EP369: Enneagram 101 - The symbol of change and evolution - Unlocking the Hexad - Embracing the twists and turns of life

Okay, I know you may have heard about the Enneagram or someone told you.

You need to know all about it.

So here you are.

But what the hell do you do with it? Great news. You are in the right place.

Lead with the Enneagram is the show where you will actually learn how to use this incredible growth tool and apply it in all areas of your life, personally and professional. Hi, I'm Tracy. And to be honest with you, I was a skeptic of the Enneagram before I started to actually integrate it into my life. In fact, in true enneagram 8 style, I told my therapist to F off when she wanted me to dive into.

It well over a decade ago.

Now that I have more than a decade of experience using the Enneagram and working on myself in my family with those closest to me, building my own bulletproof leadership, sales teams with one on one clients, couples, leading workshops for top Fortune 100 executives, and speaking to large audiences all across the globe about this powerful tool. I've got the proof and deep understanding.

Of how to help you implement this.

Into your life instead of it just being some fun thing you heard about. The Enneagram can be a complex model. But with me as your guide, I will show you how to first lead yourself in a powerful, effective, and compassionate way, and then help you lead others that way in your life as well. This podcast will have powerful conversations with guests, live typing sessions, and as well as solo episodes of breaking down dynamics of the Enneagram and how they impact your life, career, and relationships. So now let's dive in.

Welcome back to another episode of Lead with the Enneagram. And this is an enneagram101 episode where I give you information about some of the basics and complexities of the Enneagram. Now, what you do with that is integration. And those episodes come on Thursday. So today we are diving into the part of the diagram of the Enneagram. That is the Hexad, right? And two weeks ago, I talked about the circle, which represents the Law of One, meaning we are one and one with all. There are no divisions. We're all connected in some way. That is the outer part of the diagram of the Enneagram. And inside the circle is a triangle, which I talked about last week in the Law of Three, which. Which means, like, there are three forces required for change to occur. I talked about the triads, the centers of intelligence and things like that. Today we're getting into the Hexad, which, if you looked at the diagram, it's all these, like, Lines that are kind of going through the triangle and the circle. And the hexad represents a law of Space 7 and also representing that life is not linear. And something that I often say about, you know, humans and understanding what's at the root of each and every one of us. When I talk about the core motives and the core fears within the enneagram, when you're talking to other people or even yourself, it usually takes about seven questions to get to the heart of really what's going on. And so today I wanted to kind of talk about the hexad and what it is. It's a six pointed line and its powerful symbol represents that law of seven. The law of seven challenges are our own conventional thinking about linear progression. You know, I think so often, especially now, we live in a world of wanting to check boxes, just tell me how to get from here to there, here to there. And I talk about this all the time when we are doing this inner work, the soul strategy, right? In order to grow personally and professionally, that so often we have this level of awareness and then we just skip right to what action do I need to take? And there's this part in the middle of acknowledging the journey and how we got here and how we're moving forward and what this means and all the things that most people just want to skip over and you're being sold to, like, just do this, you have this problem, just do this. And here we are. I love that the hexad represents the. That life is a journey and there are all these twists and turns and change and growth and the end goal is never linear and life isn't a straight line and instead it's more like a dance filled with twists and turns. And one of the things that I was talking to somebody today on an interview that is coming on Thursday, actually, we were talking about, you know, for those of you that are in to personal growth and personal development, which if you're listening to this, I'm assuming you are, and you're raising your hand saying, I want to be the best version of myself. I want to grow, I want to do whatever I need to do to be a great person, parent, partner, professional, whatever that looks like for you. And I think so often we think that this growth, this soul strategy is a box you check. And that if you've done or gone to an event, you've seen a healer, you've hired a therapist, you hired a coach, you did inner child work, you even maybe did a retreat or something like that, and you think, well, boom. Box is checked and that is done. And one of the things that I've said before is, like, new levels bring new devils. You may have even heard that before somewhere else, right? And I don't love using the word devil because it's. It means it's a. You know, you could take that as. That's a bad thing, but I don't think it is, honestly. Like, you know. Yes. Could it derail us if we allow it to? Yeah, it absolutely can. But you can use that opportunity of the new levels, new devils come up as a dance. Like, you've heard about dancing with the devil. Like, sometimes that's really required to test our fortitude, our faith, our desire.

Kind of build that character in it. So if you understand that as you kind of grow. And the girl that I interview, she's, like, almost 30. And I get it. I remember when I was almost 30, thinking, like, I need to have all this shit figured out. And. And here's the spoiler alert, you guys. Like, growth is not linear. And what I have been through, learned how I've evolved In the last 22 years since I was 30, it definitely, definitely wasn't a linear path. And there were many dances with the devil I needed to do that in ordered me to do what I'm doing to day, right? So I really want you. When you think about your Enneagram, and this is why we're more than just our type, too. This. This hexad shows you how we're all connected and. And the parts of the journey that you might need. If, you know, if you think about, like, the wizard of Oz. I love that movie. I always love that movie. And even the journey, you know, when they get to the forest and. And the wilderness and the yellow brick road and. And all the different paths they had to go on before they could get to the land of Oz. And that's the same thing with us, right? It doesn't mean it's always going to be fun. Sometimes it'll be scary. Sometimes, you know, we'll be tested. Sometimes we'll face obstacles, right? But if we kind of know and use the beautiful Enneagram framework like a roadmap for our soul strategy and for our divine calling on our life, we can find more joy in that journey and understand that we didn't do it wrong. We didn't miss a box to check that we suck at life, whatever that story looks like for you.

