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (1557-1619), painted by Hans von Aachen (1625).

We each have an inner Emperor.

Our Emperor mode, or archetype, is our “Project Manager” self. When we deal with cognitive, rational, “get-things-done” types of tasks – tasks often involving budgets, deadlines, and deliverables – we call on our inner Emperor.

Our inner Emperor is one of our six core power archetypes, and is often dominant. He (along with is compatriot, the Magician) tends to be a “resource hog.”

We can’t blame him; not really. Any good Project Manager, CEO, or President-of-Anything will charm, co-opt, or just plain commandeer any and every resource that he (or she) can find to get the job done. That’s why they’re paid the “big bucks.” They get things done – and to hell with whose toes get stepped on in the process.

Our Emperor is all about – whatever he’s “all about.” This could be getting a law degree or a promotion at work. It could simply be getting a five-year-old’s birthday party to come off successfully. Regardless, our inner Emperor is highly task-focused. And because “his” role is to get things done, at all costs, when he’s in charge, no other archetypal mode gets much attention.

Our inner High Priestess wants to go for a walk, or even to get out of town for the weekend to simply chill? Sorry, but we’re staying late at the office until the report is done.

Our inner Hathor wants some spa time? Later.

Our inner Empress wants to connect with girlfriends, or stay at home and cuddle? Again, later. Her needs get deferred in the face of the Emperor’s overwhelming (perhaps even obsessive) task-focused nature.

Now don’t get me wrong. We need our Emperor mode. This aspect of our psyche is essential to our well-being.

The challenge is that – for too many of us – we’ve allowed our inner Emperor to really become an inner Tyrant – gobbling up all of our time, all of our resources, and all of our energies. And then we find ourselves exhausted, frustrated, and just downright depressed and angry.

So how do we deal?

That will be the subject of the next several postings.

References

Soloman, Presidential Address to the Eastern Psychological Association, NYC, April, 1963.