Emotional Mess? No, no, no, just a mess of emotions

Posted on September 26, 2013 by thepingdingthing

The Ping Ding Thing uses four basic emotions to illustrate how each quadrant responds to their environment. Sadness, anxiety, happiness, and anger. Each quadrant expresses these four emotions in different ways. So as not to overwhelm my audience, here is a start-

Each quadrant struggles to express one of the four above emotions; typically, people can more easily identify what others struggle to express as opposed to what they are comfortable expressing. Below you will find a list entitled “They don’t know when they’re feeling ____” My dad did not mean that people are in the dark about what they’re feeling, but let’s be honest sometimes we struggle to know. He meant those moments when you hear someone say, or find yourself saying, “I’m fine,” “I feel weird,” “ugh,” or “I’m just off.”

They don’t know when they’re feeling ____

Ping-heart ~ anger

Ping-head ~ happiness

Ding-heart ~ anxiety

Ding-head ~ sadness

Disclaimer – Therapy can certainly skew this because we are hopefully taught to identify emotions with which we have previously struggled. Self-awareness can certainly skew this in the same way. Think back to before you were the self-aware person you are today and see if any of this resonates. Even if you’re unsure of your quadrant, I’m sure we can all identify with “why do I feel like this?!”

And if you read through this and thought that “ugh” was a perfectly valid emotion…you’re right.

Kind headed…wait, I mean hearted

Posted on September 19, 2013 by thepingdingthing

It seems like the right time to make a come back. Do you have to be in the “game” for a long time to claim you’re making a come back? I hope not.

My sixth grade science fair project was a study on Ping Ding (my rat didn’t have any interest in going through a maze, and believe me I tried, cheese and all). At this time, there were only Pings and Dings, so a questionnaire was developed and passed out to friends and family. On the day of the science fair, I gave a quick ten item questionnaire to anyone who was willing (the original questionnaire had a hundred items). I will never forget when the town librarians came to my station. They were both Dings, and one said “oh, I hope I’m a Ping,” as she leaned over to fill out the questionnaire after reading Ping Ding characteristics on my tri fold poster. She had seen that Pings were deemed “nice” and “thoughtful.” I smiled, knowing that she was a Ding. And sure enough that’s how her questionnaire scored. I said, “Dings aren’t bad.”

As I grew older, I was able to articulate beyond “Dings aren’t bad.” Any quadrant can be kind; the difference is how they go about it. Pings are known for being more kind and thoughtful because these traits are easily seen in their behavior, Dings are just as kind and thoughtful, but you have to look slightly harder. Say someone’s significant other is doing yard work on a hot summer day. A Ping-heart might leave them a glass of water on the table outside so as to not draw any attention to themselves, allowing their significant other to have the water when they please. A Ping-head might bring the glass of water to the person, because they are more comfortable with the attention. A ding-heart might hear their significant other shout for a glass of water, and they would race to get the perfect amount of ice and the person’s favorite glass. They have to be asked, but once they are the Ding-heart will happily go the extra mile. A Ding-head might hear the shout and say, “hold on” as they perfect a new fresh lemonade recipe. All quadrants are clearly being kind to their significant other; they just go about it in different ways.

There won’t be nearly as long before the next post, so keep tuning in!

Let’s Talk

Posted on February 18, 2013 by thepingdingthing

The Ping Ding Thing asserts that there are four basic ways to communicate: listening, asking, answering, and revealing. As you were able to glean from the previous post, Pings are more likely to listen and ask, while Dings are more likely to answer and reveal.

So this image is showing what to strive for as a means to communicate more effectively.

Ding-hearts are naturally best at answering, they could work on asking.

Ping-hearts are naturally best at listening, they could work on answering.

Ding-heads are naturally best at revealing, they could work on listening.

Ping-heads are naturally best at asking, they could work on revealing.

What do you think? Does this make sense, or are you thinking you’re pretty good at asking and revealing? Let me know if this rings true. If it does, maybe try to challenge yourself to work on doing the opposite of what you gravitate toward.

Picture this…

Posted on January 20, 2013 by thepingdingthing

There have been some requests for visuals. Thank you for putting that out there. I like them too! So, let me “set up” this image.

