Mistake #2: Letting Your Type Be the End of the Story
The resonance we feel when we discover our type can be uncanny. It can feel like seeing a scan of your psyche that makes sense of so many themes in your life. It’s compelling to say, “Oh, I’m such a Two!” whether we say it with joy, pride, shame or concern. Indeed, part of the journey with the Enneagram is seeing how the pattern animates and dominates our experience.
But type is just the beginning of the story. In this video, I share with you which interpretations limit us from the realization the Enneagram has to offer us.
This is the second of four video posts on Mistakes to Avoid Using the Enneagram. These are offered as enrichment for our awareness, not as fodder for the inner critic.
I hope it is useful to you, and I welcome your comments and experiences on my site.
2 Responses
Hi Sarah, This was so interesting and inspiring. I agree with you that knowing types is only the beginning of the story! These patterns we use are usually not useful to us any longer anyway. So once we discover our tendencies, we can begin to open our options and become our best. Your point is also important that we are misusing the enneagram if we pidgeonhole our friends and relatives. It is so disrespectful to have a limited and narrow view of others. We are all so capable of trying out new responses. I love that you use the term “curious” to describe how we can be with people we think we’re very familiar with.
Thank you.
Thanks for your thoughts, Wendy. I’m glad it resonated with you. Your comment reminds me of the sadness I feel when we become more patterned and narrow in using a tool that is capable of waking us up to a fresh and free way of being.