The Personalysis tool and concepts have greatly helped my husband and I understand each other and be able to make the difficult adjustment between separation during the work week and close couple time on the weekends. We both have our own separate lives during the work week, and when we finally come together on the weekends we have to readjust to one another and our different behavioral styles and preferences. Understanding the 4 colors/3 levels of personalysis makes this easier. I am a very "red/green," needing structure & action. He is a "blue" thinker, content to spend hours pondering the unknown while I just want to make decisions & start "doing". Personalysis helps us to readapt to each other every weekend and to respect our differences.
In 2007, I had the opportunity of participating in a Personalysis training session with my financial services recruiting team. Out of 13 individuals, I was the only significantly "red" person on the team. It helped me realize why I was sometimes frustrated at work and at meetings, because the environment I was in and the personalities I was working in were more possibilities-oriented than action-oriented.
In my personal life, I often find myself meeting new people and trying to size them up in terms of the personalysis quadrants. I've recognized that my husband and I are on opposite ends of the spectrum, giving credence to the phrase "opposites attract."
The best example of my "red/green" personality is the way I behave when traveling. I will do very thorough research to gather all possible details of the trip (the information in this travel blog demonstrates all the preparation I did prior to departing for Asia), which speaks to my need for structure and knowing what is coming ahead. My "red" comes out when I am in the midst of traveling, always looking to cram in the most sightseeing as possible, and identifying the very fastest way to get from one place to another.
There was one situation that stands out to me as an example of my "red" action focus. I was traveling from Las Vegas to Hartford, with a connection through Atlanta. My flight from Las Vegas was delayed one hour, causing me to miss my connecting flight. The next flight to Hartford wasn't leaving for another 3 1/2 hours. I was anxious to get home and immeditately whipped out my smartphone to look up flight schedules. I was able to find a flight to Washington, D.C. that would get me in on time to catch a flight from DCA to Hartford. Although it required an extra flight leg, and it only got me home 30 minutes earlier, I was so much happier because I felt I had taken control of the situation and I was "moving" physically towards my goal of getting home.
When a similar travel situation happened to my husband and he missed his connecting flight, I immediately jumped online looking for alternate flight paths. However, I didn't realize that my husband's "red" levels were so low and that it didn't bother him to sit in the airport for another 4 hours instead of taking an extra flight leg. We had a terse conversation, until I realized "he's not red - he's heavy blue" and would actually appreciate the opportunity to sit in an airport for 4 hours to think and work on his personal goals.
I have many other stories to share in which Personalysis has assisted me in my personal life, but this should be a good first start! If you ever have a chance to participate as a family or as a couple in a Personalysis examination, I would highly recommend it!
Till next time.....
Next trip: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico....October 2010