Category: Authentic Self

Rapprochement: Who is Providing Relief When We Are Overwhelmed? Part 3

One thing to consider when learning about the rapprochement model is how a person gets overwhelmed. One temperament that is known for lending itself to being overwhelmed is that of sensitivity. To the degree that we are sensitive is the degree, or how frequently, we have potential to get overwhelmed. An example might be two small grandchildren visiting their grandpa. One child is joining their grandfather cheering on a sports event, being loud and is not affected by the noise and commotion. The other might be experiencing the opposite: feeling overwhelmed with the commotion, noise and chaos, and finds the surroundings unsettling. Both children are in the same environment at the exact same time, yet they are experiencing it completely different. In that setting, the child that is feeling overwhelmed is the one in need of rapprochement (or relief) in that moment.

As humans we are sometimes quick to criticize the child that needs relief when compared to the other child in the same situation that doesn’t. This would be a rapprochement foul because it is the situation that is driving the need for relief, not just the child. To prove this point, if you were to flip the activity or environment with these same grandchildren to something that would require a little more sensitivity as a skill, such as navigating a detailed story or staying with a detailed task, the sensitive child will thrive and the other one might get overwhelmed.

It is at the very point that the child is displaying signs or cues that they are overwhelmed that they are in need of healthy rapprochement from a strong, able caretaker that can securely hold their distress and follow them in a conversation to unravel the layers of what is causing them to be overwhelmed. It is a time when we literally need to see it through the child’s eyes and then (with their help) find an integrated declaration and a strong and secure solution for the dynamic. While we are doing this, we are lacing the conversation with encouragement.

As adults, we can fall into this trap when trying to support each other since there is not a child to parent dynamic when trying to comfort each other when feeling overwhelmed. We are in an adult to adult dynamic and the critical piece is that we share equal and mutual power. In some cases, when the other adult in the conversation is displaying sensitivity, we mistakenly read that as infantile and playing the role of a child, and then we take the more dominating position of the adult. It is most often done subconsciously, but nevertheless it leads to more distress on both parts and rapprochement or relief is thrown out the window. So as we interact with adults, we need to remember to continue treating that person as an equal while dealing with the situation.

This month we are focusing on what the rapprochement needs are in each design. Today let’s talk about the Grayed design.

What tends to overwhelm a Grayed person, and how do they find relief?

A Grayed person has a high amount of sensitivity. It is an advanced sensitivity, and when used in a healthy way it is what allows the Grayed person to feel intuitively through situations and pick up on dynamics and emotions that the rest of us might miss. Additionally, once they pick up on those details, they also have an advanced ability to make connections to the contingencies of what’s going on around them. Simply put, they can take the information and carefully connect the dots. This is due to the fact that they will take the time to process what might be, can be, or ought to be for any given situation or conversation.

A Grayed person can get overwhelmed when they are not given the time or the space to process through the aftermath of this advanced intuition. This hit to them can be experienced when they feel criticized or mocked because of the need to think it through. They are conservative, but they have the ability to tolerate extreme situations as long as they can run it through internally first to connect the dots and come up with safe solutions before they run into the drama.

Here is an example:

Let’s go back to the sensitive grandchild in the sports event scenario. If he were allowed to process the details first, he could tolerate the chaos and loud noise just like the other child. If he had advanced warning and could take a little time beforehand to process the event, it would sound INSIDE his mind something like this…

“Okay when we get there, grandpa will have the sports event on. It will be a party so everyone will likely be jumping and cheering. It will be loud. Sometimes the adults get more excited than they usually do in everyday life so they will react differently. Louder. They tend to jump around, so I could get knocked a little. It is all done in fun. I want to have fun with them so I think I will start out by sitting to the side and cheering with them.”

If you want to match their enthusiasm, honor their sensitivity, and bask in the details as they do. If you have an event that you are giving them the details of, tell them the details that you might experience in that setting as well. Listen to their processing and encourage them to bring you along in their thinking, then validate it. Every time I do this with someone that is Grayed, I learn more than they do. They think of things that would never cross my mind. They are thorough, and they help me clean up the things that I miss.

