How to Find Out Who You Really Are
Then I found the Enneagram and discovered that I’m an Eight, and I’m wired to get angry, but I’m also wired to be loving, caring, strong and compassionate. The Enneagram opened up a whole new world for me in understanding and having compassion for myself and even better, having understanding and compassion for others.
This might be some of the most valuable information you’ve ever received, so watch the video now:
The basic idea of the Enneagram is that there is Nothing Wrong with you and there’s nothing wrong with anyone else, we’re all just wired differently to behave the way that we do. This is a big one to wrap your head around and I can hear you out there saying, “No, Debra that can’t be true, this person is terrible and this person is a liar, and this guy is a jerk.”AND I WANT TO PUT IN A BIG CAVEAT HERE AROUND THE QUESTION:
What if a person has done something, like broken the law or is abusive? Isn’t that wrong?
In our discussion that Nothing Is Wrong, I’m not advocating that we go through life without boundaries, rules or laws. I was an attorney for over 20 years, and I have a deep belief in the rule of law. People who have violated our beliefs of what is moral or ethical (murder, rape, violence, theft, etc.) are to be held accountable, and their actions are not to be condoned.
But here, I’m talking about you. You and the people who are around you – your husband, your wife, your children, your friends, the normal everyday people that you run into, the people who are in your life.
And the concept that I’m talking about is that when we drop judgment about ourselves and others, it’s amazing what happens.As Christ said, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”
But that’s so hard to do when this person and that person are acting like such jerks!
This is why I love the Enneagram. Because it teaches us that we are wired to be who we are and everyone else is wired to be who they are. And it moves us into compassion, which allows you to shift how you look at yourself and others.
The Enneagram originated in the Middle East hundreds of years ago and was brought to the West by the Crusaders. Because monks kept the process alive during the Dark Ages, many Roman Catholics are aware of the Enneagram.The Enneagram is a system for deeply understanding your basic personality…
What makes you tick?
What drives you?
What makes others tick and drives them?
It helps you to see that your quirks and patterns are just part of who you are and how you’re wired.
Here’s how it works. You take a test. It tells you which number you are – there are 9 numbers. I prefer to use the word “Style,” because people generally don’t like to be called “Numbers.”
Each Style represents a deep belief that an individual uses to help navigate their life, but these beliefs are actually lies that are holding the self back from a connection with happiness, love, and contentment. You aren’t telling yourself this lie consciously; it’s an unconscious belief that is usually buried very deeply. When you discover the lies that you are telling yourself, it’s as though the entire world opens up. When you discover the lies other people tell themselves, it brings you to a deep level of understanding and compassion for them.When you are still operating your life based on a lie, you are operating as your unhealed self. Once you see the truth, you can move toward healing.
This information is vital because it tells you how you are wired. It helps you see that some of your quirks and patterns are a deep part of who you are and that you don’t necessarily choose them. It doesn’t mean that you don’t accept responsibility – quite the contrary. By taking total responsibility, you can take this information and use it for transformation.
In an interesting book I read about the Enneagram, the author said that there is an “initial shock” in finding out exactly who you are – and he’s exactly right. It was a shock to find out not only how I do things, but to also discover how other people do things.
And that’s another interesting part. I see all of the time how almost everyone assumes that others will react in the same way that they do to a particular situation. Nothing could be further from the truth. In a small group that we organized around the Enneagram in Sedona, we made a point to talk about particular situations and our individual reactions to them. I was stunned to discover how differently people responded. A situation that would make me incredibly angry, for example, would be absolutely no problem for someone else.
At this point, I want you to take the test. The information is here on the video for the website you go to to take the free test. I don’t want your test to be influenced by any of the things I’m about to say in talking about the different Styles.
Go here to take the test now.
If you hit a question where you’re not sure, answer it as you would have at the age of 25. If you’re younger than 25, just answer how you feel, if you’re older than 25, answer it as you would have at age 25.
Stop and take the test. It will take about 10 minutes.
Start here after you’ve taken the test.
Did you take it? If you didn’t, stop and take it because it’s really, really important.
Now you know what number, or what I will call your Style, you are.
