England, Eights, and Empowerment

When I first heard someone ask me, "what's your enneagram?", my first instinct was to feel offended. It quickly turned into an inner monologue of "should I have asked my OB-GYN about that?", which then melted into the realization that the person asking was talking about a pseudo-personality typing system.

Aha. Thank you.

For several years now, personality typing has been en vogue. What's your Myers Briggs? What's your chakra strength? What color is your aura? What's your archetype? Obviously, we all want to learn about the self, the world around us, and how to communicate within that world. This is learned from childhood, if not in the womb. It's engrained within us to discover and learn, and we do this by the filter of the self.

The temptation is to treat all of these typing systems as the end all be all of everything. The reality is that discovering who your true identity will improve the affect you have in your relationships and the world around you. Identity is rooted in something way beyond gender, race, career, sexual identity, or even belief systems. The enneagram is a tool to help, not the ultimate truth. It has been on my mind to organize my own experiences and sort out myself using this tool. My core desire is protecting myself through truth, so allow me to speak it.

Winston Churchill.

As anybody who knows me will tell, I am well versed in history. I love history. I work with a company that teaches history. I think history the single most vital subject that can extend to all facets of life. Without learning history, you can not learn of the future. This is true for any of the humanities as well as math and science, and more importantly, true for the knowledge of where you are in the grand scheme of things and how to understand the greater picture.

My two favorite time periods are the late 1700s and early 1940s. Talk to me about the American fight for independence and the Spirit of '76, or the fight against the evil, hostile take over of western ideals in Europe and America that resulted in an alliance that would preserve those ideals, and for your sake, I hope you brought a sandwich, because we will be talking for a while.

I have a 90 year old grandfather who lived through World War II and is a first hand scholar on the subject (as well as many others -- he reads books constantly). He is the one who introduced me to a man named Winston.

Winston Churchill, in my mind, is the single greatest man of the last two centuries. Sometimes, the world's stage calls for extraordinary people to fill a lead role. Had Mr. Churchill not been on the scene when Hitler attempted the take over of Europe, it would have fallen in short order. Considering the weak parliamentary leadership in England, who wanted to placate this dictator (who was elected by a democratic process, by the way), the fall of Europe would have happened swiftly. Without Winston's fortitude, wit, and leadership, I really do believe that Europe would still be in the hands of a fascist government, and that the problems we see today would be magnified.

Winston Churchill was also hated. Early on, he was seen as a war monger, a man with blood lust, and an old bulldog (quite literally looking like one). People conspired against him, trying to ruin his reputation and his position as Prime Minister. It didn't work, as I hope you already know, and he went on to ensure the evacuation at Dunkirk, overseeing many strategic military decisions, and ensuring support from American troops which England so desperately needed. I highly suggest reading materials on the life of this extraordinary man. Oddly enough, one of the better books I've read is by Boris Johnson (yes, THAT Boris Johnson) who wrote a book called The Churchill Factor. It's a good read, and goes into his entire life's history, so you have a better grasp of who he already was going into World War II.

In any case, it may seem weird, but I always felt a kinship to Mr. Churchill. Whenever I'd see his portrayal in films or reading him, I understood why he was misunderstood. I connected with his attitude and spirit. Admiring him was easy for me and I only recently have come to the conclusion as to why...

This scene from the film, The Darkest Hour, sums it up rather nicely in a buttoned sort of way. It is the scene where he is having lunch with King George VI.

WINSTON:
I am unwanted. I’ve never been trusted since the Gallipoli campaign. Unwanted.

GEORGE VI

Perhaps--it is because--you scare people.

WINSTON

Who?!

GEORGE VI

You scare me.

WINSTON

(scarily)

What?! What nonsense! What could be scary about me?

 

GEORGE VI

One never knows what is going to come out of your mouth next. Something that w-will flatter-- or wound.
 

WINSTON

My emotions are unbridled.

 



 

 

He goes on to show the sentiment that despite his appearance of being brisk, intimidating, hard, even scary to a reigning monarch...that his love of country and for the people of that country and for their freedom runs so deep that it brings him to tears regularly. Tears that no one sees.

 

 



I.
So.
Get.
That.

Type Eight

 



My lead number on the enneagram is Type Eight. The "Protective Challenger". According to most enneagram experts, eights are the most misunderstood type out of the nine. Eights are intense, assertive, say it like it is, independent, determined, even forceful. At their best, those attributes can turn into inspiration, decisiveness, honor, empowering to others, generosity, gentleness, and  protective of the innocent.

Eights can be the most tender on the enneagram, which is why they put on such a thick armor. Indeed, their emotions are unbridled, and they don't want that emotion to be perceived as a weakness, because for them, it is a strength. Someone once told me that I believed that emotions were weak, and I was hurt by that. It's a lie. Eights are so strong within their emotions and tenderness.You are most likely to see the tenderness of an eight when they are near children or animals, as those are the most innocent and vulnerable beings.  Their core fear is being at the mercy of injustice. Both for themselves and others.

As you may have gathered, either by already knowing me or after reading my connection to Churchill, I am an eight through and through. Female eights are rare, and misunderstood, especially by other women. It has been my experience that when a man is an eight, he is trusted to lead and is perceived as strong, tough, and unbridled. His blunt honesty is what is needed in the heat of decision making. Those are the men you follow into the battlefield.

When a woman is an eight, she is seen as harsh, blunt, mean, impolite, cruel, and insensitive. I'd love to get into the deeper issue of how men and women perceive female eights (and not the way you'd think), but for now, I'll stick to the basics and leave that for a deeper conversation.

We all have our "unhealthy" side, and when we are unhealthy, we do or say things in our worst way, giving into the side of our type that can do the most damage. The core desire of an eight is to protect themselves. Above all, they value truth and honesty. It is their mother tongue. They need it spoken to them and need to speak it to others. The truth will set you free. The truth hurts. The truth is a double edged sword that not everyone feels the need to carry. Therefore, others can feel endangered by those who carry the sword of truth. To the protective challenger, this is how they fight the enemy. As I said before, being at the mercy of injustice is not an option. Betrayal is the deepest cut.

Spiritually, for me, the reminder that Christ was betrayed in the biggest way possible, and that he understands being at the mercy of injustice, gives me hope and strength. Knowing that I can ultimately rest in his security and protection means that I don't always need to be my own savior and protector. I can allow someone else to take that burden. In my weakness, he is strong. When he is strong, I draw from it, and am able to be a better Protector of the Innocent.




Like Winston Churchill.




...Or Wonder Woman.




I'll leave you to chew on that for a spell. If you are interested in learning more about the enneagram, I highly suggest clicking your way over to Your Enneagram Coach & taking the free assessment.

Also, this podcast helped out this little eight. It's insightful into the life of a powerful speaker and woman in leadership, Jo Saxon.

Finally, just for fun, listen to Winston Churchill mobilize the English language.

Be well. x