Feeding them details is a great way to support them. If you want to support them when they are overwhelmed, help them unpack the details and organize them into categories that are either solution focused or “things I’m just afraid of”. This sorting helps them keep going and not give up or avoid. They are so good at the details that they can give the same amount of attention to all of them, so helping them get back on track to processing in an inspiring way can feel like a lift. They do not do well with confrontation, so keeping everything on a neutral conversation or collaboration at all times is a great way to support them. Just always be collaborating and bringing each other along. Abrupt starts and stops are very hard on them, so ease them into interactions by picking up where you left off. They see that as compassion and is part of that advanced sensitivity.

Photo Source: 123rf

Here is another example. In a family that visits Human Art from time to time, one of the daughters is very Grayed and has that advanced sensitivity. The rest of the family is very concrete in their thinking, so they move in a real, logical way to get things done. They find themselves often deeming the Grayed daughter or sister as the “weak one” because she does not move as boldly through life as they do. In one situation, they were in a great amount of stress because the Grayed daughter/sister was not working with them in their daily chores like the others were. They complained that she spent the majority of the time in her room and bathroom with the door locked and wouldn’t participate with the others in daily chores. They expressed their frustration that she would finally come out late, when all of them were done interacting with each other and ready for bed. These accusations frustrated and confused the Grayed daughter and led to her pulling away emotionally from the rest of the family.

When we slowed things down and followed her, we found out that she was in her room so she could take the time to do her chores well so the rest of the family would benefit. When we asked the rest of the family what her chores were, they replied that she was responsible for the upkeep of her room and the bathroom. When we asked the family how well she does those jobs, they went into great detail about how amazing and meticulous those jobs are done, consistently. They even described how she cleans and organizes the drawers and cupboards. One sibling talked about how she would often pack a suitcase when they would go on trips and expressed that it was beautiful to see how organized and prepared the suitcase was. It was done days, sometimes weeks, in advance.

In this situation, the family was missing the Grayed sensitivity and attention to detail. They discovered that they focused more on the fact that she did not come out of her room, and less on the detail of the job she was doing. When they began to help her feel validated, they later explained that she spent more and more time outside of her room and with them because they understood and validated her.

If you are Grayed or have high amounts of the Grayed design in your personality, get in the detailed habit of providing your own rapprochement, and do it in meticulous ways. Ask the questions that need to be asked. Elicit the information or details that are not given to you. Process in that calm way that is the hallmark of your design. Use that advanced and beautiful intuition that we all depend on in healthy ways. Process more, worry less. Get fear out and start connecting all of those beautiful contingencies that life has to offer. Love deep, talk to us more, teach us how to see the world from your strengths, and don’t shut down just because others don’t understand your process.

And always remember, everyone is a masterpiece.

Brook

RELATED POSTS: 

Rapprochement: Who is Providing Relief When We’re Overwhelmed, Part 1
Rapprochement: Who is Providing Relief When We’re Overwhelmed, Part 2
Rapprochement: Who is Providing Relief When We’re Overwhelmed, Part 4

Rapprochement: Who is Providing Relief When We Are Overwhelmed? Part 2

An important component of rapprochement is to be present enough when interacting with a child that you get what is original about that child, and not to project on to them what it is that we want them to be; in other words, to make them like us, or make them navigate more in our own design instead of theirs. We fall into the trap sometimes of thinking that since our design traits work so well for us that others would benefit if they would just use them. This is not always the case. They can definitely learn from us and our traits, but originally as a child is navigating life, he or she does better when exploration is done organically, in their own design and growing their own authenticity.

