Enneagram

Awareness to Action: Enneagram Strategies

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Today, we´re continuing with the basic concepts of the Awareness to Action model (also called ATA), by Mario Sikora, a methodology based on the Enneagram of Personality that provides powerful and practical tools for personal and professional development.

The other day, we looked at one of the dimensions of this model, the three instinctual biases, and today we´re going to focus on the other one, the nine strategies. Each dimension describes a different aspect of the way we are, and when we combine them, we get 27 personality profiles, which, even though they don´t explain everything about people (not even close!), they do provide plenty of information regarding patterns of thought, emotion and behaviour that are habitual and characteristic of each profile.

You may be wondering, what´s the use of all this? Well, apart from allowing us to understand people better (starting with ourselves), it allows us to recognise when those non-conscious patterns (our good old autopilot, heavily influenced by the elephant) are causing us trouble instead of helping us, so that we can take control and choose a more adaptive option depending on the circumstances, achieving better results, and with less suffering along the way.

In other words, have you ever heard that humans are the only animals to ever trip over the same stone twice? Well, working with the Enneagram helps us to discover those stones we keep tripping over again and again, and to figure out what to do to in order to come to terms with them.

(Symbol of the Enneagram: nine points placed around a circle, represented by numbers from 1 to 9, and with lines linking each point with another two points it relates to.)

So, let´s dive into the strategies. First of all, I want to clarify that when we say "strategy" in this context, we´re not referring to something conscious and deliberate coming from your rational mind, like when we talk about a market strategy, or a military strategy. Here, once again, we´re referring to non- conscious patterns; in this case, the specific way in which our brain has learned to face day-to-day problems and situations.

The other day we spoke about how the instinctual biases show us the needs that each of us considers most important (the ones related to preserving, navigating or transmitting, depending on the case). Well, the nine strategies show us the ways in which we tend to try and satisfy those needs. Each of us uses one of the nine strategies more than the other eight, and that´s what determines our Enneagram type.

The definitions of each ennea-type slightly vary depending on the approach to the Enneagram being used, and needless to say, they´re only the tip of the iceberg; there´s so much depth to explore underneath. In ATA, each strategy is defined by our striving to feel a certain way, and that way we want to feel becomes our deepest motivation, as well as the filter through which we perceive life and interact with it.

  • Ennea-type 1 is striving to feel perfect.
  • Ennea-type 2 is striving to feel connected.
  • Ennea-type 3 is striving to feel outstanding.
  • Ennea-type 4 is striving to feel unique.
  • Ennea-type 5 is striving to feel detached.
  • Ennea-type 6 is striving to feel secure.
  • Ennea-type 7 is striving to feel excited.
  • Ennea-type 8 is striving to feel powerful.
  • Ennea-type 9 is striving to feel peaceful.

These "ways of feeling" determine the "default mode" in which we operate most of the time, and, as you can see, they go way beyond behaviour: in reality, they are nine totally different ways to understand the world.

I like the way Alberto Peña Chavarino explains this: it´s as if we were all wearing glasses with tinted lenses of a specific colour, perhaps pink, or green, or blue, and therefore we see life as if filtered through that colour, while other people see it in a different colour because the tint in their glasses is different. I would dare say that the majority of problems, frustrations and misunderstandings we have in life are due to not realizing, first, that we´re wearing the glasses, and second, that others are wearing other glasses that are not like ours.

This depth is precisely what distinguishes the Enneagram from other personality models: we´re not focusing on behavious here, as one same behaviour can come from very different motivations. We focus on what lies behind, what ultimately causes that behaviour (or that way of thinking or feeling). That´s why we have to be very careful with the words used, and go beyond them, to the intention, to the why.

