People often assume that I’m passionate about the Enneagram. I’m not. I’m passionate about caring for others well.
I use the Enneagram as a tool to help improve interpersonal behaviors like communication, cooperation, and conflict resolution. My biggest hope is that the Enneagram will serve as a tool of insight, helping increase compassion for self and others.
With its increased popularity over the years, finding information on the Enneagram is easier than ever. As with everything else, there is plenty of helpful and hurtful information at our fingertips.
Some may dismiss the Enneagram as a new fad for bad jokes, but there is a reason for its popularity: numerous individuals have found it to be a helpful tool for personal growth.
Here are 3 reasons why I use the Enneagram as a tool for development.
#1 THE ENNEAGRAM SPEAKS TO OUR MOTIVATIONS, NOT OUR BEHAVIORS
This is an important distinction between the Enneagram and other personality typologies because the Enneagram recognizes that any person can exhibit any behavior.
It is impossible to know a person’s Enneagram type based off of their behaviors alone. Each type tends to exhibit certain healthy and unhealthy behaviors, but those generalized behaviors alone do not give an accurate picture for typing purposes.
The Enneagram seeks the why behind the behaviors. In delving into motivation, individuals are able to glean insight into their behaviors, both the healthy and unhealthy, as a means of meeting their deepest needs and desires.
#2 THE ENNEAGRAM ALLOWS FOR MOVEMENT
People are dynamic and complex beings, no two are exactly the same. We know this, and yet most of us also recognize that we follow certain behavioral patterns. While it’s not a perfect system, the Enneagram allows for moment as we ebb and flow through the ups and downs of life.
The Enneagram suggests that everyone has one dominant personality type and two wings, which are the two adjacent types to the dominant type.
The Enneagram also suggests paths of movement: one is called the path of integration, (often referred to as the path of growth); the other is called the path of disintegration, (often referred to as the path of stress). Neither of these paths is all good or bad, but rather both paths contain negative and positive aspects.
#3 THE ENNEAGRAM IS A SYSTEM OF LAYERS AND DEPTH
To help further explain our complexities, the Enneagram has layers. Most individuals never learn much more than the basics: the nine dominant types, wings, paths of moments, and the centers of intelligence.
However, the Enneagram goes even deeper by suggesting three subtypes for each of the dominant types, as well as a variety of triads and stances that help further explain our intricacies and interconnectedness with each other.
Whether one chooses to keep their understanding at a basic level, or go deeper, the Enneagram can be a powerful personal development tool for individuals and groups alike.
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