Hamster wheels are fun to watch and terrible to be on.

When a furry rodent needs to get some exercise, wheels are adorable. When humans are circling the thoughts in their minds—that’s an exercise in futility.

We all have times of overthinking, but for some of us, it’s a consistent way of being.

The Dependent Stance—Ones, Twos, & Sixes—find themselves in this place of overthinking. Exhausting without a result.

Remember thinking, doing, and feeling? Our dependent stance friends use doing and feeling to make their way in the world. They are thinking all the time, but it’s often unproductive. (In Enneagram language, this is a  repressed center. But I don’t want you to throw axes at me if I say thinking repressed. So unproductive thinking 😊) Ones, Twos, & Sixes are some of the most loyal & self-sacrificing on the Enneagram, they are with people to reform, help, or prepare.

Yet the unbalanced centers of intelligence and relentless thinking traps these folks in repetitive cycles that cause difficulty, restrict their freedom, and keep their gifts from the world.

Their thinking gets interrupted in different ways.

Ones:

You spend a lot of time arguing with your internal critic. The internal debate with the perfectionist dominating your mind stops you from getting at solutions.

Twos: 

You spend a lot of time pondering relationships. The conversations, the feelings of others, the status of all the relationships, professional & personal. This stops you from thinking through tasks and ideas that are yours.

Sixes:

You spend a  lot of time preparing for worst-case scenarios that are unlikely to happen. You also spend a lot of time managing the internal committee in your mind. This stops you from feeling competent and in control of your life.

That hamster wheel moves fast. It can feel challenging,  even frightening, to step off. Learning a new way always requires training, and redirecting unproductive thinking is big-time training.

And it’s so worth it. Your peace & your contribution to our world depends on it.

Any Ones, Twos, and Sixes out there? Is this problematic for you?