Have You Heard About The Enneagram?

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Have you heard about the Enneagram?

Simply put, the Enneagram is a system of nine interconnected personality types. They are graphically represented as lines and triangles that intersect in a star-like figure inside a circle.

 

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The Enneagram is used in many business conferences, seminars, and team-building exercises in order to obtain knowledge of interpersonal dynamics in the workplace. It is also used in spiritual practices to gather self-awareness and insight into achieving higher states of enlightenment. Additionally, those of us who are fascinated by fields such as psychology, cultural, and social anthropology will most likely find it interesting.

Since I love taking any type of personality test, I dove right in. According to the several free Enneagram tests I found online, I discovered that I was either a Type 1 or a Type 9, depending on the test. In order to break the tie, I went to The Enneagram Institute and paid $12 to take the 144 question personality test. The institute states that the test is independently scientifically validated and gives you your score across all 9 types in addition to pointing out your basic type.

According to the The Enneagram Institute, these are the Nine Enneagram Type Descriptions:

1. THE REFORMER
    The Rational, Idealistic Type: Principled, Purposeful, Self-Controlled, and Perfectionistic

2. THE HELPER
     The Caring, Interpersonal Type: Demonstrative, Generous, People-Pleasing, and Possessive

3. THE ACHIEVER
     The Success-Oriented, Pragmatic Type: Adaptive, Excelling, Driven, and Image-Conscious

4. THE INDIVIDUALIST
     The Sensitive, Withdrawn Type: Expressive, Dramatic, Self-Absorbed, and Temperamental

5. THE INVESTIGATOR
     The Intense, Cerebral Type: Perceptive, Innovative, Secretive, and Isolated

6 THE LOYALIST
    The Committed, Security-Oriented Type: Engaging, Responsible, Anxious, and Suspicious

7. THE ENTHUSIAST
     The Busy, Fun-Loving Type: Spontaneous, Versatile, Distractible, and Scattered

8. THE CHALLENGER
     The Powerful, Dominating Type: Self-Confident, Decisive, Willful, and Confrontational

9. THE PEACEMAKER
     The Easygoing, Self-Effacing Type: Receptive, Reassuring, Agreeable, and Complacent

In my case, I found that my Type 1 results were quite accurate. Although there are many parts of my personality type profile that I find cringeworthy, I must admit that a lot of it rings true. Additionally, the Enneagram allows for varying degrees of each personality type, so that you can further explore the stronger and weaker delineations.

There are also wings, which are basically extensions of your core personality. The wings can modify your main type. My results showed that I was a Type 1, Wing 9. In my estimation, the 9 wing softens a bit of the rigid, critical tendencies of the Type 1 Personality. 

Many of the free Enneagram test sites offer compatibility profiles along with the basic personality test. Well, that’s all I needed to read in order to forcibly suggest that my husband take a test as well. I was both surprised and yet, not-at-all surprised to learn that he was also a Type 1. However, his Type 1 was closely followed with Types 8 and 5, so we are definitely different personality combinations. 

Want to find out your Enneagram Personality Type? I discovered many free test websites, such as this one and HERE to name a few. If you’re compelled to take a deeper dive on all things Enneagram, I suggest exploring the official Enneagram Institute site https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/ or read more about the nine types here: https://integrative9.com/Enneagram/Introduction/.

 

What’s your type? Let us know in the comments.