Achievers Anonymous

We’ve saved the best for last! In our final episode of season 3, we debrief on all YOUR parenting questions. From dealing with parenting guilt and expectations, managing kids and partners who have very different personalities to you, negotiating identity as a parent to avoiding projecting achievement onto your children, we explore it all. Hope you enjoy and a very special thank you if you’ve been...

We had a life-giving chat with Kylie Butler – Enneagram 3, professional coach, parent of two young adults and CEO of Arrow Leadership Australia. She reflects on how being an Achiever showed up in the different seasons of parenting, and how she uses the Enneagram for growth and transformation. From debriefing on the mental load, parent guilt, the opinions of others and work-life 'balance'...

How do we create a holding environment for our children to flourish, build resilience, and become comfortable with the uncomfortable? We reflect on what it means to be a good enough parent to an Achiever, and how parents can create a safe space that allows their children to feel uncomfortable in this era. 

Lets talk about what makes an Enneagram 3 a great parent. We have innate qualities that we can tap into that help us parent! From efficiency ++, instilling a growth mindset, self-care to planning memory making moments, this is a feel good episode for 3 parents. 

Today we're making the unconcious conscious, or at least attempting to… as we discuss the pitfalls or watchouts for Achiever parents. From managing our kids' image as an extension of our own, prioritising the 'to-do' list over being present with the kids to bypassing their emotions, there are a few things we can grow in together as Enneagram 3 parents. 

We're debriefing on all that’s happened over the last couple of years (for those of you following at home), and we download on what it looks like parenting a newborn with Tabs sharing her live reflections with a three month old and the age-old parenting question - will this ever become rewarding? 

In the final episode for Season 2, Tabs and Michelle debrief on where the season has taken them and jump into some of your very smart questions! From exploring FOMO to delving into ‘when is enough enough’, they open up about what they’re learning along the way.

Special episode this week as Michelle chats to Bruce and Ursula (both Enneagram 9s) about what the 3 can learn when we move towards the 9 in health or stress! They explore all the hot topics from being without doing, prioritising relationship over goals and tasks, to being connected to others without losing yourself, there’s lots for us 3s to learn from the Peacemaker 9. 

This one is for all our parent friends… and those thinking about starting a family… We discuss the highs and lows of parenting as a 3. Michelle takes us through her parenting journey and how her 3-ness manifests at each stage. Meanwhile, Tabs explores how being an Achiever has informed her view on what it means to family plan. They unpack how parenting can bring more depth and light to our 3-ness,...

Tabs sits down with the excellent Enneagram coach and The Nine Design podcast host Sarina Sherring (an Enneagram 6) who shares how 3s and 6s are intrinsically connected, how we access Type 6 behaviours and what we can learn from the Type 6. They discuss the behaviours of the 6s in stress like anxious planning and negative thought spirals, and how it plays out for the 3s. And, they explore how 3s t...

This week, we’re back at it with a conversation about friendship. We explore what 3s desire in a friendship and share the challenges of finding and forming deep relationships as a 3. We question what makes us as 3s good friends and where we might need to work a little harder in being better friends to those around us. This is one worth listening to if you’ve started questioning what friendship tru...

Did you know there are three different ‘versions’ of the Enneagram 3 Achiever?! This follow up conversation with Enneagram coach and practitioner Renate Landman is a fascinating deep dive around the sub types/ instincts. Are you Self Preservation, One-to-One or Social? For instance, you might be like Renate and Michelle who are both Self-Preservation Achievers… they don’t promote themselves that m...

We are privileged to speak with Enneagram coach and practitioner Renate Landman about the Type 3. We explore the core fears, the passion and fixation of the 3. Renate shares her wisdom of how we can use the Enneagram to notice the vanity and deceit of the Type 3 and move towards authenticity. This is an episode worth listening to, to truly understand the complexities and depth of the Enneagram and...

This week, we’re taking a break from the stress talk to have some fun! We look at the superpowers of the 3, and take some time out to recognise the gifts Enneagram 3s can bring into the world. If you’re in need for an ego boost, this one is for you! 

“If you’re a 3 sitting down in an office everyday, think about doing something in your body to get out of your head!”  We chat to the brilliant Ben Hutton (and also brilliant 3) from Brightside Physio in Newcastle, Australia, about how stress manifests in our bodies as 3s. This conversation was packed with loads of mind body connection insights, from why 3s can be postured towards anxiety to the “...

This week, we delve deeper into stress by exploring inner stress and the fears and insecurities that sit underneath. We look at the life and identity questions that 'trigger' us as 3s and keep us up at night! Michelle and Tabs share their insights and personal experience on the matter, and discuss some ideas and habits to address the inner stress. 

We're bacccck! And we're talking all things stress for the next few episodes. This week, we discuss what happens when things don't go to plan! We'll cover external stressors and how they play out in the lives of 3s. You know the ones... overworking, disrupted sleep, uber sensitivity, avoidance... Michelle and Tabs share from their own recent experiences of external stress and l...

In the final episode of Season 1, Michelle and Tabs mix up the usual episode format to get into what YOU want to know. They go through some of the AA community’s burning questions and share from their own personal experiences and learns. The ladies unpack how success has been role modelled to them, how they manage stress, balance and burnout, and share their tips for working with other Enneagram t...

We chat to podcast host, writer and speaker Seth Emery about the spiritual wisdom he has gleaned from the Enneagram and how its helped him to understand his Christian faith, values and identity in a new way. He unpacks how his ability to adapt as an Enneagram 3 impacted his sense of self, growing up in Papua New Guinea, and how cultural ideas of competition and making money has played out in his l...

This week, Michelle and Tabs take Melania Trump’s lead to offer their perspective on ‘Be Best’. The ladies explore the intrinsic motivation for Enneagram 3s to wrap their identity and image in being the best, and how this serves and hinders them. Sharing from personal experience, they cover the common traps when it comes to ‘being the best’ and encourage each other to journey towards progress, not...

HUGE episode this week as Michelle and Tabs get real about emotions! Nothing is off limits as they chat about the Enneagram 3’s common misconceptions around emotions, and how they unconsciously think emotions are inefficient. Sharing from their personal experiences, the ladies get into the difference between authentic emotional vulnerability versus strategic transparency, and they discuss the sham...

Today’s the day! Michelle and Tabs are joined by Bruce and Tim to discuss what its like being in a relationship with an Enneagram 3, Achiever. They get into the challenges of being with the future focused go-getter 3s and also encourage the ladies to bring them on the respective journeys they are on. Tim shares on what its like to give feedback to Tabs (spoiler: not easy!!) and Bruce and Michelle...

In this special double episode, Michelle and Tabs delve into orientation to time: past, present, future. They explore how being future-focused as an Enneagram 3 is a gift but also impacts those around them. Michelle shares how she’s trying to start honouring the past and convinces Tabs to do the same. Tabs shares simple tips for staying “PRESENT!”  And the distinct roles as “kooky” and “guru” co-h...

This week, we're all about the praissssse. We cover why praise and positive feedback has a huge impact on Enneagram 3s and what this means for how we receive feedback.  Tabs shares her personal experience of what happens when we go through a life stage of ‘no feedback’. And the ladies talk about the pros and cons of holding onto feedback, when to let it go and how to give feedback to a three...

In our first ever interview with a fellow Enneagram 3, we chat to the prolific poet and artist Joel McKerrow. He opens up about the process of re-storying and how it enabled him to wrestle with the shadow side of being an Achiever. We discuss Joel's latest Enneagram exhibition, Human: An exploration of the Inner Life. Make sure you listen right to the end of the episode where you’ll hear Joel...