How the Enneagram Can Make Your Life (and Relationships) Better

I want to share from my experience how understanding the Enneagram can make your life and your relationships better.

 

If you want to understand the “why” behind how you (and others) perceive and relate to the world, the Enneagram is one of the best tools available. Several years ago,  everyone in my family read The Road Back to You , and then discovered our types. When I say it has been life changing, I am not exaggerating.

The Enneagram Helps You Understand Yourself

If you’ve ever wondered why you think, feel, and respond in ways that just “come naturally” but that you don’t really understand, the Enneagram can help. Knowing your type can help you discover many things. Your deepest fears.  Your view of authority. Your typical response to stress. Your approach to conflict and more.  This information is key to moving toward personal, spiritual and relational growth.

The Enneagram Helps You Understand Others

The Enneagram reveals 9 personality types that perceive, think, respond, and relate to the world and other people in different ways.  Before I understood these differences and saw them in my family and other relationships, my tendency was to be annoyed or judgmental with those who weren’t “like me.” Now, I can more easily understand what it is like to walk in someone else’s skin and not expect them to be like I am. 

The Enneagram Helps Others Understand You

Having a family who all knows each others’ type can be life changing. When I married Zane, I was the first 8 his family had ever had to embrace. This made for interesting~sometimes good and sometimes not so good~interaction. Now that we ALL are Enneagram savvy, we relate to, understand, and appreciate each other so much better. There is no good or bad number, but each number has an unhealthy and healthy version. This is where the personal growth comes in. Any number can strive to grow into his or her healthiest type. 

How to Find Out Your Enneagram Type

If you want to discover your type, you can start by taking this Enneagram test. It is a “plug and play” test (you take it and get the answers immediately) that basically narrows your most prominent types. There are more in-depth tests available, many which are fee based, but the test above is a great place to start.

After taking the above test, you may score clearly one type; you may also be close to more than one type. This is when you will want to dig deeper into reading about the types. The best place to start is Ian Cron’s book  The Road Back to You.  It is widely considered one of the best, most understandable books on the Enneagram. It will walk you though how to discover your type (and your wing).

How to Use Your Type for Personal Growth

Once you know your type, you can use it to discover your strengths, weaknesses, and paths to growing a “healthy” version of your type and yourself.  In The Road Back to You, each chapter addresses a specific enneagram type, and at the end of each chapter lists 10 paths to transformation for that type.

Learn More About the Enneagram on the Family Savvy Podcast

My newly released podcast, The SavvyCast, will cover all lifestyle topics found on the Family Savvy blog~beauty, food, relationships and more. The enneagram will be a big topic on The SavvyCast, as it is one of my favorite tools for personal growth and improving relationships. 

SavvyCast Podcast

 

My first podcast guest, Jordan Jones,  is a personality consultant and expert in both the Myers-Briggs and the Enneagram.  He leads workshops and seminars for businesses, churches, and government agencies and also does individual and couples counseling.  In the podcast, Jordan gives a general overview of what the enneagram is and what each type looks like.

You can follow Jordan on twitter @fifthletterllc.  If you have any Enneagram questions for our podcast discussion, please leave them in the comments below.

Do you already know your type and use the Enneagram for personal growth and relationships? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so please share them below if you are so inclined:-) As always, thanks so much for stopping by. Wishing you a joyful, blessed and savvy day!!!

Similar Posts

4 Comments

  1. Thank you, Twyla! I am so excited!!! It was so much fun recording the enneagram with Jordan. He is not only knowledgeable; he makes it so much fun!!!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *