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Enneagram Type 8 | Drive Your Fitness Journey
How Your Personality Type Can Drive Your Weight-loss Success
There’s a good chance you’re reading this article with some skepticism. I get it. How on earth can a personality test mesh with a fitness journey?
That’s exactly what my hubby asked me as I rambled on and on about this a few weeks ago. I assured him, though, that given the information of someone’s Enneagram personality type, I could help them nail down their individual motivators for weight loss and overall fitness.
The fact of the matter is that the Enneagram has little to do with our actions, and much to do with our motivation for those actions. That’s why it’s hard to nail down someone else’s enneagram type. Because you can’t say for sure why they do what they do. But when you learn your own motivators, you can use those motivators to propel you forward. In any area of your life.
Including fitness.
We all have different motives. Different things that drive us toward where we’re going. And figuring out what that thing is for you, is vital in your fitness journey.Throughout my own massive weight-loss and health journey, I’ve lost a whopping 160 pounds. I know, crazy right?! But here’s the deal.
Most people are tempted to look at my before-and-after snapshot and assume it was a quick fix or the perfect crash diet that led me to that pic on the right.
But that’s so. so wrong.
In actuality, it all had to do with an underlying why.
A motivator.For me, it was because I was 336 pounds and absolutely miserable inside and out. That led me to complete desperation. Desperation became my why, and that led me to my weight-loss pursuit.
If you ask anyone who has lost a significant amount of weight, what made them lose all that weight, you’ll get all sorts of different answers.
But every single person has a motivator.
One of the biggest challenges people have, when I ask my clients, friends, and family? Lack of motivation. Can’t stick to it for the long haul.
But a burst of motivation won’t do it. It’s gotta be rooted more deeply than that. A zap of inspiration, or a really rad motivational quote… not gonna cut it.
BUT… If you can dig a little deeper and find what truly motivates you, at your core, then you’re golden.Not sure what the Enneagram is? It’s an in-depth set of personality types that is ancient years old. If you’ve never determined your Enneagram type, take the test HERE. I do not receive a commission from this. I just love the enneagram. 😉
What Motivates You At Your Core?
When looking at the Enneagram, you can journey toward discovering what motivates you, but it’s not just designed for fitness or weight loss. It’s much MUCH more encompassing than that. You can use it to help you in virtually any area of your life. Your marriage, your career, your parenting… It’s such an incredibly in-depth tool.
But for the sake of not making this blog post fifty-thousand years long, we’re going to zero in on how you can use knowledge of your Enneagram type, to drive your weight-loss and fitness journey. For a glimpse at all the other types, head HERE.
But for this post, let’s focus specifically on Enneagram Type 8.
Enneagram Type 8: The Challenger
As an Enneagram Type 8, you’re a leader. You’re no afraid to be assertive, and to step up and make things happen. You’re a protector, a boss, and you have a desire to empower others.
Strengths For An Enneagram Type 8
Enneagram Type 8s are strong. You’re determined. You’re excellent at communicating and following through. You’re on the go, making things happen, and getting things done. You have a keep sense of honesty, integrity, and justice.
You’re good at making momentum, and courageously doing what you feel needs to be done. You’re persistent, loyal, and you expect that same loyalty from others. You’re great at supporting other people’s wins, and you have a huge heart.
Challenges For Enneagram An Type 8
As we all do, Enneagram Type 8s have some more challenging attributes as well. Sometimes your strength can come across as blunt, and that can intimidate the people around you. You work very hard, but sometimes you work so hard that it leads to exhaustion because it’s hard to call it quits.
You can be intense, and that can become challenging when you start to feel as though you’re always in a battle.
Weight-Loss Journey Roadblocks And How To Overcome Them
Weight loss is not easy. Each of us has specific roadblocks that tend to derail us more frequently than not. So let’s take a solid look at three of the main hindrances for weight-loss for Enneagram Type 8s.
It’s important to keep in mind that in this blog post we’re not talking about roadblocks like how dairy affects you or whether you should go gluten-free. We’re talking more about the internal side of things here. You can visit some of my other blog posts for practical ideas on how to lose the weight.
1. Exhaustion
In any health or weight-loss journey, things take time. As an Enneagram Type 8, once you get set on a health journey, you’re likely going to dive in hard. You’re going to courageously make a run, full steam ahead. This is a very good trait.
Where it could become a roadblock is that you may forget to rest and reset. Two very important things within a health journey. If you miss out on those, you’ll not only fail to give your body time to rebuild itself so you can maximize your results, but you’ll become burnt out.
