What is the Enneagram?
While the Enneagram has gained popularity over the last several years, I still meet a lot of people who have never heard of it! I thought it would be helpful to give a brief description of what the Enneagram is and why I love it. This mysterious, symbolic map has definitely changed my life!
The Enneagram is a tool used to transform how you relate to yourself, others and the world. This tool is described as being a symbol in motion. When you first view the Enneagram, it can be confusing to know what you are looking at. It consists of a circle, triangle and hexed, highlighted by 9 points on the outside of the circle. The inner triangle is made up of points 3, 6 and 9 while the hexed connects numbers 1, 4, 2, 8, 5, and 7. Each type number has certain characteristics that describe the corresponding personality. The numerical ranking of the types is not significant; a larger number is no better than a smaller number (e.g. 6 is not better or worse than 2).
Each number has a unique pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting. The Enneagram provides you with an understanding of why you do what you do and why others do what they do. Most importantly, the Enneagram shows you how to become more aware of blind spots that keep you from becoming the best version of yourself.
Unlike many personality tests, the Enneagram doesn’t focus on WHAT you do, but WHY you do what you do. The Enneagram defines your core fears and the motivations that drive each decision you make. We encounter things everyday that give us the option of seeing things differently, but our personality keeps us stuck in our ways. The Enneagram provides a way to increase self-awareness and take advantage of other parts of us that often get unconsciously pushed down. By uncovering these unconscious patterns, we can experience healthier relationships, lead more satisfying lives, and connect to our true essence (who we are without our personality getting in the way!). The primary value of the Enneagram does not come from identifying your type based on external actions, but from a deeper understanding of how your behavioral patterns relate to your personal history, energy focus, attention, and underlying motivations.
I will go into more detail in future posts about each type, but here is a short description of each type number for now. Understanding the different characteristics and tendencies of each type will help you narrow yours down and process how other people see the world differently than you. Please remember that there are many different ways that people of each type can show up! Think of the numbers as being equivalent to different types of colors that can have varied shades (e.g., blue can be pale, navy, royal, etc.).
1- The Perfectionist: Need to be perfect, has desire for integrity & focuses on errors and imperfections. Ones have difficulty identifying their own efforts to do the right thing and be good; they have the ability to see what is wrong and fix it. Ones are purposeful, principled, and self-controlled.
2- The Helper: Need to be needed, has strong desire to be loved, focuses on other people’s needs and feelings. Twos have difficulty identifying their own boundaries and unmet needs; they have the ability to sense what others need and support them. Twos are people-pleasing, possessive, and generous.
3- The Performer: Need to be successful, has desire to be accepted and desirable. Threes focus on achieving their goals and creating an image of success; they have difficulty identifying their own true self, separate from their appearance; they have the ability to find a direct path to goals and complete them. Threes are driven, image-conscious, and adaptable.
4- The Individualist: Need to be unique, has desire to be distinct from others. Fours focus on their emotions and interpersonal connections; they have difficulty identifying positive qualities about themselves and have the ability to be intuitive and comfortable with intense feelings. Fours are dramatic, expressive, and temperamental.
5- The Observer: Need for knowledge, has desire to be seen as competent. Fives focus on their own energy and resources and have difficulty recognizing their own emotions; they have the ability to be competent, objective, and analytical. Fives are perceptive, isolated, and secretive.
6- The Loyalist: Need for security, has strong desire to find safety. Sixes focus on potential threats or possible danger; they have difficulty recognizing their own strength and tend to be vigilant and proactive. Sixes are responsible, suspicious and anxious.
7- The Adventurer: Need to be happy, has desire to be positive and fulfilled. Sevens focus on their own experience and have difficulty identifying their own discomfort and pain; they have the ability to see potential in all situations. Sevens are spontaneous, scattered and fun-loving.
8- The Challenger: Need to be strong, has desire to protect others and themselves. Eights focus on power and control; they have difficulty identifying their own vulnerability and weaknesses and bring powerful energy to people and situations. Eights are confident, confrontational and controlling.
9- The Mediator: Need for peace, has desire for inner stability. Nines focus on other people’s expectations and needs; they have difficulty identifying their own opinions and tend to be supportive of everyone, seeing all perspectives. Nines are reassuring, receptive and complacent.
For each of the 9 types, there are strengths and challenges that contribute to the personality, or ego. The ego is defined by who we think we are or experience ourselves to be, the “I.” In childhood, we begin creating a separate sense of self that distinguishes between what is me (ego reality) and what’s not me (reality of the world). This can create a tension that is dealt with in 9 different ways. Our childhood experiences coincide with which type we most identify with. Therefore, the goal is not to simply identify what your type is, but to find freedom in how you over-identify with your type.
There are many different ways to figure out which type you are, but I have found that it is helpful to read all of the 9 types and then slowly narrow it down to the one that fits best. My favorite way to start is by going to the Narrative Enneagram website (https://www.enneagramworldwide.com/tour-the-nine-types/)to read more in-depth descriptions.
Lastly, there are 3 centers of intelligence located within the Enneagram—the head, the heart and the body triads. Everyone uses all 3 centers, but we are most influenced by the center that our type number is in. The body-based types, that are part of the Instinctual Center, are types 8, 9 and 1. The feeling-based types that reside in the Heart Center are 2, 3 and 4. The thinking-based types in the Head Center are 5, 6, and 7.
Identifying your number is only the first step in your potential journey with the Enneagram. Thanks so much for reading and if you have any interest in using the Enneagram in therapy or just want to learn more about the Enneagram, please schedule a free consultation below!