For example, when somebody tells us that they´re a "perfectionist", we can fall into the trap of immediately thinking they´re Enneagram type 1, the one striving to feel perfect. But what exactly do we mean by perfectionism, and what´s the motivation behind those behaviours? It could indeed be a type 1 trying to be morally correct and adhere to the established rules, but it could also be a type 3 looking to show excellence, and therefore be outstanding, or a type 6 looking to avoid risks that could jeopardise their job.

In a similar way, the same perception of "wanting others to be happy" may originate from several different motivations: do I want to help you to feel good, so that I feel connected to you and valued, like a 2 would do? Do I want you to be happy so that you don´t bring me down, and I can be happy and excited, like a 7 would do? Or do I want to minimise my needs so that I´m not in your way and we get to keep the peace, like a 9 would do? As you can see, a single behaviour doesn´t confirm anything, though it is an observable data point that we can gather together with other data points, until a hypothesis starts to take form.

And once our hypothesis makes sense and we see consistency in the way we interact with life, we can start applying it to our personal and professional development work.

Let´s remember that the key to all this is NOT to identify as an ennea-type and simply accept it as what we are (or even worse, use it as an excuse to justify yourself and neglect to change). The idea is to realise that what we do habitually (how we think, how we feel, how we behave) so that we can make the most of it, and make it flexible whenever suits.

What do you think of all this? Do you see yourself reflected in one of the nine strategies? You may see yourself in more than one, and that´s also normal. Later on, we´ll talk about the connections between points in the Enneagram symbol, and how we can leverage them to our advantage.

Awareness to Action: Instinctual Biases

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This past week, at work, I gave my first talk on the topic of instinctual biases, one of the two dimensions of the Awareness to Action model I mentioned a couple of months ago.

This part of the model describes three domains or areas of life that we all focus on without really noticing, as they are essential for our survival, and ultimately, for the survival of the human species. But the interesting thing is that we don´t realise how much attention we give to them (hence the word "instinctive", as they´re non-conscious tendencies), and even more interesting is the fact that this attention is not equally distributed among the three areas; instead, each of us prioritises one of them way above the other two (hence the word "biases", which are nothing more than tendencies to follow certain patterns).

Crucially, these instinctual biases are a determining factor in many of our decisions and everyday behaviours, so, going back to the analogy of the elephant from the other day, by being aware of these biases, we´ll be able to detect their influence on us, and work with them so that they help us instead of hindering us.

But before telling you about these three domains, there are two things I would like to clarify:

  • First, that us human beings are incredibly complex (and contradictory!), and there are a multitude of factors that influence our personality (remember the layers of the iceberg, and then add other aspects like family, culture, demographics, life experiences, etc., etc., etc.). This model doesn´t intend to explain everything about a person, not even remotely; that would be simply impossible. But it does explain several things that can provide significant value. As the famous quote attributed to George Box says: "all models are wrong; some models are useful".
  • Second: that this is not about labelling people, or putting them into boxes. It´s about realising that we´re already in a box, we´re already conditioned, and by being aware of that conditioning, we can make our "box" more flexible and adapt better to the circumstances at any given moment. So it´s not a question of defining who we are through this classification (or any other); it´s all about observing how we behave, and above all, the things we habitually do most of the time, so as to distinguish the moments when our auto pilot tends to get us into trouble or create misunderstandings.

In view of all this, the three instinctual domains in Awareness to Action are formulated as verbs, representing clusters of behaviours:

  • Preserving
  • Navigating
  • Transmitting

All these behaviours are, in reality, evolutionary adaptations we´ve inherited from our ancestors; they were useful to our ancestors, in the sense that they allowed them to survive at least long enough to reproduce, thus ensuring the continuity of our species.

Note: if you´re already familiar with the Enneagram through books or other schools or traditions, as there are several approaches, you may be familiar with other names used for the three subtypes under each Enneagram type. It´s not only the name that´s different here: chances are these concepts are broader than the ones you may have learned before, so you may need to do some "unlearning" to be able to grasp their full meaning and scope.

(Photos of a squirrel, two chimpanzees and a peacock, symbolising the three instinctual domains.)

