I’m obsessed with personality tests. I’ve had a love affair with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator since high school (I’m an ENFP). When I found out about how Jung’s cognitive functions influenced and deepened MBTI, I got really into it. I knew all about the Big 5 Personality Test too, and any chance I got, I made someone take one of these two tests.
I took the Enneagram test a few years ago after hearing about it for a while. The Enneagram has nine core types, and I got Type 9, the Peacemaker or Mediator. I did not like my results. Nine seemed like boring pushovers, too kind and vanilla for my taste. I was certain it was wrong, so I went with the second highest score, Type 7. This type is the enthusiast, and she’s spontaneous, scatterbrained, playful, and exciting, which is what I wanted to be and could embody at my best moments.
Even though I thought I’d figured out my true type, I didn’t like the Enneagram in general. It was very negative, focusing on one’s weaknesses and fears instead of strengths and motivations. So I didn’t spend much time on it past the initial testing.
I retook the test last year, after a few years full of self-discovery and introspection. I got Type 9 again, and this time, I couldn’t really deny it. The basic fear of Nines is of loss or separation, and their basic desire is to have inner stability or peace of mind. That is definitely me, and I’m mature enough to recognize it now. I’m a people pleaser who avoids conflict whenever I can, delays inevitable change, and daydreams to escape real life. I’m also an optimist who puts people at ease, accepts and understands a variety of viewpoints, and seeks connection in all things.
As I’ve delved deeper into the Enneagram and had family and friends test themselves, I’ve fallen more and more in love with it. While the Big 5 test measures five specific personality traits and MBTI (when using cognitive functions) measures how you think about or interact with the world, the Enneagram characterizes the emotional core of a person. It deals with someone’s motivations, fears, weaknesses, and needs. A lot of people feel that personality tests simplify people’s behaviors and thoughts, but to me, the Enneagram surpasses the superficial level of most tests.
This may be because of the Enneagram’s roots in spirituality, mysticism, and philosophy. Instead of being developed by psychologists who were seeking a way to categorize people, the Enneagram originated in an attempt to break down the ego and return to our true selves. The main father of the Enneagram, Oscar Ichazo, said in Interviews with Ichazo:
We have to distinguish between a man as he is in essence, and as he is in ego or personality. In essence, every person is perfect, fearless, and in a loving unity with the entire cosmos; there is no conflict within the person between head, heart, and stomach or between the person and others. Then something happens: the ego begins to develop, karma accumulates, there is a transition from objectivity to subjectivity; man falls from essence into personality.
The Enneagram’s entire aim is to use self-awareness of your fears and weaknesses and work with them to let your virtues manifest naturally. Working with the Enneagram can help us reflect on our true natures, with the good and the bad.
Acknowledging our deepest fears and desires can help us understand why we do what we do. For example, Nines fear loss and separation, so we may go with the flow of a group in order to be a part of it, even if it’s not what we would choose for ourselves. I have to set boundaries for myself and recognize my tendencies to place others’ needs before my own. This isn’t a bad thing if done in balance with taking care of myself, but it can’t be my default mode.
We all have fears and weaknesses that hold us back, but when we honestly look at them, we can find ways to overcome them and even turn them into strengths. When we’re open to transformation from self-reflection, we can shed the ego and return to our true essence.
If you’d like to take the enneagram test, I’d recommend doing so on Eclectic Energies and using the Enneagram Institute’s resources once you know your type.
This post was originally published on my tinyletter on January 20th, 2019.
I didn’t like my type either, which was a 7. Scatterbrained, losing stuff, never finishing a project. I like your description much better. My need is security and stability, something I strongly disagreed with but I am realizing is completely true. I think I didn’t realize it because I married someone who fills that need so I denied it as existing in my life. But lately I’ve realized that is exactly what he does – and all this time I thought it was me being so independent. Hahaha
And I’m an ENTP. Still learning about that.
Martha