04/22/2024
I have been asked, "what is the difference between a regular life coach and an enneagram certified life coach. Well, I want to tell it in a story instead of a definition...
The old man who climbed one mountain.
A father once took his 10-year-old daughter with him to see the largest mountain in all the land. While looking at its massiveness he said, "one day I'm going to climb this mountain." The daughter in amazement and wonder at what was up at the top, said to her dad that she wanted to be there when he did and wanted to do it with him.
At that moment a man in his late 80s came along with a hunch in his back and a cane and said "I wish I could, I was our town's mountain climber, and I thought it was the biggest mountain in all the land that I climbed... but I was just told about it this year, and look at me now, there's no way I can put in all that training".
The little girl asked what it took. The old man replied that it was a long long story.
Being interested in what sort of training went into such a feat, the father pulled up a seat and asked if he had the time to share it. So the old man sat in a chair and began to start.
It started when he was a young boy about 10, he heard of a mountain so big that no one had ever climbed it he vowed to himself that he would do all the training in the world to be able to climb the tallest mountain in all the land. Being a boy he decided he would need to seek advice, so he sought out the fastest runner in the land. So he found her and asked to be trained. So they set off in their training to run. It took 10 years before he was able to out run his teacher. At that moment the teacher told him he was ready.
On his way to see the mountain for the first time, he saw acrobats in the street performing. Leaping from roof top to rooftop in a parquoresk style and flair. The young man says to himself that he must learn all he can from them, because surely he will need those skills if there are steap cliffs. So he joins their traveling group. After 10 years, he becomes so good that the troop elects him as their leader. Shocked by this, and humbled, he declines and shares that he was only there to develop the skill to be a mountain climber and climb the tallest mountain in all the land. Disappointed, they still wished him luck on his journey and then parted ways.
While back on his journey to the mountain, he passed along a beach. There were power lifters. They were lifting stones and trees that looked so heavy. The man began to wonder what he would do if there was a boulder in his way when climbing. So he went down and asked if he could be trained. He spent 10 years training with them, till one day he was able to lift the largest boulder any of them ever saw, and none of them could lift. He went up to it, and with all his might and perfect form he lifted the boulder. The others were amazed... they praised him and wanted to crown him as the strongest man alive. But like so many times before, he declined the invitation and said he needed to continue on his training to climb the mountain. He then went off.
The next town he got to on the way to the mountain, boasted of the coldest ice baths and the hottest steam rooms. The man began to wonder if he encountered too hot or too cold of a temperature on the mountain, would he withstand the weather. So he decided he would need to train his body to be able to withstand whatever weather he encounters. He thinks to himself that it took him 10 years to become fast, 10 years to become acrobatic, 10 years to become strong, then it would take 10 years to withstand the temperatures. He calculated out how many degrees per week it would take to max out in 10 years and he went to work. At 10 years to the day, he met his goal and knew he would now be ready.
Next stop was the mountain. When he made it he was shocked at it's size. He thought surely it was the tallest in all the land. It was then that he realized he didn't even think about how long it would take. And judging by it's size it was going to take months. But did he have the supplies for a 7 month journey? He wasn't sure... so he decided to take the supplies he had and camp at the bottom of the mountain. After a week he realized he didn't have enough. So he went and bought more. This time it all lasted 2 weeks. He kept practicing with amounts till he found the perfect amount to last 7 months. He then realized that the energy he would need to put out was so much more than he had when camping, so he began to exercise every day to make it another 7 months, but it barely made 2 with the exercising. So he continued to buy, exercise, and camp till he knew exactly how much it would take. Then he was ready.
At around the age of 65 he took the first step up the mountain. And he kept going. He developed a routine and knew exactly how far he needed to go to make it all the way up and back in 7 months. When he made it to the top, he looked out in wonder. In the distance he saw other mountains further away than he could make. They were even taller than the one he stood on. Saddened by this, he started his journey back down. He got to the bottom he saw the body builders, the acrobats, and the fastest woman that trained him. They all asked him how it was. In his excitement to see them, he didn't see the small hole in the ground and he tripped and broke his leg.
He was in the hospital when his friends came to visit. But this time, you could see the tears in his eyes. He told them that it was beautiful, but there were other mountains, taller ones in fact and that disappointed him because of how much more training it would take. But when he saw his friends and teachers he knew he could train and do it... the problem was, the doctor told him that because of his age, he would never be able to heal enough to climb another mountain, let alone a taller one.
The little girl looked at her dad, who visibly felt for the man. He asked him why he came to this mountain then now, wouldn't it be painful to see? The old man answered, that it had taken him over 20 years to train his mind to be able to look at the mountain with joy, and he was now doing it for the first time.
The old man went off to go back home and the little girl looked up at her dad who was just staring at the mountain. The girl said "I wonder how far we could get right now, just as we are?" The father looked down at her and said, "wanna find out right now?"... as they started up the mountain the little girl asked her dad "once we practice climbing so that we get to the top, can we find a bigger one and climb that one too?" To which the father said absolutely they could.
When I coach you with the enneagram, I help you embrace who you already are, where you already are, to help you to achieve your goals the only way that you can, as you already are.
