Thoughts on Enneagram

A little over a year ago, I started casually looking into Enneagram. I believe this article, Enneagram vs. the 16 Types, marks the beginning phase of my research. Although, I almost hate to use the word “research”, because it was such a casual thing for me. I mostly wanted to dip my toe in, so I could understand what everyone was saying when they brought it up. It seems like everyone who’s into Myers-Briggs and the 16 personalities are also into Enneagram. So, in an effort to be able to hold a semi-intelligent conversation on the subject, I started looking into it. It seemed interesting enough, and I do generally enjoy personality theory, so why not?

I’m certainly not claiming to be any kind of expert on Enneagram, and I don’t intend to start writing regular articles on the subject. I’ve just been mulling over this for so long, that I thought I’d share some of my thoughts, observations, and takeaways. Although, perhaps I mostly just want to share my criticisms. I dunno. You decide.

My Process

My process for learning a personality theory has always been to start reading a broad range of online sources. I never accept one source as the final authority. It’s just not in my nature. I read interpretations and takes from anyone and everyone, mentally sorting through the information as I go, so I can figure out what makes the most sense. Even the biggest idiot can produce an interesting insight once in a while. To me, it feels like I’m gathering an endless amount of perspectives and then judging their validity whilst I slowly build my own, personal, understanding of the system.

My General Opinion On Enneagram

As a personality theory, Enneagram does what it’s supposed to do, which is to help people increase their own self-awareness and improve upon their weaknesses. From that standpoint, I have no significant complaints. I don’t think any personality theory has to be perfect, so long as it’s useful. So, in this article, I don’t intend to bash Enneagram, because I feel no need to. However, I would like to share the most prominent thoughts I’ve had along my journey. Some may be criticisms surrounding how Enneagram is being interpreted by “official” websites and general enthusiasts. You don’t have to agree. This is just my take.

The Struggle to Find My Best Fit Type

It’s been a long time since I’ve delved into a brand-new personality system in any significant capacity. The last time I struggled with my Myers-Briggs type was many years ago, when I briefly questioned being an ISTP. I’ve probably only questioned my type a few times, and I was never displaced for very long. Overall, I slotted into ISTP rather well, with only a few confusing hiccups as my personality and character developed.

Enneagram was a bit different. I felt lost for a while, which has actually helped me to feel more empathetic towards people struggling to find their fit within the 16 personality types. I understand more now the struggle to accept certain personality types when people suggest them, the struggle to accept one that doesn’t fit completely, and the struggle to understand which data points (within the overwhelming flood of data) actually matter in making the final decision.

Individual Thoughts and Criticisms

For the record, as I share my thoughts, I’m not saying that Myers-Briggs and the 16 personalities don’t have any of these problems. I’ve made similar complaints in reference to those theories as well. My focus in this article just happens to be on Enneagram instead.

1. The Enneagram type descriptions are excessively detailed

As with many Myers-Briggs descriptions, most Enneagram type descriptions seem to focus on one specific version, or stereotype, of each of the nine types. Some months ago, I was discussing the theory with someone just starting to look into it, and he referred to the system as “arbitrary”. I completely sympathized wth that take, because the system sometimes feels very disjointed, and overly detailed. As someone new walking into it, Enneagram gave me the impression of being a rather simple system that gave the illusion of being complex, due to being overly specific and having multiple, seemingly random, branches. Wings, tritypes, and etc. all felt like an attempt to make a system work that just didn’t work (because of being too overly specific).

With that all being said, my point here is that I really think the descriptions need to stripped down to focus on only the core aspects of each type. The fear and subsequent coping mechanism needs to have the most prominent focus, with the thought processes of each type as a close second. Behaviors need to be relegated to third tier data, with a reminder that those are potential ways the type can manifest, but not absolutes.

When I write articles about the cognitive functions, I try to explain how potential behaviors tie back to the core thought process, because the key to accurately typing is to identify with the core thought process. The problem is that behaviors can be learned regardless of type, and certain behaviors don’t always guarantee the same underlying thought process. There can be multiple ways to reach the final product. I think this same concept applies to Enneagram.

2. Only certain Enneagram types will take forever to find their type

I saw this a lot in reference to types 9, 6, and 3. (The attachment types). People liked to say that if someone struggled to find their type, they obviously didn’t know themselves well enough and had to be an attachment type. While that never specifically happened to me, I find that entire premise to be… kind of insulting, to be honest. It immediately places the blame on the person, without really questioning why they’re struggling or considering that the type descriptions may actually have issues. I do get why they’re saying it, so you don’t have to explain it to me in the comments. However, based on my observation, there are other reasons why someone might struggle to find their fit within the system. Low self-awareness can definitely be one of them, but there’s also what I talked about in the previous point.

Anyone who fits the common stereotype of their personality type is going to find typing themselves rather easy. Anyone who is an odd version of their type will probably take a while to identify their type and settle on it fully. It’s like when an ENTJ, who’s generally a nice person, isn’t bossy or domineering, and has no desire to be a leader or a business manager, tries to read the standard ENTJ “Commander” profile. It’s going to be a struggle to relate to and accept.

