True Nature Alignment

Enneagram 6 - the Loyal Skeptic
Every parent has a little Six in them. Our job is to protect our children, and to do so we have to be aware of all the things that can threaten their safety.
The gift:
Sixes are analytical, aware, and loyal. Because they feel fear more than most, they’ve had to build more courage, too.
What they’re trying to earn:
Security. Sixes have a particular sensitivity to danger and threat. They’re always aware of where something could go wrong, and they fear that it will. Being prepared and staying loyal feels like the way to stay safe.
The challenge:
To not let threat dominate their ability to make decisions or act. Some Sixes respond to fear with flight and pull back (phobic). Others respond with fight and charge straight at it (counterphobic). In both cases fear is still the one deciding.
In parenting:
We can all feel this one. Parenting means seeing the risks around every corner, and the Six has this ability in spades. The work for those who lead with Six, especially, lives in the tension between protection and faith. How can we protect our kids while also giving them freedom to learn and build confidence in themselves?
If you’re raising a 6:
Encourage the courage.
Help them acknowledge the fear, and learn to be informed by it, without being ruled by it.
When they bring up a concern, ask them how they might be able to handle it if that situation were to happen.
Help them have faith in their own ability to act thoughtfully.
A practice for all of us this week:
Name something you’re afraid of because you’ve lost some faith in yourself. Then ask yourself, what is one step I can take with courage, even without certainty?