I’m always late to the party.

Wellllll, not literally. (If you know me, you know I’m a chronic early bird.)

I mean, I jump on bandwagons well after everyone has jumped off.

• I never read Harry Potter.

• I’m barely starting Game of Thrones and have actually been sitting on Season 3 for over a year.

• I just found out about ordering online and picking up in stores same day! Mind blown.

• And up until a few months ago, I knew nothing about the Enneagram.

NOTHING.

I think it’s safe to assume that there are probably three groups of people who made their way to this story.

1. There are the faithful Enneagramers – those who saw the headline and immediately rushed over to review all of the facts within this post, able to recite every type’s healthy and stress attributes, and those who, quite frankly, inspire me with their desire to know #allthethings about people and their behaviors.

2. There are those, much like me prior to June 2019 – those who may have heard the word “Enneagram” floating around, but really have no idea what lies inside their own results. Don’t pay it too much mind in the everyday, but find these kind of posts interesting, to say the least.

3. And then there are those that are likely looking on Google for exactly how to pronounce “Enneagram.” It’s that foreign to them. Maybe it’s the first time they’re hearing about such a term.

Which one are you?

I was number two. A self-proclaimed (and Strengths test verified) lifelong learner, addicted to knowledge. Especially when the knowledge pertained to me. How I’m wired, how I think, how I act, what triggers me, all the good stuff. From Kat’s “What’s your creative personality?” quiz results to Rachel Allene’s “What’s your mug style?” test, I can basically rattle off my stats in my sleep. But I hit a point where I thought I’d discovered all there was to know about my personality. I mean, how many different ways could the same information be laid out? The Myers-Briggs, StrengthsFinder, Love Languages, core motivators…and now I’m supposed to know my Enneagram type?

No thanks.
I pushed it away. Out of sight, out of mind. Year after year passed. And more and more “number descriptors” caught my eye.

“#FridayIntros….I’m a 7 on the Enneagram….”

“…totally makes sense for this 4 #enneagram”

“Dedicated to all my 1s – Go get ’em this week!”

What the heck do these numbers mean?

In April, I attended Catalyst West in Orange County, California. Catalyst West is a leadership conference designed to pour into individuals with applicable content that impacts their home, church and work environments. The entire conference felt completely tailored to ME – to my every need and my every prayer for confirmation and affirmation. Keynotes related to self-care and self-discovery, intimate healing rooms with the Onsite staff targeting emotional strongholds and trauma…I meeean, in my dream world, THIS is a LoveMo Retreat through and through.

And then Ian Cron gets on stage and speaks. And the whole audience was hooked. But DANG IT – when he polled the crowd, almost everyone knew their freakin’ number! And all I could do was sit there and think about how I should’ve purchased one of those bright yellow books during the break period. Oh well, Monique, you can just grab one after and try to discover your number.

Session ends. Crowd breaks for lunch. And the bookshelves were CLEAR.

No more books.

Where, at least, a hundred books once sat, there was nothing.

I left the conference with a deeper desire to uncover my Enneagram number, but apparently not deep enough. Because again, out of sight, out of mind.

Ahhh, enter Makenzie Hollar (shout out to you, roomie!). This girl was such a blessing to me, in more ways than one. Primarily because she epitomized the quintessential conference roomie + newfound biz bestie. Her extrovert was a perfect balance to my introvert and our conversations about faith, family and business were exactly what I needed – and what I hoped for – going into my 2nd conference in North Carolina. Plus, she happened to be from California so I mean, we were basically destined for each other.

We met at the airport, hopped in an Uber, and she turned to me and said “have you done the Enneagram?“

And that, folks, is where my life changed forever. LOL, well that’s what it felt like.

I looked back at her and said with such embarrassment, “No, but tell me about this Enneagram thing.“

SO WHAT IS THE ENNEAGRAM?

The Enneagram, by definition, is a model of the human psyche which is principally understood and taught as a typology of nine interconnected personality types. All sounds Greek to me! —-> And that’s actually where it came from 🙂 Greek words ennea (nine) and grammos (written symbol), this symbol with nine points represents distinct strategies for how people relate to self, to others, to God and to the world.

Picture a movie theater.

Picture nine people sitting in that theater watching the same movie.

But all interpret that movie a different way.

That’s kinda like the Enneagram.

The Enneagram gives you insight to the different patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving of each type – its core motivations and worldviews.

And no, I’m not giving you a run down of the 9 types. If you know them, you know them. And if you don’t, I hope that curiosity draws you to discovery. (*evil laugh*)

OBVIOUSLY I HAVE TO TAKE THE TEST…

One of the first things I did when we checked into our hotel was log on and take the test.

15 minutes later? I was 92% a type TWO.

Ninety. Two. Percent.

Reading through my results, I finally understood why everyone used their “type” to give context to a situation. It nixed like 19893 words! And now it feels like my most commonly used phrase is “oh, I’m a two.”

MY FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE TEST RESULTS?

Awe. Amazement. Acceptance. Affirmation. Awareness. Announcement.

Lots and lots of announcement. Gosh, I wish I would’ve kept track of how many times I mentioned my results during the Creative @ Heart conference week alone!

