Most personality theories have the main objective of knowing the characteristics of humans and analyzing our behaviors to find disorders or difficulties in adapting to society. Few psychological disciplines seek to improve the individual and their personal well-being regardless of whether they have a problem or not. However, there is a classification system which seeks the path to personal improvement.
Inner growth begins by knowing ourselves a little better and identifying those tendencies that prevent us from improving as a person. You know the nine personality types of the enneagram? In this Psychology-Online article, we will present each of these types, their qualities and their weaknesses.
The enneagram of personality
The enneagram is a tool that is many centuries old. In fact, its origin is confusing and is much more remote than the beginnings of psychology. This theory states that there are nine personality types, it explains our way of relating to others, our defects, strengths and unconscious tendencies.
This last characteristic makes the enearrange of personality a very powerful and useful theory to know ourselves better. Knowing our deepest fears and knowing what our ego focuses on can shed a little light and explain those behaviors or decisions we make that not even we understand.
The ego and the essence
According to great enneagram theorists, the human condition has two faces: the ego and the essence. Both define two extremes of our thinking, behaviors and emotions. The ego is that unconscious part of our being in charge of seeking conflicts, it causes mental distortions that change our way of perceiving reality and is the basis of personal suffering. Instead, the essence is the natural character of the individual, unadulterated or distorted by reality. When we connect with the essence we are able to live free and without a filter.
As a general rule, we all act based on ego of our enneatype. Each personality has distortions and a characteristic ego and, therefore, each type will have to act differently to free itself from the thoughts and fears that chain us. The objective of personal and spiritual growth will be focused on identifying our ego and connecting with the essence.
The nine enneatypes
Next, we will briefly describe the nine personality types of the enneagram or enneatypes. To do this, we will divide them into three groups:
- Emotional: types two, three and four.
- Mental: types five, six and seven.
- Visceral or instinctive: types eight, nine and one.
It is possible that we identify with more than one, it is completely normal since character is influenced by many factors and our style of behavior and thinking can resemble more than one enneatype. However, the key to discovering our personality type is to read each one of them and discover the one that resonates most within us.
It is important to comment that, despite being numbered, none of them are better or worse than the next. They are simply ordered like this because, according to theory, they are linked in a very specific way according to a mathematical structure, as we can see in the following image:
The emotional enneatypes
The emotional triad is part of the need for relationshipAccording to the Enneagram theory, these three personality types feel a need to love and feel loved, they care a lot about contact and need to relate to other people.
Type TWO: the helper
People of this type focus all their attention on others, They look for love through actions or gestures of help towards others and they usually feel a type of “pride” when they feel that someone needs them. They want to be loved and feel loved at whatever price it takes. They do not focus on their needs and that can affect their personal well-being. The growth objective of a TWO will be to learn to love oneself and stop needing external affection, and leave behind the feeling of pride.
Type THREE: the achiever
“I am what I do” is a phrase that describes these people very well. Type THREE is characterized by a tendency to act as he or she believes others want him or her to act. They care a lot about the image they project to others and live by and for it. The path to well-being of type THREE will be aimed at leaving vanity behind and acting in accordance with one’s own feelings and emotions, stopping focusing on what others think.
Type FOUR: the melancholic or individualistic
These people connect deeply with emotions, have a strong unconscious need to feel loved, to be unique and special, they often develop disorders related to and have a deep feeling of inferiority. They are the most creative but at the same time more melancholic and pessimistic. The psychological advice for an individual with a FOUR personality will be focused on cultivating a feeling of equality towards others, self-esteem and letting oneself love oneself.
Mental personality types
Mental personalities are those whose basic need is focused on find safetythey need to accurately analyze the situations and people around them in order to feel safe.
Type FIVE: the researcher
Those people analytical, observant and perceptive They are usually described in the FIVE personality type. Their world is in their head and they rarely share it. They have profound difficulty connecting with emotions, especially if they are foreign to them. The path to growth for a person with an enneatype FIVE will be directed towards leaving personal isolation and sharing their thoughts and emotions with others.
Type SIX: The Loyalist or “The Soldier”
Individuals who are defined as enneatype SIX are those whose main value is sincerity and fidelity. They tend to be extremely anxious and distrustful, they are afraid of the unknown and everything that could cause them some type of emotional damage. Those of SIX will find the courage within themselves and learn to trust their abilities.
Type SEVEN: the enthusiast
Active, lively, distracted…the SEVEN are an enneatype full of energy and desire for freedom. They are people who escape from routine by making a thousand plans to distract themselves, constantly looking for new and satisfying experiences and tend to live under a mask of joy to avoid connecting with pain and reality when it is unpleasant. The psychological advice so that the SEVEN type can improve will be based on taking responsibilities, emotional maturity and connection with reality.
Visceral or instinctive enneatypes
Finally, among all the personality types of the enneagram, we find the visceral or instinctive triad. This group of personalities has a deep fixation on need for autonomythey need to assert themselves and defend their own territory.
Type EIGHT: the territorial or the leader
Type EIGHT personalities are characterized by strong control over their environment and by wanting to hide their weaknesses at all costs. They are persons combative, aggressive and power-oriented. They seek to protect those individuals who they consider “deserving of protection” and try to impose their ideas at all costs. For an EIGHT to grow emotionally, work aimed at recovering the innocence and goodness of the inner child is recommended, accepting its weaknesses and learning to live in love.
Type NINE: the peacemaker
People of this enneatype are individuals calm down, mediators and with a tendency to avoid conflict. They need peace and harmony to reign in their environment. They do not usually confront others because they do not want to break that internal tranquility, which is why they feel uncomfortable with changes and unexpected challenges. The recommended objectives for the NINE personality type will be related to showing their emotions, learning to make decisions and loving themselves while respecting their real desires.
Type ONE: the perfectionist
The first of the enneatypes is characterized by an ego very focused on discipline, always seeks to point out the errors in everything he sees and is incapable of leaving a detail unfixed. Are organized and they have a very strong conception of what is right and what is wrong. Despite their good intentions, in their search for perfection they can hurt other people’s feelings by always pointing out negative details. The psychological work of the ONE will be based on finding peace, cultivating kindness, accepting oneself and others.
The tests to discover the enneagram
It is possible that, at first glance, we do not identify with any of the enneatypes (or we believe that we have characteristics of more than one). That is why the path to discovering the enneagram can be a little more complicated. It is important to comment that there are subtypes within the same enneatypes and, for that same reason, there is a wide range of personalities that can be part of the same type.
There are multitudes of online tests to discover the enneagram, however, the best test will always be analyze ourselves and discover which unconscious characteristics and fears match best and sound loudest within our mind, the best test will always be our own psyche.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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