Typology

Mother & Daughter duo Nancy and Samantha Beach are both leaning into their Enneagram number by tackling one of the most audacious goals possible: addressing the mass exodus from the church, and working to make it more inclusive.  As a millennial, Samantha suspects there may be a disconnect within the generations when it comes to messaging: "We're seeing this all across society, all the -isms, righ...

For years, Irene Rollins lived on auto-pilot. Unaware of just how motivated by shame she was, it took a jolt to wake her up to the fact that she didn't have to live a life characterized by fear and defensiveness.  It was an addiction to alcohol, made more severe by the pressures of pastoring a church, that finally woke her up to these bigger problems: "Imagine the weight I was carrying. I still ha...

As the director of family counseling at Daystar Counseling in Nashville, TN, David Thomas has seen some patterns develop over the years.  "Some of the healthiest parents I have worked with over the years are parents in recovery," says David. "Because you've done your work: those basic tenets of 'I understand I have a struggle, I need God, I need community.'" Those are principles that apply for eve...

Is motherhood really the hardest job in the world? Is there such a thing as a biological clock? Is motherhood the highest calling? And is it true that you can't truly know love until you're a mother?  For Erin Lane, the mythology around motherhood has gotten out of hand. "How did we make motherhood an occupational, performative, identity based measure of worth?"  This week, we speak to Erin Lane a...

In addition to breaking ten world records, Colin O'Brady's feats include the world's first solo, unsupported, and fully human-powered crossing of Antarctica, speed records for the Explorers Grand Slam and the Seven Summits, and the first human-powered ocean row across Drake Passage. Would you be surprised to hear he's a three on the Enneagram?  But as he grows older, his approach to achieving his...

This week, we step bravely into the world of politics, investigating the reasons it feels more divided than ever, and how we can truly listen to one another.  Sarah and Beth started discussing these issues from opposite sides of the aisle, and while their positions have changed over time, they still believe in the power of dialoguing with those who disagree. In fact, they see their shifting positi...

When Maud Newton read about the traits of the Enneagram Four, she had to laugh out of pure recognition. "On my mother's side, there was this impulse toward larger than life stories. There wasn't really shame around difficult histories and that sort of thing. The greatest sin was to be boring." Maud's ancestors were anything but boring. In this episode, Maud shares what she's learned about herself...

Just three weeks shy of their one-year anniversary, the unthinkable happened. Mattie's 28-year-old husband died unexpectedly, leaving her with a massive hole in her life.  But being an Enneagram three becomes a double-edged sword in grief: "This compulsion to perform that I have, in whatever I'm doing, was one of my greatest assets in my grief," says Jackson, who adds,  "It was also one of the thi...

Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier has experienced abandonment from her mother, put herself in positions where she would inevitably be betrayed, come to terms with the power of her anger, and found herself struggling with addiction and alcoholism. But for Mary, so much of that tumult and life experience came from a sense of internal intensity. "The self-destructive and self-construct...

Every creative has a dream project: something they'd love to do if they had infinite time and resources. But what if you got the chance to pull off that dream project, and it didn't succeed?  That's what happened to Steve Taylor, who poured himself into directing Blue Like Jazz , only to see a middling response at the theater. To him, that result felt like humiliation. This week, we hear about how...

This week, we're going deep! With the help of the author of The Enneagram for Spiritual Formation , we discuss the various ways the Enneagram can be used narcissistically, and how to avoid those pitfalls.  Then, we discuss spiritual bypassing, or the ways each type can end up evading the essential personal work they need to do to grow as an individual.  AJ Sherrill (DMin, Fuller Theological Semina...

In the span of a few years, Shauna Niequest found herself experiencing a series of changes and heartbreaks that left her feeling like a completely different person. But in the end, she found herself more easily feeling empathy for those who were going through grief themselves.  In this episode, Shauna and and I discuss the importance of finding the right geographical place for who you are, the var...

