The Nine Personality Types
"Your personality is the thread with which you have woven the tapestry of your life. The purpose of this work is to understand the nature of your life picture and to unravel the parts that you wish were different so that you may reweave them to create a more beautiful picture"
Each of us is unique, and yet through the Enneagram knowledge we discover there are 9 basic personality types, each with their positive and negative traits. There are many, many aspects to each type; here are just a few of them:
Ones are self-disciplined, conscientious, and principled. They strive to live up to their high ideals. They can be judgemental, controlling, rigid, critical and perfectionist.
Twos are emotionally demonstrative, expressive, loving and giving, sensitive to other people's needs. They can also be needy, exaggerating, matyrish, insincere and pushy.
Threes measure themselves by external achievement and the roles that they play. They are focused and goal oriented. They can also be competitive, cold, narcissistic and false.
Fours have sensitive feelings and are intuitive and perceptive. They may be artistic and inspiring, creative or expressive. They can be stormy and temperamental, self-absorbed and negative.
Fives are observant, knowledgeable and analytical. They may be wise, open-minded and insightful or detached, abstract, anti-social, even eccentric.
Sixes are responsible, trustworthy hard-working and reliable. They are loyal to family, friends and causes. They can also be anxious, indecisive, over cautious and reactive.
Sevens are energetic, lively, adventurous and optimistic. They enjoy making life fun for themselves and others. They can also be superficial, unreliable, escapist and self-centred.
Eights are direct, self-confident, powerful, and protective. They seek control over their environment and can also be domineering, arrogant, aggressive and explosive.
Nines are accommodating, good-natured, and supportive. They seek harmony with others and the world around them and yet can also be hazy, stubborn, non-responsive, lazy and overly complacent.
Do you recognise yourself?
It is the negative traits that cause us problems and pain, and hold us back from being all that we wish we could be. They are the cause of our deeply held stuff, which must be let go of if we are to reach our potential and be really happy and fulfilled. They usually cause much of the difficulty and conflict in relationships.
*n.b. Just getting to know your type, without the essential letting go of your negative traits is of little value and can even make you feel bad about yourself. The Enneagram Programme not only provides you with the opportunity to learn more about yourself and those around you, it will also allow you to let go of these negative traits for good through The Soul Freedom process. Veronica will be happy to explain this if you contact her.
The Enneagram Programme, Fig Tree Farm, Butterleigh,
Cullompton, Devon, EX15 1PQ, UK
tel: +44 (0) 1884 855759 ~ email: enquiries@enneagram-uk.com
© Veronica Croft 2008
