Enneagram
A personality typology describing nine interconnected types, each with core motivations, fears, and paths for growth, emphasizing psychological and spiritual development.
Also known as: Enneagram of Personality, 9 Types, Enneagram Types
Category: Frameworks
Tags: personality, psychology, self-discovery, assessments, relationships, personal-development, spirituality
Explanation
The Enneagram is a personality system that describes nine distinct types, each with a core motivation, basic fear, and characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Unlike trait-based models, the Enneagram focuses on underlying motivations—why we do what we do, not just what we do.
**The Nine Types:**
1. **The Reformer/Perfectionist**: Motivated by integrity and improvement. Fear: Being corrupt or defective. Growth: Learning acceptance.
2. **The Helper**: Motivated by love and being needed. Fear: Being unloved or unwanted. Growth: Acknowledging own needs.
3. **The Achiever**: Motivated by success and admiration. Fear: Being worthless or failing. Growth: Embracing authenticity over image.
4. **The Individualist**: Motivated by identity and significance. Fear: Having no identity or significance. Growth: Finding present-moment contentment.
5. **The Investigator**: Motivated by knowledge and competence. Fear: Being useless or incapable. Growth: Engaging with the world.
6. **The Loyalist**: Motivated by security and support. Fear: Being without guidance or support. Growth: Trusting self and others.
7. **The Enthusiast**: Motivated by freedom and variety. Fear: Being deprived or trapped. Growth: Embracing stillness and depth.
8. **The Challenger**: Motivated by self-protection and control. Fear: Being harmed or controlled. Growth: Showing vulnerability.
9. **The Peacemaker**: Motivated by peace and harmony. Fear: Loss or separation. Growth: Asserting own priorities.
**Key concepts:**
- **Wings**: Adjacent types that influence your core type
- **Lines of integration/disintegration**: How types behave under growth vs. stress
- **Instinctual variants**: Self-preservation, social, and one-to-one subtypes
- **Centers of intelligence**: Body (8,9,1), Heart (2,3,4), Head (5,6,7)
The Enneagram is used for personal development, relationships, team dynamics, and spiritual growth, emphasizing transformation rather than mere classification.
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