Marieta du Toit, Author at Sensory Intelligence Consulting

As a youngster growing up in the 80’ies, I loved watching The Smurfs on TV. We were allowed only a limited amount of screen time, so you had to prioritise… and The Smurfs always made the cut! For some reason these tiny blue creatures fascinated me. They all lived peacefully in harmony with nature and, most of the time, with each other, thanks to Papa Smurf’s loving leadership. The beauty of Papa Smurf was that he had the ability to identify each Smurf’s strengths (and weaknesses) and created opportunities accordingly for each Smurf to develop their full potential and be their best! Sounds like a top-notch leader to me!

A lot of our kids today are in need of Papa Smurfs: key figures they can look up to, turn to in difficult times and trust wholeheartedly when life seems to go awry. They’re yearning for suitable leaders to build lasting relationships with.

So, as a teacher/parent/grandparent/aunt/uncle/mentor, how can you be a successful Papa Smurf? If I may share a few suggestions from my side:

Really KNOW your Smurfs/children/learners.
IDENTIFY their strengths and weaknesses.
DEVELOP an UNDERSTANDING of each one’s unique qualities.
CREATE OPPORTUNITIES for them to develop their unique strengths.
Make ADJUSTMENTS, where needed, to help them address and overcome their weaknesses.
Foster a RELATIONSHIP with each of your Smurfs, so they’ll know you’re in it for the long haul.

As we all know: children (people) differ and each has unique characteristics, which might complicate your job as Papa Smurf. To simplify things, let’s consider your Smurfs from a sensory perspective. They might include any of the following:

Handy Smurf

This sensory seeking Smurf has a high threshold for sensory input and wants to be busy all the time.
He appears active, “on the go”, is continuously engaging and energetic.
Some of his strengths are his creativeness, energy and ability to cope with unexpected change.

Lazy Smurf

Lazy Smurf also has a high threshold for sensory input but responds passively and has low registration.
This Smurf easily misses environmental clues, takes longer to respond and appears laid-back and disinterested.
Some of his strengths include his easy-going nature and flexibility.

Grouchy Smurf

He is a sensory sensitive creature who has a low threshold for sensory stimuli and needs less input.
He has a high level of awareness, becomes irritated quite easily and needs to be “in tune” with his environment.
Some of his strengths are his ability to be organised and having a good eye for detail.

Scaredy Smurf

Scaredy Smurf also has a low threshold for sensory input and is a sensory avoider.
He can easily be overwhelmed by the environment, needs structure and is resistant to change.
Some of his strengths include his ability to create structure and routine, meticulousness and attention to detail.

It might sound like an impossible task to build relationships with and care for all these different little beings, but keep in mind that somewhere in your forming years you probably had a Papa Smurf watching out for you.

Now it’s your turn to put on that red cap!

To find out what your sensory thresholds are, do our quick Sensory Quiz™. For a personalised, 26-page guide on how your senses affect the way you live, learn, work and play, visit our Sensory Matrix™ webpage.

One of my favourite YouTube videos must be Mark Gungor’s description of the difference between men’s and women’s brains. In his very entertaining demeanour, he explains how men tend to store their thoughts and experiences in various boxes. These boxes are separated from each other, never touching, ensuring that each subject remains a stand-alone entity. When, for example, they are in their work box, they’re ONLY occupied and focussed on work: that’s all they can think about at that specific time. Don’t even bother jumping to another subject such as family, religion or even fishing… he’s in his work box!

According to Pastor Gungor (yes, you read that right!), women on the other hand, have no boxes… EVERY thought and idea has a link to EVERYTHING else happening in her brain! When a woman is out jogging, she is already planning that evening’s supper… which leads to thoughts about her family whom she’s been meaning to invite for a visit… which leads to empathetic thoughts about her ill cousin… which leads to her making a mental note to send flowers to this cousin… which leads to worrying thoughts about the drought and the fact that her garden at home is withering away… and so it carries on… and on… and on… a never-ending train of thought…!

This hypothesized comical phenomenon is of course a generalized idea. On the odd occasion, you might find the opposite: lucky are those women who can put their thoughts and ideas into boxes too. And some men might also be burdened… blessed?… by connecting all their thoughts at once.

Whether you fall into the generalized or opposite group, this ability to organize and arrange thoughts might explain why some people are finding their home environments more stressful than work. At work, it is expected that you focus only on work responsibilities. You are allowed to put all other responsibilities as a life partner, parent, child, sibling and member of society on the back burner. There are less simultaneous demands at work: no hungry children, shopping lists, dirty dishes, ironing, entertaining friends and family, tending to loved ones, maintenance around the house or spending undivided quality time with your partner.

HOWEVER, the things that make life worth living are indeed all the multiple responsibilities and roles that we just cannot live without (and love having in our lives).

So how do we achieve and maintain a healthy work-life balance?

By attempting to minimize stressors when transitioning from our work- to our home lives.

Creating this much-needed balance between different areas of our lives may very well start by aiming to achieve balance inside our bodies and more specifically, inside our nervous systems.

One of the easiest ways to bring this about is by being aware of your individual needs and addressing those from a sensory perspective:

“Sensory leaves”, with high thresholds for sensory input, seek out stimulation to meet their optimal level of arousal.
“Sensory roots”, with low thresholds for sensory input, usually avoid too much stimulation from their environments.

Keep in mind though, that sensory strategies are not a “one size fits all” solution. You need to know and understand your individual sensory assessment before you can fulfill your own needs. This can be done by completing your free Sensory Quiz™ or your full Sensory Matrix™.

Some general ideas to help you cope with the transition between work- and home life may include:

Sensory leaves seeking ↑ sensory input

↑ Listen to music in your car on the way home

↑ Stop by your grocery shop on a daily basis to buy
the evening’s supper ingredients

↑ Spend the first 15 minutes after work at
home catching up with your family

↑ Go out for supper to new restaurant

↑ Have unplanned games nights with your family

↓ Don’t plan your work outfit the day before

Sensory roots avoiding ↓ sensory input

↓ Switch the radio off on your way home

↓ Have your suppers pre-planned and go shopping
once a week

↓ Explain to your family that you need quiet, alone-time for the first 15 minutes after getting home from work

↓ Go out for supper at a familiar, quiet restaurant

↓ Plan games nights with your family

↑ Plan the next day’s work outfit before going to bed

I suppose the question (with no right or wrong answer) that each person needs to answer for themselves, will always remain:

Author: Marieta du Toit

Love like Papa Smurf

Now it’s your turn to put on that red cap!

Work-Life Balance

Some general ideas to help you cope with the transition between work- and home life may include:

Do you work to live or live to work?

Who has benefited