The Resilience Series: Stand in the Power of Your Value
Building your Inner Eight
A friend recently said, “Life has become like a bad science fiction movie!” And I said, “Yes, and if I were watching it, I’d change the channel.”
Though it feels like we’ve lost control of so many parts of our lives, there is at least one thing we can control. Our emotional reactions to it all.
If you’ve been following me, you know that I teach how to embody more the gifts of all the types and less of the challenges of all of them. And that the Enneagram then becomes a doorway to your emotional mastery.
In these times when anger, anxiety, stress and fear are heightened, we all need our emotional resilience. Now more than ever.
So I asked myself specifically —
What is the gift each Enneagram type has to offer
as a gift to building resilience?
I always like to start with type Eight, the beginning of the body center, as a grounding foundation.
The confidence of the Eight is so important as we navigate our changing world.
The Whammies
I’ve been talking about the Enneagram Whammies. A whammy is like a knock-out punch that’s hard to recover from. In this context, a whammy is any low gift or high challenge for any of the types. It’s a challenge that’s been hindering you, usually for a lifetime.
These whammies interact with each other and impact you in ways that make change seem difficult.
Build your resilience by building your Eight gift
You can build your resilience by embodying more of the gifts of type Eight. If you don’t have these qualities (seen on your quiz results), focus on these qualities —
- Value yourself, see your gifts, and stand in the power of your value.
- Let your opinions be heard. With kindness.
- Let others know what you stand for. Who you are.
- Stand in the power of your value!
- Hold your ground. With kindness.
- Always with kindness!
- Listen to and honor your gut knowing. Let it guide your decisions so you don’t get scattered and wonder why you can’t get anything done.
- Take action on your decisions. No, it won’t be “actions” like before. Find ways you can take action, even while “sheltering at home.” What can you do?
Build your resilience by lowering your Eight Challenge
And, you will build your resilience by you lowering how much you have of the Eight’s challenge…. When you’re hurt or angry —
- Pause . . .
- Take a breath . . .
- Focus your attention on your heart center.
- Take a stand for yourself. And speak — gently. With kindness.
And notice what happens next.