To combat this, schedule in some time to reset. This could look like an active recovery day, a cheat meal, or simply allowing yourself some freedom to veer off of the plan here or there.
Being diligent with factoring in rest will propel you toward optimal health.
2. Discouragement
As an Enneagram Type 8 you’ve got an intensity about you. You’re not afraid of hard work. Where this could become a roadblock is when you reach a plateau, or you don’t see the results you feel you worked so hard for.
To combat this roadblock, try to remember that when you’re not seeing the results you’re working so hard for, you may need to make a small adjustment or two to your routine. Maybe your body’s signaling that it needs change.
You may not need a drastic change, especially if what you were doing was already working for you. You may just need to make some small tweak that you’ve not been thinking of.
3 You Might Miss The Fun Part
Enneagram Type 8s are persistent. You’re a very hard worker. Sometimes you may become so focused on “getting the job done” (within your health journey or otherwise), that you forget to stop and enjoy the journey.
Remember, the end results will not bring ultimate happiness. Yes, even if you lose every single pound, you still won’t be automatically happy.
Instead of being so consumed with losing weight, remember to embrace the highs and lows because trust me, those time will come no matter how diligent you are. By doing this, you’re avoiding some major derailment that could come from being discouraged.
How To Choose A Fitness Plan
There are so. many. options. *insert facepalm here*
Seriously if I get another crash diet flashed across my screen I’m gonna scream.
Here’s the deal. I may be completely bias, but I am so against dieting. There’s a ton of research that shows that restricting your food intake and jus general “dieting” in general does more harm than good, and I can totally relate.
But that doesn’t mean that weight-loss can’t be an option for you. What it means is that you don’t have to torture yourself into losing weight. Instead, you need to find a plan that works for you. One that is doable, and balanced, HEALTHY, and enjoyable. Sound crazy? I’m sure! The diet industry wants to scare you into weight-loss. But not this girl. Nope.
Clearly Defined Expectations
When you embark on a health journey, you’ll want to find a plan of action that has clearly defined expectations. Because once you determine what’s required in order make progress, you’ll be ready to run forward.
Choose a plan of action that outlines the principles that will lead to true progress, then embrace those and make them your own. You’ll have no problem stepping up and making things happen once you learn exactly what it’s going to take to do so.
Trustworthy
As an Enneagram Type 8, you value trustworthiness and honesty. With so many fad diets being flashed in our faces all the time, it’s easy to have a serious aversion to any of them.
Take a step back and scout out a plan that is from a reliable, credible source. Choose one that is truly health-centered, and not one that promises massive results in a short amount of time.
They’re out there! They’re just not in the form of crazy restriction or magical weight-loss potions. Choose a plan that focuses on overall wellness because that is what will propel you toward long-term results.
Balanced
As with anything, balance is key. In a health journey balance will lead to sustainable habits and subsequently, progress. This means finding a plan of action that allows you to explore foods, meals, and workouts that work well for you.
While you need to clearly understand the expectations of a plan, you need to be able to learn mindfulness, intuitive eating, and how to embrace the natural ebbs and flows of life within your wellness pursuit.
Choose A Plan Of Action Not A Diet
Steer clear of crash diets. Seriously. Run the other direction. If you need some help with weight loss without the rigidity of a hardcore diet, try my six-week weight-loss program. You’ll get all the details and expectations in a simplified way, and then you’ll learn how to balance it all out so you can live your life while making progress toward the healthiest you yet.
Key Motivator For Enneagram Type 8
As an Enneagram Type 8 one of your biggest motivators is a desire to empower others. This can absolutely be used to propel your own fitness journey.
Fitness is more fun with friends. We’re all looking to glean from someone else in order to maximize our efforts within our wellness pursuit. So being an Enneagram 8, your efforts to empower other people in this area will be well received.
You have a huge heart. You love training and developing others. This means that as you make your way through your own progress, you can utilize your own health journey to inspire the people around you.
You can do this strategically, or you can just know that people are watching your journey and can be completely inspired without you saying a word.
You love to challenge others. So you can start some sort of challenge within your community, whether online, at your job, or within another group you’re a part of.
Just remember, you do not have to reach your ultimate goal before you start empowering others. You can literally start where you are and allow others to walk through their own journeys as you’re leading by examples.
When you realize that you’re helping others to reach their goals simply by reaching toward your own, you’ll create a cyclical affect that will transform you into the healthiest version of you.