When her husband discovered Julie Solomon's thirty thousand dollars of credit card debt, she became acutely aware of how her narrative about herself had failed her. But that moment also kicked off a mutual journey of growth in her marriage. In this episode, Julie explains how being an Enneagram 3 can be a burden as well as a gift, how growing up in a lower-income household led to a complicated rel...

For Jeanne Stevens, it didn't take long to see herself in her Enneagram type. But it took the experience of facing three deep losses in a short period of time to finally learn how to process—and ultimately let go—of grief, freeing her up to truly live in the present.  In today's episode, Jeanne shares how a childhood experience led her to believe a narrative about her life that no longer serves he...

Known for exuding energy, joy, and laughter, former Miss Kentucky and three-time contestant of The Amazing Race , Mallory Ervin reveals her fear of being average and how her hunger to achieve publicly resulted in a big wake-up call.  In today's episode, we explore her personal story of overcoming the unhealthy and damaging patterns in her life, the turning point that made her go to treatment, and...

What is the life that you want to live? The final step of S.O.A.R. is to rewrite your old story and write a new one that is fulfilling and true to who you are.  The goal is to challenge the old, taken for granted, broken beliefs of your old story and lean into what the future looks like.  So how do you do that?  In today's episode, I'll walk you through a few proactive approaches you can take for...

This week, we're talking about Step 3 of S.O.A.R. and what it means to awaken. We'll explore mindfulness practice, why all of us need to develop this muscle, and we will share a few more tips for rewriting your story.    This is just the sort of work I lead you through in my new The Story of You Workbook.  Get your copy here .   

What has your broken narrative cost you? This week, we're moving on to step 2 of the acronym S.O.A.R. from The Story of You , which is to 'own' your story. I explain what it means to 'own' your story and why this step is essential on your journey toward transformation.  For more exercises, reflection prompts, and guided questions that can help you make lasting changes, pick up a copy of The Story...

For the next four weeks, I'm going to walk you through each step of the acronym S.O.A.R. to help you identify and rewrite your origin story. The S.O.A.R. acronym is four simple steps you can begin to journey through in order to relax your grip on the old story and craft a new one.   In this episode, I explain the first step of S.O.A.R. which is to 'see' how you became who you are today. In order t...

When growing in self-awareness, it's important to be able to recognize, or identify, what your triggers are. If you're a regular listener, you've heard me talk about how critical meditation and journaling are to strengthen your ability to respond to life rather than react. But, how we treat our bodies is also important.    When I notice I feel anxious, envious, or irritable, I like to pause and no...

After reading Pathological: The True Story of Six Misdiagnoses , I was delighted to have the opportunity to sit down and discuss the book with author Sarah Fay. In this exploration of the ways we pathologize our human experiences, Sarah opens the door to a new conversation about mental health. In this episode, Sarah shares:  How and why do we categorize ourselves to make everyday life easier How a...

This week we're continuing our series on feeding the brain.  There's an ample amount of research about the importance of tapping into the mind-body connection, or tuning into our emotional and mental states, to rewire our neuropathways and relieve anxiety, depression, and intrusive thoughts. Dr. Caroline Leaf joins me for a fascinating conversation about "cleaning up the mental mess" and taking ba...

Your brain is a fascinating place that makes you who you are. It is also an endless source of information about how all of humanity not only organizes information but how we make meaning in the world every day. Using the latest advances in neuroscience and the wisdom of the Enneagram, Dr. Rick Hanson and Forrest Hanson join me for a deep conversation about using neuroscience to unveil our inner wh...

Today, our longtime friends, Michael and Julianne Cusick, join us as special co-hosts to interview Anne and me about how the Enneagram has strengthened our marriage of 33 years. We explore the low sides of our types and how they've negatively impacted our marriage and how we've overcome that, discuss the ways our types have helped us each grow, and highlight the important role of self-compassion....

Expressing our emotions is vulnerable, and vulnerability is the secret sauce of relationships. So how do an Enneagram Two and an Enneagram 5, who approach emotions from very different angles, maintain a strong marriage? In today's episode, I revisit my conversation with Jon and Tristen Collins, authors of Why Emotions Matter, to explore what they've learned about each other and how they meet in th...