Personality theories seem to be everywhere. However many of them do not break down communication, which is the corner stone of human connection. We do not grow up or live in a vacuum. We chatter, we yell, we laugh, and we cry…mostly together or in response to one another. The Ping Ding Thing works with four styles of communication, because then each quadrant can be proficient in one and it all just fits nicely…noooo, because there are four main ways of communicating and each quadrant TENDS to be proficient in one and then skills in the others vary based on the individual, of course.

To understand the bullets below you have to learn just one thing:

Ping-head ~ YELLOW
Ding-heart ~ BLUE
Ping-heart ~ RED
Ding-head ~ BLACK

As you can see, communication and the intention of the person communicating yields a personality trait. I’m going to let this sit and then you’re all going to tell me what you want explained…and if you don’t I’ll still explain further 🙂 My plan is to share more in-depth about how The Ping Ding Thing can encourage positive communication and explain communication pitfalls…just so you know where we’re headed. Thanks for tuning in!

Where did these crazy names come from?

Posted on January 4, 2013 by thepingdingthing

Happy New Year!

I thought it might be helpful, and hopefully interesting to provide a little background of where these words came from.

In the early days of PingDing, their were two categories – Dings and People Pleasers. Ding came from a family member who referred to one of their kids as “dinging it” sometimes. People Pleasers is self-explanatory. However, People Pleasers is cumbersome, so it became Ping. For a few years there were just Pings and Dings until my uncle told my dad that he felt like a Ding at work and Ping at home. The wheels began to turn and the quadrants were born.

I will soon be posting a mini “what am I” questionnaire. I hope you will enjoy taking it yourself, sharing it with friends, forcing it on your family…how ever you choose to use it.

As always, I encourage questions…even if you just want to know more. What do you want to know more about?

Shedding just a little more light…

Posted on December 17, 2012 by thepingdingthing

I’m so grateful for everyone who tuned in for the launching of this blog. It’s been a long time coming. So, I give you installment number two…

There are a lot of ways to teach Ping Ding, but I’m trying to get you hooked. Here’s a commonly used joke that’s been Ping Ding-ified.

How many ___________ does it take to change a light-bulb?

Ping-heart: “I think I can get by without a light.”

Ding-head: “Let’s start a fire with those old chairs instead!”

Ping-head: “Do you think we should screw in this new one?”

Ding-heart: “What light bulb?”

Since I have only revealed the basics, let me explain… The Ping-heart is not wanting to “put anyone out,” which comes from sensing that others in the room may not want to be ordered around. While the Ping-head is also thinking of others, they observe a practical solution they think will benefit the group. The Ding-heart is oblivious but not because of a lack of intelligence (quadrants have no connection to intelligence). Instead, they are focused on themselves and do not feel bothered by the lack of light. The Ding-head, also focused on themselves, responds to their thoughts without regard for the feelings of others (not for lack of caring, but more for a lack of a filter).

Please feel free to ask questions…or for similar examples. Who’s curious about what quadrant they are? Or do I need to drop more “Ping Ding” in the bucket?

The beginning…

Posted on October 15, 2012 by thepingdingthing

Welcome to The Ping Ding blog. The intention of this blog is to get the theory off the ground. The dream of this blog is for people to anonymously pose questions about their lives, their relationships, their family and friends. Through these questions, readers will gain a better understanding of the theory and how it works. Feel free to jump right in…I will answer.

I’m sure the name sounds silly. That’s on purpose. My dad believed that it was important to focus on the content and not the labels, so he named his theory using words he hoped had little connotation for most people. The intention of this blog is to creatively teach The Ping Ding Thing. Remember two things as you read: anything you learn is best taken into consideration, not just taken…and more importantly …

“Knowing someone’s quadrant won’t tell you who they are, but it will tell you how to find out.”

Terms to learn…

Ping-heart ~ others-feelings

Ping-head ~ others-thoughts

Ding-heart ~ self-feelings

Ding-head ~ self-thoughts

Alright, so now I’ve given these words some meaning. Loosely, Ping means other and Ding means self. Heart clearly means feelings, while head of course means thoughts. Do not make the common mistake of confusing self with selfish. Every quadrant can be selfish, nice, honest, stubborn, quiet, thoughtful, and outgoing. The magic is in how each quadrant achieves those aforementioned characteristics. Yes…the magic.