Thursday, May 8, 2025

Energy levels - my marriage vs evolution of myself

I've been digging into the Enneagram a bit this week and it has made me question whether I'm trying to oversimplify things as I try to understand the differences in my energy level as a married person vs a single person.  

The easy answer is that my ex-husband drained my energy.  I'm sure there is truth to that but I'm not sure it paints the whole picture.

I'm an Enneagram type five also known as an investigator or an observer.  An average or unhealthy five, lives in a world of scarcity especially as it relates to time and energy.  External demands easily drain their energy and so they find ways to conserve it.  As a result, average or unhealthy fives often see themselves as separate from the world, an outsider looking in which can be very isolating.

On the flip side, healthy fives live in a world of abundance seeing themselves as part of their environment instead of as separate from everyone and everything.  They find an appropriate balance between participating and observing and engage with others comfortably.  

Over the last six or more months, I find myself identifying much more closely with a healthy five than I ever have in the past.  My energy levels today are at least in part because of the growth into a healthy five I have done this year.

I can't really separate that growth from the catalyst of the divorce.  The two are very intertwined.  And although, my husband's actions and expectations absolutely had a negative impact on me and my energy levels, it is my responsibility to be the healthiest version of myself.  And maybe the biggest takeaway is that that the cause of my increased energy today is likely a combination of stepping out of a draining relationship AND the work I have done on myself to be a healthier person.

I don't know exactly where this lands me and I am still early in my journey into what it means to be an Enneagram five - my understanding today is quite incomplete.  I expect there will be quite a few more blog posts about it as I read more and process what I read in the context of who I am and what I have experienced.

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