The Enneagram Episode

Have you heard of the enneagram? It’s the new personality test that’s sweeping Instagram with infographics and memes and making Meyers-Briggs sounds like an ancient tome. Both Sophia and I have taken the test and fallen for its spot on analysis of not only our personalities but how we operate and respond in all areas of life, including and especially our relationships. We’re definitely not pros or super well versed in all the facets of the enneagram, but we love learning more about it. So we’ll recap some of our Enneagram podcast episode here but let the experts say it best.

“The Enneagram (Ennea=9, Gram=Diagram) is simply a map (GPS) for self-discovery and personal growth based on 9 basic personality types. The Enneagram accurately and clearly describes why you think, feel and behave in particular ways based upon your core fears and core desires.

The power of the Enneagram is in its ability to harness and transform self-limiting behaviors into life-enhancing personal empowerment. The gift of the Enneagram is that through self-discovery, one can create and sustain meaningful and lasting relationships with others, God and themselves.” (Your Enneagram Coach, an insta-fave!)

The test asks questions about your core fears and desires in order to get to the root and reason of why we do/think/say/react/behave in all the ways that we do, and the explanations and explorations of each type puts into words so many thoughts and feelings and traits about ourselves that we have had a hard time putting a finger on over the years. Apparently your type is built much upon your childhood and all the nurture experiences in your life that make up your core traits.

The nine different enneagram types are: (see if any speak to you! / from The Enneagram Institute)

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
3. The Achiever / The Success-Oriented, Pragmatic Type: Adaptive, Excelling, Driven, and Image-Conscious
4. The Individualist / The Sensitive, Withdrawn Type: Expressive, Dramatic, Self-Absorbed, and Temperamental
5. The Investigator / The Intense, Cerebral Type: Perceptive, Innovative, Secretive, and Isolated
6. The Loyalist (Jensine) / The Committed, Security-Oriented Type: Engaging, Responsible, Anxious, and Suspicious
7. The Enthusiast / The Busy, Fun-Loving Type: Spontaneous, Versatile, Distractible, and Scattered
8. The Challenger / The Powerful, Dominating Type: Self-Confident, Decisive, Willful, and Confrontational
9. The Peacemaker (Sophia) / The Easygoing, Self-Effacing Type: Receptive, Reassuring, Agreeable, and Complacent

There are also wings, which are the types numerically before or after your type, which help inform and round more of yourself. And there are subtypes and movements towards growth or stress, all according to the lines you see in the graphic above. There’s so much to learn about the enneagram, and it is all SO interesting!

We actually see a lot of our types in how re read and relate to books as well. For example, as a 6, I have major FOMO about hot new releases and worry about not reading them right away, even if it’s a series and I’ll have to wait a whole year for the next installment. Sophia would NEVER do that and would wait for the whole series to be complete. I also love re-reading my favorite books and am LOYAL to my favorite authors. For Sophia, a 9, she would never DNF a book and loves a peaceable, well thought out and tied together story and ending.

There are an endless amount of cute creative typings and interpretations out there now, from Friends characters to Fall colors for each type, and so many good enneagram resources on social media and online. Some of our favorites are The Ennegram Coach as mentioned, Nine Types Co., and Annie F. Downs’ podcast, That Sounds Fun. And once you find your type, listen to Sleeping At Last‘s song(s) for it!

We hope you’ll explore the enneagram more; take one of their free typing tests to find your enneagram today or take the official test from the Enneagram Institute ($12), and tell us what type you are!