Decision-Making for Your Enneagram Type

How do you make decisions? Do you:

a) think it through?

b) go on gut instinct? or

c) tap into your feelings?

Everyone defaults to one of these methods to make decisions - big and small. Our decision default is an automatic habit we developed as our personalities evolved. The way we make decisions is one of the many traits that create our personalities and define our Enneagram type. 

Some Enneagram types think through decisions first - Types Five, Six, and Sevens. Some know it in their gut and use that instinct to move them into action - Types Eight, Nine, and Ones. Others tend to use how they feel to motivate their choices - Types Two, Three, and Four. 

However, our default decision-making doesn’t always serve us. As a Type Six, I overthink decisions and get caught in analysis paralysis. Type Eights might go with their gut instinct so fast that they miss important information or warning signs. Type Fours might not feel like doing something even though it’s important and needs to be done. 

Consciously tapping into the other ways of decision-making gives us greater insight, a different perspective, and more information, and it is an easier, more holistic approach that will boost your confidence and provide clarity.

Change your decision-making, change your life.

Earlier this year, a client came to me for some business coaching. She is a solo entrepreneur, wife, and mom of three homeschooled kiddos - ages 6 to 11. Her business was growing, and she was feeling completely overwhelmed with work, schooling, marketing, supporting her clients, making dinner, and more. 

As an Enneagram Type One, she makes most of her decisions based on what she believes is her gut instinct. Ones, as part of the body center of the Enneagram, tend to rely on gut instinct to make decisions.

Ones also have a strong inner voice that tells them what’s right and wrong, what they should or ought to do, and judges every decision very quickly. 

So it feels to a One as though their gut knows what to do, and so they follow it. But it’s not really their gut telling them what to do. It’s a harsh inner critic subconsciously pushing them to get it perfect and avoid making any mistakes.

This inner critic means that Ones make decisions they believe are intuitively “right,” but that doesn’t mean those decisions are actually the right ones for them. 

What’s the impact?

For my client, the “right” thing to do was everything. Take on more work because their gut/inner critic told them it was wrong to do less. Take on all the parenting because their gut/inner critic said to them that’s what “good” moms do. Take on every aspect of their business because their gut/inner critic told them no one else would do it right, so they had to do it all.

Of course, this level of overwork, stress, perfectionism, and self-criticism left her feeling overwhelmed, burned out, and desperate for a change.

All Enneagram types have a road map for growth, a clear path to help change what we need or want to change.

Enneagram Type Ones move to Type Four to tap into their feelings, start listening to themselves, and learn to reflect on what they want and need vs. what their inner critic says they should do.

My client took time to ask herself: How do I really feel about this? She started paying attention to her feelings and giving them the time and space they needed to provide her with more information.

She learned that she:

• felt better when she was more present, so she set some boundaries around her time and what she said yes to.

• wanted to be more involved with her children, so she revised her program to have fewer one-to-one clients, creating more time with her kids.

• could tap into how she truly felt about something, easing her stress, frustrations, and overwhelm.
  

Using both her gut instinct and her feelings gave her more information and a different viewpoint and slowed her down enough to know what she really wanted.

When we met last week, her entire being felt different. She was relaxed, self-assured, and confident. She knew what she wanted - what she wanted, not what she thought she should want - and she was going for it.

Her life felt like a 180, and she was at peace with her decisions because they came from a source of truth, not just old habits, patterns, and expectations. 

It’s your turn:

The next time you need to make a decision, consult your thoughts, feelings, and gut instinct together. Take a few moments to listen to all of them. You might get conflicting answers, but that’s normal and ok. With practice, you’ll be able to tap into the right answers for you, not just the solutions your old habits would tell you to take.

You’ll feel more confident and self-assured. You’ll save time and energy instead of debating what to do. You’ll gain valuable self-awareness and personal growth to enable positive, conscious change in your decision-making and other areas of your life.

Ask yourself, “When I make a decision, where does it start?” If it’s your gut, try taking a few moments to think it through and be more analytical. If it’s your feelings, try thinking it through and be more objective. If it’s your thoughts, try tapping into your emotions and get a sense of where those feelings are in your body and what they are telling you. 

When you’re ready to make decisions in a new way and want some support and guidance, let’s talk. Book with me here - it’s the easiest decision you’ll make!