We will get into more details for each instinctual domain and its corresponding bias in future articles; for now, let me give you some very broad strokes, including the symbols we use, which will hopefully help with understanding:

The preserving domain focuses on "nesting and nurturing", that is, making sure the fundamental survival needs are met, both for oneself and one´s family or close ones: for example, food, shelter and protection from external threats. It´s associated with the image of a squirrel, which we can visualise getting ready for the winter.

The navigating domain focuses on "orienting to the group", that is, understanding people and how they interact socially and within groups. Building alliances, creating trust and reciprocity, and understanding how oneself and others fit into the group. It´s associated with the image of some monkeys or chimpanzees, as these animals also form social groups with somewhat complex rules.

The transmitting domain focuses on "attracting and bonding", that is, behaving in ways that attract attention and leave a mark, so that they can transfer not only their genes (though that´s part of it as well), but also other things as their beliefs, values, interests and worldview to others, in order to make them carriers of that information. It´s associated with the image of a peacock, displaying its colourful and elegant feathers.

What do you think of these three domains? The are all necessary, and all of us do things in order to satisfy needs in all of the three areas.

But, as I said before, we don´t pay the same attention to all three of them: for some reason, we consider the needs related to one domain more important than those of the other two, and therefore, we prioritise the behaviours aimed at satisfying those needs. In a way, they become like a system of values we conform to without realising. And as a consequence, the other two areas are given lower priority, especially one of them, which always ends up at the bottom of the list... But we´ll talk about all of that in future articles.

Do you see yourself predominantly in one of these domains? Or maybe you´re torn between two, or even the three of them? As we get deeper and deeper into the model, hopefully the mystery will be solved... For the moment, as always, observation (and above all, self-observation) is the best exploration tool that will allow you to make interesting discoveries.

Awareness to Action

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We´re in mid-December, and it´s time to start looking back at the year that´s now coming to an end. I have to say that 2025 has been a super busy year for me, both personally and professionally... But also, and probably for the same reasons, it´s been a tremendously rewarding year, one in which I believe I have grown and matured in many ways.

Professionally speaking, there are two highlights of this year for which I am incredibly thankful, and I´ll say it, also very proud. The first one I already told you in September: achieving my ACC certification.

The second one has been a whole journey of learning (and unlearning!) that began in January, and that I´m not going to say is just finished, because I´m sure I´m going to continue to learn... I´ve just completed the ATA – Awareness to Action training and certification program, delivered by Mario Sikora and María José Munita, of Awareness to Action International. And to me, this has meant finding a fundamental piece of my coaching project, integrating the Enneagram.

(Symbolic image of the three instinctual biases that are characteristic to Awareness to Action´s methodology: preservers, navigators and transmitters. Thanks Óscar for the drawings!)

If you´ve been reading this blog for a while, you may have seen me timidly mention the Enneagram on a few occasions; very few, if we take into account that I´ve been studying it in detail for three years now... And this hasn´t been due to a lack of interest, not at all: I find the Enneagram fascinating, I believe it´s an incredibly helpful tool for personal (and professional) development.

It´s been mostly due to a lack of confidence in my ability to explain it well, to be able to convey its full value without falling into superficial stereotypes (putting us all in boxes rather than setting us free) or overcomplicated explanations (confusing us even more instead of helping our understanding). And I´m sure there´s still more progress for me to make on this, but at least, today I can finally say that I have that confidence.

At this point, it´s good to clarify what we mean exactly when we say "the Enneagram". In the most literal sense, the Enneagram is a symbol named after two Greek words: ennea means "nine", and gram, "line", and indeed, this diagram is formed by nine lines, connecting nine points distributed around a circle.

This symbol is used as part of a personal development tool, called "the Enneagram of personality", which describes nine different personality profiles and the way they are interconnected following certain patterns.

