Focus of Attention by Enneagram Type
What are you paying attention to? Did you know that our personality creates a filter on reality that has you paying closer attention to some inputs and completely ignoring others?
A lot of people are feeling frazzled and raw right now. Many of us are feeling at the end of ourselves. And that makes sense! We are living through a global pandemic with many people underemployed and struggling financially, and all of this is playing out against a backdrop of intense political drama.
It’s a lot. And it is more important than ever that you practice managing your mind to find some relief from this suffering and give yourself more compassion.
Just beginning to attune to where your attention is pointed can help to create a pause between your thought and the actions you take next. This is how you can begin to make different choices and build a life that is more in alignment with your dreams.
Each of the 9 Types has a way of organizing life around core ideas about self and life that feels necessary, right, and real. What you organize your life around is related to where you naturally put your attention.
Can see these patterns when you are operating on autopilot? 🔍
Enneagram 8
Power
Experiencing strength, power, and control over my territory.
Protecting self and others from injustice.
Enlarging your sphere of influence.
Deceptions and manipulations.
Whatever demands attention right now.
Enneagram 9
Harmony
Creating and maintaining peace and harmony (even if only on the surface).
Looking for positives and you downplay or ignore difficult situations.
Withdrawing to avoid anger and arguments.
If you are unsuccessful at creating peace, confusion and cloudy thinking can result, and you lose touch with your energy and vitality.
Enneagram 1
Integrity
Getting things right, even if only defined by you.
Looking for things that need to be improved, changed, or fixed.
Coming up with rationales for decisions, leaving little room for questioning or uncertainty.
You distrust your body or feelings because they feel irrational or messy, so you suppress them.
Enneagram 2
Connection
Your relationships with others. It is easy to see the needs and wants of others, especially people you care about and would like to care about you.
Opportunities to reach out to help.
The moment-to-moment feelings and emotions of others.
Signs of appreciation from others.
Enneagram 3
Value
Being at the top of your game and being seen as successful.
Everything that has to be done: tasks, goals, and future achievements.
Opportunities for self-promotion.
Feedback from others so you can adapt to situations.
Identifying the most efficient solutions.
Enneagram 4
Identity
Feeling special and unique.
Finding the missing piece that others seem to have.
Your own moods, feelings, and fantasies.
How others respond to you.
The ways that you are separate or don't fit.
Things that are deeply touching or personal.
Enneagram 5
Clarity
The inner world of ideas and figuring out how things work.
Opportunities for mastery.
As mental intensity increases, there is less energy for engaging in life and you get overwhelmed and detach.
Opportunities to observe (vs. engage).
Enneagram 6
Guidance
What could go wrong?
Your own doubts and concerns.
Developing plans and systems that create safety and security.
Looking for cues to trust - implications, inferences, and hidden meanings.
External commitments.
Enneagram 7
Freedom
Looking for what's next and noticing all of the possibilities out there in the world.
Seeking interesting, pleasurable, and fascinating ideas, plans, options, or projects.
Avoiding limitations, constraints, or potentially painful situations.
What you're doing now.
What you want.
For more information on the Enneagram system, check out my Enneagram 101 page here.
