Life as an Enneagram 9: Waking Up is (Not) Hard to Do.

I have no problem waking up in the morning, regardless of the chaos of the evening before. 8 hours of sleep. 4 hours of sleep. It matters not. I’m up by 6AM or 7AM ready to roll. Cup of coffee, journal, and a book. A routine I like to keep everyday of the week ( I do work a 9–5). I could drink till 4AM, hit the hay, be up at 7AM and feel like I slept 8 hours. A cold shower may be required to get the blood flow going and give me that jolt I need, but for the most part I’m wide-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to meet the day. For the longest time I didn’t know why. Friends and family had their opinions.

“You’re just a morning person…and an evening person.”

“You’ve always had a lot of energy.”

“You’re a psychopath.”

None of these reasons were very convincing to me, so I started diving in on my own, assessing my personality type and if that had anything to do with it. Asking the right questions was key —

What was I looking forward to during the day? Was it fear driven? Was it biological?

Questions piled up, but with no fulfilling answer. Then I found the Enneagram. Yes, I was also hesitant to fall into the hype. This thousand year old system for identifying personality types was ruined to me by the absolute hoopla it had been receiving. I tend to recoil from whatever it is people treat it like gods gift to man-kind. I did this with Beyonce’s music for a while, and we all know that’s a huge mistake to make.

Instead I dove in. Taking test, after test to see where I fell on the scale. Survey says:

Enneagram 9.

Here’s a brief synopsis of what being a 9 entails —

“Nines are accepting, trusting, and stable. They are usually creative, optimistic, and supportive, but can also be too willing to go along with others to keep the peace. They want everything to go smoothly and be without conflict, but they can also tend to be complacent, simplifying problems and minimizing anything upsetting. They typically have problems with inertia and stubbornness. At their Best: indomitable and all-embracing, they are able to bring people together and heal conflicts….Basic Fear: Of loss and separation. Basic Desire: To have inner…