Now, what not many people know is that there´s not a single fixed and static "Enneagram" as such, in the sense that it´s not a proprietary system of personality typing like DISC or MBTI (Myers-Briggs). In the Enneagram world, there are multiple approaches and schools of thought, some older and some more recent, that have been evolving and getting refined over time, in the same way the fields of psychology, philosophy and many other disciplines have been progressively evolving and building new approaches based on previous ones.

If we were to compare it with an operating system, for example, it wouldn´t be like Windows or Mac OS, but rather like Linux - open source, available for everyone to create their own versions, enhancements and contributions.

The thing is, one of the current problems we see with the Enneagram is that many people are learning it from books that were written many years ago, using certain concepts and ideas that are obsolete nowadays, and for which now we have better explanations, based on practical applications of the model over the years. Or even worse, they only get a partial version of those stereotyped concepts and ideas, in the form of hypersummarized descriptions and superficial jokes published on social media.

And to be honest, it´s a pity, because the Enneagram, when it´s well understood, well explained and well applied, is surprisingly powerful, both for its depth and its simplicity, and tremendously helpful for personal work, as well as for professional growth.

That´s why I´m so happy to have found an approach to the Enneagram that allows me not only to understand it in all its depth, but also to explain it in clear and simple terms, and to apply it to practical situations inside and outside my coaching practice. So, from January onwards, you can expect a lot more blog content on the Enneagram; I´ll explain the methodology behind Awareness to Action, or ATA, its different components and how they relate to each other.

Thanks a million again, Mario and María José, for your generosity over the last year, sharing your wisdom and the model you´ve built through many years of working in the field. Also, thanks Lee, Micky and Creek for your support, each of you in your own style and with your own perspectives, and thanks to all my classmates for the time we shared. And of course, I also want to thank Autognosis, the school where I got my Enneagram foundation in the first place: Alberto, Laura, Fernando, Rafa, Luis, Benoit, Ana B and Ana M. Thank you!

Birthday

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March 10th 2025, and it´s my turn to blow 47 candles.

Photo of a "happy birthday" candle

In previous years, I´ve made it all a bit more mysterious, writing my age in binary code (101111), hexadecimal (0x2F) or even Roman numerals (XLVII).

Anything in order not to say it too directly, but not because I particularly care about my age, that doesn´t bother me (or at least, that´s what I´m saying now; we´ll see when I get to 50...)

In reality, what happens is that I have mixed feelings regarding my birthday. On the one hand, there's my aversion to being the centre of attention, which prevents me from reminding anyone about my birthday as it´s coming up; then, on the other hand, there´s always this hope that people will remember to say happy birthday to me, and probably, deep down, the conviction that "they should remember". For those with Enneagram knowledge, any similarities with a preserving type 1 are pure coincidence 😉

Anyway, there´s no way I can escape this year; pretty much everyone knows already. So, from the bottom of my heart, thanks a million for your birthday wishes, bring on another year. Big hug.

Stoic wisdom

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According to the experts, one of the most effective things we can do to stay mentally and emotionally healthy is to keep learning for life learning new things that we enjoy and find interesting not only provides us with new knowledge, but also gives us motivation and flexibility, as well as opening our minds.

I wouldn´t be able to tell you when I first got interested in topics related to personal growth. I think part of it started when I moved from Spain to Ireland, as I was beginning a new life in many ways. Fast forward to the last few years, especially since the pandemic hit, and my interest in this field, together with the variety of specific topics and the time and attention I dedicate to them, have exponentially grown. But deep down, I believe this itch started way, way back.

For example, I remember really enjoying the subject of philosophy when we had it in school (3rd year of BUP, for whoever knows what that means); I even read a novel about the history of philosophy that our teacher recommended: Sophie´s world, and I also loved it.

Ruins of an ancient Greek temple against a blue sky with clouds

Many years later, I´ve bumped into the world of philosophy again, this time through a course on stoicism and enneagram (which I totally recommend, as every other course from Autognosis) that I´ve just finished this week.

