That time of year is upon us — the air gets a chill to it, and the leaves start to change colour; but best of all, we get to carve pumpkins, and hand out candy to kids who go door-to-door in a variety of costumes that range from adorable, to frightening, and hilarious, to strange! With that in mind, I present: The Personality Dimensions Guide to Pumpkin Carving!
When carving a pumpkin into a Jack-O-Lantern, the possibilities are endless, and the task can be quite overwhelming. So what’s the solution? Let your Personality Dimensions be your guide! Each of the four Dimensions (Authentic Blue, Inquiring Green, Organized Gold, and Resourceful Orange) all have different approaches to the task, but have the same motivation for getting there… fun!
Pumpkin Carving with an Inquiring Green
Chances are the Inquiring Green has been thinking about carving this year’s pumpkin for a while. Last year’s design was pretty good, but they know it can be even greater this year. For the Inquiring Green, it’s not just about going out and getting a pumpkin from the store, they need to figure out the best date to get one, making sure to not get one too early, and risk it going rotten; and not going too late, knowing that the best ones will be picked over. Once that has been determined, the next task is choosing the pumpkin itself; the Inquiring Green will pick through all the bins, carefully making comparisons, and finally landing on the perfect one.
When it’s time to carve the pumpkin, it is best to let the Inquiring Green go at it them self. You can still be supportive, but remember that when Inquiring Greens get focussed on a project, they often tune out the outside world. At this point, the Inquiring Green will pull out their specially designed pumpkin-carving tools. The process will start with determining where to cut the top off, then be followed by carefully sketching out or tracing on an amazingly creative design that has already been determined. Then comes the real challenge, the actual carving… this process may take a while, the Inquiring Green aims for perfection; but that’s okay, they like a good challenge. In the end, they get to stand back, and admire a job well-done!
Remember, always be supportive when an the Inquiring Green is working hard on a project, and give them space when needed, but feel free to jump in if you see them using explosives to carve out their design… no matter how much they have researched it!
Pumpkin Carving with an Organized Gold
When Hallowe’en rolls around for the Organized Gold, it is safe to say that they have been making plans for some time. Like the Inquiring Green, they are likely to buy a pumpkin well before October 31st to avoid any Pumpkin-related stress. Traditions and time with family are greatly important to the Organized Gold, so picking out a pumpkin is likely to be a family affair. Just keep in mind that they have likely already thought about the size and shape of pumpkin they want, so don’t try to stray too far from their plan.
When the time comes to carve the pumpkin, let the Organized Gold share their plan before diving in. They will often enjoy having others help them with the carving and cleaning out the inside, but don’t get ahead of the game and start doing things out of order. Most importantly, remember to keep things neat! They will likely put an extra cover on the table or counter to control the mess, and have a couple of large bowls handy to put all the pumpkin “guts” in. The Organized Gold will often want others to join them. Carving the design in the pumpkin is also a planned out process; you likely won’t see the Organized Gold free-handing a design with a knife. Let them draw/trace their design on… bearing in mind that it is likely to be the same design as last year’s, and the year before, and the years before that… After all, it’s family tradition! For the Organized Gold, “if it ‘aint broke… don’t fix it!”
Remember, carving the pumpkin is only part of the process; everything needs to be cleaned up after, and the seeds need to be roasted. Once this is all done, the Organized Gold can stand back and admire their work.
Pumpkin Carving with a Resourceful Orange
Hallowe’en is a favourite time of year for the Resourceful Orange; it’s the one time of year that anything goes! There’s a very good chance that the Resourceful Orange has waited until October 31st to get their pumpkin. Given that the isn’t generally a very big selection left by this time, and they still have a number of things left to do during the day, the Resourceful Orange won’t be spending a long time searching for the “perfect” pumpkin. They are very adept at making quick decisions, and can size up a pumpkin in a short period of time.
The Resourceful Orange works well under pressure, and in this case it’s necessary. By the time they get the pumpkin home, there just isn’t a lot of time for planning out a design, or executing a very intricate one. Feel free to jump in to help get things done, that pumpkin isn’t going to scoop itself out! More likely than not, you will see the Resourceful Orange freehand a design with a knife; it’s also safe to say that it won’t resemble last year’s design either. They are also not too worried about making a mistake, the Resourceful Orange is quick to adapt; did the knife go a little too far along for one cut? Not to worry, they just change up the design on the fly!
Remember, while Resourceful Oranges may like an all hands on deck approach to get the task done; try to avoid telling them that they are doing something wrong; they see pumpkin carving as a fluid and creative process. Just encourage them to get the job done, so everyone can sit back, and enjoy some bite-sized candy.
Pumpkin Carving with an Authentic Blue
Pumpkin carving is a favourite activity of the Authentic Blue; it can involve friends, family, neighbours, pets, and acquaintances. Chances are the Authentic Blue hasn’t put a lot of time into planning the pumpkin carving experience, but they likely aren’t leaving it to last minute either. The Authentic Blue will arrive at their favourite pumpkin retailer with full entourage in tow. They will likely seek the opinions of others when it comes to choosing a good one. The Authentic Blue is also likely to come home with more than one pumpkin to avoid conflict over choosing just one, and make everyone happy.
The Authentic Blue may have difficulty deciding on a design for their pumpkin, and will ask for input from others. But they need not worry, since they have bought a number of pumpkins, they can choose a different theme or expression for each one. After gathering their group to watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown for inspiration, the Authentic Blue will get down to the task at hand. They will likely equip everyone involved with their own set of pumpkin carving tools and set to work. The Authentic Blue will offer words of encouragement while everyone does their part, and jump in to help when needed. After everyone is done carving a different emotion into their respective pumpkin, the Authentic Blue can admire the work that everyone has done and offer their congratulations.
Remember, when carving pumpkins with the Authentic Blue, try not to take things too seriously and just enjoy the experience. If they see you struggling with any aspect of the task, they will likely offer their assistance; as an experienced pumpkin carver they are only trying to mentor those that need help. Let them be part of your process and they will appreciate you for it.
Hallowe’en is a great time of year for everyone to express their creativity and have fun at the same time… not to mention the candy! If you follow The Personality Dimensions Guide to Pumpkin Carving everyone is certain to have a great Hallowe’en pumpkin carving experience. Remember, be safe, and most of all, have fun!
Brad Whitehorn, BA is the Sales & Marketing Coordinator at Career/LifeSkills Resources Inc. He was thrown in to the career development field headfirst after completing a Communications degree in 2005, and hasn’t looked back! Since then, Brad has worked on the development, implementation and certification for various career and personality assessments (including Personality Dimensions®), making sure that Career Development Practitioners get the right tools to best serve their clients.
Relationships can be difficult to build, maintain, and grow in today’s fast paced world. Reaching out to people, visiting with people we care about, and ensuring that our network stays connected to us can be overwhelming and draining. The advantage of using tools such as Personality Dimensions® allows us to position ourselves in the best way to connect with others, in their preferred manner. This does not mean we have to be untrue to ourselves, but knowing the other person’s Dimensions can certainly put the odds in your favour to enrich and grow your relationships. So how do we approach each of the four colours, and build those relationships so that they feel appreciated, loved, and respected? Here are some tips!
Personality Dimensions In Action 