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How do you decide on an enneagram type?

Silveresque

Active member
Joined
Jul 28, 2011
Messages
1,169
What if two types fit you? How do you know which one is more accurate? What is most important in determining your type: the characteristics, the motivations (basic fear/desire), the fixation, or the integration/disintegration?
 

King sns

New member
Joined
Nov 4, 2008
Messages
6,714
MBTI Type
enfp
Enneagram
6w7
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
I don't know. I fit both 4 and 7, and I don't obsess over it. I'm going to be the same way no matter what. I'll probably always have this tossup, if I can use one for therapy/ betterness of myself, I will. What is any other purpose of the labels but to just understand yourself and others better? If two work together, use two. I think it's counterproductive to try to continue to narrow down the labels exactly unless it helps you understand yourself better.
 

animenagai

New member
Joined
Aug 22, 2008
Messages
1,569
MBTI Type
NeFi
Enneagram
4w3
I had this problem too, a lot of the tests for example aren't very good at helping yuou identify your type, especially if you believe in tritypes. It took me reading an article on common mis-typings for me to really get a hold of my type.
 

Richardsen

New member
Joined
Sep 28, 2011
Messages
162
MBTI Type
IxFP
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
I dont know an especific way to determine your type, the best form is think what type you choose considering who you are and not who you want to be.
In my case was quiet easy, because in all the test that I took I scored with 4 as the highest with 5,6,8 and 7 following but far behind. In the other hand, Im 100% sure of my type. I try not to suggest myself with "what if Im a 6 or a 5??". Not now.
PD: I considered 6w5 too, but at the end I finnished in the beggining with E4
 

VagrantFarce

Active member
Joined
Nov 19, 2008
Messages
1,558
Consider your motivations, and your moment-to-moment tendencies - the many little reactions and decisions that you make in everyday life. A pattern will eventually emerge on its own.

Or, ask someone you trust. :) Other people know you better than you think.

Regardless of type, at least you'll get to understand yourself well.
 

CCCXXIX

New member
Joined
Nov 17, 2011
Messages
11
MBTI Type
ENTJ
Enneagram
8w7
accidental double post...please delete
 
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VagrantFarce

Active member
Joined
Nov 19, 2008
Messages
1,558
The explanation for this is in tritype theory. This theory states that you have an enneagram type from each of the three centers Head/Body/Heart...


More on tritype:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritype

http://www.enneagram.net/tritype.html

This always felt like a cop out to me - the types aren't meant to explain away every facet of your sense of self. It's only natural to "see" yourself in many different flavours, when actually things are much simpler than you think.
 

KDude

New member
Joined
Jan 26, 2010
Messages
8,243
6 seemed like the most catchall, generic one.

Good enough.
 

Such Irony

Honor Thy Inferior
Joined
Jul 23, 2010
Messages
5,059
MBTI Type
INtp
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
What if two types fit you? How do you know which one is more accurate? What is most important in determining your type: the characteristics, the motivations (basic fear/desire), the fixation, or the integration/disintegration?

I think the motivations (basic fear/desire) is the heart of the enneagram. I look deep down and ask myself, what the *real* reason I think/feel/want this? Sometimes the reason is masked by an even deeper underlying reason. I peel all the layers until I've reached the core. I know I've reached the core when I discover a desire that I essentially can't live without. I think the characteristics described by a certain enneagram type stem from the basic motivations of that type.

I don't put too much account into tests. They can be a good starting point and help you narrow it down but I wouldn't solely rely on them. Not all of them are that accurate.

If you're having difficulty deciding on a type, feedback from people who know you well can be useful. Sometimes they can see things you can't always see.
 

EJCC

The Devil of TypoC
Joined
Aug 29, 2008
Messages
19,129
MBTI Type
ESTJ
Enneagram
1w9
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
I think the motivations (basic fear/desire) is the heart of the enneagram. I look deep down and ask myself, what the *real* reason I think/feel/want this? Sometimes the reason is masked by an even deeper underlying reason. I peel all the layers until I've reached the core. I know I've reached the core when I discover a desire that I essentially can't live without. I think the characteristics described by a certain enneagram type stem from the basic motivations of that type.

