wasn’t healthy for me, nor was it a joy for those around me. The Enneagram made me see not only those stacks but also, above all, how I created my own mechanisms and then chose to stop them. What helped me for months to make a real turnaround was asking myself the question, “Isn't it already good enough?” with every job. It was always good enough, and so I could teach myself to stop.
In this book you’ll find your own question to help you make a change and to no longer be a captive to your type.
Committing to your inner work
I use inner work as a term for the work involved in personal development. It's not hocus-pocus; it's just plain work, but it's work done on the inside. Anyone can learn how to do inner work, but, as with anything you want to learn, it doesn’t happen on its own.
Stick with this development for a while because inner work can
Offer you fun in addition to depth, meaning, and inspiration
Provide you with surprising benefits that can be of great significance to you
Make you a happier person
That last reason is why I continue to use the Enneagram.
Benefitting from self-management
Of course, it sounds nice and enticing to become free, or at least freer, in your actions. You likely have a way to go before that happens, though. Let's be honest: You have to be convinced of the importance and the benefit of this concept before you’ll be prepared to travel that path. Am I wrong?
It helps, then, to remember the possible benefits of development. Managing your personality becomes important when you want to
Reach your full potential
Enjoy meaningful and lasting relationships
Suffer less from your limitations
Work as part of a team as effectively and enjoyably as possible
Live a more visible and resilient life
Strive for changes and/or conflicts to ultimately be constructive
Pursue inner peace and balance
Live with less conflict and more harmony and connection
This list is somewhat long, but I think the point is clear.
Seeing the downside of developing without tools to help you
You may have noticed that people also develop in life without using tools. My life experiences mean that I also learned and unlearned lessons without the Enneagram. Without tools, this was a long, difficult, searching, and even painful path — a path of trial-and-error where, rather than know what you're doing, you're just trying something to see where it leads. If it turns out positive, you can repeat it; if not, then you no longer do it. That’s how you gain life experience. After I started working with the Enneagram, I was able to develop much more purposefully and faster.
Examining some practical applications
The Enneagram is versatile. It can be used in all situations where good personal functioning is important, as well as in situations where good interaction between people is vital. Personal functioning can include how you function in your work, in relationships (private ones and work ones), and in raising your children. There are numerous applications in the workplace.
Table 1-1 offers specific examples of the possibilities for development with the Enneagram and the areas where they can be applied.
TABLE 1-1 Development Possibilities with the Enneagram
| Development Possibilities | Areas in Which They Apply |
|---|---|
| Leadership qualities | Coaching |
| Communication skills | Education and training |
| Collaboration skills | Team-building |
| Emotional intelligence | Conflict mediation and management |
| Management skills | Therapy and counseling |
| Social functioning | Change processes in organizations |
| Sales qualities | Mediation |
Psychological? Or Spiritual?
The division into specialist disciplines as they’re known today has not been around that long — more specifically, the boundaries between subjects like philosophy, theology, and psychology. These specializations have become increasingly, and more strongly, distinct in recent decades. This distinction didn’t exist before the modern era. Humans and how they function has been a subject of study and reflection for thousands of years. For most of that time, the distinction between the psychological and spiritual aspects wasn’t even made. The Enneagram itself isn’t that old, but the knowledge contained within it about people is. So this knowledge existed before the division into specialist disciplines. Some claim that the Enneagram is spiritual, and others emphasize the psychological elements that can also be recognized in the Enneagram. I personally see no distinction;
