Who are you?!

Have you heard of the word Enneagram?

According to the Sufis, we - all human beings, are one of nine personalities, each with positive and negative traits associated with these personality types. Do any of these sound familiar? They should, everyone has someone in their life who can fall under one of these nine types:

1 THE REFORMER i.e. Hilary Clinton
+The Rational, Idealistic Type: Principled, Purposeful and Self-Controlled.
-Perfectionistic, Compulsive, Corrective, Overly Critical and Judging.
--In madness this type can become Psychopathic.




2 THE HELPER i.e. Mother Teresa
+The Caring, Interpersonal Type: Demonstrative, Intuitive, Generous and People-Pleasing.
-Approval Seeking, Resentful and often Possessive.
--This type is often Self Neglecting.




3 THE ACHIEVER i.e. Oprah Winfrey
+The Success-Oriented, Pragmatic Type: Adaptive, Excelling and Driven.
-Image-Conscious, Focus on doing rather than being, Demand Respect and they Strive for Status.
--Often Work-a-holics


4 THE INDIVIDUALIST i.e. Johnny Depp
+The Sensitive, Withdrawn Type: Expressive and Dramatic.
-Aversion to the ordinary, the mundane and every day reality of what is. Desire to feel special and unique. Self-Absorbed, Vein, Entitled and Temperamental.
--This type can suffer from depression when unfulfilled.

5 THE INVESTIGATOR i.e. Bill Gates
+The Intense, Analytical, Objective, Cerebral Type: Perceptive and Innovative. Attention goes to gathering knowledge & wisdom, Thinking and Observing.
-Emotionally Detached, Secretive, Withdrawn, Isolated, focus on scarcity or lack and can be hoarders.
-- In madness this type can become schizophrenic.



6 THE LOYALIST i.e. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
+The Committed, Security-Oriented Type: Engaging, Responsible and Intuitive.
-Anxious, Suspicious, Questioning, Doubting, Threatened and Fearful.
--Paranoid, creating worst case scenarios and often phobic.

7 THE ENTHUSIAST i.e. Robin Williams
+The Busy, Fun-Loving Type: Spontaneous, Versatile, Optimistic and Adventurous.
-Distractible and Scattered, have a hard time staying focused. (Hello...)
--This type often has a Fear of Commitment.


8 THE CHALLENGER i.e. Rev. Martin Luther King
+The Powerful, Dominating Type: Self-Confident, Decisive, Willful, Authoritative and they often Fight Injustice!
-Confrontational, Intense, Hide or Deny their own Vulnerability, Punishes Weakness and can be Excessive .
--This type often creates combative environments and can suffer from anger issues.

9 THE PEACEMAKER i.e. Whoopi Goldberg
+The Easygoing, Self-Effacing Type: Receptive, Reassuring and Agreeable. Maintains Harmony & Peace, Warm, Understanding and Caring.
-Complacent, Avoid Conflict, Difficulty feeling and expressing anger.
-- Often Passive/Aggressive.

Who am I? I already gave you a hint, I am a number 7... Me and Robin Williams apparently. In investigating this personality, I have learned that my "Attention goes to options and possibilities, to seeking pleasure, to avoiding pain and discomfort and that (my) mind typically shifts quickly from idea to idea". Yup, sounds about right - I thought that I was just ADD - lol! Also, "Sevens like to keep the mood upbeat, and so engage in elaborate future planning, playful interactions and enjoyable activities. Typically having many interests and active imaginations." I agree.

As a coping strategy, "Sevens reframe something fearful, negative or uncomfortable as something positive." One of my belief systems is, "Why feel bad or suffer when there is the choice to be happy?" Also, we "may move toward the source of fear or discomfort in order to charm and hopefully disarm it." I have been doing this for years - befriending beasts ;P

My major traits are, "Fast-paced, fun loving, imaginative and afraid of commitment. We enjoy adventure and stimulation and believe in keeping the mood positive and forward moving." That said, under stress, we tend to revert to a number 1, and they say there is no mistake that one of my parents is in fact this personality... It just so happens to be my Father, hmm... maybe that is why we are so alike. Also, they say that you typically are attracted to personality types who are adjacent to your type. It turns out that I have a lot of evidence for this theory, my established love relationships have been with 6's and 8's.

Also, according to Di Cherry - a prominent Vancouver hypnotist, each Enneagram has a lie that we live into. That even though it is untrue, we operate from this story - or if you have taken the Landmark Advance Course - this act subconsciously and often to our detriment. Mine is that I am incomplete, not whole, forever searching for the answers to feel fulfilled... The next FIX as it were - a better environment, home, job, project and even partner to make me feel whole and complete.

This also explains my overwhelming need to learn as well as my inability to follow-through. That said, Di believes that, "knowing oneself and understanding your subconscious operating systems is the first step to overcoming your challenges." She said, "Now that I am aware of this lie, I can get that it just takes more effort on my part to complete things than others." That there is nothing to fix or "bad and wrong" about this, it just is what it is. No different, than the person who doesn't like Mondays... Mondays are a reality. So... you just have to work a little harder to have a good day when the week begins. C'est Voila! Answers for everything!

If you want to read more about your personality, check out the Enneagram Instititue's website. You can even take a sorting test to see who you are if uncertain... No fear - dive in - if anything, it's a different kind of conversation starter ;P

Forever Questioning, P.