How does self-awareness lead to personal transformation?  This is a question I hear often. The answer is simple yet complicated.  Each of us internalize messages in childhood that shape our beliefs and impact what methods we use to get our needs met.  We adopt these automatic patterns of thinking, acting and feeling and rarely question whether they still work for us as adults.

What does this have to do with transformation?  Well, first, self-awareness gives us the capacity to take an honest look at our lives and learn where we need to focus in order to grow.  The Enneagram helps us unearth the why behind the beliefs that drive us and what our habitual patterns of behavior are. This, in turn, helps us zero in on where we need change.

And, as I am all about practice—and application—of the Enneagram, one of the best ways to use this tool for everyday transformation is called the Vice-to-Virtue pivot.

The Vice, or passion, is the emotional habit we get stuck in when operating in personality, or ego.  It’s the emotional expression of our type. This habit is often unconscious—we barely even know we do it.    

Each type also has a virtue, or invitation to higher essential goodness.  The idea here is to become aware when we are operating in our lower personality passion in order to pivot and choose to open up to your types virtue. 

Our vice and virtue work together.  Essentially, understanding both our vice and our virtue allows us to evolve beyond the entrapments of our personality type.  Remember, the Enneagram is not meant to box you into a type.  It wants to show you your type so you can grow beyond the limiting parts of it.

So, how do you pivot from vice to virtue?  This requires self-observation, self-awareness and a commitment to personal growth. When you commit to self-observation and focus on identifying your triggers and the compulsive patterns of your behavior, your virtue shows up on its own.  You become more receptive and the space for growth emerges.

This week, take a moment to reflect on your Enneagram type’s passion and virtue. What are they? Where do you see both of them show up? When you notice your compulsive patterns of behavior being triggered, how can self-observation allow you to pivot and lean into your virtue instead?