#enneagrams

Type 1: The Perfectionist/Reformer

The Rational, Idealist Type:

Principled, purposeful, self-controlled, and perfectionistic.

Ones are conscientious and ethical, with a strong sense of right and wrong. They are teachers, crusaders, and advocates for change: always striving to improve things, but afraid of making a mistake. Well-organized, orderly, and fastidious, they try to maintain high standards, but can slip into being critical and perfectionistic. They typically have problems with resentment and impatience.

At their Best: wise, discerning, realistic, and noble. Can be morally heroic.

Core desire: to be good, to have integrity, to be balanced

Core fear: being corrupt/evil, being defective

Key Motivations: Want to be right, to strive higher and improve everything, to be consistent with their ideals, to justify themselves, to be beyond criticism so as not to be condemned by anyone.

Integration/Growth: 7

Disintegration/Stress: 4

When moving in their Direction of Disintegration (stress), methodical Ones suddenly become moody and irrational at Four. However, when moving in their Direction of Integration (growth), angry, critical Ones become more spontaneous and joyful, like healthy Sevens.

Type 2: The Helper

The Caring, Interpersonal Type:

Demonstrative, generous, people-pleasing, and possessive.

Twos are empathetic, sincere, and warm-hearted. They are friendly, generous, and self-sacrificing, but can also be sentimental, flattering, and people-pleasing. They are well-meaning and driven to be close to others, but can slip into doing things for others in order to be needed. They typically have problems with possessiveness and with acknowledging their own needs.

At their Best: unselfish and altruistic, they have unconditional love for others.

Core desire: to feel loved

Core fear: being unwanted, being unworthy of being loved

Key Motivations: Want to be loved, to express their feelings for others, to be needed and appreciated, to get others to respond to them, to vindicate their claims about themselves.

Integration/Growth: 4

Disintegration/Stress: 8

When moving in their Direction of Disintegration (stress), needy Twos suddenly become aggressive and dominating at Eight. However, when moving in their Direction of Integration (growth), prideful, self-deceptive Twos become more self-nurturing and emotionally aware, like healthy Fours.

Type 3: The Achiever

The Success-Oriented, Pragmatic Type:

Adaptable, excelling, driven, and image-conscious.

Threes are self-assured, attractive, and charming. Ambitious, competent, and energetic, they can also be status-conscious and highly driven for advancement. They are diplomatic and poised, but can also be overly concerned with their image and what others think of them. They typically have problems with workaholism and competitiveness.

At their best: self-accepting, authentic, everything they seem to be—role models who inspire others.

Core desire: to feel valuable and worthwhile

Core fear: being worthless

Key Motivations: Want to be affirmed, to distinguish themselves from others, to have attention, to be admired, and to impress others.

Integration/Growth: 6

Disintegration/Stress: 9

When moving in their Direction of Disintegration (stress), driven Threes suddenly become disengaged and apathetic at Nine. However, when moving in their Direction of Integration (growth), vain, deceitful Threes become more cooperative and committed to others, like healthy Sixes.

Type 4: The Individualist

The Sensitive, Introspective Type:

Expressive, dramatic, self-absorbed, and temperamental.

Fours are self-aware, sensitive, and reserved. They are emotionally honest, creative, and personal, but can also be moody and self-conscious. Withholding themselves from others due to feeling vulnerable and defective, they can also feel disdainful and exempt from ordinary ways of living. They typically have problems with melancholy, self-indulgence, and self-pity.

At their Best: inspired and highly creative, they are able to renew themselves and transform their experiences.

Core desire: to find themselves and their significance (to create an identity)

Core fear: having no identity or personal significance

Key Motivations: Want to express themselves and their individuality, to create and surround themselves with beauty, to maintain certain moods and feelings, to withdraw to protect their self-image, to take care of emotional needs before attending to anything else, to attract a “rescuer.”

Integration/Growth: 1

Disintegration/Stress: 2

When moving in their Direction of Disintegration (stress), aloof Fours suddenly become over-involved and clinging at Two. However, when moving in their Direction of Integration (growth), envious, emotionally turbulent Fours become more objective and principled, like healthy Ones.

Type 5: The Investigator

The Intense, Cerebral Type:

Perceptive, innovative, secretive, and isolated.

Fives are alert, insightful, and curious. They are able to concentrate and focus on developing complex ideas and skills. Independent, innovative, and inventive, they can also become preoccupied with their thoughts and imaginary constructs. They become detached, yet high-strung and intense. They typically have problems with eccentricity, nihilism, and isolation.

At their Best: visionary pioneers, often ahead of their time, and able to see the world in an entirely new way.

