I spent 5 hours in the car this weekend and instead of listening to music or scanning radio stations as I drive through the prairies of Oklahoma, nowadays I listen to podcasts during my long drives! My friend, Amanda, who teaches global wellness and has years of corporate leadership and diversity training, has mentioned Enneagrams to me a few times over the past year or so. I waved her off and wasn't interested in hearing about yet another personality test; anyone get sick of hearing about Meyers Briggs? It's definitely a useful tool, but when I would meet someone new and their first question was "what's your Meyers Briggs?" I'm OUT! That in itself probably is telling of my personality type (haha!).
Long story short, she sent me a podcast to listen to before this roadtrip home and so I listened. The podcast is called "Typology" by Ian Morgan Cron, and I'll admit: I don't like the name "Typology"...it reminds me of Scientology or something like that, but I promise it's not weird! While listening to the podcast she sent, I was laughing because the podcast guest was talking about his traits and thinking patterns that 100% resonated with me. Like, we are personality twins! It was pretty comical because he was a skeptic and would say that he didn't think people needed to take it so seriously and live their life by these personality assessments, which I also completely agree with! Everything from how people perceived him to what his underlying motivation was, to how he reacted to stress was also true of me! All of that made me want to learn a little more and to use my Enneagram type as a tool for self-discovery and growth. I shared a bit of this on Instagram stories and had quite a reaction, so it made me want to share some information and resources on the blog!
All of my initial information is coming from The Enneagram Institute, so if you're interested, I recommend starting there! The Enneagram is a system of 9 personality types with the belief that everyone is born with one dominant personality type. Enneagram, literally from the Greek, means "nine" and "drawing" or diagram, which makes sense, because the below diagram shows the different types and links between the 9 dominant personality types in the Enneagram system, originally developed by Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson.
Below are the 9 basic personality types according to the Enneagram, pulled directly from the Institute's website. Click on each personality type for a more detailed description, along with how they interact with other types, what their "wing" types are, and what their underlying motivation is in life.
The Rational, Idealistic Type: Principled, Purposeful, Self-Controlled, and Perfectionistic
The Caring, Interpersonal Type: Demonstrative, Generous, People-Pleasing, and Possessive
The Success-Oriented, Pragmatic Type: Adaptive, Excelling, Driven, and Image-Conscious
The Sensitive, Withdrawn Type: Expressive, Dramatic, Self-Absorbed, and Temperamental
The Intense, Cerebral Type: Perceptive, Innovative, Secretive, and Isolated
The Committed, Security-Oriented Type: Engaging, Responsible, Anxious, and Suspicious
The Busy, Fun-Loving Type: Spontaneous, Versatile, Distractible, and Scattered
The Powerful, Dominating Type: Self-Confident, Decisive, Willful, and Confrontational
The Easygoing, Self-Effacing Type: Receptive, Reassuring, Agreeable, and Complacent
Personally, I believe I am a 7 (The Enthusiast), with an 8 wing (The Challenger). It's so interesting to see how the 7 relates to other types and that when we are stressed, we tend to exhibit traits of an unhealthy 1, as shown by the interior lines of the Enneagram, making me a perfectionist and rigid; when I'm in a good place, I exhibit the traits of a healthy 5, becoming open minded and extremely perceptive.
I recommend listening to the Typology podcast as you explore the Enneagram- it's especially interesting when there is an episode featuring someone you can relate to like Episode 18 for me! Have fun exploring and don't try to hard to "type yourself;" you may have to ask for help to really accurately determine your type!