Essential Enneagram Reflection
Abby Marish
After reading the essential enneagram: The Definitive Personality Test and Self Discovery Guide, I identified my dominant personality type to be a perfectionist. While there are positives to this personality type there are also negatives that come with it. Some of the strengths of a perfectionist include integrity, putting forth a great deal of effort, being highly responsible, and keeping high standards. Some of the negative characteristics include being critical of yourself and others, being consumed by making things right, and consistently putting work before pleasure.
I chose to follow one of the suggested practices for about three weeks. I choose to start out each morning by centering myself with a few deep breaths and reading a scripted paragraph. The paragraph was: “Today I will practice accepting my own and others’ mistakes and errors as part of the natural flow of life. I will practice appreciating different points of view, different values, and different ways of doing things. I can do this by releasing resentments when they arise and practicing forgiveness. I will try to bring a sense of harmony and balance between work and pleasure into my life today.”
I read these words with an open mind and in a positive manner. It was a calming time each morning. I would also find myself taking a little extra time to say a prayer as well. Both these activities helped create a very calm mood that stayed with me on the drive to work, as I prepared for the day, and throughout my day. These words reminded me that it really is ok to make mistakes; they are a natural part of life and they sometimes can even make life more interesting. Sometimes I think I know the best way to do something, and I might feel a little upset if someone wants to do something differently. These words reminded me to be open to others’ good ideas that would accomplish the same task. I found myself more aware that someone had a differing idea, and I would consider it more realistically and not be irritated if we decided to try someone else’s idea. My sister and I are different and yet very similar. You could say we are identical, but also opposites. We are best friends, but sometimes we choose to do things differently than the other one would. I find myself being more critical of her than others, and I do not like that I am like this since she is my closest friend and someone I can always count on. I am making a more conscious effort to accept her different points of view or different ways of doing things.
These words also seem to give me a sense of permission to not always put work first. Between schoolwork, masters work, preparing for a long-term sub, and reading about upcoming motherhood I could work all day and all evening everyday and still have more to do the next day. I feel sad about this part of my personality because I feel my husband sometimes gets the short end of the stick, or might get bored as I don’t spend as much time doing fun things with him as I wish we could. I also worry because I know I can’t put our soon to be daughter’s needs second. I need to be a mom first and letting some of the schoolwork or extra committees go might be a very difficult transition for me to make. Reading these words makes me feel ok and even good to put some of my work off in order to make time for the fun things in life. I still have a ways to go in this category, but I am willing to work at it. I am proud of the work I do, but I also want to be proud of the fun I have and the memories I am a part of making.
No comments:
Post a Comment