3. You have to feel a deep sense of shame to know you’ve correctly identified your type

Sometimes phrased as: “If you don’t hate your type, you haven’t typed correctly.” Once again, I get why people say this. Some people will read their type’s profile, and feel shame or guilt when coming face-to-face with the worst version of themselves. However, that is mostly going to happen to people who are in denial of their darker self, or unaware of it, or perhaps have self-esteem issues.

When I kept coming across people saying this while searching for my type, it honestly didn’t make any sense to me, personally, because I don’t hate myself, so why should I hate my type? I’ve been into personality theory for a long time, which provokes self-analysis. In addition, I’ve had friends and family shove my flaws in my face countless times over the years. I’m a mature adult; I’m not a teenager. As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing significant a profile can tell me that I don’t already know about myself. I still like being me, though, so why should my type be any different?

And for the record, there are multiple reasons why someone might dislike the idea of being a type or multiple different types. Some mentalities just exist in stark contrast to each other. Disliking the idea of being a certain type does not guarantee that you are subconciously relating to that type and/or feeling “accused” by it.

4. Certain Enneagram types are inherently socially introverted or extraverted

As with the 16 personalities, I think it’s a flaw to make certain types solely extraverted or introverted. I’m constantly preaching this in my cognitive functions articles, but it’s called “people skills” or “social skills” for a reason. People have to practice interacting with others to have good social skills. People who have bad social skills tend to withdraw from others more and act more introverted. I see no reason why all nine types can’t have both introverted and extraverted versions. The core fear and coping mechanism don’t appear to conflict with that concept.

5. No one is a healthy version of their type

I understand what prompts people to say this. Enneagram is inherently negative, because it focuses on discovering your core fear and unhealthy coping mechanism.

I made a crack to a friend a couple of weeks ago that I feel like Enneagram prompts me to describe myself as a terrible person. When typing yourself, it’s critical to be able to relate to the negative qualities of a type, more so than the positive. However, so many people like to latch onto an Enneagram type based on the positives, because it makes them feel good about themselves. They simply claim that they are a healthy version of whatever type they’ve latched onto, to account for the lack of displaying any pf the characteristic flaws. Therefore, many people try to preemptively prevent that mistake by teaching that you can’t be a healthy version of your type. But, if that’s actually true and you can’t manage to grow beyond your unhealthy state, then what’s the point? Why bother with Enneagram (or any other self-development program) at all?

The healthy version of a type should still be able to look back on an earlier version of themselves and relate to the key negative qualities, even if they aren’t displaying them prominently now.

6. Overvaluing wings and tritypes

Sometimes it seems like people make wings and tritype fixes so prominent that the core type is overridden. Essentially, they use these extras to account for why they don’t relate to the core, or are an unusual variation of the core. For the record, I totally understand that wings and tritypes flavor one’s core type. That’s fine. But, if someone can’t relate to the core without all of that excess, in my opinion, something is wrong. Type 9 stands out for me on this. People frequently seem to rationalize 9w8 as being drastically different from 9w1, sometimes to the point that 9w8s don’t struggle with typical 9 things (due to their 8 wing being so prominent). From a logic standpoint, that doesn’t seem right to me.

7. Be wary of Enneagram sites that make certain types more exclusive than others

I have always had a deep disgust for personality type statistics, because of the negative effect they have. Statistics like that inherently create bias, or at best, give the appearance of bias. Ever questioned why so many content creators are supposedly one of the rarest or most desirable types? Maybe they’re typed correctly, maybe they aren’t, but regardless, it seems suspicious at times. Sure, you might say that the rare types feel misunderstood, so they are more likely to get into the theory, and as such, more likely to be content creators. But did you know, that even the most common type can feel misunderstood?

The rarity statistics can send the message that certain types don’t have the right to feel out of place, or misunderstood, or alone because, you know, there’s supposedly so many people out there just like them…right? No matter who you are or what type you are, it’s always possible to find yourself in a situation where you feel out of place, surrounded by people who don’t understand you. You can be the most common type and grow up never feeling understand or connected to others.

The statistics make people want to type as a rare type, and avoid typing as a common type. The bias is oftentimes subconscious, but it’s still there, pushing people toward certain types and away from others. The statistics have no value to make this downside worth it.

My point is that you need to be careful with sites that lean too hard on the idea that certain types are more common than others. It not only causes bias, but it also can cause laziness in the typing process. It can be so easy to assume someone is a common type, simply because the statistics say so. In addition, as mentioned earlier, it gives the source the appearance of being biased, if the content creator holds one of those coveted types. After all, if the creator values their rarity or enjoys feeling special, then ensuring their type remains exclusive will make it continue to feed their ego.

In Conclusion…

I’m sure we’ve all had different struggles and complaints while searching for our best fit personality type within any system. The above thoughts are the ones that kept cropping up for me during my time exploring Enneagram. You’re welcome to share your opinion in the comments. I’d also love to hear any of the personal struggles you’ve had while diving into the world of Enneagram.