Do you enjoy taking personality tests? I do. I love the helpful insights they provide.
I recently chatted with Nashville resident, coach and speaker Kelly Knowles sharing how to understand the Color Code personality test. If you're not familiar with it, The Color Code was developed by a psychiatrist named Taylor Hartman. Hartman created the Color Code as a way to help his patients get better, faster. One key differentiator with this test is that it delves down into what is your driving core motive. And this driving core motive is something that you were born with, this is your natural state. It is what drives you in your most authentic self.
A Summary Of The Color Code
There are four colors: red, white, blue, and yellow. For reds, their driving core motive is power or doing things. For whites, the driving core motive is peace. They’re all about maintaining a steady state, because they want to stay in a state of peace.
For individuals who are yellow, their driving core motive is fun. They are optimistic, energetic, and they have a really fun spirit. For blues their driving core motive is intimacy or connection. They are the people that feel they are all about quality and value.
When you start to learn these things about yourself, then you start to be able to pick out and play with this in terms of your relationships with other people.
Digging Deeper Into The Color Code
It is important not to use The Color Code, or any other personality test, to make assumptions; rather, it is a tool to open up communication. While you might have one predominant core driver, you likely have a secondary driver too.
As human beings, we are complex: it is essential to not use The Color Code as a way to generalize others or ourselves.
Why Habits Are So Important
Kelly shared that she really believes our habits make or break achieving our goals. If you wake up in the morning with the best of intentions and you say, today I’m going to do something in about five seconds, I’m going to offer that Murphy’s Law is going to kick in and something is going to jump that off base.
However, if you have some habits built in, if you even have some routine built in, those are actually Something that will give you freedom. And you’re going to find that you’re going to be able to achieve your goals and make those strategic steps that you need. Even better.
When habits are used to create freedom, you will see great traction. Instead of habits being about limitations, they are tools that you use to build a better life.
An Important Change
We grew up believing we should minimize our weaknesses, but I believe this isn’t true. First, we should not call them weaknesses. Otherwise we view them as problems. Rather, you can view them as limitations. And it is ideal to maximize your strengths and neutralize your limitations.
There are many tools and services available that we can use to neutralize our limitations. If you are someone who is disorganized, there’s technology out there. There are personal assistants out there professional organizers that can help you with that limitation. to neutralize it, so you can go and be your best self.
A Final Word
I encourage you to try taking the Color Code personality test. You can take it free right here. I found it really useful as a way to promote self-awareness. Don’t settle. Keep being intentional so you can keep moving forward every single day. Thanks to Kelly for our great conversation.