This is where we would do well to follow them in their discovery. They can then circle around and plug in some of the strengths from others’ designs that will strengthen their character and leads to a more expanded autonomy and independence. If we fail to allow the authentic growth of the child and we can’t get them to give in to our way of doing things, it tends to put the attending adult (us) in distress as well as the child. Then you end up with two infants having a temper tantrum. We are both in a fight for our own autonomy and both feel it at a soul level. It can hit a traumatic level where, more often than not, the child gives in and surrenders their autonomy—forsaking their authenticity. This is due to the threat of the caretaker holding their survival in their hands.

In relationships, adults can do this to each other as well. It is especially true if you have a dynamic where there is an imbalance of power in a relationship. Where there is sometimes a fight for power and control. The more dominating adult plays the caretaker roll and the less dominating adult plays the child roll (infantile regression). This imbalance of power is where you might see this dynamic most, but any adult can fall into this trap because we all love our own way of doing things

This month we are focusing on what the rapprochement needs are in each design. Today let’s talk about the Whitened design.

What tends to overwhelm a Whitened person, and how do they find relief?

A Whitened person is socially driven, so their social circles are very important to them. In other words, ALL their relationships are important to them. One of the indicators of how they are doing in relationships is measured by how happy the people in those circles or relationships are. They love to please others and they do it with no agenda. They just want to enroll each person in these relationships in a lighthearted way. They use their advanced social intelligence (that usually comes with them, even when they are very young) to match others’ emotions.

The Whitened person can get very overwhelmed when someone does not follow them in what is emotionally important to them. This is particularly devastating to them because they spend a lot of attention on the other person to make sure they feel secure in their relationship and they are quick to anticipate needs. When that is not reciprocated, they don’t get mad, they find themselves confused, and engage in a halted type of preoccupation.

Another thing that can really get them overwhelmed is when someone gets angry with them. If this is an adult that is their primary caregiver, this dynamic will be even more devastating. It will feel as if all is lost with this person and they will then react in their type of pushback, which is random, or might seem obnoxious. It is an attempt to alarm the caregiver that they feel alienated and they are completely overwhelmed. It can often embarrass them, and this embarrassment is their form of shut down.

If you want to match their enthusiasm, follow that heightened social intelligence and have that heightened awareness of them and what is going on around them. Follow how these dynamics are affecting them instead of how it is affecting you. If you navigate in that order you can then interject correct principals that are important to you and have helped you. They will absorb them and remember them because it is done in an emotionally safe environment; the kind that they tend to thrive in.

If you want to support them when they are overwhelmed, enroll them in a social and active engagement. Keep it light—they love to banter in lighthearted teasing that is designed to build them up not embarrass them. They love playful activities or conversations, no matter if they are children or adults. They are extroverted, so they will want to socialize what just happened—they literally just want to bounce it off you. If you are not in the mood to do so, you don’t have to socialize it or process it, you can just listen in a light and happy way. When they are small, they might not be able to articulate what the dynamics are, but they will most likely tell you how they absorbed or experienced the dynamic from their view. Where an adult might say, “I was angry with how you handled that,” the child will only be able to say, “you hurt me.” If you are the adult, don’t bite on that; they are not criticizing you they are trying to tell you what happened to them. They are telling you THEY did something to make you mad and they don’t understand it, or they are saying, “it’s on me.”

Here is an example. A client’s daughter is Whitened. She loves to please her family, especially her mother. She works hard on those things that make her mom happy and proud of her, but when it comes to the things she spontaneously does in the day to day play in life, her mom does not relate to them. She gets confused when she so enthusiastically enrolls her mom to see what she just came up with and is met with a look or reaction that is full of confusion but looks a bit like disdain. This would annihilate the Whitened child, and she felt like all was lost in the relationship when really the mother is just confused and trying to connect the behavior to a threat or a future negative pattern in the child’s character. In reality, it is not that deep for the Whitened child. They are just skipping through the day in free movement and expression and it is not designed to cement into a future pattern, just an expression of the happy state they are in today. However, when the parent gives off the displeased cue, the child then reacts in a way that looks like negative attention but is just a desperate attempt to establish connection with the parent. At this point they will take it in a negative way if that is the only option, and will repeat the behavior to elicit more connection.

