1.The Reformer
This person might be accused of being judgemental as they focus on being right or doing the right thing. What we don’t see is that, as well as pointing out the flaws they see around them, they are toughest on themselves, with a very unforgiving inner critic.
2.The Helper
This person is always trying to support and help others to the exclusion of recognising their own needs. Whilst their focus is on others, they are not feeling their own pain.
3.The Achiever
This person will look to accomplishments to feed their value. If they are not getting external validation, they have difficulty recognising their own worth.
4.The Individualist
This person feels strangely unique, and that no one really understands them. They have really strong emotions and can go to great depths in their emotional wave. Consequently, they feel that they do not fit in.
5.The Investigator
This person very much lives in their head. Their focus is on getting to the depth of intellectual understanding on something, often to the exclusion of those around them and their own basic needs.
6.The Loyal Sceptic
This person is always looking for what might go wrong so that they can have contingency plans. To be forewarned is forearmed; they will go to great lengths talking to different people to validate their concerns.
7.The Enthusiast
This person finds it difficult to be present in the moment. Most of the time they are looking ahead to what is next, and therefore often live in a state of frustration. Often seen as the charismatic life and soul of the party.
8.The Challenger
This person feels they need to control others and circumstances to feel safe. They are very assertive and wary of letting their guard down in case other people take advantage of them.
9.The Peacemaker
If this person speaks up, they run the risk of upsetting others. That internal conflict keeps them from having a voice or an opinion. They can understand so many points of view, they have difficulty establishing their own, and so often feel overlooked.
Identifying your personality type may be easiest by finding the one trait you are most proud of, the thing that you do so well that others validate you for it. It is both your gift and your challenge. You are able to bring your gift forward to make it your unique contribution to the world. But over-use it, and it becomes a challenge.
This is the starting point, from which we can raise awareness of our inner self and begin to reconnect ourselves.
Using the science behind the Enneagram to reduce your stress no person is static. We are pruning and creating new wiring every minute of every day. And we can retrain ourselves, we can face our internal challenges. You don’t have to avoid sharing your opinion, procrastinate or worry constantly.
Instead, by understanding the science – and the far older ancient wisdom of the Enneagram – means you can bring together your three “brains”, mind, heart and gut, and reach a higher understanding of yourself.
You’ve heard the phrase “listen to your gut” or “have a heart”. Well, now you know what they mean. Every conversation we have we are speaking our wiring; it is in your words and your behaviour that it will follow! Look out for it.
Would you like to know more? Leave me your email address and I will send you a short test to help identify your personality lens. www.susanfrend.com/contact
Also, events are delivered locally in Staffordshire, check website for details.
Sue Frend is a certified mBIT Trainer and Master-coach with over 30 years in the personal development field. Her mission is to help people understand their inner critics and give them the tools to find balance and improve mental and emotional wellbeing, and believes this should start in early education. Prevention is better than the cure.
Resilience Coach and Trainer
www.susanfrend.com