Today has been a very interesting “learning” day, as part of my leadership training with work, we started module 1 and this was all to do with self-awareness. I think I have always been a very self aware person and I am very aware of other people too, I am probably more aware of other people than I should be. But today was all about learning about ourselves and the other types of people around us and how we adapt to others effectively. Its amazing how my brain just soaks it all up and I am bursting with thoughts and ideas, I got home and looked at hubby and the little people – all I could do was analyse them.
One of my first thoughts was how will my “Sunshine Yellow” rub off on Noah and Isla, will I have a positive effect on the way they develop? This led me into thinking about hubby and what colour he is? Colour I hear you say, what does that mean?
The 4 colours
As part of the insights profiling you get asked a whole bunch of questions about how “you” do things and how you feel you are in certain contexts (there is a trial question on the insights homepage which gives you an idea into it all) and First Ascent went away, did their magic and you end up with a colour. There are 4 colours: earth green, sunshine yellow, fiery red and cool blue; the colour is your dominant energy. Here are a few words that describe the colours:
- Earth green – encouraging, reliable, trusting, caring, compassionate, open minded
- Fiery red – demanding, driven, competitive, intuitive, energetic, confident
- Cool blue – analytical, organized, objective, practical, efficient
- Sunshine yellow – enthusiastic, creative, outgoing, spontaneous, perceptive, imaginative
Here’s my colour:
Although this is my predominant colour, I can wear a “hat” with all the other colours when I need to. I can be assertive when I need to be, I am a good mixture of green and yellow: so caring about people is second nature to me. I am extremely patient with the children and with my colleagues, I am very adaptable and tolerant. I am not a very good blue though, I am not one to “think” things through thoroughly or to contemplate all the options before acting on things. Which at work and at home, I need to focus my attention on. When it comes to my little babies I want to make sure I do think things through and I am considering all options, what I want most out of life is for them to succeed!
What does it mean?
The outcome from today means that I will be much more aware of people’s colours and therefore adapt my styles when around them. I am in two minds about hubby and what colour he might be. I am steering towards a more “Fiery Red” because of the way he is about his business and how he operates in his business mindset. I also think he is a little blue too – the complete opposite to me. I will think more about this and come back to it on another day.
When it comes to parenthood I think everything I learnt today is going to come through with the kids, I will not only be more aware at work now but more aware at home. How will I get the most out of Noah and Isla? How will I push them to do better? How will I inspire them to be something? I already am thinking about the different methods I can use to be more creative in teaching them over the next few years and my imagination is in overdrive.
One of the other things I learnt today is that I get my energy from people, I am an extroverted person (Really? Shocking!) I don’t think its any secret really. When I am around people, talking and interacting with people my batteries recharge and when I am alone they wear down. The opposite to this is introverted, people who get their energy from that alone time and wear down when they are around people. It is really amazing, when you think about things like this, it makes you look at “everything” you do and how you do it and yes, I do get my energy from people. I am buzzing after today and I have spent the best part of an hour writing up this post because of it.
The final part to the model is whether you are a thinker or a feeler? I am definitely a feeler, I sense things from people and I can pick up if you are upset or annoyed and I am completely aware of it. This along with my yellow/green and extroverted personality means that I am very intuitive and approachable (I think). I care about people, I care about what’s going on and I want to help everyone.
The next step
I am looking forward to the next step and reading my full profile from Insight/First Ascent to read a lot more about my weaknesses and what I excel in – I have an interview to go for at work in the coming month and this course today couldn’t have come at a better time.
What colour are you?
