The Enneagram and YOU

Simple Test Sheds a Lot of Light on Why We Are the Way We Are

Gary Picariello
Gary Picariello, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Apr 8, 2008 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."
When it comes to people, there's a lot of truth to the old adage, "Never judge a book by its cover". We run across people every day: on the street, in the elevator, in the workplace. Who are they? In fact, who are you? Good bad or indifferent, the kind of person we are is a by-product of our upbringing, our friends, enemies and lovers. Little did I know that there are actually 9 personality traits that dictate who we are and how we live our lives. Sound like fun? You can discover the real you by taking the Enneagram test.

According to www.erelating.com, there are many systems created to assist us in the process of not only observing people, but also for getting a better handle on ourselves. A very useful one is the Enneagram. While the Enneagram isn't meant to pigeon hole or label anyone it does seem to be a time-tested system that is not the least bit prejudicial. It allows individuals to learn and relate to people via a very useful set of ecological, hierarchical parameters.

Www.enneagraminstitute.com points out that the Enneagram has its origins in ancient times and has been fleshed out over thousands of years. In its current incarnation Enneagram maps out a set of nine basic distinctions (or categories if you will) and also who these 9 categories interact. The game of self discovery through the Enneagram is to discover the number which most closely identifies you and to study the qualities of that number to get to know yourself better. According to erelating.com, identifying your number will enhance clarity by revealing thought patterns and behavioral inclinations involved with each number. Relationship is another great place to play with the Enneagram as you discover the way two numbers dance together.

The thing to understand here is that no Enneagram number is any better than any other. Numbers are not predictive. Www.reeseresolution.com points out that the complexity of each human being is infinitely more variable than any system used to measure it. Furthermore, the nine Enneagram points are nine perceptual filters, nine different ways of looking at the world. While we may have aspects of several types, we each have only one core type, and that type does not change. On the high/healthy side, they reflect nine different gifts each of us has the potential to bring to our personal and professional lives. On the neurotic side, they reflect nine patterns of trying to find happiness where lasting happiness does not exist, nine prescriptions for frustration and suffering. The nine Enneagram categories are:

One: The Reformer - Principled, purposeful, self-controlled, and perfectionist.

Two: The Helper -Demonstrative, generous, people-pleasing, and possessive

Three: The Achiever - Adaptive, excelling, driven, and image-conscious.

Four: The individualist - Expressive, dramatic, self-absorbed, and temperamental

Five: The Investigator - Perceptive, innovative, secretive, and isolated

Six: The Loyalist - Engaging, responsible, anxious, and suspicious.

Seven: The Enthusiast - Spontaneous, versatile, distractible, and scattered.

Eight: The Challenger - Self-confident, decisive, willful, and confrontational

Nine: The Peacemaker - Receptive, reassuring, agreeable, and complacent.

There are countless links on the internet where you can take the Enneagram test. You're one click away right here:

I took the test and I'm still making sense of it all. I can tell you that the personality the test revealed is the same one I've known for most of my life. Now if I can only learn how to improve it!

Published by Gary Picariello

I've traveled the world as a Broadcast Journalist working for the American Forces Radio & Television Service in the United States Air Force. Now happily retired after 23 years of service, and currently livin...  View profile

  • The Enneagram has existed for ages.
  • The Enneagram will reveal your dominant personality trait.
  • The 9 categories of the Enneagram intersect with each other.
While we may have aspects of several types of personality as related in the Enneagram, we each have only one core type, and that type does not change.

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