If you identify as a Type 9, our journey together starts by recognizing how much energy you devote to maintaining a sense of harmony and connection with the world around you, and how little attention you will sometimes give to focusing on your own being and agenda. You may need to become more conscious of all the ways you try to avoid any kind of discomfort, as well as becoming more aware of what exactly feels comfortable and uncomfortable to you.
To launch your journey of awakening, let’s focus on making more conscious these five habitual Type 9 patterns.
Neglecting What Is Important to You
You tend to support others and pay attention to all sorts of external demands, but neglect your own needs and priorities. It will be important for you to notice if you prioritize other people’s agendas over your own. It may be hard for you to act on your own personal priorities, rather than work on tasks connected to others, routines and processes, and other less important activities in life. You may habitually minimize your own importance. Even when you don’t like the way life seems to make you unimportant, it may be hard for you to assert yourself. Your tendency to avoid conflict might also lead you to minimize your own preferences and perspectives. It will help you to see if it is difficult for you to know what you want, and if this makes you feel disappointed and frustrated.
Difficulty Mobilizing Your Energy on Your Own Behalf
You may find that you can easily mobilize your energy when you are helping others, but you have a hard time sustaining your focus and energy when acting on your own behalf. You may find it difficult to take action in support of (or even know) what you need and want. You benefit from noticing if it is hard for you to clarify your own agenda and sustain your efforts to pursue it. You may get distracted when you try to make a conscious effort to do what you need to do for yourself. You probably prioritize less essential tasks, rather then paying attention to and acting on what is really meaningful to you.
Difficulty Establishing Boundaries
You may notice that you have difficulty saying “no” to people when they want you to do something for them. This may be another way in which you put others before yourself or over-adapt to what others want. It will be good for you to notice if it is hard for you to go against people or speak up when you don’t agree. You may have trouble setting limits when people take too much of your attention and energy. And all of these tendencies may highlight the fact that you have a difficult time seeing your need for boundaries and establishing them in your relationships with others.
Avoiding Conflict and Disharmony
You may notice you have a natural ability to be energetically attuned to the level of harmony or disharmony in your world. You tend to try to create harmony with the people around you and you work against conflict, disharmony, or tension of any kind. In fact, you may feel bothered by people who inject tension into the environment by creating problems or disturbing the peace. You typically work to avoid conflicts you might have with others or mediate conflicts among the people in your immediate environment. Your gift for helping people understand each other is motivated by a desire to help everyone get along. It will be important to notice if you you feel driven to fulfill the wishes of others as a way to keep things peaceful and stay connected to the important people in your life. And it will be important for you to notice if your need to avoid conflict ends up keeping you asleep to yourself.
Avoiding Discomfort
You may notice you have a tendency always to try to stay comfortable and avoid what feels uncomfortable. You may establish routines to stay comfortable, and try to avoid threats to your comfort, including disruptions, disagreements with others, or change of any kind. You tend to avoid uncomfortable feelings and sensations— and also avoid conflict and an awareness of your own anger as part of the effort to prevent discomfort. When you observe yourself in an intentional, ongoing way, you will likely discover that you prioritize staying in your comfort zone.
REFLECTION PIECE:
Have a think about the ways in which these patterns are prevalent in your life at the moment, and how they get in the way of you living the kind of life you most yearn for.