http://ennegramfortheculture.com/

Enneagram for the Culture, Charlotte, NC (2025)

07/12/2025

Remember when going to therapy was a secret? Like… folks were showing up to sessions in disguise, hush-hush about it?

Now it’s:
“My therapist Gail said…”
“Well, Caroline said this in my session…”
And we’re all cross-referencing notes like it’s a group project. 😂

In this convo, we’re naming what’s real: There’s something beautiful about the fact that healing is no longer hidden.
Black folks are in therapy. Talking about it. Swapping insights.
Because healing isn’t just personal — it’s communal.

And this isn’t just about coping. It’s about getting free.
Free to ask: Who am I… when I’m not performing, not conforming, not surviving?

Let’s keep that energy. 🖤

07/09/2025

Let’s talk about failure. Or better yet… let’s question the whole concept.

In this clip, Dr. Margaret Brunson () shares how therapy helped her shift her relationship with “taking an L.” Because when learning and growth are your core values — how can trying be a loss?

Maybe what we call failure is just feedback.
Maybe it’s just part of the path.
Maybe it’s time we retire the idea that not getting it perfect = getting it wrong.

Hit play, and then tell us:
What “failure” actually taught you something valuable?

06/29/2025

“I met Taylor Swift in high school… not literally, but through her music. And I loved it. But when I got close to school? I’d switch to the ‘right’ radio station.”

In Episode 4, Erica Smith ( / @‌itsericakendra) opened up about something a lot of us felt growing up: that being Black wasn’t enough unless it looked a certain way.

Whether it was switching CDs before pulling into the school lot or hiding what we loved to avoid being called “white,” so many Black kids grew up learning how to edit themselves just to survive socially.

This wasn’t about music — it was about identity. About safety. About trying to belong when you already felt like you didn’t.

That’s why Erica’s story hits so deep. Because it reminds us that being Black isn’t one thing. It’s layered. It’s wide. And it’s worthy, in every form it takes.

🎧 Tune into Enneagram for the Culture Episode 4 for more real talk about identity, personality, and the freedom that comes with unlearning shame.

06/27/2025

“Sometimes I stay longer than other people… just to look like I’m working harder.”
Whew. That’s prime Enneagram 3 energy right there. 😅☕️

This clip dives into that Achiever mindset — the part of us (yes, 3s, we see you 👀) that finds identity and worth in how productive we appear. It’s not just about getting things done — it’s about being seen getting things done.
In the airport.
In the coffee shop.
At 2AM.
✨ Wherever the performance can shine.

That inner drive to succeed, to be the best, to look important — it's so real for Type 3s. And it can be inspiring and exhausting if we don’t check in with what’s fueling it.

🎙️ Tap in to Episode 4 of Enneagram for the Culture to hear more about how personality intersects with productivity, self-worth, and why some of us feel most alive when we’re performing for an invisible audience.

06/25/2025

Erica said what needed to be said. 👏🏾

In Episode 4 of Enneagram for the Culture, she reflected on her brother’s bold, LED-lit self-expression — and how it reminded her of what so many Black folks need more of: permission to be fully themselves.

Too often we’re told we have to tone it down, shape-shift, or shrink who we are just to make others comfortable. But being different isn’t the problem — it’s the systems that punish us for it.

Her question still echoes: How do we create spaces where Black people are celebrated for being themselves—not boxed in by someone else's idea of what “Black enough” looks like?

🎧 Tap the link in bio to hear more gems from Erica on identity, community, and the freedom to show up unapologetically.

06/23/2025

“There are so many beautiful parts to each individual person—and I think so many of us are scared to lean into getting to know ourselves.”
— Erica Smith, LCSW ( / @‌itsericakendra)

In this convo, we sat down with Raleigh-based trauma therapist Erica Smith, who is doing powerful work through her practice Whole Mentality. She shared what she hopes most for Black folks: that we feel safe and brave enough to fully know ourselves.

And that might sound simple—until you remember how often we’re told, directly or indirectly, that we have to shrink, filter, or conform just to belong.

