For most of my time as a teenager, not really knowing yourself or your emotions was the coolest thing. It conveyed a sense of nonchalance; when you’re young, it’s very cool to not try. I remember almost bragging about how out of touch I was with my emotions. Not until very recently did I move on from that complex.
If you’re reading this, you are a human with Internet access and have probably taken a personality quiz of some kind. Perhaps the most well-known is the Myers-Briggs test. I had taken this test before, but it never quite worked for me. My result would change every time I took it, depending on my mood, and every answer I got didn’t really match me. If you have had a similar problem, you should check out the Enneagram.
The Enneagram is a personality typing system that has been around since the 1940’s. Unlike the Myers-Briggs, there are nine distinct types, but they’re all connected, which I find quite cool. Here’s a really spooky graphic that is used to illustrate the interconnectedness with each of the nine types briefly described:
They connect with lines in the diagram because every type has a direction of integration and a direction of disintegration: For example, a healthy type three will begin to resemble a six, while a stressed three will start taking on the negative qualities of a nine.
How do you find out what type you are? There are a few options. There are plenty of books on the Enneagram, or you could take the online test on the Enneagram Institute website. There’s a full-length test you can purchase, or you can take the sampler. One important distinction of the Enneagram is you more or less figure out what type you are on your own. The quiz can help you get started with it, but then you have to read the descriptions of the nine types and find out where you fit (which are also on the website). In addition, every type has a wing type, which applies if you lean in the direction of an adjacent type in the diagram. Once you find out what type you are, the insight is definitely worth it.
This test is eerily accurate. But it doesn’t just tell you stuff you already know about yourself. It can help you identify how you function and as a result help you communicate your needs and feelings with others. Also, if other people know what type you are, they can recognize what tendencies may arise. Even more spooky, on the Enneagram Institute website, you can match your type with another and it will tell you what problems may arise in a relationship between those two types. I can attest to its accuracy as well.
There’s a lot of talk surrounding the Enneagram about how it can open the door to your spiritual growth. I am probably one of the least spiritual people around, so I do not necessarily understand or care about the Enneagram’s connection to spirituality, but if that floats your boat, there are vast amounts of literature at your disposal. If you're just in it for the personal insight, I highly encourage you to try this system out.
Since I never really fit in the Myers-Briggs, the Enneagram really helped me actually understand myself. I am a six, which is labelled with titles such as the "Loyalist," or the "Loyal Skeptic." One of the primary characteristics of sixes is that they are “security-oriented.” This wasn’t something I really understood (and it sounds really boring), but I now am in touch with the reason why I’m sometimes overly concerned about having enough money in my savings account or having a stable social circle, or significant other. Weird sources of anxiety, anger, or sadness become parts of a larger pattern when you familiarize yourself with the Enneagram and it may help your emotional health. It may not be Buzzfeed’s quiz, “What's Your Zodiac Sign's Ice Cream Flavor?” but this may be slightly more fulfilling.
