The Rule Keeper

Missing HUMAN state: Autonomous
Core coping pattern: You grip tightly to rules and routines when you feel powerless or out of control.

When you shift into the Rule-Keeper pattern, structure becomes a form of safety. Rules feel protective. Plans feel like the only way to get it right. But a rigid structure quickly becomes pressure.

You may find yourself:

• Chasing the “perfect plan.”
• Restarting routines over and over
• Feeling guilty when you break rules
• Viewing habits as moral (good vs bad)
• Relying on discipline instead of connection
• Thinking you need more willpower

You’re not controlling, you’re trying to feel free.

What you’re really needing:
Choice, agency, and trust in your ability to guide yourself, not just follow rules.

Your HUMAN Reset Path:
Micro-choices, flexible routines, ditching rigid moral language, designing habits that come from autonomy rather than pressure.

Core Workplace Tendency

Disciplined, structured, consistent, sometimes too much so.

How You Contribute:

• Extremely reliable

• High personal standards

• Strong follow-through

• Great with processes and procedures

• Ideal for detail-heavy work

Where You Get Stuck at Work:

• Rigid thinking under pressure

• Difficulty adapting quickly

• Takes mistakes very hard

• Becomes self-critical

• Over-controls projects or outcomes

What You Need to Thrive (HUMAN Lens):

A = Autonomous
You need flexibility, permission to adjust plans, and reassurance that your worth isn’t tied to perfection.

Workplace message: “You have room to be human, not perfect.”

Performance Identity

Rule-Keepers see performance as something to control: Precisely, tightly, perfectly.

Performance Strengths

• Excellent discipline

• Consistent mechanical skill

• Strong work ethic

• High standards

• Reliable routines

You are steady, driven, and dependable until stress rises.

Stress Pattern

Stress makes them tighten control:

• Rigid thinking

• Tense physical form

• “Should” and “supposed to” taking over

• Trying to force performance

• Frustration when things go off-plan

Rule-Keepers push harder when you really need to loosen.

How Performance Breaks Down

• Overthinking mechanics

• Rushing or freezing

• Inability to adapt in real time

• Harsh self-judgment

• Spiraling after small mistakes

You can have elite skill but lose it under pressure because tension takes over fluidity.

Impact on Focus

Focus becomes too narrow, locked onto errors instead of the moment.

Impact on Confidence

Confidence depends on perfect execution.
When perfection slips, confidence collapses.

Impact on Consistency

You are consistent when calm, inconsistent when stressed.

The Reset You Need (A = Autonomous)

You need:

• Permission to be human

• Flexibility

• Adaptability

• Freedom to adjust

Autonomy relaxes the system → mechanics return naturally.