Core desire: to be capable and competent

Core fear: being useless, helpless, or incapable

Key Motivations: Want to possess knowledge, to understand the environment, to have everything figured out as a way of defending the self from threats from the environment.

Integration/Growth: 8

Disintegration/Stress: 7

When moving in their Direction of Disintegration (stress), detached Fives suddenly become hyperactive and scattered at Seven. However, when moving in their Direction of Integration (growth), avaricious, detached Fives become more self-confident and decisive, like healthy Eights.

Type 6: The Loyalist

The Committed, Security-Oriented Type:

Engaging, responsible, anxious, and suspicious.

The committed, security-oriented type. Sixes are reliable, hard-working, responsible, and trustworthy. Excellent “troubleshooters,” they foresee problems and foster cooperation, but can also become defensive, evasive, and anxious—running on stress while complaining about it. They can be cautious and indecisive, but also reactive, defiant and rebellious. They typically have problems with self-doubt and suspicion.

At their Best: internally stable and self-reliant, courageously championing themselves and others.

Core desire: to have security and support

Core fear: being without support and guidance

Key Motivations: Want to have security, to feel supported by others, to have certitude and reassurance, to test the attitudes of others toward them, to fight against anxiety and insecurity.

Integration/Growth: 9

Disintegration/Stress: 3

When moving in their Direction of Disintegration (stress), dutiful Sixes suddenly become competitive and arrogant at Three. However, when moving in their Direction of Integration (growth), fearful, pessimistic Sixes become more relaxed and optimistic, like healthy Nine.

Type 7: The Enthusiast

The Busy, Fun-Loving Type:

Spontaneous, versatile, distractible, and scattered.

Sevens are extroverted, optimistic, versatile, and spontaneous. Playful, high-spirited, and practical, they can also misapply their many talents, becoming over-extended, scattered, and undisciplined. They constantly seek new and exciting experiences, but can become distracted and exhausted by staying on the go. They typically have problems with impatience and impulsiveness.

At their Best: they focus their talents on worthwhile goals, becoming appreciative, joyous, and satisfied.

Core desire: to be satisfied and content — to have their needs fulfilled

Core fear: being deprived and in pain

Key Motivations: Want to maintain their freedom and happiness, to avoid missing out on worthwhile experiences, to keep themselves excited and occupied, to avoid and discharge pain.

Integration/Growth: 5

Disintegration/Stress: 1

When moving in their Direction of Disintegration (stress), scattered Sevens suddenly become perfectionistic and critical at One. However, when moving in their Direction of Integration (growth), gluttonous, scattered Sevens become more focused and fascinated by life, like healthy Fives.

Type 8: The Challenger

The Powerful, Dominating Type:

Self-confident, decisive, willful, and confrontational.

Eights are self-confident, strong, and assertive. Protective, resourceful, straight-talking, and decisive, but can also be ego-centric and domineering. Eights feel they must control their environment, especially people, sometimes becoming confrontational and intimidating. Eights typically have problems with their tempers and with allowing themselves to be vulnerable.

At their Best: self- mastering, they use their strength to improve others’ lives, becoming heroic, magnanimous, and inspiring.

Core desire: to protect themselves, to be in control of their own life/destiny

Core fear: being harmed or controlled by others

Key Motivations: Want to be self-reliant, to prove their strength and resist weakness, to be important in their world, to dominate the environment, and to stay in control of their situation.

Integration/Growth: 2

Disintegration/Stress: 5

When moving in their Direction of Disintegration (stress), self-confident Eights suddenly become secretive and fearful at Five. However, when moving in their Direction of Integration (growth), lustful, controlling Eights become more open-hearted and caring, like healthy Twos.

Type 9: The Peacemaker

The Easygoing, Self-Effacing Type:

Receptive, reassuring, agreeable, and complacent.

Enneagram Type Nines are accepting, trusting, and stable. They are usually creative, optimistic, and supportive, but can also be too willing to go along with others to keep the peace. They want everything to go smoothly and be without conflict, but they can also tend to be complacent, simplifying problems and minimizing anything upsetting. They typically have problems with inertia and stubbornness.

At their Best: indomitable and all-embracing, they are able to bring people together and heal conflicts.

Core desire: to have inner stability “peace of mind”

Core fear: loss and separation

Key Motivations: Want to create harmony in their environment, to avoid conflicts and tension, to preserve things as they are, to resist whatever would upset or disturb them.

Integration/Growth: 3

Disintegration/Stress: 6

When moving in their Direction of Disintegration (stress), complacent Nines suddenly become anxious and worried at Six. However, when moving in their Direction of Integration (growth), slothful, self-neglecting Nines become more self-developing and energetic, like healthy Threes.