Photo by Nathan Cowley from Pexels

In these situations, if we could just follow the Whitened child and unpack what it is they experience and how they are blaming themselves or are confused about the relationship, we can offer relief through reassurance that we love them and that the social circle we share with them is intact. That is literally all they need to move out of the negative space. A little lighthearted banter, like a tickle or a funny expression, will always bring the light back into the conversation and the child is in a better place to express their feelings the next time they feel this dynamic. Keep in mind they love change so you will probably never experience the same thing twice, but consistently getting to the bottom of their confusion is the key.

If you are Whitened, or have high amounts of Whitened in your design, go through this week identifying when you are feeling overwhelmed. Identify what social circle or relationship is affected and move to offer yourself your own rapprochement. This will go far in bringing healthy dynamics back to the relationship that is affected. In other words, be your own best friend. If you learn to support yourself and always have the relationship you have with yourself intact, then you are in a healthy place. You will always have one consistent relationship that is in good condition and will offer relief when things might not be going well with others. Create that light environment for yourself so that you always have a place to thrive. Sometimes Whitened people have to flip the golden rule to, “do unto yourself as you would do unto others.” You have got to love yourself before you can truly love others in a healthy way.

Love others as you do, love yourself as you should, and always remember: everyone is a masterpiece.

Brook

 

RELATED POSTS: 

Rapprochement: Who is Providing Relief When We’re Overwhelmed, Part 1
Rapprochement: Who is Providing Relief When We Are Overwhelmed, Part 3
Rapprochement: Who is Providing Relief When We’re Overwhelmed, Part 4

Rapprochement: Who is Providing Relief When We’re Overwhelmed?

I love hearing lectures that our in-house clinicians provide on rapprochement. The definition of rapprochement is the “establishment of or state of having cordial relations.” (Merriam-Webster.com) In psychology, rapprochement is a stage of child development as presented by Margaret Mahler, where the child is learning independence and exploration while still wanting to remain close to their caregiver. The concept within rapprochement that I key into is: when we get overwhelmed, where can we consistently find and count on relief? I appreciate looking at children and watching healthy parents follow that child. While molding them through discipline, these caretakers are carefully attending to their interests, their discovery, and their curiosity. Keeping the environment sterile so that the adult is following the child and the child’s growth and needs, and not the child following the needs of the adult or the caretaker. This creates security in the child so they consistently have a place they can go when they feel overwhelmed; they know they are safe to explore and they will (with the assistance of the strong caretaker) come out on the other end of the experience with character and a sense of what they value. It is the underpinnings of their sense of self.

Photo by Daria Shevtsova from Pexels

Children are not the only ones who experience a need for relief when they are overwhelmed. They are not the only ones that want to be followed in their interests, discovery, and curiosity. Adults need that from time to time as well. Although we are much better at doing this for ourselves as adults, we still need those safe and secure people around us that will support us when we get overwhelmed. It is still a bonding experience when someone close to us can provide that grown up version of rapprochement. When someone notices and matches our enthusiasm for something new, we feel validated and know we are on the right track.

Whether you are talking about a child or an adult, the other important thing to consider when pondering this concept is that we all need relief in our design. We all need to be followed in our personality and the way our design experiences things. That is how we find relief. Sometimes we make the mistake of inserting our own design when we are trying to provide relief to someone else, and not stepping back to provide the support in a way that speaks to their design.

This month, we are going to talk about what rapprochement needs to be like for each of the designs. Today, let’s talk about the Saturated design.

What tends to overwhelm a Saturated person, and how do they find relief?

