Enneagram Personality Overview

Type 5: THE INVESTIGATOR
The Intense, Cerebral Type:
Perceptive, Innovative, Secretive, and Isolated
Type Five in Brief
Fives are alert, insightful, and curious.

Type 4: THE INDIVIDUALIST
The Sensitive, Introspective type:
Expressive, Dramatic, Self-Absorbed, and Temperamental
Type Four in Brief
Fours are self-aware, sensitive, and reserved.

At Their Worst: Able to excuse and rationalize what they do since they feel abused and victimized by others and are bitterly resentful and angry.

If, over time, such validation remains out of reach, Fours begin to build their identity around how unlike everyone else they are.

Behind Fives’ relentless pursuit of knowledge are deep insecurities about their ability to function successfully in the world.

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

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.

They typically have problems with eccentricity, nihilism, and isolation.

Alcoholism, drug overdoses, "skid row," self-abasing behavior.

Type 5: THE INVESTIGATOR
The Intense, Cerebral Type:
Perceptive, Innovative, Secretive, and Isolated
Type Five in Brief
Fives are alert, insightful, and curious.

Type 7: THE ENTHUSIAST
The Busy, Variety-Seeking type:
Spontaneous, Versatile, Acquisitive, and Scattered
Type Seven in Brief
Sevens are extroverted, optimistic, versatile, and spontaneous.

At their Best: wise, discerning, realistic, and noble.

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

Type 3:THE ACHIEVER
The Success-Oriented, Pragmatic Type:
Adaptable, Excelling, Driven, and Image-Conscious
Type Three in Brief
Threes are self-assured, attractive, and charming.

Type 7: THE ENTHUSIAST
The Busy, Variety-Seeking type:
Spontaneous, Versatile, Acquisitive, and Scattered
Type Seven in Brief
Sevens are extroverted, optimistic, versatile, and spontaneous.

Type 4: THE INDIVIDUALIST
The Sensitive, Introspective type:
Expressive, Dramatic, Self-Absorbed, and Temperamental
Type Four in Brief
Fours are self-aware, sensitive, and reserved.

Having two weeks for a vacation and a desire to visit Europe brings a similar quandary.

They strive to overcome adversity—particularly moral adversity—so that the human spirit can shine through and make a difference.

Type 5: THE INVESTIGATOR
The Intense, Cerebral Type:
Perceptive, Innovative, Secretive, and Isolated
Type Five in Brief
Fives are alert, insightful, and curious.

Indeed, not all Sixes go along with the “status quo”: their beliefs may be rebellious and anti-authoritarian, even revolutionary.

Even now, if I have a conflict with a friend and need to address an issue, I rehearse ahead of time how to express clearly what I want, need, and observe, and yet, not be harsh or blaming in my anger which is often scathing.”

At Their Worst: Become condemnatory toward others, punitive and cruel to rid themselves of "wrong-doers."

They respond to pain and suffering by attempting to live in a state of premature peacefulness, whether it is in a state of false spiritual attainment, or in more gross denial.

Withholding themselves from others due to feeling vulnerable and defective, they can also feel disdainful and exempt from ordinary ways of living.

Deranged, explosively self-destructive, with schizophrenic overtones.

At Their Best: Assimilate experiences in depth, making them deeply grateful and appreciative for what they have.

At Their Best: Become self-possessed, feeling autonomous and fulfilled: have great equanimity and contentment because they are present to themselves.

They therefore do everything in their power to keep their affiliations going.

Excellent "troubleshooters," they foresee problems and foster cooperation, but can also become defensive, evasive, and anxious—running on stress while complaining about it.

Nines must resist the urge to escape into “premature Buddhahood” or the “white light” of the Divine and away from the mundane world.

The more they attempt to make themselves impervious to hurt or pain (whether physical or emotional), the more they “shut down” emotionally to become hardened and rock-like.

Type 9: THE PEACEMAKER
The Easygoing, Self-Effacing Type:
Receptive, Reassuring Agreeable, and Complacent
Type Nine in Brief
Nines are accepting, trusting, and stable.

Type 2: THE HELPER
The Caring, Interpersonal Type:
Generous, Demonstrative, People-Pleasing, and Possessive
Type Two in Brief
Twos are empathetic, sincere, and warm-hearted.

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

Threes also learned how to cultivate and develop whatever about them is attractive or potentially impressive.

Type 3:THE ACHIEVER
The Success-Oriented, Pragmatic Type:
Adaptable, Excelling, Driven, and Image-Conscious
Type Three in Brief
Threes are self-assured, attractive, and charming.

They are bold and vivacious, pursuing what they want in life with a cheerful determination.

Type 5: THE INVESTIGATOR
The Intense, Cerebral Type:
Perceptive, Innovative, Secretive, and Isolated
Type Five in Brief
Fives are alert, insightful, and curious.

At Their Best: Become self-possessed, feeling autonomous and fulfilled: have great equanimity and contentment because they are present to themselves.

On the positive side, however, Sevens are extremely optimistic people—exuberant and upbeat.

“Much of my tenacity and toughness comes from my Dad. He always told me not to ‘let anybody push you around.’

They typically have problems with eccentricity, nihilism, and isolation.

Well-organized, orderly, and fastidious, they try to maintain high standards, but can slip into being critical and perfectionistic.

Fours are in the same predicament.

At Their Worst: Become vindictive, attempting to ruin others' happiness.

More than any other type, Nines demonstrate the tendency to run away from the paradoxes and tensions of life by attempting to transcend them or be seeking find simple and painless solutions to their problems.

It is the contradictory picture that is the characteristic “fingerprint” of Sixes, the fact that they are a bundle of opposites.

They use their talents and fortitude to construct a better world for everyone in their lives.

Sixes are always aware of their anxieties and are always looking for ways to construct “social security” bulwarks against them.

Overview of Enneagram Personality Types
Published by the Enneagram Institute

Type 1: THE REFORMER
The Rational, Idealistic Type:
Principled, Purposeful, Self-Controlled, and Perfectionistic

Type One in Brief
Ones are conscientious and ethical, with a strong sense of right and wrong.

Humane, inspiring, and hopeful: the truth will be heard.

Gentle and benevolent.

They become detached, yet high-strung and intense.

They are friendly, generous, and self-sacrificing, but can also be sentimental, flattering, and people-pleasing.

They are typically “spiritual seekers” who have a great yearning for connection with the cosmos, as well as with other people.

They typically have problems with resentment and impatience.

Eights are charismatic and have the physical and psychological capacities to persuade others to follow them into all kinds of endeavors—from starting a company, to rebuilding a city, to running a household, to waging war, to making peace.