Month: August 2018

It Only Takes 3 Seconds to Identify the Saturated Personality

Posted on by Brook Thornley

You can tell the Saturated design or personality within three seconds when they walk through the door.

“Hello.” They speak precisely.
Their movement is still.
They stand erect.
“I have an appointment….”

Photo Copyright: Human Art

It is so beautiful; the room seems to settle into complete order and peacefulness. No chaos to be found. From that first “hello” (with their arms peacefully by their side or their hands simply clasped in front of them) you feel yourself stand a little straighter, and you are aware of your pronunciation and grammar. It feels like standing on the edge of a serene lake on a still, cool, crisp night; alone with the icy glow of the moon shining in all its majestic beauty and its shadow or silhouette of a dome somehow feels like silver in the winter. This is an example of what it feels like to get smoothly slid into a 3 second interaction with a human that has a lot of the Saturated personality in their design.

Some of us forget to notice this type of beauty and we miss the small yet profound beauty of this interaction. We excuse it away and file it in our brain as running into someone that did not talk and in our interpretation comes off a bit stuffy or aloof. What a miss.

Common questions they ask usually have something to do with clarifying or making something more clear.

“When you say that, do you mean this?”
“Explain how that is true.”
“What do you mean when you say ….”

We can engage them by getting to the clear objective first, or we can tell them how things ended and then go back and give details.

“I lost my directions while traveling but I DID GET THERE SAFELY. Let me tell you what happened…” It has the potential to frustrate them if you walk them through all the details without the outcome first.

The Saturated personality is sensitive but it is a private and appropriate type of sensitivity. They appreciate small groups and alone time to recharge.

This week make it a point to find as many people as you can that have a high amount of Saturation in them. Even though we all have amounts of all four personality types in us, it is pretty obvious when someone has high amounts of Saturation when we look for the traits we discussed. You will see it and, please, take the time to enjoy the beauty of it. Even if you don’t exactly get the amount of Saturation in the person you are paying attention to, that’s ok! At least you are giving them some of your time to see their beauty.

Remember everyone is a masterpiece.

-Brook

Read about the other designs:
Whitened
Grayed
Blackened

Listen Like You Are Watching a YouTube Video

Posted on by Brook Thornley

A small girl and her mom were in the ice cream shop sitting at a small table eating an ice cream. The girl was busily eating the ice cream and the mother was engrossed in her phone, concentrating for what seemed like a long amount of time. The girl ate away. This went on for a while. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the mom looked up at the girl and said, “come over here.” They both posed close to each other with looks of exuberance and excitement. The woman snapped a quick pic and then in a nanosecond it was back to the same stations. The girl returned to her chair and, bored, ate her ice cream. The woman took a few minutes to post the picture on her phone and followed with a very satisfied, “there.” The only thing that was spoken the entire time.

Source: ocusfocus / 123RF Stock Photo

This was an encounter a friend told me about the other day. As I have pondered this interaction, many thoughts flooded my mind. First, is “wow what is going on?” Second, I wondered how many times I have done that myself (I know I have). And third, if that were me what was so important that I would put that as a priority over stealing a moment with someone that I loved? For most of us it would probably be a video.

Don’t get the wrong impression, social medial and the ability to communicate with each other on our phones and electronic devices is, to me, a modern day miracle; I would not be able to navigate my business and go about my domestic responsibilities without it. I just think that sometimes we forget to manage and take advantage of the human miracles that we also have right in front of us in our close relationships. So here is my advice to you to make sure we are taking care of our human relationships.

Listen like you are watching  a YouTube video. Observe and listen. Those are two skills that are required in order to understand something or someone. When we are watching a video that is exactly what we do. We observe what is going on, how it is happening—we are curious. We listen intently and if we think we missed something we back it up and listen to that part again. If we could only do that as we interact in those important relationships that we have. Observe their nonverbal cues and what they are doing and then listen intently, being fully present just like we are watching a YouTube video. If we don’t get a part or miss something, back it up and play it again until we understand it.

Once you’ve done that, respond through the filter of the person’s design.

Source: imtmphoto / 123RF Stock Photo

If your loved one is Saturated, observe and listen for their one most important thing or fact and then respond with clarity.

If your loved one is Whitened, observe and listen for those cues of excitement and spontaneity and match their emotions.

If your loved one is Grayed, observe and listen for the details and stay a little longer in them, there is good information there.

If your loved one is Blackened, observe and listen to the problem and then fix it or respond in with possible solutions.

Try to filter out our own emotions and attitudes while we are listening, save that for our turn to respond. For that moment be completely present to see what that person is experiencing. Like being a detective. Think of that little girl in the ice cream shop and let it inspire us to treat those around us with curiosity for who they are and how they experience things. It will elicit appreciation, and you will find a lot of those close to you will return the interest right back.

Remember, everyone is a masterpiece.

Brook

“To Be Seen For Who You Truly Are”

Posted on by Brook Thornley

One of my preferences that has been consistent through my life is a story I love—the story of Cinderella. It has seemed to magically show up at all different stages of my life in many different forms. I don’t know when I was first introduced to it, but I do know that a wise kindergarten teacher of mine knew how much I valued it and somehow managed to get the book for me for Christmas. I vaguely remember her making a comment that led me to believe that she didn’t relate to Cinderella as much as she loved the role of the fairy godmother. That makes so much sense to me now as an adult. The character of the fairy godmother is really a personification of the role she played many times to others. I have vivid memories of her being very task driven. She just showed up that way. That is how she nurtured and it’s who she was. She was consistent in that trait-just like the fairy godmother-and how others responded to that didn’t really ever change that about her; she just kept showing up in that same manner.

