Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash
No one can predict why people become the Enneagram type they become. We do our best as parents, and our best is usually good enough, but the rest that isn’t good enough is where our human being-ness steps in and gives our children experiences they carry with them for a lifetime. Having Five children, sure there is some predisposition to a certain personality, but we also gave them messages that shaped them.
Our Childhood Message is a part of the Enneagram I use to help type people. It isn’t a time to think back and point fingers at our parents, after all I believe most parents do the best they have with what they’ve got, myself included of course (or at least I want to believe this). Whatever side of that debate you are on, we ALL receive childhood messages because we were children and we had perceptions as children we carry with us through our lifetimes. These perceptions affect many of our responses and decisions we make because we hold this perspective as truth - no matter how immature or untrue it is. In the case of our five children, all raised in the same house, same (ish) rules - five different types.
Here is a rundown of the Childhood Messages. Which one resonates with you?
Type One: It’s not ok to make mistakes
Type Two: It’s not ok to have your own needs
Type Three: It’s not ok to have my own feelings and identity
Type Four: It’s not ok to be too functional or happy
Type Five: It’s not ok to be too comfortable in the world
Type Six: It is not ok to trust myself
Type Seven: It’s not ok to depend on anyone or anything
Type Eight: It’s not ok to be vulnerable or trust anyone
Type Nine: It’s not ok to assert myself
I hope this has intrigued you. I know when typing people, the Childhood Message really blows their minds and then their behavior patterns start to make more sense.
Remember, I offer FREE Enneagram typing, and now is the perfect time to book that since I am offering a 2-for-1 deal on my Deep Dive Enneagram Workshop which starts on March 7th. Email me and I can help you with the 2-for-1 deal.
