When it comes to being practical in personal growth, I find spiritual tools a great help. Enneagram is one of the earliest tools I understood and found effective.
Enneagram personality types are not something you want to be; this is a personality you are born with. The long tradition of the Enneagram has been confirmed by modern psychological and sociological studies, placing the tradition into the discipline of statistics. Briefly speaking, the Enneagram divides people into nine personality types, and for each type, they are linked to a ‘high’ and ‘low’ number and the ‘wings’ next to them.
For example, if you are being defined as a Type 2 personality, at your apex you will express personality traits of a 4. As you fall into a low place, you will express the traits of Type 8. As a Type 2, you might also lean on your wings of 1 or 3.
I want to share my experience to make the tool easier to understand. Note that this is only my personal opinion. I had done a lot of tests, followed different teachers, read many books and practiced for hours before I could truly grasp the concept of Enneagram.
The 9 types around me
Type 1: The righteous judge
Type 1 is commonly described as a judge because they like to define ‘right’ and ‘wrong.’
With this said, it doesn’t mean that they will not break the law. My teacher once described a perfect example: Type 1 will jaywalk if they find that being late is ‘wrong.’ The result might be jaywalking, but the motive here is not to be late. Other personality types might end up making the same decision, but their motives are different.
Type 2: The generous helper
I don’t have a lot of Type 2 friends, because I am not great around passionate people. There is a fashion brand I used to love, but every time I shop there, the salespeople pretend to be friendly. They ask about your family before chit-chatting about the weather (and I don’t even know them!).
The way I see Type 2s is that they do not pretend, they truly are eager to aid others. However, they can be so willing to serve others that they lose their own identity.
Type 3: The must-be winner
Type 3 tends to want to win. Their high energy and drive might make them seem similar to Type 1, the righteous judge, or Type 8, the justice fighter.
I have a Type 3 friend who finds becoming a Type 4 so attractive, she persuades others and herself that she is a Type 4. This is typical of them in order ‘to make things work.’ No matter if their goals are personal or worldly, they are willing to twist reality to achieve their aims. With this said, a Type 3 is nearly always successful, because of their clever tactics and ambition to succeed.
Type 4: The emo artist
When I started learning about the Enneagram, I thought I was a Type 4, because I was a teenager back then and ‘being emo’ is part of the life process. I am also very into the arts, so I thought that I must be a Type 4.
They are romantics and the fluctuation of their emotions can be extreme. This is a great type to be if you are an artist, a musician, an actor or involved in any career that requires emotional expression. As people close to you, their emotions might be overwhelming, if expressionism is your weakness.
Type 5: The silent thinker
Type 5s are the introverts, the bookworms and the nerds. They are very knowledgeable, but that does not always make them great academics. They become experts only on a subject they are interested in.
They are logical beings who do not express or understand emotions well. They can be quite detached from the world and need little in the physical world, because all they are searching for is the extensive universe of knowledge. In that sense, they are greedy. They tend to hold onto resources and can be thirsting for more, from daily necessities to intellectual ideas. But then, this also makes them resourceful.
Type 6: The constant worrier
With a concerned tone, a Type 6 ex-colleague once ask me over lunch: “Haven’t you ever worried about the black hole?” as if everyone should think about it at least once a day.
They are very safe people, only going to the same restaurant to eat so there are no surprises. If they decide to try something new, their preparation will be detailed. This also makes them great consultants, because if there are any doubts you have, they will have thought of it. Their lives are filled with concerns, dangers and ‘what ifs.’
Type 7: The life-is-a-playground adventurer
At school, Type 7s can be the popular ones who spend little time studying, and yet, they ace their exams. With this said, their attention span isn’t that long, and they like developing new hobbies. One of my closest family members is a Type 7 and he is an expert in his chosen hobby. If they find diving into the stock market ‘fun,’ they will earn thousands, if not millions.
Type 8: The justice fighter
I have lots of close friends that are Type 8, because most of them are friends I made at my first job: a media outlet. Journalists tend to fight for justice, and it is almost a job requirement!
You can most definitely confuse them with Type 1 because they both fight for what is ‘right.’ But if we circle back to the jaywalking story in the Type 1 description, Type 8 is either the watching police looking to catch the jaywalker, or helping an old lady who couldn’t walk fast. Type 8 steps up because the traffic light allows too little time for slow walkers and that creates an unfair society. Out of all the types, Type 8s are most willing to stand up and fight for the rights of both themselves and others.
Type 9: The don’t-stress-it worker
Type 9 is often described as the peacemaker, but I describe them as the ‘peace-wanter.’ They want peace, but they do not necessarily want to participate in the process of making peace happen. I have a best friend that is a Type 9. She once told me, if hunger or nature doesn’t call, she wouldn’t leave her bed and would just binge on TV shows all day, completely guilt-free. My image of Type 9 is always a happy smiling sloth, swaying on a tree branch.
If you have a Type 9 worker, I say you are in luck. While most people hate repetitive and low skill requirement jobs, they are extremely satisfied with doing repetitive work, such as data entry or driving on the same route.
Growing to like yourself and others
In conclusion, you don’t get to change your Enneagram type, but as you grow spiritually or with age, your motives and actions might move in a more loving and caring direction.
I enjoy using Enneagram as a tool because it helps me understand why people make certain decisions, and when their actions have an effect on me, I have an explanation for it and become less affected. It helps me build better relationships, and I grow to care for the world with a bit more empathy.
«RELATED READ» DISCOVERING YOUR PERSONALITY TYPE: Enneagram beginner’s guide»
image 1 3D Animation Production Company from Pixabay 2 image by FunkyFocus from Pixabay 3 image by Jukka Virtamo from Pixabay
