What is the Enneagram?
/Learning about yourself
The Enneagram is a tool used to learn about your personality. It highlights nine different personality types, all of which are based on attributes of God.
It’s most useful in providing language for why you have the personality that you do and why you behave the way that you do with that personality.
The goal when using the Enneagram is not that you would become better at living with your particular personality but rather that, through knowledge and realization of your personality, you begin to understand your essence, or who you are behind your personality, at your true core.
It’s also used to become better at understanding why you think, feel and act the way you do and it begins to teach you how to use each of these functions equally and at the appropriate time.
Through my personal study of the tool, I have found it most helpful when learning about myself in terms of my relationships—with my husband, children, God, etc. While it’s always good to learn about oneself, it’s best when the purpose is to love others better. If we continue to live in a way that is blinded by our selfishness and lack of self-knowledge, then we end up hurting those around us, even unintentionally.
Another notable thing about the Enneagram is that it gives language to the shadow side, or the side of your personality that is not life-giving to yourself or to others. This is the side that’s hard to face and come to grips with. It’s also often the spot where most of the work needs to be done.
The Enneagram has recently become a very popular tool, despite the fact that it’s been around for a very long time. Just like any tool, it can be used properly and improperly. When used improperly, it can be harmful.
How is the Enneagram used best?
To learn about oneself
To have common language when listening to other people who are on their Enneagram journey
To create empathy for people with other personality types
To better understand the character of God and how each of us is created in his image
To notice our personal strengths and weaknesses
How is the Enneagram used in a harmful way?
To type other people who are not on the Enneagram journey and make assumptions about them
To think about other people as one-dimensional and assume that they fit perfectly in the Enneagram archetypes
To make insensitive jokes about other people’s personalities
To assume that all people of a particular type are “easy” to get along with and that those of another type aren’t
Let’s talk more about coaching using the Enneagram. Contact Ashley below for a free call.
