
Welcome Explorer
. . . This is your story
FUTURE–PAST
You seek what is possible, but keep the likely consequences in mind.
Your unique point of view is formed by your blend of the three foundational priorities of mind: Past (Certainty), Present (Probability), and Future (Possibility). The result of this blending of priorities is your thinking style and it defines the value you bring to every aspect of your life. It is what motivates you and it shapes your personality. It is also at the root of most of our differences in the way we each think.
Because you blend Future and Past thinking you are naturally curious. When you see a good idea you want to know if it’s possible, what it’s about, you want to get into it. You also want to ground things in ‘reality’ if you can, although the lack of facts won’t deter you if you have a strong gut feeling about something. This intuitiveness is the result of your past experiences and what you see in front of you—possibilities or opportunities. You feel it in your gut even if you can’t often explain where this feeling comes from.
You will always blend Possibility with Certainty; it brings the best of both new ideas and informed decisions. Use this ability as your foundation and align your efforts with what you do so well.
As an Explorer, you have
- Many ideas and a need for some quiet time to evaluate them
- A need for evidence to validate things despite your eagerness to move forward on efforts
- An aptitude for spotting the unusually brilliant ideas from the rest
- An attraction towards things that push boundaries based on science
- A strong sense of quality and design that, for you, trumps cost

Your Archetype badge
Maximize Your Strengths
Bring creative, innovative energy and the safety of well-researched knowledge to all that inspires or fascinates you.
- Do take on the responsibility of coming up with creative ideas, even under pressure.
- Do use your energy and knowledge to inspire people to reach beyond themselves.
Growth Opportunities
Learn how to plan, organize and structure the path you want to take.
- Don’t take on the responsibility of organizing and planning anything too important until you’ve started to include more Present in your perspective.
- Don’t try to tell someone who uses a Present perspective how to structure his or her life.
WISDOM
What you bring to the world
You’re riding along, happily, and suddenly ” WHAM! ” you’re thrown out of the saddle. What do you do? Wise as you are, you stand up, dust yourself down and climb right back on, this time holding on a little tighter. This sums up your wisdom: go for the experience and learn from your mistakes.
Experience, you believe, is an important way to learn valuable daily lessons. Haven’t you always tried something new and taken the lessons you’ve learned from it? That’s because you see the value of street-wise wisdom, of knowing how things tick in a day-to-day reality. You end up relying a lot on your instincts, but this isn’t some psychic intuition, it’s based on getting down in the dirt and finding out what’s really going on. You’re not scared of being wrong or making a mistake as long as you learn by it and don’t make it again.
But that’s wisdom of the heart. What about the head? You’re certainly not arrogant enough to think you can learn everything by going out and trying it, and this is a good thing. You also value the lesson learned from other people and their experiences. You imbibe the wisdom of others from reading, or researching, from listening to wise people with a message to share, from traveling and observing. It comes from opening your mind to new thoughts as well as experiences. It comes from treating wisdom like a muscle – it needs to be worked out and challenged to keep it healthy.
Juggling street-smart and book-learned wisdom is all about making a judgment call and using your instincts. Sometimes this means feeling what’s right or wrong rather than having an absolute answer. Sometimes it means sticking to the facts, even if that hurts, or making up a truth to fit the situation. Is that wise? For you, wisdom is the ability to interpret situations using your head and your heart, sometimes going against facts because of what you believe, and sometimes going against what you believed because of facts.
IN RELATIONSHIP
The Explorer comes up with brilliant, validated ideas
We all have relationships, they’re a natural and important part of most people’s lives. Why is it that even in our most intimate and important relationships we struggle, at times, to make things work, to understand each other, to see eye-to-eye? The simple fact is that we do not think the same way. We each bring our own point of view and use that to further what is important to us in the moment, whether it be in our private life, our work or with friends.
Knowing how we think—specifically our archetype—helps us to hear with more compassion. To listen and hear beyond a person’s words. To understand where they are coming from, what they need, and where they are trying to get to in conversation with us.
Find Out How Explorers Relate With Each Archetype
Choose your friend or partner’s archetype below to gain insights into your relationship.


Pros
You both understand the need for looking at the details, upholding traditions, and being sure of what you’re doing.
Cons
You’re looking for fun, adventure, and excitement while they’re looking for something solid and safe. Who’s holding back whom?


Pros
Working as a team, you can complement each other and achieve anything.
Cons
Getting to that point is some journey. You might not understand their constant need to organize and be in control, just as they don’t get your need to start new projects or spend time researching.


Pros
You share an understanding of the dynamics of a Future perspective. You both love new ideas and experiences.
Cons
They’re ready to just go for it, while you only want to take steps when you feel sure. You may think they’re pushy, they may think you’re slowing them down.


Pros
A sharing of the need for understanding the past.
Cons
You’re looking for something new and exciting while playing it safe. They’re into playing it safe and trying to organize their lives around this safety. They may argue you’re never happy with the way things are, you may think they’re in a rut.


Pros
You both share a need for new experiences and a deeper understanding of what’s going on.
Cons
In some ways, you’re polar opposites of each other. You need to embark on new experiences and then start thinking of the consequences. They’ll want to start from a place of safety and certainty before trying something new.


Pros
You both include Past in your thinking style. You can agree that whatever you do needs some time before you’re sure it’s the right thing.
Cons
They first want to organize and bring control to their lives. You’re out for new experiences, adventures and ideas.


Pros
You share an understanding of the Future perspective and both of you are looking for new experiences.
Cons
They come at the Future perspective by first going through the control and organizational needs of a Present perspective. They might not understand your Past perspective need to understand things in depth.


Pros
Birds of a feather flock together. You’ll share your need for new adventure and understand each other’s need for quiet space.
Cons
Since you both need fresh challenges to keep you alert, you may need to be proactive to keep the spice alive.


Pros
You both share the joy of new experiences and ideas.
Cons
You want to research and understand the new things in your life, they want to organize and plan them. Shields may lock when it comes time to decide what to do next.


Pros
This could be harmonious. Integrated people understand where you’re coming from, even if they don’t agree with it.
Cons
You may find them too wishy-washy and diplomatic. Do they always have to be so understanding? Having a Future thinking style means you have fire in your belly and they’d better be able to keep up with that.
Want to read more about this Archetype?

The Explorer’s Perspective
MindTime’s Archetype e-Handbooks offer over 50 pages of science-backed insights about each Archetype.
Archetype handbooks can be purchased individually by anyone who doesn’t own MindTime Cards.