I don't put too much account into tests. They can be a good starting point and help you narrow it down but I wouldn't solely rely on them. Not all of them are that accurate.

If you're having difficulty deciding on a type, feedback from people who know you well can be useful. Sometimes they can see things you can't always see.
+1. I agree with this entire post. :yes: Motivations are definitely the most important, followed by fixation (although I feel like fixation and motivations are so closely linked that you could hardly separate them, but maybe that's just me). If you try to type based on anything else (e.g. external behavior, personal values), I can guarantee that you'll mistype. I would actually advise you, from my experience:

1) Don't trust any Enneagram tests (since each time I took it I got 8<3<1 (EDIT Whoops I meant 8>3>1 -- why do I always mess up those Vs?!), which is totally wrong), and
2) Regarding the bolded: make sure they REALLY know you well (since I made a "type me" thread and remained mistyped as a 6 for months!).

What I did was only rely on descriptions online -- and there are only certain ones that I like. The enneagram institute ones can be misleading, from my experience, but enneagram.net worked wonders for me.
 
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21%

You have a choice!
Joined
May 15, 2009
Messages
3,224
MBTI Type
INFJ
Enneagram
4w5
I always tested as a 9, but didn't identify with the description at all. Then, I read the 4 description and ouch, it hurt. I had a very strong emotional reaction to it and I knew instantly I was a 4. :blush:
 

Silveresque

Active member
Joined
Jul 28, 2011
Messages
1,169
I think the motivations (basic fear/desire) is the heart of the enneagram. I look deep down and ask myself, what the *real* reason I think/feel/want this? Sometimes the reason is masked by an even deeper underlying reason. I peel all the layers until I've reached the core. I know I've reached the core when I discover a desire that I essentially can't live without. I think the characteristics described by a certain enneagram type stem from the basic motivations of that type.

I don't put too much account into tests. They can be a good starting point and help you narrow it down but I wouldn't solely rely on them. Not all of them are that accurate.

If you're having difficulty deciding on a type, feedback from people who know you well can be useful. Sometimes they can see things you can't always see.

+1. I agree with this entire post. :yes: Motivations are definitely the most important, followed by fixation (although I feel like fixation and motivations are so closely linked that you could hardly separate them, but maybe that's just me). If you try to type based on anything else (e.g. external behavior, personal values), I can guarantee that you'll mistype. I would actually advise you, from my experience:

1) Don't trust any Enneagram tests (since each time I took it I got 8<3<1, which is totally wrong), and
2) Regarding the bolded: make sure they REALLY know you well (since I made a "type me" thread and remained mistyped as a 6 for months!).

What I did was only rely on descriptions online -- and there are only certain ones that I like. The enneagram institute ones can be misleading, from my experience, but enneagram.net worked wonders for me.

That's what I thought too. Everything stems from the motivations, which makes the motivations the core of the type. Everyone else thinks I'm a 9 because what they see are the surface characteristics. I may be agreeable and indecisive like a 9, but I have 5's motivations (I think, I'm still trying to work this out).

I found Timeless's descriptions on PersonalityCafe very helpful. Those descriptions emphasize the motivations that lead to the characteristics, which is something other descriptions I've read fail to do.
 

EJCC

The Devil of TypoC
Joined
Aug 29, 2008
Messages
19,129
MBTI Type
ESTJ
Enneagram
1w9
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
I may be agreeable and indecisive like a 9, but I have 5's motivations (I think, I'm still trying to work this out).
My roommate had a conflict like this, when she was trying to figure out the Enneagram. She thought she was a 5 for a long time because she acted like one -- but she knew 100% that the reasons listed were not the reasons why she acted like that. Turns out she's a 1!

So -- you are definitely on the right track. :)
 

Usehername

On a mission
Joined
May 30, 2007
Messages
3,794
I thought I wasn't idealistic enough and didn't have high enough standards to be a 1.

It turns out that's a sign for it, not against it, if your behaviour and argumentative focus suggest otherwise.
 