As the conference came to a close, as days moved on, I found myself on this quest to know more and more about my type. How we interacted with others, in relationships, at work, towards purpose. Unlike other personality tests, this one was different. This one crept all the way up in my soul and, like, whispered straight to it. The other tests felt more surface – ya know, like “awesome, good to know, thanks” (*thumbs up*) but the Enneagram was soul food. It highlighted the beautiful qualities in one’s most healthy state, but also called them out on some of the behaviors they may not want to necessarily accept. And that’s the nature of our personality. We aren’t always one way all the time. Happiness and joy, celebration and triumph turn us one way. Sadness, grief, and trauma turn us another. This test offers a more well-rounded view of our natural behavior patterns and tendencies.

HOW HAVE MY RESULTS INFLUENCED MY BUSINESS?

Easy. Three BIG ways.

MORE CONFIDENCE

To know self is to love self. Not only did I gain the confidence to walk in my design, fully embracing all that makes me, ME, but I affirmed my vision for LoveMo. I was on the right track. As a two (<—- see? I say this a lot), that core desire to feel loved and needed was validated in some way and my outward expression towards others, desiring for them to feel loved and needed came through and matched the original seed planted for LoveMo. I’m a people lover. As Anna Rose stated in her Self Care Tips for Each of the 9 Enneagram Types article, (twos are) “essentially human-love-fairies. We also have a tendency to carry more empathy in our pinky fingers than the average person does in their entire body.” So yeah, I’m kinda embracing that now and walking firmly and confidently in that.

MORE COMPASSION

The heart of the Enneagram is compassion, in my opinion. An understanding of difference. An acceptance of difference. And even Ian Cron believes that. Upon discovery of your Enneagram type, it’s believed that you develop more compassion towards people. My results – and the results of the dozens of others I’ve encouraged to test-take since then – have allowed me to simply love better. Love myself better. Love God’s design better. Love others better. Even those EGR (Extra Grace Required) folks! We all have them 🙂 Just as the Love Language test did years prior, it reminded me – in a more factual way – that we’re not all designed the same. That we are all watching this life with different lenses.

I’ve always desired for the world to be a little more compassionate. For people to be kinder to one another. Man, I’d make a really good Miss America because I really would love nothing more than world peace. As I develop this business, growing in my relationship with self, others, and God, I have to admit feeling a bit more compassionate than ever before. Hey, I’m not perfect and still feel a lot of other things outside of compassion (A LOT!) but I have learned to see the connection between the way people behave, the way they act, the way they talk, move and react and the Enneagram typography.

MORE CONNECTION

Okay, maybe I’ve always had this down. I’m obsessed with people. I’m obsessed with stories. I went from an Interior Design major to a Sociology major to a Hospitality major – and degree! C’mon, people are kinda my jam. But don’t confuse me with an extrovert. They scare me. haha. Human interaction wasn’t always my thing. And it’s still hard for me. I’m a total introvert upon first meeting, but I’m so intrigued by people, their backgrounds, their quirks and personality traits, why they do the things they do, what brings them the most joy, how they dream, all that good stuff. Learning my own core needs, core fears has given me the CONFIDENCE and COMPASSION necessary to start COMMUNICATING (ooooh, another C word!) in order to CONNECT with others. LoveMo’s whole design is to connect – connect people to themselves, to others, to God, to resources, to conversations that need to be had, to peace and wellness. At its core, it really is just a vessel for unity in every form.

So, I’ll end with this note to the three groups of people who made their way to this story:

1. The faithful Enneagramers – May I please join your group? And in doing so, may I encourage you to channel your inner Makenzie Hollar and go share this stuff! Get more people to understand their Enneagram number!

2. The group I once belonged to – Thanks for your interest in this post. Please make some time this week to go and find your results. Go see what all the fuss is about!

3. First timers – It’s pronounced “ENN-EE-YUH-GRAM”

Basically, if you haven’t taken the Enneagram, you’re a lifelong learner, bored at work, or simply in a season of deeper self discovery…dang it, if you just want to know more about your beautiful design, please go take this test! Knowledge is power. Let’s take our power back and LoveMo(re).

Love you more. And love others more.

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RESOURCES

Enneagram (FREE Test): https://www.yourenneagramcoach.com/

Myers Briggs (FREE Test): https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test

Love Language (FREE Test): https://www.5lovelanguages.com/quizzes/

C@H Creative Personality (FREE Test): https://creativeatheartconference.com/creative-personality-quiz

Rachel’s Mug Style (FREE Test): https://www.rachelallene.com/

StrengthsFinder: Unfortunately, there are no free options for this one, but I promise you it’s worth the purchase! The book is less than $15, includes the test, and gives you all the details about each and every strength! I read the entire book the afternoon after I got my results!

>>> SNAG THE BOOK <<<

Core Motivator: Core motivators are not official personality indicators, buuuuuut Shanna Skidmore will blow your mind with her insight on how they are really the basis for how you lay the foundation of your business and life. TIME. CHALLENGE. CREATIVE EXPRESSION. IMPACT. Those are the four. For more information on Shanna, her famous program, The Blueprint Model, and these core motivators, visit her site!

>>> SHANNA SKIDMORE <<<