Joel and I have been discussing the tragedy of Robin William’s suicide, especially as it relates to his type as an ENFP personality – or, Exploration/Authenticity in the Genius System.
He was an amazing performer, but by all accounts when he wasn’t performing he was shy and had difficulty connecting with others.
A big question I keep seeing (or, rather, assertion I keep reading) is that people who are truly funny always balance it with a ‘dark side’, can’t connect with others authentically (that’s what the humor is for – to manufacture a feeling of relationship), and will almost always have lows as low as the highest high.
I’m not an expert on mental health, depression or suicide. An explanation of why Williams may have taken his life is being attempted by a lot of people right now, and I’ll leave it to others far more qualified than I to take on that task.
That said, I have observed often that the more time and effort we spend on truly developing and exercising our co-pilot process the heartier we are at dealing with some truly horrific things that life can throw at us.
I recently ran into the video below.
The comedian, Russell Brand, another ENFP personality (Exploration/Authenticity), has clearly spent a lot of time developing his Authenticity co-pilot process.
He’s a fantastic performer, very charismatic, and if given the right platform will often resemble Robin Williams in his energy and effusiveness.
He refers to himself as insane, but don’t let him fool you.
Instead of having difficulty connecting without the tool of performance, Brand appears far more responsive to people around him.
For example, in the situation in the video below there is no safe container for performance, so he instinctively understands it’s on him to create it.
In fact, as the people around him get more and more insecure, he gets more and more authentic and rests into himself.
There’s a connective element to his interaction, true concern in his voice toward the interviewers, which is quite disconcerting to them as they are fully in ‘performance’ mode.
It’s not easy to develop oneself when in the public eye, and it can be comforting to fall back on synthetic relationships when you’re really, really good at creating them.
For people of all types some of the hardest work is letting oneself recognize the difference between true development, and the illusion of growth based on accolades we may get for having talents others admire.
The litmus test is this: the former fills us to the brim with self-love, the latter always leaves us starving for more.
Read more about the Authenticity process here.
-Antonia
p.s. I’ve rarely seen such an amazing example of development in an performer. The closest is Jon Stewart, who is most likely an ENTP – Exploration/Accuracy.
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18 comments
I totally get the interview…As an ENFP I can relate to his demeanor as I can tell he was searching for authenticity in his interactions with the anchors. He undoubtedly went there with the notion that he was going to be interviewed on his new comedy tour and asked “real questions” and was obviously caught off guard by the superficial anchors and their lack of genuine or intelligent interaction. ENFP’s don’t rehearse what they are going to talk about, it is all rather organic. I didn’t see him as being rude at all. I thought they were being extremely rude and judgmental; they obviously had only ever read about or seen him in tabloids and had no idea how to respond or converse with him at all. Which lead to him doing their job for them, because hey, why not, right? Somebody had to save the interview. It does go to show how superficial and rehearsed our media outlets are in America.
INTJ – I see through the facade and don’t like Russell Brand at all. I DO however, like Robin Williams. A lot.
I don’t think this Russell brand clip is the best example of a healthy enfp. I think a healthy enfp should not try to make fools of other people even if it means they are being authentic. Maybe this is just my value system but I often think that humour and performance should be collaborative. To me, Russel is using his status as a guest on the show AND his natural charisma to make other people look silly. Yeah maybe the people are facilitating their own demise but I think an enfp leader shouldn’t try to embarrass other people for not being confident but rather coax others authentic selves out of their shells to make for a more meaningful interaction.
Brand is a complex character and he doesn’t always do this. But toying with people like this should not be applauded or championed as a healthy enfp. This actually is more like the underdeveloped and manipulating process of an enfp
Very interesting! As a female 47 year old ENFP I see this interview slightly differently.
Pros
Yes…I love how he interacts with each person on a human level, not in their
“role”. I love how he dresses authentically to his own style. I love how he addresses overarching issues and brings attention to what really is going on in these media interactions and spaces and how silly it all is,but in a humorous and kind way.
Cons
At one point he asks a question, the male reporter starts to answer it, and Russell immediately has a “look, squirrel!” Moment and turns his back to ask about the people and computers behind him. They were allowing him to have his platform and “perform” but in real life people won’t put usually have the patience to put up with such frenetic energy and topic changes. Furthermore, a woman acting in such a way would be seen as an air headed ditz. So what I see here is an ENFP performing, being given the space and respect to go with their mental flow, and not an example of how an ENFP should conduct oneself in real life.
But it was entertaining!
Love me some Russell Brand! Oh that man. :)