Take Our Outer Child Checklist!

Below are 60 common Outer Child patterns selected from the inventory.  Please check off those you recognize in yourself, your significant other, a close friend, or former lover.   

The traits are presented randomly to reflect Outer Child’s illogical thinking.  Outer springs from your mammalian brain, so some of its characteristics may be hard to own up to.  You have the option to submit your checklist to me (to be held confidential) and add to my growing data base about Outer Child. 

Ready?  Fasten your seat belt and get ready for a bumpy ride.  Outer Child doesn’t like having its inventory taken.

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1. Outer Child actively ignores you, especially when you try to tell it what to do, like “Go to the gym.” Outer just goes right on eating potato chips and lounging in front of the television.
2. Outer Child is well disguised, especially in public. Since other people's outer children are usually concealed, you may have thought you were the only one with an outer child.
3. Outer Child loves chocolate and convinces you that it’s good for your heart. Likewise with wine.
4. Outer Child has melt downs when you feel criticized, rejected, or abandoned.
5. Outer Child acts up a lot when you are tired, cranky, hungry. Stress arouses Outer Child.
6. Outer Child doesn’t like to do things that are good for you. Outer would rather do something that will make you fat, broke, or pregnant.
7. Outer Child talks about your friends behind their back. Outer hates it when your friends talk about you behind your back.
8. Outer Child’s favorite disguises is 'compliance.' Outer child uses compliance to confuse others into thinking that it doesn't want to take control. But don't be fooled – Outer is a control freak, even if a subtle one.
9. Outer Child can’t commit in relationships because it’s always ‘looking to trade up.’ Outer Child has ‘bigger is better syndrome.’
10. Outer Child loves to feed its emotional hunger with things like shopping, sex, sugar that only make you hungrier in the end.
11. Outer Child is negatively attracted to the faults of others. (Criticizing others is one of Outer’s most socially off-putting features.)
12. Outer projects its faults on your mate. Likewise onto your children.
13. Outer Child can see everybody else’s shortcomings but its own. Outer Child hates to have its inventory taken, loves to take everyone else’s.
14. Outer Child enjoys playing the victim, that is, when not playing the martyr.
15. Outer Child distracts you when you’re trying to get something done.
16. Outer Child is a world class procrastinator.
17. Outer Child makes huge messes that take forever to clean up.
18. Outer Child makes you late for appointments.
19. Outer Child loses things and blames it on your mate or children.
20. Outer Child tries to look cool and makes you look foolish.