I was reading my most current issue of Magnolia Magazine (yes, I adore Chip and Joanna and all things Gaines) and came upon an article about The Enneagram. The what? I had never heard of this, so I read the article and quickly became fascinated..
By definition:
a nine-sided figure used in a particular system of analysis to represent the spectrum of possible personality types
In short, it is an ancient system for identifying personality. There are nine distinct personality types identified by points on the star like the figure below. Each number on the Enneagram marks each “type.” As I understand it, it is common to find a little of yourself in all nine of the types, although one of them should stand out as being closest to yourself. This is your basic personality type.
As usual I went all in and researched the nine types and took two different online tests to see what this was all about. Results are in........
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
“No one is a pure personality type: everyone is a unique mixture of his or her basic type and usually one of the two types adjacent to it on the circumference of the Enneagram. One of the two types adjacent to your basic type is called your wing. Your basic type dominates your overall personality, while the wing complements it and adds important, sometimes contradictory, elements to your total personality”
(Source: The Enneagram Institute)
With that said it seems, based on this, I am a ONE with a wing of TWO. There was the initial, “wow, really?” Then I processed it a bit and it made sense to me and the more I read on the personality types, the more I can understood what makes me tick. The “why” of how I act, think, and feel.
There is something to be said about truly understanding your own identity. Most of us have a “version” of ourselves, or at least a version of how we think people see us, that has developed over time. But if we hold on to that “vision” do we not really see ourselves for who we really are?
Too deep? I know.
BUT – it gives me pause to understand "me " better. That could translate to reading more about The Enneagram and my personality types or even just being more introspective and not holding to that "vision" prescribed by me or the others around me. Given what I have shared on here about my struggle with anxiety and the challenges that life brings.... I think this is so incredibly useful and eye opening. Another tool in my tool kit so to speak!
There was a quote in the article I read in MAGNOLIA that struck me:
"As we own the fullness of who we are, we can more plainly see the gifts we
bring to the world."
Check out more at https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/
Source article: The Enneagram by Chris Heuertz
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