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#WednesdayWisdom

"Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another." — Toni Morrison

Morning Musings

Recently I learned about the Enneagram and, tbh, it has me all the way messed up. I first learned of the typology in therapy and then my church's pastors lead a three-part series on it. Essentially, the Enneagram is a "typology of nine interconnected personality types."

You can learn more about all nine types here. But I'll spare you the suspense and tell you right now I'm a grade-A Type 3 Achiever: The Success-Oriented, Pragmatic Type: Adaptive, Excelling, Driven, and Image-Conscious.

Yup, sounds about right. And when you read the longer description? Whew, chile, these people dang near hurt my feelings with the accuracy!

At my best, I am self-assured, ambitious, charming and energetic. But catch me on an off day and watch out. My darker traits are jealousy, fear of failure ... I can also be opportunistic and exploitative, all in an effort to "preserve the illusion" of my superiority. Ouch.

Type 3s are known for our workaholism and competitiveness. Our basic fear is being worthless and our basic desire is to feel valuable and worthwhile.

Now, full disclosure, I did not pay the $12 to take the official test (call me cheap, I don't care), but as my pastors rattled off characteristics of my type -- the good, the bad, and the ugly -- I cringed because I knew it was all the way real. 

But now I feel like I have a better understanding of myself and why I do the things I do. I'm a sucker for personality tests (ENFJ, anyone?), but what intrigues me about the Enneagram is that your type allegedly never changes. Sure, you can move within the spectrum of your type, but your number demonstrates who you are at your core.

Of course now I'm curious to know what type the people closest to me are ... there's just something about knowing what makes people tick and why.

Curious to learn your number? Feel free to take the test, or read through the descriptions and see which one resonates with you the most (the one that makes your cringe? Yeah, that's probably you, boo). And once you've figured it out, hit "reply" and let me know! I always love learning more about y'all.

Love,
L'Oreal

ICYMI

In my latest for Shine, I share a two-minute mindfulness exercise that'll help you start the day strong.

Links I Love (BHM Edition)

1. 7 Black Women With 4C Hair Reflect On The Journey & Joys Of Having a Beautiful, Coily Texture

2. Support These Black-Owned Wellness Brands If You Want to Achieve True Work-Life Balance in 2019

3. Ashley C. Ford on Human Storytelling, Financial Wellness, and Learning to Ask for Help

Editor's Note: In honor of Black History Month, I'm spotlighting articles and essays written by and/or about Black women.

My Latest Obsession

If you follow me on social media, then you know I've been discovering tea as of late. To be clear, I'm not giving up coffee (the horror!), but in an effort to slow down, savor life and not be so dependent on my Keurig, I've been giving this tea thing a try. Plus, there's something to be said about peer pressure (I'm looking at you, Sierra, Sarah and Marissa!).

Now where were we? Ah yes, tea! I've been doing some research on different kinds of teas and what ailments they're known to remedy. And then I got carried away when I saw Alexandra Wibush's teas featured in Essence.

They basically had me at Black woman-owned business. And, because I'm so indecisive, I opted for the All Tea No Shade Set featuring four different flavors (yes, I know the picture only shows three, but there's an extra pumpkin chai bag in there as well). I've only tried the Rooibos Vanilla Chai so far, but it was pretty delish.

All of the teas are decaf, so they're perfect for anytime of day or night, paired with the perfect book (preferably by a Black woman writer). #TreatYoSelf to all this #BlackGirlMagic.

Now Hiring

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