What I’m going to do is go through each of the Styles and talk about the healed aspects and the unhealed aspects. Now – I don’t know anyone who is completely healed or completely unhealed. We kind of go back and forth at different times.
It’s also important to understand that there are no good or bad numbers. Nothing Is Wrong with any of the Numbers or Styles. It’s just the way that we’re all wired to navigate the world. Everyone is different and everyone is uniquely fascinating.
Style One – The Perfectionist
The lie they are telling themselves is, “Everything has to be perfect for me to be happy.”
It’s easy to see what a set up this is for having an unhappy life, if you are telling yourself that “Everything has to be perfect for me to be happy.”
- Unhealed Ones are: critical, controlling, anxious
- Healed Ones are: ethical, honest, high-principled, ambitious
You know if you are a perfectionist or if you have one in your life.
Style Two – The Helper
The lie they are telling themselves is, “I have to do things for people for them to love me.”
- Unhealed Twos are: passive aggressive, possessive, manipulative, irrational
- Healed Twos are: warm, loving, caring, giving, adaptable
Healed Twos are fantastic friends — they will do things for you and care for you, but if they’re unhealed, they give with a hook… they’re always expecting something back and they won’t tell you what they’re expecting back. They’re the ones who say, “If you really love me, you know what I want and I shouldn’t have to tell you.”
And the Two’s out there are sitting there going, “Well, yeah,” and the rest of us are going, “No, tell us what you want, we love you, we want to give it to you.”
Style Three – The Achiever
The lie they are telling themselves is, “I must work hard, do well, and look good to be happy.”
- Unhealed Threes are: driven, dishonest, pretentious, vain, consumed by what others think about them
- Healed Threes are: optimistic, efficient, energetic, practical
These are the people who have to have designer everything, but they are also the most social and a lot of fun, and usually very, very successful, because they’re achievers.
Style Four – The Romantic Adventurer
The lie they are telling themselves is, “I must be different and special to matter.”
- Unhealed Fours are: depressed, moody, self-absorbed, temperamental
- Healed Fours are: romantic, expressive, supportive, compassionate
Fours think they’re special and they think that nobody gets them; healed fours are very romantic and creative.
Style Five – The Investigator
The lie they are telling themselves is, “I must know everything about everything in order to be happy.”
- Unhealed Fives are: stubborn, negative, secretive, distant, arrogant about what they know
- Healed Fives are: independent, inventive, wise, perceptive
Einstein was a 5.
Style Six – The Loyalist
The lie they are telling themselves is, “By being loyal to someone or something else, I will be taken care of.”
- Unhealed Sixes are: anxious, controlling, paranoid, insecure
- Healed Sixes are: loyal, practical, responsible, self-reliant, team players
Sixes are the most anxious, I mean think about it – if you believe your happiness lies with someone else, that can put you in a state of constant anxiety. But if they’re healed they are wonderful team players; they are great employees.
Style Seven – The Enthusiast
The lie they are telling themselves is, “I must avoid pain to be happy.”
- Unhealed Sevens are: possessive, manic, restive, narcissistic, scattered and don’t want to look at problems
- Healed Sevens are: spontaneous, versatile, enthusiastic
Sevens are the Happiest of the Styles. One of my good friends is a 7 and she is so much fun to be around.
Style Eight – The Aggressor
The lie they are telling themselves is, “I have to fight for everything I have.”
- Unhealed Eights are: angry, aggressive, confrontational, grudge holders, think they are right about everything
- Healed Eights are: courageous, direct, self-reliant, self-confident, decisive
I’m an 8. I’ll talk more about that later.
Style Nine – The Peacemaker
The lie they are telling themselves is, “I must have peace at any price.”
- Unhealed Nines are: stubborn, obsessive, judgmental, complacent, passive-aggressive, defensive
- Healed Nines are: creative, accepting, trusting, supportive
Nines are doing everything they can to control situations so as not to disturb the peace
So that’s a lot to take in. Sit with it a little while and in the next video, I’m going to talk to you about how all this can help you and I’ll tell you all about How I Went from Being an Unhappy Eight and Stopped Fighting with Everyone.
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did and if you got value from this video, please like it, share the video with your friends and subscribe to our channel.