Vizzy

New member
Joined
Jul 27, 2011
Messages
229
Enneagram
5w4
About motivation, everyone fears loneliness. But each type has a different focus in the way they deal with it. E.g. Twos help people so they feel needed, Nines try to avoid conflict as much as they can to keep the peace. Maybe.

I guess the reason why many think you're a 9 is because, apart from being reserved and detached, you don't relate to the qualities that 5s are well-known for - being critical (even if quietly), cautious, cynical, on the negative side, suspicious, and a strong (almost desperate) desire to challenge ideas and figure something out just for the fun of it.

What's the worst thing someone can say to you? What would really hurt you?
 
G

Glycerine

Guest
I picked one that felt the most correct to me. I related to the stress/growth/vice of the five. I listed as a 9 for over a year but I just thought I seemed way too critical/negative/suspicious/argumentative for a 9. Once I settled on a type, I went from :happy2: to :peepwall: because they all kinda sound like shit after awhile.
 

Lord Guess

New member
Joined
Aug 10, 2011
Messages
238
MBTI Type
ENTP
Look at the integration/disintegration points for each type, and then figure out which one sounds most like you when you get stressed or relaxed. It also helps to see which type fits you closest at your most natural, without any emotional issues getting in the way.
 

Silveresque

Active member
Joined
Jul 28, 2011
Messages
1,169
About motivation, everyone fears loneliness. But each type has a different focus in the way they deal with it. E.g. Twos help people so they feel needed, Nines try to avoid conflict as much as they can to keep the peace. Maybe.

I guess the reason why many think you're a 9 is because, apart from being reserved and detached, you don't relate to the qualities that 5s are well-known for - being critical (even if quietly), cautious, cynical, on the negative side, suspicious, and a strong (almost desperate) desire to challenge ideas and figure something out just for the fun of it.

What's the worst thing someone can say to you? What would really hurt you?

It's not what people say...It's what they don't say that hurts. In my experience, people are generally too nice to say what they really think if it's something negative. When I feel like I said something stupid or weird and nobody says anything, I'll start imagining what people must think, and it's probably worse than anything they would actually say. So I guess perceived or imagined disapproval from someone I respect is what hurts most.

A lot of my motivations seem to come from fear of being disliked, or of people having a low opinion of me, which may or may not be type related...

Wait a minute...
I guess the reason why many think you're a 9 is because, apart from being reserved and detached, you don't relate to the qualities that 5s are well-known for - being critical (even if quietly), cautious, cynical, on the negative side, suspicious, and a strong (almost desperate) desire to challenge ideas and figure something out just for the fun of it.

I'm VERY cautious. And I'm not usually cynical, but I'm not particularly optimistic either; I tend to be more of a realist. And about the last part...Am I not demonstrating that with the way I've been trying to figure out my type? I'm practically analyzing it to death all the time. :9436: How much more analytical do I need to get? :p
 

VagrantFarce

Active member
Joined
Nov 19, 2008
Messages
1,558
It's not what people say...It's what they don't say that hurts. In my experience, people are generally too nice to say what they really think if it's something negative. When I feel like I said something stupid or weird and nobody says anything, I'll start imagining what people must think, and it's probably worse than anything they would actually say. So I guess perceived or imagined disapproval from someone I respect is what hurts most.

A lot of my motivations seem to come from fear of being disliked, or of people having a low opinion of me, which may or may not be type related...

Wait a minute...


I'm VERY cautious. And I'm not usually cynical, but I'm not particularly optimistic either; I tend to be more of a realist. And about the last part...Am I not demonstrating that with the way I've been trying to figure out my type? I'm practically analyzing it to death all the time. :9436: How much more analytical do I need to get? :p

I can really relate to this. I found that the only way through this was to forcefully separate my thoughts from my actions and place in the world. It's all about choosing what defines you - your mind and your thoughts, or your body and your actions.

Or, in the immortal words of :ninja: THE GOD-DAMNED BATMAN :ninja:

[youtube=PmwLPU5H6_Q]![/youtube]

[youtube=ZG9UrjqyMzw]Get out of your head, and back in your boogie[/youtube]
 
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