➡️ Erica named the quiet rules we internalize:
“Be this type of Black woman.”
“Don’t act like that, they’ll think you’re not really down.”
“Black boys don’t cry.”
“Black girls don’t do gymnastics.”
“You gotta know this reference to be ‘real.’”

But the truth is, Black people contain multitudes. We can like anime and trap music. Be sensitive and strong. Be artsy, introverted, ambitious, q***r, curious, goofy, spiritual, academic, all of it. We can be us.

Erica reminds us that exploring who we are is not a betrayal of the culture—it’s how we heal it. Because the real flex? Is freedom.

🎙️ Listen to Episode 4 of Enneagram for the Culture to hear more about her journey, why representation in everything from therapy to gymnastics matters, and how breaking the mold is an act of resistance.

06/19/2025

Celebrating the start of freedom! But we’re not finished yet. Happy Freedom Day ✊🏾

06/04/2025

When Kim’s Enneagram 3 energy kicked in, it wasn’t about doing the most — it was about doing what felt grounding. ✨

She didn’t wake up early for a badge. She just needed structure to feel settled. Because sometimes, being “on point” isn’t about productivity… 
It’s about presence.
That’s the evolved Type 3: Less hustle. More harmony. More mapping your morning so your nervous system stays chill.

📌 If you’re a 3 learning to lead with alignment instead of anxiety — you’re not alone.

05/26/2025

in honor of Decoration Day 👉🏽 from • Within the Black community, Memorial Day was originally celebrated on May 1st, 1865. Freed Black Americans in Charleston, South Carolina created the first commemoration, honoring Union soldiers who died fighting to end slavery. Like so much of what Black people create, it was powerful, rooted in freedom and love, yet over time, it was rewritten, renamed, and nearly forgotten.

Now that we know, we must remember. While today is the official holiday, we should also honor May 1st — the day our ancestors gathered to bury the dead with dignity, to sing, to march, and to declare their freedom.

This is how Black history gets erased. Not always by force, but through silence. So let us not be silent. Let us carry May 1st forward with truth, with pride, and with deep respect for those who came before us.

Sources:
– Smithsonian Magazine, “Charleston’s Hallowed Ground: The Birthplace of Memorial Day” – https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/charlestons-hallowed-ground-the-birthplace-of-memorial-day-180960502/ – Accessed May 26, 2025
– Yale News, “Historian David Blight Discovers Earliest Memorial Day” – https://news.yale.edu/2011/05/27/historian-david-blight-discovers-earliest-memorial-day – Accessed May 26, 2025
– Library of Congress, “Today in History – May 1” – https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/may-01/ – Accessed May 26, 2025

05/19/2025

So… how did you do? 👀
 Here’s the Enneagram cheat sheet for how we show up when it’s go time:
📝 A = Type 1 – The Checklist Queen 🤩 B = Type 3 – The Itinerary Is Already In My Head 🌀 C = Type 7 – The Last-Minute Vibes Are Vibing 🧠 D = Type 6 – The Overthinker Extraordinaire 💤 E = Type 9 – The Nap First, Process Later Crew
No wrong answers, just insight. 💡 Tag your bestie and tell us which one you actually are when something big is on the schedule.
This is the kind of energy we unpack on the pod every season — the Enneagram, but make it real, make it cultural, make it us.
 

05/14/2025

Let’s play a little game.
 You’ve got something important coming up — a big meeting, interview, first date, whatever.

Which prep style sounds like you?
📝 A. Made a checklist the night before, color-coded 🤩 B. Woke up before your alarm and planned your whole morning 🌀 C. Forgot until the last minute but still pulled up with vibes 🧠 D. Overanalyzed every possible outcome (and the outfit too) 💤 E. Took a nap so you wouldn’t overthink it

Now guess the Enneagram types that match each one 👇🏽 Bonus points if you tag your friends and guess theirs too!
 

05/01/2025

Last year felt like losing—big time. And that hurt. But here’s what Kim of EFTC said that stuck: sometimes it’s not just the loss itself, it’s the fear of loss… the fear of losing people, places, opportunities that matter. That fear can keep us shut down, stuck, and small.

The real growth? Staying open even when it stings. Holding space for both the pain and the possibility. 💭✨
Tag someone who needed this reminder today.

Enneagram for the Culture