Reader,
What to expect in this email:
• A reflection on what you resist persists through the lens of the Enneagram
• Week Two holiday special: 40% off Enneagram coaching for new clients
• 9 Lumens Alum Complimentary Check-In December Dates
What You Resist, Persists… and the Center You’ve Been Avoiding
This week I kept hearing the same phrase over and over — enough times that I finally just said, “Okay, Lord, I hear You.”
What you resist, persists. And that for me as an Enneagram 3. Feelings. I grabbed my favorite prayer on book on Feelings and realized I hadn't been addressing sadness.
As I thought about it, I realized how this ties into the Enneagram centers of intelligence:
Thinking, Feeling, and Doing.
Each of us naturally leads with one, supports with another, and tends to push one away — the repressed center.
And usually… the center we resist is the one that if we pay attention brings us into health and wholeness.
We don’t resist these parts of ourselves because we’re stubborn or broken. We resist them because they feel unfamiliar, uncomfortable, or inconvenient.
But naming the part of ourselves we’ve pushed aside is the first step in growth.
Below is a simple, gentle check-in for each group. And, it's always better to start with with someone who sees you with compassion as you try this new skill or addressing what you've been resisting.
Types 3, 7, or 8 — your FEELING center is the one you resist.
Not because you don’t feel — you do — but because feelings can feel inefficient, inconvenient, or interruptive.
Here’s a small place to start:
- 3s: Name one feeling you’re actually feeling today. Not the polished version — the real one.
- 7s: Sit with one “hard” emotion instead of escaping it. Just stay present long enough to name it.
- 8s: Notice nuance. What’s one quiet feeling you can share with someone you trust?
You don’t have to stay there forever — just long enough to name what you’ve been resisting.
Type 1, 2, or 6 resist the THINKING center.
I know you think all the time.
But much of that thinking is reactive, circular, or based on habit — not grounded, spacious, or productive thinking.
Try this:
- 1s: Consider one other perspective besides right/wrong. Let it soften the edges a little.
- 2s: Instead of thinking of everything you could do for others… name one thing you need for yourself.
- 6s: Instead of running future “what ifs,” look back at your past and name what has gone well. Let that speak.
Naming helps slow the spin.
Type 4, 5, or 9 — the DOING center is the one you resist.
Doing feels either overwhelming, draining, or “I just don't feel like it”
Here’s a place to begin:
- 4s: Choose one small action you may think of as mundane for someone — not for meaning, but just because it blesses them.
- 5s: Pick one thing you’ll do for fun without analyzing it to death. Just go.
- 9s: What’s one thing you’ve wanted to do for the holidays for yourself? Name it, tell someone else and then follow through.
One small action creates the momentum for more!
WEEK TWO SPECIAL: 40% OFF ENNEAGRAM COACHING for NEW CLIENTS)
This is it, the one time a year big special on Enneagram Coaching Package.
Six-session Enneagram Coaching Package — 40% off through Thursday, November 27 at midnight PST. Expires Friday November 28th.
Use code: NAMEIT2025
Here’s the link to find out more or share:
👉 https://app.paperbell.com/checkout/packages/128067
And as always, if someone you refer begins coaching, you receive a free session!
For 9 Lumens Alum
December Year-End Check-In Sessions
For those who have coached with me before (or currently in coaching), complimentary check in sessions for December are: (registration is required)
• Wednesday, December 3 — 12:30–1:30 pm PST
Register: https://app.paperbell.com/checkout/packages/181986
• Friday, December 5 — 12:30–1:30 pm PST
Register: https://app.paperbell.com/checkout/packages/181987
What’s next? You’ll get one more weekly email to support you through the holidays, and then we’ll return to the usual monthly rhythm of 9 Lumens Insights.
p.s. Here are all the ways to work with me in one place.
|
|
Linda Hannigan
Your Guide to the Enneagram
Coaching for clarity. Space for change. Support for lasting growth.
Certified Enneagram Coach | Credentialed Life & Leadership Coach | BTH, CPLC, PCC
|
