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Enneagram Type 2 | 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 2.
Enneagram Type 2: The Helper
If you’re an Enneagram type 2, you’re a supporter. A giver. A nurturer. You’re strong, passionate, and have big feelings and emotions. You love to serve the people around you, especially those that you care a lot about. You’re a person who cares.
Strengths For An Enneagram Type 2
As an Enneagram type 2, you’re no stranger to the wonderful world of being passionate. You’re assertive, and willing to trudge forward, letting your emotional connections be your guide. You’re excellent at seeing a need and meeting it. Relationships come easy to you, and you’re a wonderful friend.
You love to help. You’ll give and give and give. You also have an incredible ability to empower people, and you’re all about helping people develop or move forward in some way or another.
Challenges For An Enneagram Type 2
Just as we all do, Enneagram type 2s have some challenges within their personality type as well. At times your drive to serve can become excessive, and that will eventually wear you out. While you’re not just serving/helping/giving to hear a thank you, when you go too long without feeling appreciated, you get frustrated. However this is mostly because you’ve extended so much of yourself for such an extended period of time.
At times you might take on more than you can handle, because you’re more likely to say YES to too many things. This can cause you to forget to focus on yourself and your own needs, because you’re wrapped up in that of others. When taking on too much, you may leave some things unfinished. You might also become stressed, and when under pressure you aren’t at your best.
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 and easily than not. So let’s take a good look at three of the main hinderances for weight-loss for Enneagram Type 2.
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. Lack Of Outside Motivation
As an Enneagram Type 2, you really appreciate the affirmations of others. We all do, really. But you thrive when someone you care about is cheering you on.
Where this can become a roadblock in your fitness journey is down the line when things get a little quiet. When your weight-loss pursuit isn’t new anymore, and the initial excitement of people around you wears off. If you’re not careful, you may lose sight of why you’re doing what you’re doing, when there’s no one affirming your efforts.
To counteract this, find a group of like-minded fitness friends who will make this journey alongside you. This way you can cheer each other on all along the way.
Understand that lots of times people are watching your success, and are cheering you on from afar. They just might not take the initiate to actually say anything about it, for whatever reason. Cheer yourself on! Look in the mirror and list all the victories you’ve been having – big and small. You can develop into your own biggest cheerleader!
2. Appeasing Others
True to Enneagram Type 2 nature, you’re very good at caring about the people you care about. It’s a gift of yours, actually!
Where this may become challenging at times is that you may be tempted to embark on a fitness or weight-loss endeavor solely because a friend is pushing you to do so. While a little friendly motivation is amazing, you want to make sure that you’re in tune with yourself, and doing it for you.
Why? Because a weight-loss journey isn’t always an easy trek. There will be times it gets challenging. If you’re only doing it because a friend wants you to, you’ll most certainly lose steam at some point.
To counteract this you’ll want to pull on that motivation from your friend, but also dig deep and determine your why. Why are you doing this anyway? How will it change your life? Is that important to you?
Ask yourself these questions, and then trudge forward! Find the right plan for you, learn balance, strive for healthy, and make your journey your own!
3. Taking On Too Much
While you’re amazing with juggling all the things, there comes a time when you might be tempted to say yes to everything under the sun. This can happen in any area of life, but it’s just as much a thing to think about when it comes to your fitness journey.
When friends and family see you’ve taken an interest in your health, they’ll be tempted to throw all kind of suggestions your way. New workouts to try, new protein powders and supplements, new foods to avoid, just all kinds of different things.
What you need to remember is that we are all very different, and what works wonders for the next person, may not for be you. And that’s ok! You can kindly smile and be happy that they’ve found what works for them, and keep focused on your own thing you’ve got going on.
This will help you avoid becoming overwhelmed as time goes on. Keep things simple and balanced so everything doesn’t come crashing down later on.
Choosing The Fitness Plan That’s Right For You
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 am personally so against dieting. There’s a ton of research that shows that restricting your food intake and just “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.
Keep It Low-Pressure
As an Enneagram Type 2, you’ll do yourself a favor to find a plan that won’t stress you out. This is good for so many reasons. One, you’ll be more successful if you’re less stressed.
Two, you’ll avoid becoming overwhelmed by all the little details to keep track of. Find a plan that teaches you how to eat food to fuel your day. Not a crash diet that promises you’ll lose ten pounds by next week. By learning how to simply fuel your body well, you can keep the pressure off while still making progress in your health goals.
Avoid Crash Diets
They don’t work. But you’ll always have someone flashing the latest and greatest crash diet in your face. Resist! Look for a plan that will help you to maintain balance. Small doable change that will last over time. That’s the way to roll!
If you need some guidance in this, jump into my six-week weight-loss program. You’ll learn how to eat foods you love, make healthy substitutions, and best of all, make real progress!
Key Motivator For Enneagram Type 2
How do you find what motivates you, when your personality type is so very focused on others?
That’s a great question. For your personality type, you’ll want to do some digging within yourself to find out what drives you. It can’t just be a cute quote you find on Pinterest. That’s not going to move you when you don’t feel like pushing.
It can’t just be something you stumble into on a whim. That won’t last.
It can’t just be some exciting thing a friend wants you to try.
As an Enneagram Type 2, you’re a giver. You’re a server. So you’re motivated by serving others. So the real question becomes, how can I better myself so that I can better serve the people around myself?
Can you focus on feeling better, so you can serve your children by chasing them around at the park, or having energy to play with them throughout the day?
Can you focus on having more energy so you can engage in more meaningful conversations with your spouse?
Can you focus on having less pain in your back and legs, so you can move forward in your career goals?
What’s important to you? Tap into that, and use it to find that which truly motivates you. And once you figure out, truly and deeply and surely, what motivates you, write it down and refer back to it often.