To be honest, I´ve really enjoyed it, and the best part is that it´s a very practical kind of philosophy: a series of principles that we can apply to our day-to-day life, to be happier and suffer less. Nowadays we may think of philosophy as this complicated theoretical thing you can talk about (philosophize!) for ever, but so far removed from real day-to-day life that it doesn´t help at all, so nothing changes. But the ancient Greeks and Romans saw it differently: for them, philosophy was much more tangible, it was their way to get guidance in life. Back then, philosophers were the equivalent to today´s therapists and coaches.

There´s a lot we can learn from stoicism´s teachings and reflections, I´ll tell you some of them in blog articles as we go along. For the moment, today I´d like to leave you with a text you may already be familiar with; it´s relatively recent, but it has a lot to do with one of stoicism´s principles, one that resonates especially with me: the dichotomy of control.

The dichotomy of control warns us about the uselessness of spending energy trying to dominate what´s outside of our control, and encourages us to focus on what we can control instead, so that we get less frustrated and also achieve better results. And in that context, the prayer of serenity just fits perfectly:

Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

Reinhold Niebuhr

By the way, I just remembered that it was in that same philosophy class from school where I first heard about Socrates and his maieutic, one of the foundations of modern coaching 🙂

The value of self-discovery

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This past weekend, a former colleague (thanks Eli!) invited me to participate in a Facebook live broadcast about the importance of self-discovery. Here is the content I prepared for that session, I hope you find it interesting; some of this you may have heard from me already.

Surface view of an iceberg and its reflection on the water, against a blue sky

Today I'd like to talk to you about the value of self-discovery, and how useful it is for life in general and for a coaching process in particular. Why? Because self-discovery helps us to find better solutions to our problems.

Have you ever had a problem (with your family, your partner, your friends, at work...) you initially didn't know how to resolve? Maybe you felt like complaining, and blaming someone else, but, did that solve your problem? Probably not.

Perhaps you resorted to asking for advice, getting someone else to tell you what to do. And did that solve the problem? Maybe, or maybe not. Because a solution that works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another. And even if someone gives you advice with their best intentions, it may not be appropriate for your situation.

Today we're going to look at an alternative proposal, a different strategy for facing challenges that enables the solution to emerge from within, instead of being brought from outside. And that proposal is self-discovery.

Know thyself. This famous aphorism was inscribed in the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, in ancient Greece. Before making any inquiries to the Gods, the traveller was invited to investigate their own essence, to understand themselves as a starting point for understanding the world better, in order to be able to make wiser decisions.

Nowadays we have more modern versions of the Oracle of Delphi: we have therapists, coaches, self-help books, and all kinds of information sources. The advantage of a coaching process as opposed to a self-help book is that the coaching process is a lot more personalized: it focuses on the person and their specific goal, which can be related to solving a problem, overcoming a challenge, or reaching a particular goal. In either case, it's all about making a life change.

But making long-lasting changes that truly work for us is not always easy; in fact, we tend to find it quite difficult. Why? Because each person is like an iceberg.

What we can see of a person is only a minimal portion, less than 10%. We get to see the environment they live in, and their behaviour in certain situations, but we have no idea of the reasons behind it, their motivations, their fears, and so many other factors that make up their reality.

And the same applies to ourselves, even if we find it difficult to believe. Most of the time we're running on auto-pilot, making unconscious decisions, so if we want things to change, we need to dive into the iceberg and become aware of those areas of ourselves that are really unknown to us. That's what self-discovery is all about.

