Boxed In

Gabriella has been diving DEEP into the Enneagram. If you are unsullied, it’s a personality type system that characterizes us based on certain traits we have and don’t have. According to the philosophy behind it, each person has a core personality type (a number between 1 and 9 that represent various characteristics.)

I’ve taken a few of the personality tests, but I’m not quite sure how I feel about it all. (At least I’m not head-over-heels about it.) When I first took the test I had like three wings (associations) in addition to my core number. Giving myself a number feels like boxing myself in and I don’t like boxing myself in.

I’d rather look at all the useful/positive traits from each number and adopt them for my own. And get rid of all the unhelpful traits. As Bruce Lee once said, “Absorb what is useful. Discard what is not. Add what is uniquely your own.”

But I’m speaking out of pure ignorance here. (Which is never a phrase you should write and put on the internet.) I’ve only started reading The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery, so there’s a lot I don’t know.

Gabriella is using it as a tool for self-discovery and self-love, which I think is fantastic. Anything that can give you better access to who you are and what you want is a worthy pursuit.

For some — like her — having a personality system to help navigate your inner world is quite profound. I feel like I have a good sense of who I am and the kind of person I’m aiming to be. So I suppose I’m more interested in learning how I can apply the Enneagram to better communicate and impact the people around me.

To me, the Enneagram is one tool out of many we can use to better understand ourselves and the world. If you find the Enneagram useful, use it by all means. You’re not limited by what number you are (or aren’t). You are limited (or limitless) by how you apply that information to yourself and your life.

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing,
— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #824