Along with Kindness and Empathy, we are focusing on Communication this month! Communication is key in any type of relationship (family, work, etc.) as it allows others and yourself to understand and express feelings, emotions, thoughts, and ideas. Having poor communication can lead to misunderstandings, assumptions, and negative relationships.
The staff at BBCLC will be having an all Staff (Virtual) Meeting next weekend. Having monthly meetings is so important as this helps us stay connected, communicate with each other along with discussing our topics/focus for the month. While families don’t typically have “weekly or monthly meetings”, I strongly encourage you and your family to take some time out of your day or week to connect and communicate. This can be done during a meal, during a walk, in the car, or even virtually like we have planned. Check in with your family, see how they are feeling and thinking. This will really benefit your relationship and keep each other up to date, especially for families that do not live in the same household.
A fun way to figure out how to best communicate with someone close to you is the Enneagram Personality Test. If you don’t know what this test is, it is a system of personality typing that describes patterns in how people interpret the world and manage their emotions. There are nine personality types and maps each of these types on a nine-pointed diagram which helps to illustrate how they types relate to one another.
The nine personality types are divided among heart types, head types, and body types.
–Heart Types: depend on their emotional intelligence to understand their own reactions and connect with others.
- Type 2 (The Giver): Twos want to be liked and find ways that they can be helpful to others so that they belong. This type fears being unlovable.
- Type 3 (The Achiever): Threes want to be successful and admired by other people, and are very conscious of their public image. Type Threes fear failure and not being seen as valuable by other people.
- Type 4 (The Individualist): Fours want to be unique and to experience deep, authentic emotions. Type Fours fear they are flawed and are overly focused on how they are different from other people.
-Head Types: depend on their intellectual intelligence to make sense of things and navigate the world around them.
- Type 5 (The Investigator): Fives seek understanding and knowledge, and are more comfortable with data than other people. The biggest fear of Type 5 is being overwhelmed by their own needs or the needs of other people.
- Type 6 (The Skeptic): Sixes are preoccupied with security, seek safety, and like to be prepared for problems. For Type 6, the greatest fear is being unprepared and unable to defend themselves from danger.
- Type 7 (The Enthusiast): Sevens want to have as much fun and adventure as possible and are easily bored. Type Sevens fear experiencing emotional pain, especially sadness, and actively seek to avoid it by staying busy.
-Body Types: depend on their instinctual intelligence to follow their “gut” and respond to threats and opportunities.
- Type 8 (The Challenger): Eights see themselves as strong and powerful and seek to stand up for what they believe in. The greatest fear of Type 8 is to be powerless, so they focus on controlling their environment.
- Type 9 (The Peacemaker): Nines like to go with the flow and let the people around them set the agenda. Type Nines fear pushing people away by prioritizing their own needs, and they tend to be passive.
- Type 1 (The Perfectionist): Ones place a lot of emphasis on following the rules and doing things correctly. Type Ones fear being imperfect and can be extremely strict with themselves and others.
Take the test today to find out what personality type you are and to find out more information!
https://www.truity.com/test/enneagram-personality-test
(*Information/Research from this website)
Check back next week as we discuss more on the topics of Kindness, Empathy, and Communication during our last week of February!!