So, anyway, I wanted to kind of share that with you. And, you know, when I was first learning about the enneagram I. And you might be this way too. You might want to Skip over the101enneagram101 episodes. You're like, I don't give a shit about the diagram. I don't even care. But tell me what's in it for me and why it's important that I understand this.

And that's okay, seriously. Because information doesn't equal transformation. It's how we use that information and integrate it that can facilitate and accelerate the transformation in your life. But I love learning and I'm somebody who loves symbolism and metaphors and things like that. And it really kind of lets my visual understand, especially when I get stuck in my eightness, that there are other paths in order for me to get to Oz, so. So to speak, right? So the hex head also represents the law of seven, right? And it challenges our conventional thinking about linear progression. It tells you that life's path isn't always the straight line.

The constant flux that. That happens in life. What I think the hexad represents so beautifully is that the thing we can always count on is change, right? The six changes in momentum. Like, if you think about the six pointed figure of the hexad, you know, there are seven, you know, points. Like there's six points, but there's seven spots on the, you know, when you get to the final one. And it represents the law of change.

And like that, that we can always count on that, right?

And I used to hate when my dad would say this. There are only two things you can count on in life, and that's taxes and change. Things changing and that nothing is ever static. It's like a river. It's always flowing. One of the things that I kind of think about when the change is hard, right? If you think about the ocean, I don't know many people who don't love the ocean. Whether or not you ever get in it, totally irrelevant. But there's a peace that comes when you're in front of and can hear and feel the presence of that body of water. And sometimes the ocean can bring us such peace and clarity and calm. And that same ocean, at the drop of a hat, can take off like a wild, wild child and can toss you around like a rag doll. Or even if you're not even in it can come up at such a fast pace and. And come over you and take you out, right? That is kind of the constant.

Way that life can take you as well. And, you know, even when it erupts and even when life throws you curveballs this too shall pass. And more is always, always, always reveal it. Now, the practical application of this hexad is it gives you a very distinct GPS system on how you're connected. When you look at your core Enneagram type, you can see where this diagram connects you. And if you're a 3, 6, or 9, you're connected in a very different way. Right? We talked about the triangle last week. But the way that this beautiful diagram is used, like a roadmap, can allow you when change is happening and it feels uncomfortable and you want to crawl into your own hole and maybe use some of the defense mechanisms or the default things that you might use within your framework. This helps you find your way out with a lot less damage.

Instead of, like, feeling like you're throwing a bunch of up at the wall, hoping something sticks, it gives you a very distinct, divine strategy to move through the journey. And for those of you that continue to evolve, you will recognize that.

And this is the beauty of getting older, too, is that you have enough evidence in your bank, in your brain bank, that even when you got tossed around like a rag doll by change, by life, by the ocean, by the curveballs, that on the other side of it, you could see why maybe something like that had to happen for you to learn something. I'm not saying it was easy. I'm not saying that life happens or things happen for a reason, because that feels icky when you're in it. However, you can see on the other side of anything that has happened, even the most unexpected, and the change that you absolutely didn't want to happen, you can see how that can be turned into something beautiful. And the Hexad and the Law of Seven can provide you with that unique perspective on your life's nonlinear nature and embracing the twists and turns. And this is kind of how you help nurture your nature. So I wanted to bring you more information on why the hexat is there, what that means, and how that diagram can help you know the way, go the way, and then show the way and make the impact that you're here to make in the world, personally and professionally. So, as always, the Tuesday episodes will be enneagram101, where I bring you information about the little intricacies of the Enneagram. Some complex, some not so much. And then on Thursdays, you can continue to hear how do we integrate all of this beautiful, beautiful stuff and utilize my favorite and honestly, the most impactful personal development and growth tool there is. I love the Enneagram. I love you. Thank you so much for taking the time to dive in here. And if you don't know your Enneagram type, please don't take a free online test. It actually makes it more confusing. There's 65 to 70% of the time they're inaccurate. My assessment that I have available for you with your own customized blueprint that gives you all of this information and also serves as a sole strategy handbook, you can go to my website, Tracey O' Malley.com, the work with Me section where you get your Enneagram blueprint. I promise you this will make a lot more sense. My assessment is over 95% accurate. I've done thousands and thousands of tests and interviews and work with thousands of people all over the globe in all different walks of life, all different kind of professions and situations that are in life. And this soul strategy using the tool of the Enneagram will help you, you know, skip a lot of the bullshit that you get stuck in, will allow you to meet yourself and others with compassion and communicate more effectively so that you can do what you are always called to do. Go to traceyomalley.com for that. If you love this episode, please share it with somebody. If have Enneagram enthusiasts or you want to help somebody be introduced to the Enneagram in a way that makes just a hell of a lot more sense and actually shows you what to do with this amazing tool, please share this podcast with them. As always, I'm super grateful for you and wishing you so much love and transformation in your life. See you next week.

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Into the next level LA.