“People often ask me, 'What exactly do you mean when you say we have to do the work?' The work begins with recognizing and deconstructing our old story to make room for a better one. Then we start to deal with our type’s Passion.
“Fortunately, the Enneagram offers a map for getting from Point A (old and broken story) to Point B (new and better story). Everything we do together in this book is designed to help you move from your type’s default Passion (your Point A) to its Virtue (your Point B), thereby rewriting your old story.
“The words 'Passion' and 'Virtue' may sound confusing to you. (As Inigo Montoya put it in The Princess Bride, 'You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.') In Enneagram-speak, your Passion is sometimes also referred to as a 'deadly sin,' which gives you a clue that it’s about more than just a deep emotion. An Enneagram Passion isn’t something you feel 'passionate' about; it’s a destructive influence, as in 'consumed by passion' or a 'crime of passion.'
“Your Passion is the ever-present, unconscious emotional force or motivation driving the self-defeating behaviors that, despite your best efforts, you haven’t been able to stop. When you’re in its grip, it causes you to act in ways that hurt yourself and others. It is the 'lie' of your type, perpetuating the old, weary story as a doomed strategy for satisfying your needs and desires, like love, safety, or a sense of control. Ironically, it prevents you from realizing them.
“Consider how this insight might be at work in your life: Your Passion is the source of your suffering. Its false promise is the enemy of your growth. If you don’t believe that your Passion is the root of your pain, remember that the very word 'Passion' comes from the Latin root for suffering, as in Christ’s Passion and death. It is the wellspring of the anguish you feel.
“The Enneagram’s built-in escape route is the corresponding Virtue of each type, which can overcome its Passion and dismantle its false story.”
