One of the best things I ever did in 2019 was place a hold for the digital copy of The Road Back to You, by Ian Morgan Cron at my local library. My turn came right at the end of 2019, and my view of the world and understanding of myself changed at the beginning of 2020. One of my circles of friends will read these sentences and nod their heads with understanding, and even anticipation. It’s kind of eye-opening.
The rest of my circles will have no idea what I am talking about. If that is the circle you find yourself in, the book I mentioned is an in depth description of the Enneagram — which is breakdown of 9 different core personality types that we all fall into, and various subtypes based on our personal life circumstances and experiences.
The goal of this personality test, and most others, are to help us gain a deeper understanding of who we are and how we interact with the world. Where the Enneagram is different is it deals with where the choices we make are coming from — and why we see the world the way that we do. It isn’t just determining that I am in introvert — but more about why I am introverted.
It has been fascinating. When (if) you begin to study, you see the abundances of resources available. It is amazing and overwhelming. And a bit exciting – because I would spend all day learning about myself instead of spending five minutes trying to change myself for the better…
Those who know both me and the Enneagram might easily type be as a 9wing1.
The 9 so easily sees both sides to every situation that even making simple decisions can be challenging. Often creative types, they have a tendency to minimize or overlook their God-given gifts, deciding that it doesn’t matter, and choose to spend time avoiding their callings instead of being faithful to them.
Type 9 people are also known for avoiding conflict — and will often “self-forget,” set aside their own wishes and desires for those of others, either to keep the peace, or because the struggle to make a decision isn’t worth the effort.
Without spending too much more time on my specific type, I need to move on over to the accountability part of this post. I know now that I why I struggle with feeling like what I am doing matters. I know why I struggle with laziness — it is actually a form of avoidance. If I never do the work, then I can’t be rejected. Armed with these new realizations, I have made some decisions that I hope will shape a very different kind of year. One in which I am fully aware of the importance of the work God has for me, and the urgency to not take a single second for granted.
When I stumbled on the lovely graphic above, I knew I was on to something. My focuses will be
- Pursuing my dreams
- Sharing my talents with the world
- Investing in myself
- with a side focus of regular exercise
I have joined a songwriters group with a course that gives concrete exercises to improve the craft of songwriting, and create a discipline that will help me “show up” to my calling.
I am excited and ready to see what this year has in store, 2020. It was great to meet you. I think we are going to get along just fine. ❤️
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