A Saturated person needs order. They especially need order in the things that are the most important to them—the things they value the most. Whatever they value the most is their version of quality. Because of this, they get overwhelmed when you try to get them to consider too many things at once. In their thought process they take in information and find the one quality or precise thing that they need to focus on and give the majority of their attention to that. They sequence agendas like this all the time, keeping their eye on the end result—and that result is what they deemed quality in the first place. Feeding them too many things that require equal attention confuses and overwhelms them.

If you want to match their enthusiasm, focus on that one thing that they are focused on at any given time, and give it a lot of consideration. Move with them in their sequencing and celebrate with them when they discover any new version of quality or value.

If you want to provide support when they feel overwhelmed, give them a lot of space. Sometimes just sitting quietly with them or giving them time is the best way to support them. They are introverted, so don’t think something is always wrong when they are quiet; sometimes they are just carefully considering their focus.

A Saturated child tends to experience their one most important thing through feeling it more than they can verbalize it. When others don’t understand what they need and meet them at that place, they get confused as to why others are criticizing them. It is so clear to them what they need or want, but they just are not good at verbalizing it.

For example, a small child refuses to do his work for an entire day at school. Perhaps he has had enough social or even too much stimuli. He can’t verbalize it, but he feels he needs some Saturated time with quiet and no stimuli—his nervous system might be telling him that. It appears that he is being defiant, when he really is just overwhelmed. If we can carefully follow the shut down—follow him in his thought process and unpack that—we will get to that feeling and we are in a better position to help him learn to verbalize it the next time he feels that way. He feels validated, and he has had a safe and secure environment to unpack those feelings and put words to them.

An adult can experience the exact same dynamic. The difference is, a Saturated adult does not have any problem verbalizing that they need space or a quiet time recharge. If we add any fear or threat to that equation then they can come across aloof and cutting, so then instead of being followed and their emotion being matched and understood, they get conflict that overwhelms them even more.

If you are Saturated or have high amounts of it in your personality, go through this week focusing on identifying when you feel overwhelmed.  Be the caretaker that you would need if you were a child, for yourself. Create the conditions you need to thrive in healthy ways and move through life being your own best friend. Then you are in a safe and secure place to be a great rapproacher for others—constantly being kind and matching whatever emotion they are experiencing while at the same time aiding in that relief that they so need. This will create healthy bonds and that, to me as I reflect on this concept, is one of the most powerful sources of service that I can think of.

And remember, everyone is a masterpiece.

Brook

 

RELATED POSTS: 

Rapprochement: Who is Providing Relief When We’re Overwhelmed, Part 2
Rapprochement: Who is Providing Relief When We Are Overwhelmed, Part 3
Rapprochement: Who is Providing Relief When We’re Overwhelmed, Part 4

“Once Upon a Time”: How to Prosper in the Blackened Design

We have talked a lot about what the “Once Upon a Time” Dynamic looks like and why it is important to recognize it. We have already spent a lot of time on the dynamics of it so you can become familiar with it, so I ‘m going to veer off-script a little and focus in on one component that is present in this “Once Upon a Time” Dynamic and also in the prosper and success part of it. The component I’m talking about is information—how it is used to create a dynamic and how it is used to take it back to a healthy place. The reason I am doing it in this week’s blog is because we are going to focus on the Blackened design, so it seems fitting.

Information and how it is used is an important piece of the “Once Upon a Time” Dynamic. If someone is to create a projection for you then how they get and use information determines whether they can cause a narrative to stick or not. The Blackened design is all about being real, and they have an “it is what it is” attitude; this is what leads them to be so honest about things and call it for what it is. Keeping that truth is critical if you want a healthy outcome. If you let information be used in unhealthy ways then you will get the opposite—reactivity and a lot of emotions will become involved.

Information used in an unhealthy way is what we refer to commonly as gossip. The interesting thing about gossip is it is loyal only to the unhealthy narrative. It is not loyal to the truth of things. If someone is controlling or dominating, they collect information that serves or rings true to the narrative. They will then use that information to support a projection and fact stack against the person it is directed to until the narrative seems to be true. It is done until the narrative sticks; it is designed to get you or others to believe it. It has no curiosity, the projection is designed only to support the unhealthy story line that the controller wants so they can get their way. The controlling person in the dynamic is only interested in information that supports the narrative of the person they are projecting onto so they only give approval to those who spread or serve up information that supports the narrative.

