Ted Lasso And The Enneagram
Ted Lasso is a the feel good show of right now. If you are watching it, you are loving it. Each character brings so much to the table. In an ensemble cast, like this one, I am always amazed at how good each character presents. I am pretty much always in awe of television writers and creators. In Ted Lasso, each character is so well written that they present deeply.
What Are The Enneagram Types Of Each Ted Lasso Character?
Ted Lasso Characters By Enneagram Type.
Ted Lasso is the feel good show of right now. If you are watching it, you are loving it. Each character brings so much to the table. In an ensemble cast, like this one, I am always amazed at how good each character presents. I am pretty much always in awe of television writers and creators. In Ted Lasso, each character is so well written that they present deeply. They are consistent with the character stories even in short story developments that occur through the show. As an enneagram project this was a fun one and even more fun to discuss on social media.
What elements did I use for typing characters? The enneagram is so common that so many people know about it enough to do some typing. Often this means we recognize behaviors and put that into type. This works well mostly but the enneagram as a personality tool is truly derived from behavior. The most revealing elements of the enneagram - and the parts that help us transform who we are - come from the opportunity to observe our motivations.
In our origin moments (typically pre-speech) your centers are set and our numbers come from our centers. So there are head, heart and gut/intuition numbers. Each of these numbers share a loss of a holy idea which creates a new egoic passion and fixation. All of this occurs without us even knowing it. So how am I typing the characters? I am primarily looking for their passions and fixations that inspire their behaviors.
Body Center
Type 8: Roy - The fan favorite is kind but he is not nice. We see him protecting Phoebe, his teammates and watch him only do what he wants to do. The 8’s loss of Holy Truth inspires lust and vengeance but they are found at their best protecting innocence.
Type 9: Sam - Like all 9’s, Sam is being himself at all times. However he does lose site of his own compass when he blends in with everyone else. We see him take on “right action” when he has to stand up against the sponsor he was just promoting. The 9’s loss of Holy Love inspires their indolence (avoidance) but it is in taking that right action that they find their best selves again.
Type 1: Jaime - Isn’t it frustrating when someone is the best at everything they do? It is almost like deep down they have something driving them to get everything right - to be perfect. The loss of Holy Perfection drives the ego into anger and resentment and yet it is through the virtue of serenity that we find one’s returning to their best selves.
Heart Center
Type 2: Nate - People love their 2 friends. We love them so much because they take care of us. But like their other relator triad numbers of 8 & 5’s, 2’s are also controlling and we can see all of this in Nate. Their loss of Holy Will leads them to pride and seeking flattery. Engaging with humility brings them home.
Type 3: Rebecca - I love how we get to see all of the good sides of Rebecca. She always does the right things. She wears the right things, gives gifts at Christmas to the less fortunate. Because of their loss of Holy Law, they find deceit and vanity. To be at their best, their attachment to truth (veracity) will guide them to their honest self.
Type 4: Keeley - Maybe the most connective character on the show is Keeley. She is closely connected to so many story lines where she is encouraging other people to be themselves and that is because she is being herself all the time. A 4 is rooted in an inner compass. Their loss of Holy Origin demands their uniqueness and thus they struggle with envy and melancholy. Equanimity or calmness is their guide home.
Head Center
Type 5: Dr. Sharon - The season 2 addition of Dr. Sharon Fieldstone brings our second 5 to the show (Coach Beard is also a 5). The good doctor is often found observing, keeping quiet and having deep discussions with others. She wants to present mastery in her profession and doesn’t want to many people to see her any differently. The loss of Holy Omniscience drives the five into avarice (collecting) and stinginess. They need to develop a non-attachment guide to be their best self.
Type 6: Higgins - My wife dislikes the term “loyalist” as the title of the six but what is beautiful about it is that a six is loyal to the whole. Higgins is the most loyal Greyhound on the show and he wants everyone to be cared for. We see that in how we moves offices for Dr. Fieldstone and makes sure the players have somewhere to go during the holidays. The six loss is one of Holy Faith specifically in that they feel everyone deserves everything equally and they are driven to fear and cowardice because of this. But it is courage that will be their guide and we see that courage emerging in Higgins.
Type 7: Danny - We aren’t gaining a well rounded picture of a seven in Danny (at least not into season 2 when this was created). However in the yips episode is where we most see the upbeat seven being confronted with a difficult moment. Danny is up and busy and chasing the next thing, the next goal, the next experience because futbol is life-giving to him. The seven’s loss of the Holy Plan guides the ego to gluttony and planning for their next thing often causing them to miss the moment they are in. Sobriety or a slower pace is their guide to a life of presence.
