I was talking to a friend awhile back about a personality test she took at work. She told me it didn’t mean that much to her because it was relatively easy to pick the items which supported her outward image as a creative, competent, strong leader in the organization. I told her that I was working on some personality typing with the Human Art theory and she said, “You can have my test if you want,” and tossed it to me.
This experience got me thinking about the dilemma we face when we are asked to take a personality test online or at work. We are all eager to be validated for who we know we are, but it can be scary, at times, to answer questions which may present a side of ourselves which has been disapproved of in the past. We often feel the pressure to mirror what others like about us or what our work culture values.
This led me to think about what I like about the Human Art approach to understanding personality. I remember 25 years ago when Brook’s mother, Donna, was doing my personality reading. At first, I was skeptical because she started holding colors up to my face. It caught my attention when she held up a new growth green color to may face. I already loved the color but then she started to interpret it for me. She said it was like the color of grass under a rock that is determined to get over or around the rock and just doesn’t give up. This trait of perseverance was something that rang true to me and I liked about myself. It was true for me even though not many people had noticed it in me. It lifted me and gave me a little bit of confidence that day. It was powerful to me that someone could bring that forth even though they didn’t really know my history. It became an anchoring point for me to hold as a truth about my personality.
Since that time, I have been able to witness and participate in the Human Art personality discovery process with others. What I enjoy most is that the process does not require the recipient to say anything. When the colors are held up to your face, it is like perfect pitch in music. When your truth is interpreted for you in a strengths based environment, it is life changing.
Being “unique” is no longer a cliché because we can measure your authentic self and reveal the harmonies in nature that you most relate to. For example, I am Grayed and Blackened. With that combination my personality communicates a sensitive, no-nonsense kind of guy. I care about others feelings and want to protect, but at some point things need to get done.
After going through the process, many of our clients will say, “I will never apologize for being me again.” One of my colleagues who attended a workshop told me, “I thought I always wanted to be Blackened in high school but now I know that I am Saturated, and I can see my strengths more clearly.”
Human Art personality assessment is different from others because it helps us to stop comparing ourselves to others. It reveals how we can have opposing traits at the same time, such as being both introverted and extroverted, and in what order they manifest themselves. In relationship compatibility Human Art can help you to know how opposites attract rather than merely matching you on various items of compatibility.
It is fun to discover how you fit into the broader scheme of nature and how you relate to what is true in design. That is what Human Art can do for you.
~Rod
(Licensed Clinical Social Worker [LCSW])