We can all research how to make a great steak. The reason why we do that research is different depending upon our unique Enneagram personality type.
Why We Do What We Do: Understanding Motivation
It’s a scorching hot day in Bryan, Texas, and I’m teaching the Enneagram to an awesome team of women. Someone gasps and says, “OMG, I think my husband is a Type Five!” I ask why and she says, “He got obsessed with making the perfect steak. One day, I saw his YouTube watch history and it was hundreds of videos about Gordon Ramsay cooking steak.”
Many Type Fives become experts on their interests because they never stop learning. Her husband enjoys the process of learning about steak.
Then a Type One pipes in. “I’ve done that, but I watched videos until I knew how to cook steak the right way. Then I stopped.”
I freak out saying, “This is the BEST illustration of the Enneagram!!”
We Can All Research How to Make a Great Steak
The reason why we do that research will be different for each type.
- A Type Seven wants to have the most AMAZING experience eating the best steak ever.
- A Type Two wants to treat her friends and family to a delicious meal.
- A Type Four wants to create something that somebody else enjoys.
For me, this is why I made my entire career teaching the Enneagram. When I first learned about my Enneagram type’s core motivation (I am a Type 3), I had a startling realization: I had spent my entire life trying to earn my worth by DOING. I couldn’t voice it before, but now I see clearly what needed to change. I didn’t want to live in a world where my happiness and identity hinged on how “successful” I could be.
This personality typing system was like nothing I had ever experienced before —
Instead of looking at your external behaviors, the Enneagram of Personality looks at your internal motivations. It challenges you to ask the bigger question.
Further Resources to Explore Your Core Motivation
If you want to keep exploring why you do what you do, these curated articles, videos, and tools will help you deepen your understanding of core motivations, fears, and instinctual patterns.
Understand Your Motivation (Articles + Guides)
- The 9 Enneagram Types In-Depth — a deeper look at each type’s core fear, desire, and behavioral patterns.
- Enneagram Wings Explained — how your wing influences how your motivation shows up in daily life.
- Core Motivations of the 9 Types — You’re not your behavior: understanding your core motivations.
- What Steak Shows us About our Motivations — Why we do what we do.
- The Zombie Apocalypse is Here — What do you do? (according to your motivations)
- Subtypes Guide — free PDF explaining the three instinctual drives that shape your reactions, stress responses, and priorities.
Watch & Learn (Video)
- So, We’re All Emotionally Messy (YouTube) — a breakdown of the Triads and how they shape your instinctive reactions (including steak‑ordering and zombie‑apocalypse behavior).
- The Core Fear of Every Enneagram Type — a practical look at the subtle fears that drive your choices, habits, and stress patterns.
- Enneagram Types Explained Through Procrastination — it’s less about laziness and more about motivation, fear, and how you’re wired.
Listen & Learn (Podcasts)
- Understanding the Enneagram — over 8 hours of teaching on core motivations, stress behaviors, and how to identify your true type.
Find Your Type (Quizzes + Typing Tools)
- Free Online Enneagram Test — answer the questions and I’ll email you your results (no carrier pigeons available, unfortunately).
- Typing Guide — a step‑by‑step PDF to help you determine your type using motivation rather than behavior.
- Enneagram Triads — use your emotional center to narrow down your number.
Go Deeper (Books)
- My Enneagram: A Visual Guide to Find Your Personality Type, Stress Less, and Live Your Dreams
- How to find your Enneagram type—including not one but two quizzes that go way deeper than any cookie-cutter online quiz will go.
- How to use the Enneagram to identify your biggest areas of growth.
- Tips, tricks, and exercises to setting your goals—and achieving them!
- How the Enneagram can improve communication between you and the closest people in your life.
- The Road Back to You — A classic introduction to the Enneagram that helps you identify the “why” behind your patterns.
