Finding Freedom in Awareness: The Real Gift of the Enneagram
Some tools help you manage life. Others help you understand it. The Enneagram is one of those tools.
If you’ve listened to Running Ahrens, you’ve heard us talk about the Enneagram before, how it’s helped us as a couple, as parents, and as business leaders. But here’s the truth: it’s not just a personality test. It’s a mirror. And when you’re ready to look in that mirror with honesty, it can change everything.
The Enneagram doesn’t tell you who you are, it helps you see why you do what you do. It shows the patterns that drive your choices, reactions, and relationships, and gives you the awareness to grow beyond them.
Why It Matters in Real Life
In your personal life
Most of us live on autopilot. We move fast, avoid discomfort, and miss the subtle ways we self-sabotage. The Enneagram slows you down long enough to notice what’s actually happening underneath the surface, your motives, fears, and blind spots. That kind of awareness is the first step toward living with more freedom and peace.
In marriage
Every couple knows what it feels like to have the same argument on repeat. The Enneagram helps you see those patterns without judgment. It reveals what you each need when you’re stressed, how you handle conflict, and what it looks like to love each other better, based on who you really are, not who you wish the other person would be.
In parenting
No two kids see the world the same way. The Enneagram reminds us that our children are wired with their own perspectives from the start. Instead of typing them too soon, it helps us notice their attention patterns, what lights them up, what shuts them down, and respond with empathy rather than control.
In leadership and business
Workplaces thrive when people understand themselves. Teams break down when they don’t. The Enneagram gives leaders a map for emotional intelligence, how to recognize reactivity, communicate clearly, and build trust that lasts longer than a project or a paycheck. Studies show that self-aware leaders make better decisions and create stronger, more resilient teams.
In friendship and community
The Enneagram can help you show up differently. It teaches you to see others as they are, not through your own filter of what’s “right.” It’s the beginning of compassion, the kind that makes relationships last through difference, distance, and change.
How to Begin
If you’re curious where to start, here’s how:
🎧 Listen to Episode 1: The Enneagram and Us – Seeing Ourselves Clearly with
Michael Burditt Norton certified Enneagram teacher and conscious leadership coach, joins us to explain what the Enneagram really is, how the nine types work, and why self-awareness matters in every area of life.
🎧 Then listen to Episode 2: Coming Soon!
Explore Trusted Enneagram Resources
If you want to keep learning, these are some of our favorite places to start:
Enneagram.is — a visual, modern look at the types
Narrative Enneagram — in-depth learning from certified teachers
The Conscious Leadership Group — tools to apply the Enneagram in work and leadership
The Enneagram Institute — clear explanations of all nine types
Try Our EnneaQuest AI
To make this exploration easier (and more personal), we’ve built EnneaQuest—an interactive AI tool inside the Running Ahrens AI Hub.
EnneaQuest helps get you started with questions you may have. It is not an official test, but it is a great resources to ask some questions to.
It’s not about perfection. It’s about awareness.
At its core, the Enneagram isn’t about self-improvement—it’s about self-understanding. Because once you understand why you do what you do, everything else gets a little clearer: how you love, how you lead, and how you live.
Get started today.
Listen to Episode 1. Explore the resources above. Try EnneaQuest.
And keep becoming who you were meant to be.
Keep Running,
Justin & Sarah
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