The First Personality Type is the Sparklebrain:
What is a Sparklebrain, and how can you keep her from helping herself to your closet, wallet, and from calling you five times a night?
Hi again, and welcome to the Special Organizing Style (SOS) Personality Types.
In this issue we reveal the secrets of the Sparklebrain Personality, and discuss how to still encourage them while keeping your wallet safe.
This is a long one, so pull up a nice beverage, a refreshing seat, and be prepared to find somebody you know described herein!
(Note: Throughout this article I use she/her, because Sparklebrains are almost always female. Sorry, it's just true. Usually.)
Sparklebrains are starters: They are artistic, creative, idea-type people. They can be found zipping around, high on caffeine, and starting projects left and right. Bubbly, dramatic, and as enthusiastic as fireflies during mating season, Sparklebrains shower everyone with laughter, lightheartedness, and sticky beverages.
Sparklebrains make our world beautiful, interesting, and exciting. They bring us gorgeous things like beautiful cars, cool-looking computer equipment, fine fashion, and those cute little sweaters for dogs. Sparklebrains are trendsetters, singers, salespeople, cheerleaders, and psychics.
Sparklebrains love to start projects, but they rarely finish things. If only they could hire a couple of finishers to follow them around, the rest of us would be so happy. They are in their mode when buying new things, developing new ideas, adding new embellishments to old things, and so on. But finishing? No, no, and no.
Sparklebrains can often be found socializing, designing, decorating, entertaining, color-matching, or singing karaoke (usually while wearing sequins, or at least bright colors.) You can also find them running away from any math, science, analytical, or otherwise intense projects.
Here’s how Sparklebrains "plan:" They envision a project, skip Step 1, start at Step 7, pause to visualize their goal (Step 23), go into a state of depression because they are not finished (before they even begin); then forget where they are (because they are such a big honking hurry, in tears, or have just rescued a small, furry animal.) So then of course they must put off Step 3 until tomorrow (which is about where they’d be anyway), abandon the rest of the steps, come back and curse themselves out, and then end up stalled out at Step 19.
Sparklebrains drive everybody else crazy, but somehow their projects come out fabulous overall, probably because they moan, whine, and emote until others finish their work for them.
Do you know any Sparklebrains? Did you marry one? Have you ever hired one? Do you have a Sparklebrain partner? Read on...
1. HOW TO RECOGNIZE A SPARKLEBRAIN:
· Easily distracted. (Oh look! There’s a shoe sale at the mall!)
· Susceptible to anxiety attacks and mood swings, with no logical pattern or rhythm. Eating balanced meals and avoiding refined food would help stabilize Sparklebrains, but they won’t do it.
· Excessive behavior, especially that which causes even more problems for themselves (excessive spending, imbibing, bad relationships, etc.)
· Wild ‘n’ crazy vocal patterns (sobbing, squealing, turning every sentence up at the end to make it into a question, etc.)
· Fast and frequent changes of subject.
· Love of cuteness: Pink feathery frames on their pictures, sequins on their smart phone cases, every stickie in creation plastered all over their laptop and smart phone case, on and on. Fabric and craft stores love Sparklebrains and their wallets.
· Addiction to bright, shiny, colorful clothing, and all things stylish — or else total disorganization of the most helpless kind. Or else both.
· Blissfully unaware of the Law of Unintended Consequences — especially those consequences that land on other people. Like you.
· Sparklebrains sometimes wake up accidentally married to two or more people.
· They refresh their energy by being around other people: "highly social" is an understatement.
· They truly love being called Sparklebrains. To them it’s not an insult; it’s a badge of honor, and fulfills their need for the recognition they've always pined for…at least for the moment. Wait five seconds and they'll need to be confirmed, validated, and praised yet again.
2. THE SPARKLEBRAIN MOTTO:
“But I want it NOW!”
3. WHEN SPARKLEBRAINS ARE DISORGANIZED:
When Sparklebrains are disorganized they become upset, and every part of your schedule must then come to a screeching halt. They are late to meetings and events. They change your original plans unintentionally but completely, until everything is out of whack and you have to derail your own plans to fix it all.
Nothing will get done until they are happy again.
They also get sick easily and frequently, losing time, work, money, shoes, keys, cars, and so on. Then they'll come "borrow" yours.
4. WHEN SPARKLEBRAINS ARE ORGANIZED:
It can happen when they are surrounded by their favorite things, have plenty of social activities, friends supporting them, and lots of brand new credit cards…just be prepared to go through a lot between now and then.
