At face value this part legitimately surprised me, because it just flat out says that 4's are actually emulating the greats/artistics rather than actually being original themselves. You always hear that 4's are the original artistic type, so it's pretty surprising to see this part about them.
All art is either plagiarism or a revolution.
Exactly. There is nothing original about being a hipster, goth, emo, etc. so I don't get why that's so heavily associated with 4.
Agreed--my sister self-types as a social 4, but when she joined the emo movement, I had to question this. She makes fun of hipsters, though.
I couldn't agree more. It always bugs me when the need to feel unique card is emphasized as what fours are all about. I think it's why there are so many people who mistype as four or want to be four. But what I think it is is that non-fours interpret the four drive for authenticity as this need to be different. That's not it at all, it's just this need to be true to the self. I also think it's why fours are so driven to fully understand themselves, because if they don't fully understand themselves, what is the self that they are supposed to be true to.
I once read a 4 description which included the condescending advice that,
"you don't need to always try to showcase your uniqueness. Try to peg your identity less on this" or something to that effect. Clearly, this author did not understand type 4.
I can't speak for the others, but I personally can't help it. It may seem so to others, but no "showcasing" is intended--I just kind of do the things I like. Even in the instances where I
need to be "normal", it somehow backfires on me, hence me constantly wondering what's "wrong" with me and why I'm so messed up.
Being thought of as "unique" can be a point of pride for me, but also a wedge between myself and humanity. And it's really only a consequence of my inability to "sell-out" rather than anything I have specifically striven for. In my mind, it's all just obvious and normal.
So true.
I think I have been surprised by how inconsiderate 9s can be sometimes. Mine seems blissfully unaware of how her actions impact other people.
[MENTION=10131]IndyAnnaJoan[/MENTION] [MENTION=19948]Showbread[/MENTION] [MENTION=7991]chana[/MENTION]
Yep, that's what I don't understand about my otherwise fab, textbook 9 sister. .
GUYS. SO much agreement.
Now me, I'm as much of a slob as the 9s mentioned here (lovely sp-last)...but I've noticed that 9s are amongst the types most likely to decry others' selfishness, yet can be some of the most startlingly selfish people on the enneagram.
There's a reluctance to take moral responsibility (like reporting an affair to a questioning spouse) lest it disturb inner peace or upset others. It's like, Ummm...you gonna deal with this or let it blow up on the rest of us??" (You know what the answer is).
My parents are both 9s, and the times I've needed them most, they suddenly go absent. They feel that their presence doesn't "really matter" and they'd sooner not bother. Even when you ask them. With 9s, there's a major undertone of "not my problem". And, you can't even make them face their crimes.
I don't say that to bash 9s, but it's the legitimate downside of a psychological base designed to maintain inner equilibrium. All is sacrificed to the God of Peace.
Now for my own contributions:
6s. Sometimes, for all they try to cover bases and are capable of heroism under fire...sometimes they don't want to face how ugly problems can really be. Like a while back, I told my (biological) 6w5 father that I thought I was going under psychologically. I expected him to rush to support me or offer to send aid;
something that would help--and he recoiled in horror. He was like,
Um, no. You're not going under. You wouldn't be coherent and able to ask for help if you were going under...right? RIGHT?? All better, see? Just keep putting one foot in front of the other, right? He like, totally Sevened out on me. This was incredibly depressing at the time.
7s. They can be counterphobic and wind up obsessing over their own pain to make themselves see "how bad I can make myself feel for 15 minutes." They can go into deep psychology, primal screaming, stuff like that. They can be introspective, dark, sarcastic, negative. NOT the bubbly, upbeat, hyperactive monkeys portrayed by Riso and Hudson. Yet, they still do all these things to avoid being "trapped" in pain.
8s. They can be weirdly sensitive. Like I had this friend (8w7) who got rejected from a group project (and this was in college, so they were all grown adults). It put him in a bad mood like literally all day, and he told me about it several days later, still pissed off and chagrined. I was thinking,
Dude, why is this bothering you so much?? As a 4w5, this is part of my daily reality so I can sympathise, but still, this was not what I expected of him!
1s. Can be really fun and light-hearted and eager to try new things outside of their Correctness Sphere. I remember my 1w2 grandmother as being the most fun person in the family, actually. You just didn't want to mess up the house or get in her way during holidays, lol.
Maybe more later. Maybe.