I recently read that although the United States as a whole has a Blue personality culture, Hawaii’s culture is White. Having a strong White secondary myself, I was interested to observe this when I took my first trip to the Aloha State a few weeks ago. After anticipating this trip for many years, I wasn’t surprised to learn how much I loved the paradisiacal beaches and lush jungles of Kauai. But what did surprise me was how quickly I felt like I fit into the peaceful and kind culture of the Island. It was evident even at the airport that this was definitely a White personality culture! 

It’s no secret that our world isn’t exactly peaceful right now. Between divisive opinions about the COVID-19 vaccine, the tragedies in Afghanistan, and everyone and their dog’s political opinions, the White in me has been yearning to escape the conflict and live in ignorant bliss for a while. Aside from the obvious relaxing aspects of Hawaii, I was elated to feel the peace being among the Hawaiian people brought me! 

It turns out, the Hawaii-specific brand of peace has a name: The Aloha Spirit. According to hawaii.edu, ”‘Aloha’ is more than a word of greeting or farewell or a salutation. ‘Aloha’ means mutual regard and affection and extends warmth in caring with no obligation in return. ‘Aloha’ is the essence of relationships in which each person is important to every other person for collective existence. ‘Aloha’ means to hear what is not said, to see what cannot be seen and to know the unknowable.”

Does that not totally sound like the White personality strengths of being caring, accepting and nonjudgmental?? From the slower speeds on the roads to the laid back attitude of airport security and the willingness the Hawaiians we met were to share their culture with us, I acutely felt that Aloha Spirit while there and longed to bring it back to the mainland with me. So, in a world full of the more dominant and flashy Reds, Blues and Yellows, I thought I’d share a few tips of how we can learn from the Whites and bring the Aloha Spirit wherever we are. 

Tip No. 1 – Slow Down

While on the Island, I learned that before making contact with the Western World, ancient Hawaiians had no way of tracking days, months or seasons apart from charting the stars. Rather than relying on clocks and calendars, smartphones and schedules, they relied upon nature. And although modern-day Islanders do have more resources for time, the vibe I got from Kauai was that mother nature still rules the day. Like I mentioned earlier, people even drive slower. I saw a sign in a gift shop that said, “Don’t worry…you’re on beach time.” We know the White personality doesn’t like to be rushed into making decisions and they move at a slower pace in some ways than the other personality colors. Maybe this seems lazy to some, but I think Whites can teach us that we don’t always have to hurry in life. Maybe the point isn’t to meet deadline after deadline but to make regular stops along the way to marvel at the massivity of the ocean or the vibrant color of a tropical fish. 

Tip. No. 2 – Similarities Before Differences

I read something once about a group of moms who were arguing over various parenting opinions they had, such as bottle feeding vs breastfeeding, public school vs homeschool, etc. They were in a heated argument when suddenly one of the mom’s strollers began to roll down the hill they were standing on with the baby inside. At that moment, every mom in the group, despite their differences, rushed to save the falling baby. The point was that even though all those moms had different opinions about parenting, they all loved their own kids and each other’s kids and they had each other’s backs when it came to the most important thing. While I was in Hawaii, I never learned the social or political opinions of the other people around me. But I learned how to safely navigate hikes and which wild mangoes were safe to eat. I learned which restaurants were the best to go to, which beaches were too dangerous to swim in and where to avoid 15-foot sharks. Whether we were talking to other tourists or locals, we all wanted each other to have the optimal Hawaiian experience. White personalities are good at seeing the bigger picture, and they prioritize peace over fighting over issues that will never be more important than the relationship. 

Tip No. 3 Mahalo 

If I have the choice between McDonalds and Chick-Fil-A, I’m going to choose Chick-Fil-A every time. Not only do I prefer their food, but their service is impeccable. One of my favorite Chick-Fil-A-isms is that whenever you say, “Thank you,” the employees respond, “My pleasure.” Even if it is just a part of their training to respond that way, that phrase makes me feel like they are actually happy to serve me, which in turn makes me want to treat them with kindness. While in Hawaii, I was quickly made aware how much the term “mahalo” is used. Mahalo means “thank you,” but like Aloha, it seems to have more kindness behind it. Just seeing the word makes me feel more appreciated than a simple “thank you.” Like Aloha and Mahalo, White personalities just have a kindness about them that leaves interactions more peaceful. When I think about the interactions I’ve had with some of the Whites in my life, we don’t even need to have had a great conversation for me to feel uplifted. Simply being around them makes me feel at ease and just overall happier with who I am. It’s truly a gift they have. I think that simply by observing this characteristic in Whites, we can learn to emulate it more and spread more peace in our communities. Hawaii is definitely filled with that peace!

Well, there you have it! Three tips to help us develop some of the strengths of the White personality/the Hawaiian people! If reading this article didn’t help, maybe you should try going to the Island yourself ;). Mahalo and Aloha!

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Megan Christensen is a Blue who has been writing her feelings for as long as she can remember. Megan graduated from BYU-Idaho in 2014 with a degree in communication. A lifelong fan of the Color Code, she’s thrilled to be the content editor of the blog and hopes to help as many people as possible become more self-aware. When she’s not writing, Megan can be found reading, doing yoga, and spending as much time as she can outdoors.