5. A STORY ABOUT A SPARKLEBRAIN:
I know a woman who spent every cent she had moving to Hollywood, her dream location. Once she was there, she called me in tears as often as five times a day, frantic with worry that she wouldn’t find a job (if she had planned ahead and found a job before moving, she wouldn’t be a Sparklebrain. But I digress — or, rather, I sparkled.)
When I pointed out that she was wearing thousands of dollars worth of jewelry on any given day and could always sell one of her rings, she screamed — and I quote — “I WILL DIE OF STARVATION IN THE GUTTER WITH MY LONG, PERFECT, PAINTED FINGERNAILS AND MY DIAMONDS ON BEFORE I WOULD EVER SELL ONE OF MY RINGS!”
Now that’s a Sparklebrain.
6. HOW TO TALK TO A SPARKLEBRAIN:
Emote. Empathize. Share. Buy her a latte or a margarita.
Ask questions. Let her tell you her story — as long as you are prepared to spend the rest of the day listening. And be aware that she will now expect you to do the same (or more) every time you see her.
You can save your time and brain cells by setting parameters first. For example, say, “I have just five minutes, but I do so want to hear all about it.” Better still, set a timer, and when it goes off, jump up, look around wildly and holler, “I’ve got to go!” And then run away.
At all costs, avoid intimidating Sparklebrains, if only to save your upholstery and a hefty insurance deductible.
7. THINGS TO SAY TO A SPARKLEBRAIN:
· “That must have been GREAT!”
· “That must have been AWFUL!”
· “How do you FEEL?”
· “What can I get you to drink?”
· “You’re so creative! Oops! Let me just grab a rag and clean that up.”
8. THINGS YOU SHOULD NEVER SAY TO A SPARKLEBRAIN:
· “Get out of my way/room/work area/life.” (Unless you really, really like being stalked.)
· “You’re being too emotional.” (All hell will break loose.)
· Relax. (That's like pulling a fire alarm.)
· “Buckle down/get realistic/stick to one thing.” (That’s like telling Tinker Bell to stop tinkling!)
· Can I loan you some money? (Congratulations, you have just signed up for a lifelong obligation.)
9. WHAT’S ON A SPARKLEBRAIN’S MIND:
· Do they like me? Do they really like me?
· Do these shoes go with this outfit?
· I'm going to treat myself to a new car!
· How can I get more applause, more laughs, more time on screen?
· Where’s the chocolate?
10. SPARKLEBRAIN STRENGTHS:
· Upbeat
· Enthusiastic
· Entertaining
· Great imagination
· Creative
· Earnest
· Eager to please
· Highly social
· Fashionable
· Physically attractive
· Has the best of intentions
11. SPARKLEBRAIN WEAKNESSES:
· Shopaholic/Spendaholic
· Leaves work unfinished, assumes others will take up the slack
· Often late or absent
· Easily upset
· Irresponsible
· Unpredictable
· Poor awareness of others' needs
· Little or no impulse control
· Messy
· Ungrounded
12. HOW TO GET A SPARKLEBRAIN TO PRODUCE:
Your best action is distraction: if she messes up your budget, re-route her to another task that you haven’t had time for — especially one that will be a lot more fun and creative for her. She’ll do a much better job picking out new furniture and paint colors than you will, or decorating for the high school reunion, or planning a wedding reception. Besides, you don't really want her messing around in your finances anyway, do you? (Just be sure not to give her Linear or Cross-Dominant tasks. Stay tuned - we'll be discussing these in upcoming issues.)
Then make that task into a PARTY! Start by ordering pizza, inviting friends, putting up balloons, using colors, sparkles, and ribbons, and providing darling desserts. Then sneak in the objective; it’ll get done. It'll be half-vast, but it'll be done.
Once you learn to see your favorite Sparklebrain's style as complimentary to your own instead of contradictory, things will get a lot easier. In other words, don't give her coding work, anymore than you would expect a ballerina to become the General Contractor on a skyscraper. (If it happens, she's a Cross-Dominant; not a Sparklebrain. Again, more on that later.)
If your ballerina wrecks the new skyscraper, that's on you, because now you know.
13. SUMMARY:
Sparklebrains are just one of the personality types, and expecting them to do anything not in their range will just backfire. On you. So it's to your advantage to learn, and then to manage tasks and expectations accordingly.
© by Liz Franklin 2022 Website: MizLizOnBiz.com
In our next issue:
The Second Personality Type is the Linear: "Feed Me, Praise Me, And Leave Me Alone." (What is a Linear, and how are they different from Eeyore the Donkey?)