Enneagram 101: Personalities And Quirks

Some people seek to grasp a greater understanding of themselves. Others prefer to ignore their characteristics and live their lives unaware. Whichever way you choose, the enneagram test is something you should consider completing. Enneagram testing determines your primary personality type for those who don’t know. It provides information about how each Enneagram type perceives the world around them and manages their emotional state. There are 9 options of personality types, one of which represents you the most. While everyone has one primary representation, some personality types have a “wing.” The wing represents one of the two adjacent numbers to your basic type complementing your overall personality. Without further ado, let’s get into what makes you, you!

1: The Reformer

In short, type one’s want to live a life of purpose and be useful. These signs will leave behind their comfortable lives to fulfill a more significant calling. In doing so, their expectations of themselves are exceptionally high. They are often considered to be a perfectionist. A healthy one is acutely aware of right and wrong and seeks higher purpose through education, social justice, or other humane paths. An unhealthy one will become possessive, obsessed, and cruel. Learning to relax, identify feelings, and tackle projects as a group instead of alone are great ways to become a healthier one.

2: The Helper

Type two’s are heartfelt, friendly, self-sacrificing, and genuine. They are extremely helpful to other people, as their name suggests, and crave to be loved just as much as they love. This sign can often be found in helpful roles such as nursing or really anything that contributes to the good of others. The most significant struggle for a two is identifying and overcoming their feelings of worthlessness. In an unhealthy state, a two seeks validation through others and feel fulfilled when sacrificing themselves for those around them. On the contrary, a healthy two has learned that their needs matter as much as those around them. After accepting that they are worthy of self-love, many twos can love and help others more powerfully than they ever had before becoming entirely altruistic.

3: The Achiever

Three’s are most commonly considered the stars of success. They are hardworking and often become role models for those around them. Other signs seek success and are achievers but have different motivations behind their desire for power. For three’s, the motivation for success is the fear of disappearing into the abyss. This sign also struggles with feelings of worthlessness and strives to feel valued. This enneagram is honest, authentic, and gentle when they are healthiest. They have a desire to improve themselves and be the best. At their worst, threes fear humiliation and can be deceptive to those around them, especially if they have made a mistake. The best way for this enneagram sign to grow is to be internally honest and genuine about their feelings.

4: The Individualist

While being dramatic and self-absorbed, this sign truly desires to be seen and heard. This enneagram expresses themselves emotionally more than any other sign. They fear having no identity, so they often create an identity for themselves and seek to achieve it. Fours in an unhealthy space become obsessed with the fear of wasting their lives and tend to isolate themselves from everyone around them. As a result, they lose themselves in their fantasy world. Fours often believe that their feelings, personalities, and lives are more unique than anyone else’s. On a more positive note, these signs in a healthy state are amazingly creative expressive and blend sensibility with practicality. They naturally stand out more than most because of their comfort with self-expression.

5: The Investigator

The enneagram five is known as the cerebral type. Fives are a problem-solving sign that desire to feel capable and knowledgeable. Often this sign can talk about multiple topics when around people. When they are left alone, they enjoy indulging in research and learning. More often than not this sign prefers to observe and contemplate instead of interacting with those around them. You might have already guessed the trouble that can come with fives. They often indulge so much in information and knowledge that they do not interact with those around them. This leads to an obsessive and isolated reality for a five. However, a healthy five often becomes a visionary and seeks to understand the profound.

6: The Loyalist

As you can imagine, the loyalist is loyal, honest, responsible, and trustworthy. The biggest concern for this sign is living life without support or a guide. Sixes enjoy thinking but can occasionally struggle with their inner guide leading to self-doubt and anxiety. Those who surround the six rely on them for advice and trusted sources. Enneagram six is the best friend to have around. There is always balance; a six holds a close relationship with balance as they can often feel one way and the exact opposite emotion at the exact same time, presumably due to the lack of inner guidance. For instance, they can feel calm yet anxiety-riddled, courageous yet terrified, and strong yet weak. The best advice for this enneagram is to be present within their anxiety. Discomfort will always happen, but sitting within that moment can help it pass and clarify what the discomfort is about.

7: The Enthusiast

Enthusiast is the perfect word to describe the enneagram seven. This sign looks at life as an adventure and can become overwhelmingly excited about almost anything. Seven’s can learn new information very quickly, which further indulges their craving for new environments and experiences. Similar to six, seven’s really struggle to identify their inner guide, which can lead to panic for a seven. They can become increasingly out of touch resulting in a loss of identity, and often they choose to constantly be on the go seeking freedom and new experiences as a way to cope. At their best, sevens are awed by the beauty of life and appreciate it with a level of depth most don’t recognize. The best advice to a seven is to recognize impulsivity and observe them rather than jump right into whatever is desired at the time.

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8: The Challenger

Enneagram eight is the rarest sign. This sign is self-confident, strong, and assertive. Known for their direct communication, eights can be domineering and intimidating following their confrontational characteristics. Eights are incredibly selective of who they let into their lives. Those closest to them are met with extreme warmth and love comparable to a two. Those on the outside mean very little if not nothing to an eight. Because this sign is aggressive and robust many are afraid of eights and don’t see the warm, loving side that is harshly protected by the eight. Eights struggle the most with vulnerability and can lose those closest to them because they are don’t let down their walls to let people in. The true power of the eight is to inspire and uplift those around them. Eights will always protect the underdog or what they believe is morally right. If you are on the opposing side of the eight, watch out because stopping them is comparable to stopping a moving train.

9: The Peacemaker

Enneagram 9 is the easygoing type. This sign is more agreeable than not and chooses to keep the peace in virtually any situation. At times this can be problematic when it comes to confronting problems. As a result of their agreeable characteristics and unhealthy behaviors, nines can block out the world around them to avoid confrontation and problems requiring them to speak up. On the positive side, this sign is so devoted to internal and external peace, often influencing those around them to do the same. They can be known as spiritual seekers and connect with their spirituality almost as well as connect with those around them. The best advice for enneagram nine is to exert themselves. Conflict does not always hold negativity and sometimes is worth taking a good long look at.

Acknowledging your sign and what you struggle with may help you understand yourself and live your life more effectively. Be sure to find out which enneagram represents you the most!

In what ways do you identify with your enneagram? Is there anything you didn’t know about when examining your personality via enneagram testing?