This metaphoric iceberg was described by Robert Dilts through what he called neurological levels. The first two levels (environment and behaviour) are conscious, and all the rest are unconscious unless we work on them. Our exploration can start with our behaviour, which is still conscious, and from there we can carefully dive in deeper to discover each level:

  • Behaviour: How do I react in certain situations? What triggers me? What patterns can I find?
  • Capabilities: What am I good at, and what am I not? What skills do I have to work on?
  • Beliefs: What stories am I telling myself about myself and about the world? Are those stories helping me, or holding me back?
  • Values: What do I consider most important in my life? Am I honouring those values in my day-to-day life?
  • Identity: Who am I? Who do I want to be? Who do I want to become?
  • Transpersonal: What meaning do I want to give to my life? What legacy do I want to leave behind?

As we dive deeper into the different levels of the iceberg, we start understanding ourselves much better, and we find explanations for the things that happen to us. And the deeper the level where we initiate a change in our life, the more effective, stable, and durable that change will be, and the easier it will turn out to be.

For example, if I want to quit smoking and I try to achieve it just by using my willpower, I'm going to find it really difficult, and if I still see myself as a smoker, I can relapse at any moment. In contrast, if I'm able to see myself as a non-smoker, as a smoke-free person, that new identity is going to make things a lot easier for me. I no longer have to fight against myself in order to maintain this new habit.

OK, great, understood up to here (I hope), now we know the theory 🙂. But in practice, where do we start? How do we approach getting to know ourselves better?

The key to this is self observation, being present so that we become aware of what happens when we´re running on auto-pilot: the thoughts that pop up regularly in our mind, the situations we feel comfortable and uncomfortable in, the way each of us reacts when certain things happen, etc.

From there, we leave judgment aside, and with curiosity, we start pulling the thread to find out what's hiding behind: what's my motivation to behave like this? What fear or need am I feeling right now? Has something similar to this ever happened to me?

That's how we start discovering patterns that show us how we relate to ourselves, to other people, and to the world, giving us a lot of information about the way we understand life and the strategies we use (successfully or unsuccessfully) to solve our problems.

We can also use a number of tools that help us to identify patterns according to our personality. Not because we want to label ourselves and justify everything based on that label, but because that knowledge is going to give us more freedom, and allow us to take advantage of our own nature, instead of fighting against it.

For the record, I want to highlight that every person is different, and there are many many factors involved in human personality. Self-discovery tools are nothing more than that: tools, approximations; they're not a rigid classification, or the absolute truth.

Here is a brief mention of my favourite tools, they're all fascinating, I'll explain more about them in future posts:

  • From NLP, as well as Robert Dits's neurological levels, we can learn about representational systems, the tendencies we as humans have to rely on some senses more than others when interacting with the world (visual, kinaesthetic, auditory & digital).
  • Morphosicology studies the relationship between facial features and personality, more specifically around our temperament (our innate capabilities). The face is the only part of the human body that's directly connected to the brain - that's why the configuration of our face somehow reflects the inner workings of our mind.
  • The enneagram is a study of personality from a cognitive point of view: it explains nine ways of understanding life (the nine enneatypes, as they're called, represented by numbers from 1 to 9), the basic need each enneatype is focused on, and the set of strategies each enneatype develops in order to fulfill their basic need.
  • The instinctual biases theory complements the enneagram. It tells us how all the natural instincts we inherited from animals can be grouped into three categories, and how each one of us gives more importance to one of those three instinctual biases (preserving, navigating, and transmitting).

In summary: self-discovery is an inward journey that allows us to discover how we truly function and how we interact with the world, so that we can find tailored solutions that really work for us.

Through observation, curiosity and the use of tools, we discover patterns that explain why what happens to us happens to us. And the better we know ourselves, the more we understand, and the less we judge ourselves. We no longer beat ourselves up for tripping over the same stone again, because now we understand how that happens, and we can acquire resources to manage it better.

Each person is different, and self-discovery helps us at multiple levels, from solving specific everyday problems to enjoying more freedom and happiness in our life, as we begin to live more in line with our own nature and suffer a lot less.

So, now what? Now, the choice is yours, do you want to keep searching for generic solutions to your problems, and blame others when they don't work, or do you want to find what really suits you?

