Crafting the Compass
A Story about rhythm, alignment, and the two-degree shift
When did it become a problem?
That’s the question that I’ve been trying to answer for over a year now. Now, I have always been a procrastinator—I’m probably the king of procrastination—but at the same time, ironically, productivity has been one of my strong suits. At least until recently…
All my life, I’ve had systems to achieve maximum productivity and efficiency. However, for a little over a year now, my systems have failed me repeatedly. And that’s why I’ve been asking myself the question of, “When did productivity become a problem?”
Over time I’ve done some reflection, and I think it became a problem when I graduated college and was no longer within the boundaries of a school schedule; I had more freedom in setting my own schedule. But after I recorded an episode of Enneagram Restored Podcast with Jackie Brewster on August 23, 2024, I started hearing Sam Cooke’s voice echo in my head, singing…
It's been a long
A long time coming, but I know
A change gon' come
Oh yes, it will
Now, it’s been almost a year since I recorded that episode with Jackie, but she said one simple word that has stuck with me ever since then and has been like a broken record in my mind… that word was alignment.
In the moment, I jokingly said that I was going to make it my word for 2025. But it became more than just a joke about a possibility… what was just a simple word mentioned during a recording became an invitation to alignment; it became an invitation to authenticity. Although I didn’t recognize it at the time, that moment slowly became a pivot point—or as I like to call it… plot twist—and slowly over time things all across the spectrum have been changing within me.
But in order to gain an understanding of where this plot twist might be taking me, I think it would be best to step back and examine the past a tiny bit.
When I ask myself the question, “When did I become mis-aligned?” I think it started when I started to do a lot of things out of necessity to reach my idea of success.
And I like to compare it to the use of a car. In today’s time, driving a car is pretty much a necessity to be productive. But over time, cars go from driving in a straight line to pulling toward either the left or right without that being the driver’s intent, which I have experienced first-hand.
My first car that I had when I started driving had been in the family since 2005. We lovingly called it Little Red… it was a candy apple red 2003 Chevy Cavalier. And by the time it became my car to drive not only did it have a huge dent on the left said (thanks to my sister), but Little Red also tended to pull to the right. Now over time it got worse… during my high school years, it was an ever so slight pull to the right. However, by the time I was a college sophomore, I essentially had to drive in the left lane only, so I didn’t run off the road—even after having it re-aligned.
And I think that’s what happened to me. Over time after doing thigs out of necessity, that it was just better to get a new car as opposed to continually going to the mechanic to re-align myself.
So, honestly, Jackie mentioning alignment during that episode was really confirmation because my 25th birthday was already urging my soul to make a change.
Every year I start planning my birthday celebration in May—yes, I know my birthday is November, but I change my mind so much that by the time September arrives, I’ve finally made a decision on what I want to do to celebrate—and ever since I started planning my 25th birthday celebration, unlike any other birthday, my 25th birthday felt like it was an invitation to do life in a new way.
Now, with both the word ‘alignment’ echoing in my mind and my 25th birthday feeling like an invitation into a new way of life, I’ve been asking myself, “What can I cut back on to help myself get re-aligned?” (Honestly, this question came into view before all this stuff began to take place, and I have been asking it for a little over a year. But despite trying to figure an answer to this question, I’ve been able to answer it.)
I mean I do still hold a lot of titles… designer/owner of Morningstar Interiors, creator/host of Enneagram Restored Podcast, substitute teacher, working with SPARC as Recreation Leader, and a member of CACCD for the City of Springfield. But here’s the thing…not only are these ways that I make an income, but these are the things that I love doing the most. So, how can I cut these things out of my life when they are how I make a living, and I love doing them?
Well, It wasn’t until I was making the outline for this article that I found my answer to that question. It’s not about, necessarily, taking more things away so I’m doing less, but it’s about simplifying the things that I do. And this all became clear when I accepted the building substitute position for Delaware Elementary (Springfield, MO).
I realized—with the help of ChatGPT—that by choosing to sub at one building as opposed to bouncing between different schools, I’m choosing consistency.
Sidenote, as an Enneagram Three, I love and hate consistency at the same time. I mean… I desire consistency because it helps with authenticity, but also it’s a part of human nature to want consistency. However, as a Three, I hate consistency because it sort of prohibits and limits the amount of shapeshifting that I can do as a Three to garner the spotlight and fame that I desire.
Anyway, me choosing consistency over fragmentation is mirroring what this season of my life is about… I’m not doing less things in the sense of the titles that I hold, but, with the titles that I currently hold, I’m doing what fits more fully with who I’m becoming. I’m re-aligning my energy.
Which brings me to the end of this article, and the two-degree shift.
I learned about the two-degree shift from, my friend and author, Meredith Boggs. And essentially, the two-degree shift is about making small [minute] changes to help you become a better version of yourself… “But it’s that two-degree shift that you wake up and make each day that dramatically changes the trajectory of your life.” (Meredith Boggs, The Journey Home: A Biblical Guide to Using the Enneagram to Deepen Your Faith and Relationships, 224)
“But it’s that two-degree shift that you wake up and make each day that dramatically changes the trajectory of your life.”
Meredith Boggs
Mathematically, a two-degree shift is only 1/180th of a straight line and only 1/360th of a circle, but if you’re a visual learner like me, here’s an image to show just how small a two-degree shift is.
So, now begs the question, “What are my two-degree shifts?”
Well, honestly, I haven’t figured out many two-degree shifts yet. But I just told you about one of them… choosing to be a building substitute. Another one that I’ve made recently, is changing my sleep schedule (more to come about this in another article).
Two other two-degree shifts that I’ve tried to make but haven’t quite worked out yet because of scheduling are what I call Creative Coffee and Nature Walks. In short, these are two things I’m trying to implement into my schedule to help breakup the monotony of life. The purpose of Creative Coffee is to instead of going home after school on Fridays, I go to a coffee shop and work on things—it could be writing, interior design, etc.. And the purpose of Nature Walks is pretty much self-explanatory; it’s just a moment to experience nature and get some exercise at the same time. And these two things rotate between each other on Friday afternoons, but—like I said—because of scheduling and other things I haven’t been able to establish a consistency with these two things yet.
And that’s what two-degree shifts look like… they’re not big changes, but they help align you to who you’re becoming.
I hope you can find ways to implement the two-degree shift method in your life. But I want to leave you with this…
Alignment doesn’t always mean cutting things out for the sake of doing less but choosing to do more things that align with who you are becoming.