Observe. Reflect. Develop. The Personal Growth Journey breakdown
As a life coach, I often tell people that the beginning of change begins with awareness. Until recently, I never really thought about what comes after. With this three step process, Observe - Reflect - Develop, anyone can change their ways and set themselves up for a Future Self in more alignment with purpose.
All change starts with Observation. Nothing has brought this more to light than my personal work with the Enneagram. As a Type Five I have become (painfully) aware of my constant thinking, sprinkle in some fear, some avarice, my need to know and you’ve got a recipe for LOTS of observation. I find myself often pulling back from my typical reactions and just noticing them (especially those thoughts!). Without the Enneagram, it would have taken me so much longer to discover all of the things that make me me and everything I hadn’t noticed before in 58 years. Crazy, huh?
After Observe comes Reflect. Fives are probably pretty good at this since we tend to spend lots of time in our heads. That being said, Reflection lends itself to the why behind the actions. Super important work because if you don’t see the why then the how (Develop) is not possible. Let me explain.
My Center of Intelligence is Head. Knowing that I’m always thinking as a reaction (instead of being in my body or heart) gives me pause to consider another reaction. Recently on vacation, I wanted to wake up and spend some time working on a few things for my coaching work (I know, I’m on vacation, but I actually LOVE doing this kind of thing in some quiet space). Husband had a different plan - “Let’s take a walk to the coffee shop.” Even though I really wanted to be in my head, contemplating my next coaching idea, I had to stop thinking, get in touch with what he wanted (heart and body - he loves walking with me for my latte), and realize ‘I’m on vacation with my husband!’ So we did and of course, it was great. Develop. I know it sounds little, but my initial reaction isn’t about connection. It’s about preserving my resources and doing head-centered things. I kind of knew this about myself but not to the level I know myself now - thanks to the Enneagram. Now, I am rethinking my reactions and getting curious about how to Develop my heart and body centers.
Personal growth takes observation, reflection, and development. The Enneagram fast-tracks all three with the road map provided for transformational growth.