Connection Style Guide: The Enthusiast
Enthusiasts have a zest for life and an abundance of friends to go along with it.
Enthusiasts have a zest for life and an abundance of friends to go along with it.
About the Enthusiast
The Enthusiast strives to live life to the fullest. You greet the world with openness. You are willing to try new experiences, meet new people and embark on new adventures. This energy is apparent in your relationships with your loved ones. You are an avid listener and an ardent supporter. You put as much of yourself into your relationships as you do everything else. Those you love are never far from your mind.
This zeal for life can lead to overcommitment, overcrowding an already busy schedule. If you can’t give it your all, you may avoid reaching out to those you love. You may put off checking in with others until you have time to be fully present, when a heartfelt text would do just as well. You may get stuck in your own guilt, rather than reconnecting with those you love.
The Enthusiast’s warm heart and generous spirit will always be a winning combo.
Strengths
— Enthusiasts are full of love for those in their life. They want to be present with the people they love.
— Enthusiasts are excited and motivated. They’re always willing to try something new.
Hurdles
— Enthusiasts may overcommit. In their excitement, they may say “yes” to too many things, projects and plans.
— Enthusiasts can sometimes isolate when overwhelmed. They may shut down when they’ve done too much, rather than reaching out for support.
– Enthusiasts can have trouble keeping consistent contact with those they love. They try to find the “perfect” moment in your busy lives to check in. They don’t realize: any moment will do.
Areas of Life
Our categories help define how we interact with the world. Rather than define our relationships either romantically or through friendships, we have created an expansive system focused on all areas of a person’s life, from their interactions at work to how they create their chosen families and participate in their broader communities.
FAMILY
Those closest to us, connected either through blood or through choice
Enthusiasts may have and value a family by birth or a chosen family. Their familial relationships are marked by a certain playfulness, which speaks to the intimacy of those connections. Enthusiasts feel a need to be in contact with their family and work to maintain those relationships, even if they sometimes feel pulled in multiple directions by their family ties.
HEALTH
How our interactions with other people can affect our mental and physical health
Enthusiasts often feel energized by their relationships and connections with others. They may also feel depleted, however, when they are interacting with those who they do not know well. Enthusiasts often worry they are not showing up in the right ways for those they love, which can cause them anxiety. They often worry about the strength of their relationships and can sometimes hold on to the wrong relationships for too long. Enthusiasts need to remember they can let go of connections that just don’t work.
CAREER
How we choose to show up in places of work and responsibility
Enthusiasts value good relationships with their co-workers. Enthusiasts value connection, generally, and this is true in their work life as in other places. Enthusiasts don’t seek to foster intimate ties with co-workers when it doesn’t feel authentic. But if Enthusiasts feel like they can show their genuine selves, those co-workers can move into the friend category.
FRIENDSHIP
Best friends, good friends and the acquaintances in our lives
Enthusiasts value an abundance of connections. They want it all: best friends, acquaintances and everything in-between. But Enthusiasts—who value friendship—want close, personal relationships most of all. It may appear, due to their abundance of connections, that quantity is the name of the game. But quality is just as, if not more, important. Enthusiasts seek to maintain good, intimate relationships with those they love most. They may frequently feel like they’re falling short, which is more to do with their people-pleasing than the reality of their relationships.
UNDERCURRENTS
The subconscious things we experience when communicating with and navigating the world
Enthusiasts show up when it matters, but they may not show up all of the time. Those who love Enthusiasts see them as their Connection Style, positive and effusive. The real question is if loved ones can accept the hurdles that come with knowing an Enthusiast, like when they shut down or go missing in action due to their own overwhelmed feelings.
ROMANCE
How we choose to show up for those we date, love and marry
Enthusiasts view their romantic and platonic relationships similarly. They communicate with romantic partners like they do with their friends. Enthusiasts strive to bring their full selves to all of their relationships, and romantic partnerships are no different. They will enthusiastically “be there,” in all their rah-rah glory, for those they love romantically, as much as they are there for those they love platonically. This desire—to treat romantic and platonic relationships as the same—may not always pan out, however, and adjustments sometimes need to be made.
COMMUNITY
Our neighbors, our towns and our larger communities
Enthusiasts find value in connecting to their broader community. Although neighbors and wider community members may not turn into close friends, Enthusiasts will seek out that kind of connection. They find importance in knowing those around them. They maintain their individual identity, even as they seek connection with their neighbors.
EDUCATION
How we discover, process and learn in the world
Enthusiasts love the novelty of learning something new. Their resilience helps them through the uncomfortable learning curve that comes with acquiring a new skill. They find satisfaction in knowing (and sharing) new information and seek opportunities to grow. They love sharing what they know with others. They see sharing information as a way to make and grow connections with those they know.
SPIRITUALITY
The communities we form and interact with through our spiritual practices
Eclectic Enthusiasts are likely to have a spiritual practice. Like Seekers, they may search out a spiritual community. If they are spiritual, they’ll bring the same zeal they do to this part of their life as they do to others. Enthusiasts seek spiritual practices for the same reason they do other things—to grow, to learn and to connect more with the world around them.
COMMUNICATION
The ways in which we consciously or unconsciously choose to articulate
Enthusiasts are hyperverbal, able to use their words to communicate all manner of how they feel. But they use their words most often to communicate the positive. Enthusiasts love to communicate to those they love about why they love them and how much their relationships mean to them. They value the people in their lives and don’t seek to change them. Unlike the Seeker or Truth Teller, Enthusiasts aren’t prone to sharing unsolicited advice and are accepting of the faults of others.
When conflict does arise, Enthusiasts can own their part of a conflict and are unlikely to play the “blame game.” They are able to separate out these complicated emotions and stick to the facts. They strive to create healthier relationships with those they love. Their resilient nature means they bounce back from conflict. They likely don’t hold a grudge.