What the &#@% is an Enneagram?
It seems like everyone everywhere is talking about Enneagrams. I was recently asked what mine was and, honestly, wasn’t even sure. I have taken the Myers-Briggs before in college as part of my team work communications class (yes, that was a real required course). In fact, probably one of my favorite days in college was going over the results. Knowing what my Myers-Briggs personality type is I figured why not give this Enneagram business a shot. I’m almost positive, if you read a majority of this or know me in person, you’ll find out exactly what number I am. But, what is an Enneagram and why should you care?
Note: this post is crafted from hours of research on the internet and my discovery after taking my own Enneagram test.
What is an Enneagram?
An Enneagram is basically a tool that takes human behavior patterns and breaks them down into nine personality types. These personality types each have their own fears, motivations, and more. The Enneagram has ancient origins that can be related back to the Pythagorean Theorem although much if its history is disputed. On paper the Enneagram is a figure that is composed of a circle, an inner triangle, and an irregular hexagon type figure. And this is where the connections, lines, and shapes get a little complex so if you’re interested in that…go do some more research.
What Does It Tell You?
Your Enneagram is a sort of road map for personal growth, relationships, and how you cope with situations. It gives you insights into blindspots and other interesting tidbits. Not only does it speak to who you are at this moment, but tells you who you can be too. The Enneagram type helps you to reflect and evolve your thinking. This is particularly helpful with altering relationships and behaviors. Your type can also gravitate toward other numbers dependent on certain situations (stress, anger, etc) and can intersect with the other types. This is where Wings come into the picture.
Wings are a sort of modification to the original personality type. Each type has adjacent types which can date around with each other. These wings have the ability to reinforce our type or make us reevaluate our results. But, like the Paul McCartney driven vehicle, wings aren’t as important as your overall Enneagram type.
What Does Your Type Mean?
As with the Myers-Briggs you narrow things down until you get to your chosen type. There are 9 types each with their meanings and relationships to each other. There are even some places on the net you can find a table with ego fixations, passions, virtues, temptations, and more. But, because I am no Enneagram expert, here are base level 9 types:
The Perfectionist - the rational, idealistic type
The Helper - the caring, interpersonal type
The Achiever - the success-oriented, pragmatic type
The Individualist - the sensitive, withdrawn type
The Investigator - the intense, cerebral type
The Loyalist - the committed, security-oriented type
The Enthusiast - the busy, fun-loving type
The Challenger - the powerful, dominating type
The Peacemaker - the easygoing, self-effacing type
There are also many things that come with your Enneagram type including the wings, but also subtypes and triads. Just briefly, subtypes are instinctual. They are the subconscious decision makers that drive most of our life choices and actions. Once you find out what yours is, you may be able to designate priorities and alter the course of your life. There are three subtypes: One-On-One, Social, and Self-Preservation. Once you determine which you are, you can create better balance in your life.
So Why Should You Care?
Aside from Enneagrams being everywhere, they are fun to find out. They are growing in popularity because they can easily help hone in on fears, desires, and behaviors. Your results can help you increase self-acceptance and Enneagrams are a pretty useful tool for life. It can help you in the workplace (it’s frequently used in business), life goals, and interpersonal relationships. Enneagrams can help you learn stress patterns and how to cope with various situations which can lead to better self-care overall. Now, go be like a popular Influencer and toss your type into your Instagram bio because if you don’t tell everyone, did you ever really find out your Enneagram?
If you would like to find your Enneagram or learn more visit this recommended resource: Integrative9