By now, if you have Internet access (and reading this blog, I assume you do), then you’ve heard about the Double Rainbow guy on YouTube.  The guy is obviously high, if not on life, then on various (illegal) substances.  As he captures a vivid double rainbow on camera, he keeps crying about how “intense it is.”

For those of you living in a cave, a link to the music vid

Okay, so Mr. Rainbow here might be on the extreme end of the spectrum (hahaha, spectrum, get it), but let’s face it.  Some of us strong type A people in the real world have been called intense more than once.  I’ve been called intense in just about every situation I’ve ever encountered.  From college group projects to teaching English in Japan to helping my friend draft a business proposal for a medical venture, I can’t help but fixate.  This behavior can drive other teammates crazy.  They don’t understand why you can’t chill out, and in the office, this behavior can cause strained relationships.

For those intense personalities out there, I offer a bit of advice on how to work with a Type B, single rainbow personality.  Note that I don’t advocate completely changing your ways (there’s nothing wrong with the double rainbow), but these small behaviors could provide a much needed sanity break for your teammates.

Try to avoid talking about whatever you are intense about until the intensity passes.  I find that other people aren’t nearly as fixated on my current problem at hand.  Unless the other party is interested in the same topic, I try to avoid talking about it with that person.  If I don’t, I’ll end up talking her ear off and she spends 20 minutes wishing I would just go away.

Sleep on it.  If you’re stuck, especially at the end of the day, put your problem aside and sleep on it.  You’ll have a clearer head about it in the morning, plus your co-workers won’t have to put with your cranky, lack-of-sleep self the next day.

Find an isolated place to fidget.  I need to move around a lot when I’m working on an intense problem.  That means writing on white boards, chewing on pencils, and yes, sometimes talking to myself.  Doing all of these activities away from your teammates will keep them from calling the funny farm to take you away.

Target other helpful, intense people.  While the single rainbow personalities don’t get your obsession, another double rainbow might.  Enlist the help of someone who understand to help solve your problem.  He probably won’t even notice that you’ve worn a path on the floor pacing.

Drink less caffeine, consume less sugar.  Seriously, these things amplify double rainbow behavior.  Lay off.

Working with different personalities can be tough, so knowing how you affect others can help build your relationships.  It also doesn’t hurt to learn how adopting another work style (in this case single rainbow) could help you become a better problem solver.  Go ahead and experience all aspects of the rainbow.

-Deborah Fike

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