We spend so much time celebrating our dominant personality colour, and rightfully so. Your primary type is your natural strength, your comfort zone, your go-to response when life gets complicated. But what about that colour you avoid? The one that makes you squirm a little when you read its description? The one you might even criticize in others?
We actually do use all four colours in our plaid, but some just stand out more than others. Everyone has a pale colour. It’s not a bad, and it’s not broken, it’s just not your default way of seeing the world. You probably keep at arm’s length, and even downplay it, make jokes about it, or quietly judge people who lead with it. Either way, you can’t ignore it; If your dominant colour is your greatest strength, then your palest colour might be your greatest opportunity.
This isn’t the same as Carl Jung’s concept of a “shadow.” In Jungian psychology, the shadow refers to unconscious parts of the self; the traits we repress or deny because they don’t match the image we want to have. The palest colour isn’t about shame or denial. It’s not lurking in your subconscious; it’s just not a room you spend much time in. Unlike the Jungian shadow, your palest colour isn’t linked to your dominant type. Any type can have any one of the four colours in that last-place position.
Avoiding your palest colour isn’t random; It’s often rooted in early experience, cultural norms, or strategies that once helped you navigate the world. Over time, you may have learned that certain ways of being were safer, more acceptable, or simply got better results. So, you doubled down on what worked, and quietly sidelined what didn’t.
If Authentic Blue is your palest colour, you probably avoid conversations that require emotional openness, struggle with expressing appreciation, or feel uneasy in situations that call for deep personal connection. You might find it challenging to put feelings into words or be part of discussions that drift into values, empathy, or emotional nuance. Encouraging words can feel awkward. Group bonding activities? Not really your thing.
If Inquiring Green is your palest, you likely sidestep deep analysis, theoretical discussions, or anything that requires strategic or abstract thinking. You avoid slowing down to ask “why” or “what if,” preferring to stick with what’s practical or immediate. Too many questions can feel completely overwhelming. You might also find it difficult to stay engaged in conversations that are heavy on data, research, or big-picture systems thinking.
If Organized Gold is your palest, you probably resist planning, routine, or sticking to established systems or rules. You tend to avoid step-by-step instructions, or get impatient with checklists and timelines. Filling out forms can feel like a punishment! You can also find group expectations or traditional procedures really frustrating or constraining, especially if they get in the way of flexibility or freedom.
If Resourceful Orange is your palest, you likely avoid risk, fast-paced decisions, or situations that need you to improvise or be spontaneous. There’s a good chance that you overthink before acting, hesitate to experiment, or feel anxious without a clear plan. Being thrown into something sounds like a nightmare! Activities that are competitive, high-energy, or unstructured can feel draining rather than energizing.
Avoiding your palest colour doesn’t mean you don’t have it in you. It just means it feels less comfortable, less natural. Growth doesn’t usually hang out in the comfort zone. In fact, growth often lives just outside of it.
When you start to integrate your palest colour, you don’t lose your best strengths, you enhance them! Organized Golds who develop their Resourceful Orange become more innovative in their planning. Authentic Blues who embrace their Inquiring Green expands their perspective by bringing curiosity and analysis to the things they care deeply about. Resourceful Oranges who integrate their Authentic Blue becomes more genuine in their connections. Inquiring Greens who welcome their Organized Gold become more systematic in their analysis.
This kind of growth also builds compassion. Once you’ve spent time exploring your own palest colour, it’s easier to appreciate the strengths in others who lead with it. You stop seeing their traits as annoying or excessive, and start recognizing them as strengths you’ve learned to respect. The whole spectrum of human behaviour starts to feel a lot less threatening, and a lot more useful.
No one said that embracing your palest colour would be easy, it takes a lot of courage. Developing your palest colour means being willing to be uncomfortable, to feel clumsy, to do something and not be great at it. It’s the courage to try on a way of being that isn’t your default, and to sit in the discomfort long enough to see what it has to offer. You might not like it right away. That’s okay. Growth doesn’t always feel graceful.
Your palest colour isn’t your enemy. It’s your invitation to wholeness. It’s the part of you that’s been waiting quietly, holding gifts you didn’t know you needed. The question isn’t whether you should develop it; it’s whether you’re ready to find out what happens when you do.
So go ahead. Dust off that pale colour, shine some light on it, and see what you’ve been missing.
Brad Whitehorn – BA, CCDP is a lifelong Introvert, and the Associate Director at CLSR Inc. He was thrown into 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 and HR Professionals get the right tools to do their best work. Brad is also on the board of directors for the Career Professionals of Canada, and an advisory committee member with the Career Development Professionals of Ontario.
One Response
Great article and perspective. I have been so conscious of my palest colour always and have worked in jobs where it was the essential skill set, so I know it can be embraced….but it is work! Working in your natural strength doesn’t feel like work. It has been good to exercise all colours in my plaid! Makes it more meaningful! Thanks for the reflection!