What if you were reading a book and you could see yourself being described so accurately that you got scared? How would you react if you saw the deepest inner secrets and struggles of your personality all laid out on some pages?
You'd probably think that the book would have to had to been written by someone who has known you intimately for a long period of time.
Maybe someone in your family.
Your significant other.
Your therapist.
Your coach.
Who was it? But, what if the book was written by someone that never even met you before? What if it went on to describe not only your typical behaviors, your strengths and your deepest struggles, but also the underlying reasons for these elements? What if the book painted an entire picture of your personality, your history, what motivates all or most of your actions, where you get stuck, and why you stuck. Wouldn't that just be scary? But, then the book would go on to describe a path. A path you could follow throughout your life. A path to first observing, then reflecting, and ultimately making incremental changes. A path that would slowly push you outside of your comfort zone, and prompt you to become a better version of yourself.
But this book wouldn't transform you into some "foreign" new person, not some personally developed dream character that you will never actually become. No, I'm talking about a book that would enable you to be your true self, which is waiting to be unleashed. Maybe this "hidden" you got lost somewhere in your childhood or in other key life-shaping experiences that you've been through. Does such a book exist? What do you think?
Is it the bible? Is it astrology? No, it's not. The book is not 100% about you personally. It doesn't know your last name or your first name. The picture is painted in broader strokes than that. The picture is painted broadly enough to encompass a range of people that, deep down, are kind of like you - all the variations, your global brothers and sisters, if you will. The global brothers and sisters that are somehow reflective of your personality.
No, there isn't actually a book like this: there are actually a total of nine books, which most claim are split yet into another three books each. If you do the math, this makes 27 books total, and 27 types of people.
Of course, this collection of book is just a tool, not something mystical that I expect you to believe. However, over the next 9 weeks, I will bring to you in coming articles a summary of each of the nine books.
Why? You may ask.
Well, recently, as I've learned more about the Enneagram, I've come to see that it does actually deliver on many of the promises discussed earlier in this article (at least for me is personally does). So over the next 9 weeks, if you are interested in reading my summaries of these books, stay tuned! You will soon unearth your true personality and gain insights into other people in your life. And perhaps, these articles can help you discover that true path that you have long been searching for! Thank you for reading.