Work, chores, and those other tedious details that keep life in order have a way of causing some people to lose more sleep than is healthy. Their mental load can become a burden, with all the responsibilities that they carry turning into an uncomfortable weight on their mind.
Campaigners (ENFPs) have a way of approaching their responsibilities with a sense of flexibility and spontaneity that may give the impression that they are immune to this kind of sleep-depriving stress. But make no mistake about it, they’re not above fretting about everything that they have on their plate and puzzling over what they should prioritize next.
Mental load is the everyday thinking required to keep your life on track. It is the invisible cognitive workout behind everything you do. At home, at school, or on the job – you can’t escape it. As we discussed in this article, how a person handles their mental load has a lot to do with their personality traits.
The way that Campaigners organize their lives and go about living them is heavily influenced by the combination of their Extraverted, Intuitive, and Prospecting personality traits. While it’s easy for them to imagine any number of scenarios for how their day might unfold, many of them just play it by ear. They may very well have a mental list of things that they know they need to get to, but if they run into a friend, it might make more sense to enjoy a spontaneous visit and a cup of coffee first.
Their to-do lists are more likely to represent options for things that need doing rather than an efficiently organized plan for the day. Some tasks may have higher priority than others, but in the end, these personalities allow themselves plenty of freedom to get things done at their own pace.
Things get complicated, however, if unexpected distractions interfere with their obligations or important responsibilities fall victim to procrastination.
Flexibility Rules
Campaigners are one of the personality types who are most comfortable thinking on their feet, and they have a talent for winging it when it comes to tasks that other people would invest a great deal of time preparing for. This flexibility is common among Prospecting types and is behind the “go with the flow” attitude that most people with this personality type typically embrace.
The downside of this flexibility is having to deal with the pressure that accumulates when important tasks are put off for too long. The resulting sense of urgency and stress often provides the momentum needed to finally get things done, but it also adds to the potentially uncomfortable weight of Campaigners’ mental load.
Options, Options, Options
People with this personality type have a strong need for freedom in the ways that they creatively go about their lives. In a big-picture sense, this is evident in the fact that they rarely know what they want in life, whether it be a long-term career goal or where they want to eat dinner. They like to keep their options open.
This flexible nature underlies a tendency to become sidetracked by enthralling distractions and the feeling of being carried away by an abundance of possibilities. It may also result in a somewhat loose relationship with commitment, even when it comes to following through with their own plans or pursuing any of their various pastimes or hobbies.
The Challenge of Expectations
This need for freedom might lead Campaigners to feel like they are caught up in the opposing forces of what is expected of them, what they expect of themselves, what they want, and what the circumstances of their reality allow them to do.
This push and pull strongly influences how they take on the boring chores of everyday life. It’s unlikely that they’ll pick up a broom or wash the dishes because such tasks are fun, for example, or because it’s fundamental for their inner peace to create an orderly environment. Instead, these personalities will probably find themselves attending to those types of responsibilities out of a sense of obligation to others – not because it’s an authentic personal priority.
Campaigners’ mental to-do list is most likely made up of the kinds of daily duties that require a conscious effort to remember. They are well aware of the roles that they play in their family and community. They feel good knowing that people rely on them and might worry about letting others down. Their mental load may feel heavier because of the expectations that they put on themselves and perceive from others. This is especially true for Turbulent types.
Campaigners’ need for freedom is powerful, though, so while they fully recognize all that needs doing, they might just allow themselves to put off those responsibilities for the sake of something more stimulating.
The Weight of an Inspired Mind
A lot of people think of mental load as a checklist that is constantly updating and incessantly running through the mind. For Campaigners, it’s more of an amorphous tangle of expectations and inspired distractions combined with an underlying sense of responsibility and the objective recognition that there are certain things in life that simply need doing.
When it comes to mental load, Campaigners are most likely to find themselves wide-eyed at night when important responsibilities become urgent or when they get caught up thinking about the possibility of letting someone down. That, or how to turn their latest passion or next big adventure into reality.
If you’re a Campaigner, feel free to share your experience with mental load in the comments below.
Further Reading
- Campaigner (ENFP) Productivity Tips: Results and Relationships
- 6 Intriguing Stats about Campaigner (ENFP) Personality Types
- Assertive Campaigner (ENFP-A) vs. Turbulent Campaigner (ENFP-T)
- To explore more about how your personality type handles mental load, take our “Lifestyle Preferences,” “Planning,” and “Handling Stress” surveys.
- See “How Heavy Is Your Mental Load?” for a list of other articles published in our series on personality type and mental load.