What’s your sign? What’s your Myers Briggs? What’s your love language? What’s your spirit animal? We are desperate for language that names us correctly. Whether you’re taking a silly Buzzfeed quiz or a rigorously researched personality assessment, each tool strives to do the same thing: tell the truth about who we are so that we may be known by ourselves and others.
The Enneagram is a nine type personality assessment. Each type, or number, has core emotions, desires, and fears. The system acknowledges that each person displays part of each number, but has one dominant number that they align most closely with. Through both a process of nature and nurture, our dominant type begins to take shape as we emerge out of childhood. Each type is appropriately named to represent their core characteristics.
The unique thing about the Enneagram is that it explains what your type looks like when you enter health (integration) or suffer stress (disintegration). As you can see above, all the numbers are interconnected. Your dominant type takes on characteristics of other types as you move in and out of stress.
For example, let’s look at type One, The Reformer. The Enneagram Institute describes a Reformer as principled, purposeful, self-controlled, and perfectionistic. When healthy, the often rigid and stressed Reformer begins to release control, embracing spontaneity and freedom like a healthy type Seven, named The Enthusiast. When experiencing stress, Ones look like unhealthy Fours, named The Individualist, often feeling moody and self-absorbed.
The connectivity of the Enneagram does not stop with growth and stress. Because of the circular nature of the system, each type has a number on either side. These are called “wings”. If you are a One, then you may have a Nine wing or a Two wing. Meaning, although your dominant type is a One, you also share many qualities of either of the numbers next to you on the circle. This emphasizes that even people who have similar core qualities still have subtle differences in their expression of those qualities.
To fully make sense of these types, directions, and arrows much more time is needed than this space can give. If you are interested in learning more, there are resources listed at the bottom of the page. But here are a few reasons why taking a deep dive into the Enneagram is worth it.
1. Increased Self-Awareness
The Enneagram uses thoughtful language to describe experiences that your type often has. Seeing yourself in a number is not meant to put you in a box, rather it gives words to thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are already there. Awareness is the first step to making healthy choices.
2. Improved Relationship To Others
The Enneagram is a great tool for looking inward, but shared knowledge and language allows you to understand others more in depth as well. Knowing your loved ones’ types can help you make sense of how you experience them. The Enneagram Institute (link below) has a whole section about how each number interacts with each other in relationships.
3. Increase Empathy and Care
As you learn more about the innate tendencies of yourself and others, empathy and care naturally follow. Knowledge of oneself allows you to put aside irrational frustration and replace it with grace and tenderness.
For more information about the Enneagram check out these resources
The Enneagram Institute
The Wisdom of the Enneagram: The Complete Guide to Psychological and Spiritual Growth for the Nine Personality Types
An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery (The Road Back to You Set)
Sources
The Enneagram Institute. (2024, February 28). The Enneagram Institute - The Enneagram Institute. https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/
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