As I grew a few years, I remember seeing the animated version of the movie for the first time. I was with several of my family members and again all those around me related to a different character for a different reason. Some of my brothers loved the prince and would create elaborate sword fights in our living room after. That made sense to me because these brothers are strong and fight for what they think is right for them. Some family members imagined being the queen, and others the king. Those are the very family members who love to lead with authority. Once, my sister and I made our own version of a sequel and played the role of the wicked step-sisters turned good. I do love seeing people be nice and enrolling each other for good. Again, it makes sense.

Another more serious developmental stage was as an adult I experienced my first real traumatic and abrupt death of a beloved family member. Ironically, I was watching the play of Cinderella on a video. The message of the story became very clear in that moment and I realized then why this little fairy tale is so important to me. No matter which form this wonderful story has shown up in my life, the one message that I love is the same. I will quote it from the recent Disney movie version: “TO BE SEEN FOR WHO YOU TRULY ARE.” Each version of the story I have experienced has this same message. It seems to whisper in some way, regardless of which character you relate to, “have the courage to be seen for who you truly are.”

Here is the question: how are you able TO BE SEEN FOR WHO YOU TRULY ARE? The answer is with how you view yourself. Will you see yourself and accept your authenticity, or will you abandon that and see yourself as a manufactured version of yourself? It is really up to you. But whichever way you decide to show up for yourself is the way you will portray yourself. It all does start with you.

First know who you are and love it. You can identify one trait in your design and nurture that trait. Grow it, find ways to use it in all situations. Consistently stand in it and use it to draw confidence in yourself. This will lead to your ability to show up that way and let those around you see you for who you are. In my opinion it is one of the strongest types of honesty and vulnerability. You cannot be taken advantage of in this posture because you are not showing up weak. You are showing up in truth and in your own version of integrity. How people react to it and respond to it is not a reflection on you, it is just information.

At Human Art we call this process “finding an anchoring point.” Each design has many consistent traits. Find one that you 100 percent believe about yourself. In the Classroom you can download an anchoring point sheet that has a variety of traits and rate the traits 1 to 5. Start with a trait you scored a 5 on. Here are a few in each design to get you started:

Saturated:

clear thinker
orderly
authoritative

 

Whitened:

loves change
enrolling
flexible

 

Grayed:

meticulous
calm
securely consistent

 

Blackened:

task-oriented
fixer
structured

 

Pick one of these or pick from the list in the Classroom, then step in that space. Use it as a place to anchor yourself and your confidence no matter what is happening around you. Be that for yourself, then you are ready to open up and have the courage TO BE SEEN FOR WHO YOU TRULY ARE.”

And remember everyone is a masterpiece.

Brook

 

*Sign-up to become a member of the Human Art Classroom to download the full “Anchoring Points” worksheet, as well as access all of Human Art: The Original Personality Test’s exclusive content!

Human Art Trend Alert: Fall Color

Posted on by Brook Thornley

I woke up this morning and realized it was a beautiful, sunny August morning. We have plans to celebrate the important August birthdays of loved ones in our life. Conversations of all the exciting vacations everyone around us have been experiencing are being had. It’s a time when a familiar feeling of starts to warm my soul. It’s the same one I get every year at this time. Even though the sun is still shining bright to remind me it is still summer, I know I can start to anticipate, or begin to romance, the feeling of fall. I am still enjoying the excitement of summer but I can hear the echoes of autumn leaves, pumpkin spice, chilly mornings, and deep, quiet reflection.

I also realize that it is the exciting time when we get flooded with questions at Human Art about trend advice. For some reason this is the time of year we get the most questions in that category. Everything from, “what should I focus on for back to school shopping?” to “what is the one piece I can add to my wardrobe to update?” It makes me so happy because it feels as if we all woke up with the same feeling of “trend is in the air at Human Art.”

The best place to start is with the trend colors for fall. Let me give you a few quick tips to start off.

First, color is key.
Each fall at Human Art we collect the trend colors from our sources in the fashion world. We then mindfully simplify that advice or ‘consumerize” it if you will, to make the feeling of being “on trend” more accessible. We like to make it simple for you to create an expression of your authenticity. The simplest and, to me, most important place to begin is with color. Color will create the biggest impact on a ward robe or a fashion expression of any kind.

The stars this year in color are blue and violet, the supporting role is played by gold, and the contrast is taupe with white or bone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


(I went shopping around different color companies and put these samples together to give you an idea. )

Second, find a color in your design.
If you love the color, it is likely your design. Think of the communication the color has. If it’s sophisticated then it is probably Saturated, playful-Whitened, elegant-Grayed, earthy-Blackened. For example, if you are considering a blue article of clothing, you would just ask yourself as you look at the color, “What does it communicate?”

Third (and most important to me), whatever you chose, wear it like you love it.
Confidence is the most attractive part of any trend. When you love its expression, so will everyone else. Express who you are authentically and show off your confidence in yourself and who you are.

Remember everyone is a masterpiece.

-Brook


What fall trends have you been starting to see that you love, or maybe have questions about? Share with us in the comments below!