Healthy people want the truth. They are curious, so they like to look at all sides of things so they can make a healthy and integrated statement about the truth. A person who is high in Blackened values honesty, so it is important for that Blackened person to make sure it is the healthy truth and not the truth according to an unhealthy narrative that has been set in motion to control someone or an outcome. They want to make sure it will lead to prosperity for the Blackened person and those they like to protect.

What does prosper look like?

Blackened

Photo by Kevin Bidwell from Pexels

For someone who is high in the Blackened design, to prosper is to fix. That is the bottom line to them. If something is wrong, they want a solution. The first thing they will do when they see that something is broken is want to know what happened—how did it break, or was it always this way? They don’t want to analyze the story, they just want the why, the how, and the what, in order to determine how it will lead to a solution. To a person that is Blackened this is the very way in which they protect those around them. It is how they care for people. It is like a first responder; they have to leave emotions at the door for a moment and move into a logical place so they can do the hard things that need to be done to protect. They will eventually let the emotions in, it will just be after the fix.

In the unhealthy “Once Upon a Time” Dynamic, a controlling person will start a narrative for them that because they show no emotion in those times, they are cold. Because the Blackened person rejects drama in the crisis, they don’t care and are emotionally stunted. That is the hook—as the Blackened person is still moving to fix or protect, they are riddled with self-doubt and the controller in the story is a bystander happy to throw around labels about how feelingless and primitive the Blackened person is. All the while the controlling person is on the sidelines working the crowd, telling everyone in their sights just how empathetic and emotionally advanced they are. So much so that they can hardly stand this awful situation. This then directs the attention and help to the controller, leaving the Blackened person alone to carry the weight of the crisis themselves. This can lead to isolation and a version of social shutdown.

The “can be” of the Blackened design is they can get forceful and resourceful to a fault. To the degree the Blackened person believes a narrative is equal to the degree they show up in these can be’s. This has high potential to make an unhealthy narrative of being void of emotion look like it could, in fact, be true.

If a Blackened person is at a point where they want to navigate a healthy “Once Upon A Time” Dynamic and turn it into their happily ever after, the best way to start is to communicate what those feelings or emotions will be, when they are past the fix or crisis, so those around them see both sides of the story—the logic and empathy. It would sound something like, “I can see that you are all scared, I’m going to fix this and then we will all talk about how scared we are. For now, let me do my job.” When the controlling people around you start to throw out those unhealthy adjectives from their desired narrative, correct them while you are working and protecting. When they say you are forceful, you follow up with, “I’m just strong.” When they say you are too resourceful, you say “I’m protecting our resources.” Then anyone can negotiate a situation from there.

One of the best things about the Blackened design is that they relate to realness and honesty. It is the hallmark of the Blackened design and it is the beauty of your authenticity. So start there. You can make anyone feel secure just through your actions. When they see your desire to fix, it makes us all feel more stable. Communicate your intentions as you go. It seems so obvious to you what you are doing when you move to fix things, but it is not as obvious to the other designs. The higher you are in the Blackened design the more you don’t enjoy analyzing the dramatic nature of situations. That is what makes you so real, so reassuring, and so secure. Your authentic strength starts from that place. Love it, live it, and celebrate it, and then celebrate others. You deserve it and others do too, because everyone is a masterpiece.