But What About Ted?
Ted is an advocate in everyone’s lives to be better - To Believe - Be A Goldfish - Be Curious. Thinkers think. Feelers feel. And gut or intuition people do. Ted is a doer but he is the most being energy on the enneagram circle and therefore I believe him to be a 9 with a pretty present 1 wing. Ted is just being and sometimes that gets him in trouble. When he slows down some anxiety catches him. The best part about Ted is that he believes other people have the right to be as well if they would just believe.
Keep Reading: Who Are Today’s Modern Spiritual Teachers Of The Enneagram?
Better Questions = Getting Unstuck
The process of deconstruction and reconstruction can have a lot of up’s and down’s. Sometimes in the midst of it, we may just feel stuck. So what do we do when we feel stuck? How do we know if our truest voice is speaking or if it is a voice from our past? I asked Therapist and Spiritual Coach Amanda Waldron to jump into this conversation to help us find new ways and better questions to continue down a healthy reconstruction path.
The process of deconstruction and reconstruction can have a lot of up’s and down’s. Sometimes in the midst of it, we may just feel stuck. So what do we do when we feel stuck? How do we know if our truest voice is speaking or if it is a voice from our past? I asked Therapist and Spiritual Coach Amanda Waldron to jump into this conversation to help us find new ways and better questions to continue down a healthy reconstruction path. This conversation swerves around and we touch on everything from the somatic enneagram, purity culture, getting unstuck and what kind of people we need during different seasons of our lives. Learn more about Amanda on her website www.heyamandawaldron.com or follow her on instagram.
Deconstruction, Reconstruction and Seminary
By the time someone has gone through the deconstructing process, they often find themselves in a new place - even a whole new person. Many people talk about feeling more open-hearted, more connected, more of a lot of things. And it is from that place that they take on new things. In this episode, I am talking with my friend Lindsay O’Connor who is a great follow on social media for all her book wisdom. (Instagram: @LindsayLOConnor) but she is also an enneagram knower and is on a journey doing racial reconciliation. All of this work found her with a desire to go to seminary and that is something I wanted to talk to her more about.
By the time someone has gone through the deconstructing process, they often find themselves in a new place - even a whole new person. Many people talk about feeling more open-hearted, more connected, more of a lot of things. And it is from that place that they take on new things. In this episode, I am talking with my friend Lindsay O’Connor who is a great follow on social media for all her book wisdom. (Instagram: @LindsayLOConnor) but she is also an enneagram knower and is on a journey doing racial reconciliation. All of this work found her with a desire to go to seminary and that is something I wanted to talk to her more about.
Read the full transcript below
Giving Up Control and Reconstructing Prayer
At different spots on our path we grow tired of or maybe lose the ability to use some faith practices we have grown up with. For me, a practice I have needed to reconstruct is prayer. I was taught to pray using the ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication) method but a number of years ago, constantly asking God for "things" just didn't feel very prayerful anymore. So what do we do? We have to reconstruct. On this episode I am talking with Marcia and Tom Hotchkiss.
At different spots on our path we grow tired of or maybe lose the ability to use some faith practices we have grown up with. For me, a practice I have needed to reconstruct is prayer. I was taught to pray using the ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication) method but a number of years ago, constantly asking God for "things" just didn't feel very prayerful anymore. So what do we do? We have to reconstruct. On this episode I am talking with Marcia and Tom Hotchkiss. Father Tom is an Episcopal priest and Marcia is a spiritual director. So who better than to have on to talk about prayer. Actually we are talking about how Marcia and Tom came later in life to spiritual practices, contemplation and letting go of our own need to be in control.
Reconstruction Calls Episode 1: Mike & Kari Baumann
Spiritual Director Aaron Manes calls his friends Mike and Kari Baumann to talk about evolving in faith as partners and walking the road of parenting as reconstructed people. We talk about everything from Enneagram to DC Talk to growing up adjacent to Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker.
Reconstruction Calls Episode 1
Spiritual Director Aaron Manes calls his friends Mike and Kari Baumann to talk about evolving in faith as partners and walking the road of parenting as reconstructed people. We talk about everything from Enneagram to DC Talk to growing up adjacent to Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker.
This podcast was recorded for Arapaho United Methodist Church
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