“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
— Carl Jung

Have you ever noticed how the same lessons seem to find you? Different jobs, same politics. New relationships, same emotional script. You change the scenery — but the story stays the same.

That’s not failure. It’s patterning.

We all have invisible systems at play — learned strategies that once helped us feel safe, loved, or in control. The problem is, those same strategies can quietly keep us stuck.

The Enneagram gives those patterns a name. The Life by Design Method™ helps you rewrite the script. Together, they turn self-awareness into self-mastery.

The Enneagram: A Map of Motivation, Not a Box

Unlike most personality tools, the Enneagram doesn’t describe what you do — it reveals why you do it. Each of the nine types is rooted in a core fear and desire that shape how you move through life.

You’re not your type. You’re the awareness behind it. And once you can see the lens you’ve been looking through, you can decide whether it’s still serving you.

Think about how often you try to “fix” yourself without understanding the real driver underneath. Ever try to change a habit, only to end up back where you started? That’s because behavior follows belief. When you identify the belief, you finally have leverage.

The Nine Ways We Learned to Stay Safe

Here’s a glimpse at the nine strategies that once protected us — and how they evolve when we start designing our lives consciously:

Type 1 – The Reformer: Feels safe when things are in order. Growth comes when they trade perfection for peace.

Type 2 – The Helper: Feels loved when needed. Growth happens when they learn love doesn’t have to be earned.

Type 3 – The Achiever: Finds safety in success. Growth begins when they value authenticity over achievement.

Type 4 – The Individualist: Protects through depth and uniqueness. Growth unfolds when they realize beauty exists in simplicity too.

Type 5 – The Investigator: Stays safe through knowledge and distance. Growth happens when they re-enter life with presence.

Type 6 – The Loyalist: Feels secure through preparation. Growth starts when they trust intuition as much as evidence.

Type 7 – The Enthusiast: Avoids pain by chasing pleasure. Growth emerges when they face discomfort and find joy in stillness.

Type 8 – The Challenger: Protects through control. Growth blooms when they soften into vulnerability and trust.

Type 9 – The Peacemaker: Avoids conflict to stay safe. Growth deepens when they realize peace doesn’t require disappearing.

As you read these, notice which one makes your chest tighten or your head nod. That small reaction? That’s recognition — your nervous system saying, “this is mine.”

You don’t need to fix it. Just notice it. That’s where change begins.

Integration vs. Disintegration: Default vs. Designed Living

Every Enneagram type has two directions of movement. Under stress(Default mode), we regress — tightening back into old survival patterns. In growth (Design mode), we expand — integrating new qualities that bring balance and freedom.

Think about the last time you were under pressure. Who showed up first — the calm, grounded you or the one who goes into control mode? That’s your default self. It’s not wrong; it’s just automatic.

Now imagine responding differently — from trust instead of tension. That’s your designed self. The one who chooses presence over protection.

That shift right there? That’s the work of awareness in motion.

This is where the Life by Design Method™ comes alive:

Growth isn’t about becoming someone new — it’s about remembering the version of you that existed before the coping kicked in.

How the Enneagram Fuels the Life by Design Method™

In the Life by Design framework, the Enneagram becomes your mirror. Together, we uncover the unconscious motivators shaping your relationships, decisions, and energy. Once you understand why you do what you do, everything else starts to shift.

From there, we:

• Reframe old narratives that once dictated your choices.
  
• Release behaviors rooted in fear, not alignment.
  
• Rebuild habits that reflect your authentic values.
  

Picture it like renovating your inner home — clearing out what no longer fits so your truth has space to live.

Pause here and ask yourself: Where in my life am I still reacting from an old story? What would happen if you chose a new one?

From Awareness to Redesign

The Enneagram doesn’t put you in a box. It shows you the box you’ve been living in — and hands you the key.

You don’t have to burn down who you were. You just have to stop mistaking survival for identity.

Maybe your work right now isn’t to change faster, but to see clearer. To notice the pattern before it runs the show. To remember that you’re not your defenses — you’re the consciousness behind them.

When you know your pattern, you can redesign your path. That’s how you move from life by default…to Life by Design.

“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.”
— Carl Rogers

Ready to Explore Your Own Pattern?

Join this month’s Power Hour session: “Uncover Your Enneagram Pattern & Redesign Your Path.” You’ll discover how your type shapes your decisions, relationships, and energy — and how to break free from what’s been holding you back.

Know Your Pattern, Redesign Your Path: LEARN ALL ABOUT THE LIFE BY DESIGN METHOD