Right now, I’m on a train to NYC to visit Chloe (our second oldest). For years, I wouldn’t travel by myself as I felt like my family would fall apart if I left them. Well, that is what I told myself (and maybe Brock and Ernie will). Actually, I like routine. I like to stay home and I like to conserve my resources - very Type Five of me. A few years back, I remember my oldest getting mad at me that I never visited her in Portland when she was living there. My excuse was all of the above. Now I see it as stifling, rigid, boring and probably not true! But that was before the Enneagram.
The Enneagram has allowed me to step back and see my behaviors as comfortable. But it isn’t until you get out of your comfort zone that you truly begin to live life. Recently, I was typing a friend of mine (a Type Six) and she confessed she didn’t feel comfortable going to the gym (blasphemy for my ears!) because she felt like she didn’t know what she was doing. I assured her she did know what she was doing, no one really cared what she was doing and she was missing out on major health benefits by lifting heavier weights (another blog for another day).
My point (once again) is to get yourself typed so you too can see what you are missing in life. Your life will be better because of it and so will the lives of those around you. Isn’t that why we are here?