Brook

 

RELATED POSTS:

Once Upon a Time: How to Prosper in Your Design
Once Upon a Time: How to Prosper in the Saturated Design
Once Upon a Time: How to Prosper in the Whitened Design

Once Upon a Time: How to Prosper in the Grayed Design

 

“Once Upon a Time”: How to Prosper in the Grayed Design

When you are learning to recognize the unhealthy “Once Upon a Time” dynamics in your life or with one or two people around you, I believe we all have the desire to move into a healthier space. Moving out, however, can feel overwhelming, so the tendency is to avoid that action all together. This has potential to lead us to more hopelessness and feeling stuck. Remember that you can move one step at a time. Start to unpack these kinds of relationships, and with each new bit of information just take a little step forward. If you are moving and growing (even if it is slow) you are still on the right track. There is no one behind you with a stopwatch when it comes to discovering new things about yourself and growing (if there is then that could be a problem and is possibly the first place to start unpacking). Each person’s pace and timing on the way to learning how to prosper is as individual as each person is themselves.

What does prosper look like?

GRAYED

The Grayed design is all about the “journey” and the details.  (Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels)

For someone who is high in the Grayed design, to prosper is to experience things. It’s all about the journey, and what dictates if the journey is prosperous or successful lies all in the details. Good or bad, they love to dissect and analyze them. It is where the joy and learning lives. The fuel is time. They need time to process the details so they get the most out of every experience that they possibly can. They love to slow down and look ahead to see all the possibilities and contingencies. It is a Grayed person’s playground and it is meticulous and refined.

In the “Once Upon a Time” unhealthy dynamic the main character or Grayed person seems to quickly buy into the projective identity that they are too slow—that is the hook. You would think it would be more complex, but in most cases it isn’t. The controller just has to keep throwing out that storyline and point out all of the times that Grayed person has taken too long. All the controlling person has to do is cast that out there and if the Grayed character bites on it then they themselves will complicate it by adding all of the details and contingencies. The controlling person can now just sit back and watch them swirl. If the Grayed person starts to analyze in a healthy way, the controlling person will quickly recast another line out full of examples of how they are taking too much time. They will sometimes say it is unnatural.

The” can be” of the Grayed design is that they can overthink, get overwhelmed, and then avoid. That is dangerous because they tend to shut down and lose their curiosity; it’s as if they leave their post and the controller is now present to do whatever damage they want with no one there to neutralize those hits.

If a Grayed person is at a point where they want to navigate the “Once Upon a Time” dynamic in a healthy way and turn it into their own “happily ever after,” the best thing is to start with listening in the very meticulous ways that the Grayed design is known for. Use your discovery first and when you hear repeated statements that seem peppered or harsh, like, “you think too much,” “You overthink things,” or something else to that effect, that might be the best place to start. You can analyze those relationships. The next step is to engage in conversations. Start by simply asking questions and then looking for open-ended answers that can lead to a healthy conversation. Then that is when you support yourself in asking for what you need. If you need more time, negotiate for it. If you need more answers, ask for help. When someone tells you that you are slow, tell them you are meticulous and ask if they have a specific time in which they need an answer. All these will get you back into your authenticity. Most importantly, stay engaged in finding that healthy place, and then support yourself by staying there.

The Grayed “can be” to get overwhelmed can be a barrier—don’t let it be. If you feel overwhelmed, break down what is overwhelming you personally first, then make a plan for that. If you try and complicate it with what is overwhelming others when you are trying to get your answers it will get you in a place where you spin out because you can’t connect it all. Just make your connections first, then from that healthy place help solve the others. Just stay engaged at all costs. I mean stay engaged in your process and protect it.

One of the best things that the Grayed design offers is your ability to stay calm. Because you tend to be understated and conservative you don’t make bold moves all the time. Most the time you are constant and methodical and that brings a calmness to a room, a conversation, or task. Stay in that value and don’t let anyone convince you that you are not those things. Think about healthy things because your design tends to process what you are focused on.

You deserve your process. You deserve your authentic route. We all do, because everyone is a masterpiece.

-Brook

 

RELATED POSTS:
Once Upon a Time: How to Prosper in Your Design
Once Upon a Time: How to Prosper in the Saturated Design
Once Upon a Time: How to Prosper in the Whitened Design
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