I'm an Enneagram Type 4: An Introduction
The first time I heard of Enneagram, I thought it was spelled "Anyogram." I thought it was a board game. I figured the objective was to make up "any" word you could along with a faux-definition for it.Alas, Enneagram is quite different from Anyogram, the board game currently not sweeping the nation. Enneagram is actually a personality model that defines the human race into nine particular "types." I've become such a sucker for personality stuff, so I quickly set to determining which of the nine types I was. Even before taking the short test, though, I knew.I'm an Enneagram Type 4: "The Individualist." I am sensitive and introspective and expressive and dramatic and self-absorbed and temperamental.I am good, and I am not-so-good. "I am both," as Prince Charming says. Today's post is the first in a brief series that will delve into both halves of my Type 4 being, the appealing and the awful.
Enneagram Types: We're All Connected
The cool thing about Enneagram Types is that everyone is connected. A healthy/growing Enneagram Type 4, for example, takes on the redeeming qualities of an Enneagram Type 1, and an unhealthy/stressed Enneagram Type 4 takes on the less desirable qualities of an Enneagram Type 2.I particularly enjoy this Enneagram graphic of numbers and arrows and lovely looking geometry:
Additionally, you can be any of the nine Enneagram types and also have a "wing" for either of your two neighboring types. So, even though I'm predominantly an Enneagram Type 4, I also have an Enneagram Wing 5 for "The Investigator" since I seek understanding and the need to be deemed capable.It's fascinating, really. How connected we all are.
Enneagram Type 4: My Positives/Negatives
In the subsequent parts of this Enneagram series, I'll delve deeper into my healthy "growth" and unhealthy "stress." For now, though, here are some common positive/negative Enneagram Type 4 traits of which I completely resonate:+ At my best, I am inspired and creative. I write blogs and write books and, you know, tweet and stuff. The world and her inhabitants amaze me.- At my worst, I fear I have no significance. I look around me and see nobody there, and I have no purpose, and I deduce I've fallen off the cliff of significance. I feel lost and forgotten in the fold as everyone else finds their way.+ I long to surround myself with beauty and inspiration so that I can create. From my work to other people to simple geography, I yearn for beautiful things at every turn to photograph and film and most of all write about.- I withdraw from others to protect my self-image. I want to be fully known, and yet I cannot bear the thought of being too great a burden on others.+ I want to attract a rescuer. I long for genuine friends who will see the mess I am and still extend their hand to pull me from the mire.- I feel vastly different from the rest of humanity. More complex. More needy. Just more issues. I feel like nobody will ever fully get me.+/-/? I am more suited "to endure suffering with a quiet strength" compared with all the other Enneagram types. Yay suffering?+++ I am Nicolas Cage and Johnny Depp all rolled into one: two famous Enneagram Type 4s. I basically couldn't ask for anything more in life.
Enneagram Type 4: Me in a Single Paragraph
This snippet from the Enneagram Type 4 page really jumped out at me. The focus on shame feels quite apt of my personality:
Fours attempt to control their shame by focusing on how unique and special their particular talents, feelings, and personal characteristics are. Fours highlight their individuality and creativity as a way of dealing with their shameful feelings, although Fours are the type most likely to succumb to feelings of inadequacy. Fours also manage their shame by cultivating a rich, romantic fantasy life in which they do not have to deal with whatever in their life seems drab or uninteresting to them.
I'm a handful, I know. Honestly, researching Enneagram Type 4s made me overwhelmed by me. But from Strengths Finder to Enneagram, I'm learning that the more I understand me, the more growth and confidence comes.So, stay tuned next time to see what Unhealthy Tom looks like. Oh boy; I dare you.What Enneagram Type are you? Take the free quiz and let me know in the comments! I'd love to learn more about the other eight types or bask in a beloved community of 4s. Don't worry; this is a safe place, my fellow 4s.
