My Thoughts On The Enneagram

How the enneagram has helped both my personal and professional relationships. www.essentiallybritvinson.com/blog

I’m kind of obsessed with the enneagram. Have you heard of it?

Some people say it puts you in a box but my experience is the exact opposite. I understand myself and others better. It has improved all of my relationships, communication, and business skills. I recommend reading The Road Back To You to figure out your enneagram number, you’ll find yourself identifying other people’s number too!

I’m an enneagram 6… well, technically I’m a counterphobic 6 wing 7 but don’t let that scare you away!

For those of you that have no idea what I’m talking about, don’t worry! You don’t have to know all about the enneagram to get the point of this post. Just allow me to share with you what I have learned about myself. Most of which I learned through understanding my enneagram number.

Some things that are important to me

·      Loyalty

·      Relationships

·      My beliefs

·      Having a plan

Things that are hard for me to admit

·      I’m almost always anxious about something

·      I automatically think of worst case scenarios

·      I tend to be pessimistic

·      Fear can dictate my decisions

The counterphobic 6 in me means that when I’m afraid of something, instead of running away, I have to face it head on! 

Here are some examples of decisions I made that terrified me but I had to do them anyway to face them.

·      I was the first in my family to travel over the big pond to go to Europe.

·      I chose to go to a college no one in my family had any affiliation with.

·      I dyed my hair pink… I actually really miss it.

·      I signed up for a NOLS backpacking course across the world, knowing no one in New Zealand (ended up getting evacuated by a helicopter, that’s a story in itself).

·      After college I was the first in my family to move across the country, to Denver, CO. Best decision EVER I learned and grew so much during this time.

·      I chose to pursue a multi-level marketing job (MLM). There is a lot of scrutiny around this unconventional job. Okay I take it back, THAT was the best decision ever.

·      Recently, I created my own website and am writing a blog. LOL definitely something I had never considered before. Someone suggested it, the idea terrified me, so here I am doing it!

The wing 7 I told you about is what I want people to see in me. I want to be seen as an easy-going, fun-loving, optimistic person. That’s basically how enneagram 7’s are seen!

Something that I realized, is when you start getting defensive about a number, that’s usually yours! Even though it’s not easy to hear some of the not so flattering things about your personality, I think it’s so important to identify them so that you can learn and grow! When I can identify an emotion or a trigger, I can pause, process it, and decide how best to react. This is why all of my relationships have improved since learning more about the enneagram. I LOVE to learn more about myself and others and the enneagram is a fantastic way to do so!

Are you ready to find out your number?? I recommend reading the book The Road Back To You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile. I caution against your typical online quiz. We tend to answer questions how we want to be perceived, this can lead to a not accurate result. So grab this book through my link and be sure to let me know what number you are!

Cron, Ian Morgan. The Road Back to You: an Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery. InterVarsity Press, 2016.