Amy Zoll
Anything you can do,
I can do better.
I can do anything
Better than you.
No you can’t, yes I can.
No you can’t, yes I can.
Yes I can, Yes, I can, Yes, I can!
Do you remember the chorus from the musical Annie Get your Gun based on the real life of Annie Oakley?
The fictional Annie, singing these lyrics, could be any one of the nine “worthy me/not me” ego patterns or types with which we identify. The words of the song might vary according to each type.
I am seeing Annie as a type nine (probably a sexual subtype). In my vision, she is singing these words to create a “worthy me” image of herself.
Lets look more closely at the image she is striving to become. She clearly wants to be someone who gets it right, and does it well…. even perfectly, and, better than you. I imagine she sees herself being able to ‘hold it all together’ and do it by herself. She even expects that she should know how to do something perfectly before she begins to do it. (It is interesting how young the voice of our ego pattern sounds when we really listen closely to it).
A real-life 9 has the same expectations of her self as does the fictional Annie, but rarely sings about them out loud. She might not even admit to herself that she has them.
Type 9 may be as success oriented, and as competitive as any type 3. However, she not only wants recognition for her accomplishments (type 3), but also for being nice, easy-going, agreeable, keeper of the peace, cooperative, thoughtful, egalitarian, and focused on others. In her mind, the success of her image and, therefore, her survival depends on being able to embody all of these “worthy me” qualities. At the same she must avoid exposing any hint of “not me”, such as being selfish, angry, aggressive, too ambitious, self absorbed, needy, attention-seeking, high maintenance, focused on her own agenda, and prone to conflict.
Whew!! Being successful at creating this image requires a lot of energy and self-denial. It might even make one want to hide or go to sleep. No wonder, type 9 often feels stress imagining that others expect too much from her. Look at what she expects of herself! With these limitations on her energy, it is hard to say ‘no’ to someone else’s agenda; or to access connection to the “yes” that lives inside her and the life force that supports her. All the while Annie sings: I can do anything you can do better, she is trying to drown out a deeply held core fear and dreaded refrain from her inner critic: “No you can’t” What she fears most about failing, is exposing that her inner critic and core fear is right about her. That she will do a bad job—that she is not enough; that she is unable to do it by herself, that she is not nice, and that she does not have the inherent energy, skill, and knowledge, that others have. She is unworthy and will suffer the consequences.
I can do better.
I can do anything
Better than you.
No you can’t, yes I can.
No you can’t, yes I can.
Yes I can, Yes, I can, Yes, I can!
Do you remember the chorus from the musical Annie Get your Gun based on the real life of Annie Oakley?
The fictional Annie, singing these lyrics, could be any one of the nine “worthy me/not me” ego patterns or types with which we identify. The words of the song might vary according to each type.
I am seeing Annie as a type nine (probably a sexual subtype). In my vision, she is singing these words to create a “worthy me” image of herself.
Lets look more closely at the image she is striving to become. She clearly wants to be someone who gets it right, and does it well…. even perfectly, and, better than you. I imagine she sees herself being able to ‘hold it all together’ and do it by herself. She even expects that she should know how to do something perfectly before she begins to do it. (It is interesting how young the voice of our ego pattern sounds when we really listen closely to it).
A real-life 9 has the same expectations of her self as does the fictional Annie, but rarely sings about them out loud. She might not even admit to herself that she has them.
Type 9 may be as success oriented, and as competitive as any type 3. However, she not only wants recognition for her accomplishments (type 3), but also for being nice, easy-going, agreeable, keeper of the peace, cooperative, thoughtful, egalitarian, and focused on others. In her mind, the success of her image and, therefore, her survival depends on being able to embody all of these “worthy me” qualities. At the same she must avoid exposing any hint of “not me”, such as being selfish, angry, aggressive, too ambitious, self absorbed, needy, attention-seeking, high maintenance, focused on her own agenda, and prone to conflict.
Whew!! Being successful at creating this image requires a lot of energy and self-denial. It might even make one want to hide or go to sleep. No wonder, type 9 often feels stress imagining that others expect too much from her. Look at what she expects of herself! With these limitations on her energy, it is hard to say ‘no’ to someone else’s agenda; or to access connection to the “yes” that lives inside her and the life force that supports her. All the while Annie sings: I can do anything you can do better, she is trying to drown out a deeply held core fear and dreaded refrain from her inner critic: “No you can’t” What she fears most about failing, is exposing that her inner critic and core fear is right about her. That she will do a bad job—that she is not enough; that she is unable to do it by herself, that she is not nice, and that she does not have the inherent energy, skill, and knowledge, that others have. She is unworthy and will suffer the consequences.