Warning: the path of self-discovery is not always easy, you have to be brave enough to dare to look inward. Some of the things you'll find along the way will be a little painful, they'll sting a little, and you won't be able to use any excuses! At certain times you may even feel that your world is becoming a bit wobbly: that's a sign that you're growing and evolving, the deepest layers of your iceberg are readjusting.

What I can assure you is that it's a most interesting journey that lasts a lifetime, it never ends. It's like a videogame: every time you learn something new and overcome a certain level, life puts the next level in front of you, so that you continue to earn points in wisdom and freedom 🙂

And that's today's article, thanks for reading until the end. Are you curious now? Do you dare to embark on this fascinating journey toward the depths of your iceberg?

Untranslatable sentences: echao p’alante

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Today, in our section on untranslatable sentences, we´ll talk about a very popular colloquial expression from Spain: ser muy echao p’alante.

The Collins Dictionary provides three translation examples for es muy echado p’alante, I hope they make sense to those of you reading this in English:

  • He’s very pushy
  • He’s very forward
  • He’s not backward in coming forward (informal)

To me, being echao p’alante means being brave, in the sense of daring to take the initiative and taking action when faced with certain situations, without fearing ridicule (or maybe fearing it a bit, but without letting that condition them).

Little girl riding on a horse with her hands in the air, seen from behind

My friend Bárbara comes to mind; she served as chairperson of our primary school's Parents' Association for several years, and I remember her one day explaining to me how, every time there was a call for volunteers to organize an event for the school, there were always certain people who threw themselves forward (echar literally means throw), and others who threw themselves back.

I was one of those parents who signed up to help in whichever way I could, but mainly to help, not to lead. I was not the one taking the initiative, I was happy following somebody else's lead. And that's a pattern that's been repeating year after year in many aspects of my life.

So in short, I am not (and never was) particularly echá p’alante... The good news is that now I know that that's part of my personality, more specifically part of my instinctual biases, as opposed to a weakness of character that I have to get over.

According to Mario Sikora's instinctual biases theory, which is taught in conjunction with the Enneagram, our natural instincts as human beings can be grouped in three main domains, the preserving domain (striving for survival, looking after our basic needs, looking after our close ones), the navigating domain (sense of belonging to a group, social relationships with our peers), and transmitting domain (reproduction, spreading our message, leaving a legacy in this world).

Each person tends to have the instincts from one of the three domains a lot more developed than the others, with a secondary domain, and then a third domain that's far less developed. And broadly speaking, we could say that individuals who are strongest in the transmitting domain tend to push forward, given their instinctive desire to transmit, to convince, to make progress. In contrast, individuals who are strongest in the preserving domain tend to pull back more, to try and protect ourselves by keeping a low profile. Individuals who are strongest at the navigating (or social) domain tend to seek balance between what they give and what they receive, expecting reciprocity.

An important point I would like to highlight is that no instinctual bias is better than any other: we need them all, because each of them relates to a particular set of capabilities and strengths, and they all balance each other within the group. We need preservers, navigators and transmitters in our tribe.

For me personally, learning about instinctual biases is helping me a lot to understand my own reactions and behaviours, as well as those of others. But that doesn't mean we can use them as an excuse to continue with our same old ways. On the contrary, it makes us realize that instead of forcing ourselves to do things that are radically against our instincts, we can work with them to our advantage, designing strategies that get us the results we want in a more natural and adaptive way.

In my case, given that my instinctual bias is in the preserving domain, I know I have to pay special attention to the topic of taking the initiative and stepping into action, because those things don't tend to come naturally to me. I use tricks to motivate myself and make progress step by step, without getting exhausted or overwhelmed. And what helps me the most? Phrases like these:

If you don't go after what you want, you'll never have it.
If you don't ask, the answer is always no.
If you don't step forward, you're always in the same place.

Nora Roberts

What about you? Are you one of those who throw themselves forward, or back? What motivation would be strong enough to push you forward?