Who are you?  Who am I?  Who are we?  And are we for real?  We can become so concerned with doing that we often forget who we really are.

That introduction takes my brain straight to singing the lyrics from The Who’s “Who are you?” song:

Who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
I really wanna know (who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
Tell me, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
'Cause I really wanna know (who are you? Who, who, who, who?)

Life coaching in general can sound a bit “woo-woo.” Life coaching using the Enneagram may sound even more “woo-woo” to you if you are not familiar with the framework and structure the Enneagram provides in understanding personality and behavior.

The Enneagram teams up well with life coaching by leading us to a deeper understanding of self, by showing us how we “see the world,” and how we can change the ways we respond to the world. Enneagram work is about finding balance. It helps us answer the questions, who am I? why am I here?” and why do I do what I do?”

Breath is the foundation of life. When we are born, the first thing we do is inhale. And, exhaling is the last thing we do before death. Breathing crosses all cultural, language, and race barriers because we all breathe to live. It is a connection we have with each other, a mixing and intertwining between all living things.

A few years back, I would have scoffed at reading a book about the second half of life thinking it was about aging and dying. I’m making some progress because this book spoke to me about how rich and full the second half of life can be when we let go of all the things we built in the first half. “Falling Upward” is a strange concept, although I have fallen up stairs a few times. Falling up is much better than falling down, there is less force and momentum. In life, we are all falling, one way or another. Entering the second half of life by letting go of the first half helps us to be able “to fall into the good, the true, the beautiful — to fall into God.”

I love Brene Brown’s simple but profound words, “You are enough.” She goes on to say, “Believing that you're enough is what gives you the courage to be authentic.” Maybe 2024 is the year of discovering or re-discovering your goodness and authenticity. Maybe this new year is about slowing down, breathing, and living in each moment — fully being, fully loving, and fully enough.

We look forward to the holidays all year long. We love the magic of decorations, the joy of parties, the peace that comes when friends and family gather, the good food, the giving and receiving of gifts, and much more. But for many of us, even with our best intentions, we become overwhelmed during the holidays. Instead of peace and joy, we might experience exhaustion, frustration, and/or sadness. We have hustled and bustled, overspent, overindulged, had our feelings hurt, grieved missing loved ones, and are just tired. The holidays can be overwhelming!

We do not think ourselves into new ways of living, we live ourselves into new ways of thinking. ~Richard Rohr

What is keeping you from making the changes you want in life?

Many things vie for the opportunity to keep us stuck. Overthinking and roller coaster thoughts are one way that prevent us from finding change. Rumination can keep us dwelling on experiences, relationships, unmet goals, failures, and more. When this happens, we often cannot find the off switch to our thoughts and we stay where we are, not moving forward, not progressing, and not becoming all we can be.