[Type 6] Enneagram 6sx and reactive energy

[highlander]

I can be pretty reactive. You likely may not see or believe this but it's true. I think anyone with a combination of 6 and sx (leaning counterphobic) has this thing. This can manifest in different ways. It provides a certain passion and intensity which is central to how I experience life. It is all about the passion. Without it, life is nothing.

Reactivity can come out in positive ways or negative ways. I try to channel it towards positive use - to get things done, to confront issues, to stand up for people or things I believe in, etc. It's not always easy. Sometimes the nasty beast slips out. I can be stubborn and angry and sometimes I can even lash out.

I choose how I react though. I choose how I can channel that energy. I choose what I am going to say and do. I choose to form positive or negative habits. I'm responsible and accountable for how I behave towards others and whether or not that reactivity results in positive or negative outcomes.

Does this resonate with anyone?

 

[Winds of Thor]

I can be pretty reactive. You likely may not see or believe this but it's true. I think anyone with a combination of 6 and sx (leaning counterphobic) has this thing. This can manifest in different ways. It provides a certain passion and intensity which is central to how I experience life. It is all about the passion. Without it, life is nothing.

Reactivity can come out in positive ways or negative ways. I try to channel it towards positive use - to get things done, to confront issues, to stand up for people or things I believe in, etc. It's not always easy. Sometimes the nasty beast slips out. I can be stubborn and angry and sometimes I can even lash out.

I choose how I react though. I choose how I can channel that energy. I choose what I am going to say and do. I choose to form positive or negative habits. I'm responsible and accountable for how I behave towards others and whether or not that reactivity results in positive or negative outcomes.

Does this resonate with anyone?

You're ahead of 90% of the rest of the population.

 

[Chad of the OttomanEmpire]

Well, I'm apparently triply reactive, so yeah. I'd be bored if I were NOT like this. And yes, I agree, I'm first and foremost the only person responsible for my life, actions, and reactions, regardless of my results.

 

[thoughtlost]

I don't know what my stacking is, but I am pretty "combative"... I guess. When I was in third grade or something like that, I got into a fight with my younger brother because he wasn't playing a game correctly. We got kicked out of the play pin xDDD Totally my fault.

Still reactive, I guess, when something rubs me the wrong way. I think my reactive energy is usually not positive ...useless would be a better word.

 

[Haven]

My favorite reaction is when I'm so mad at someone, and I keep getting madder and I just flip out and do something nice for them. I'm all "take that! eat nice things you bastard!" Cheers me right up.

 

[ndovjtjcaqidthi]

I hate being that way.

 

[Patrick]

The Reactive triad is actually pretty new to me. I've always been reactive, but until recently I thought my enneagram type was One, and I could see my mind-set and behavior through that Competency lens. A few years before that, I thought my type was Nine, and I could see myself as a Positive Outlook person too. It all depends on how you interpret what you read.

But my wife and others have been noticing and commenting on how reactive I am for as long as I can remember. And they've always been right about it.

And yeah, now that you mention it, there is some choice involved, even in reactivity. Naturally I only react to things I care about, for example. And I can apply as much or as little self-control as I choose to.

Then again, there's the old enigma: You can do whatever you want, but you can't want whatever you want.

We seem to be born with a certain set of predispositions, and those lead us to develop certain sets of tastes or preferences; and those can greatly influence our desires and choices. If I were completely free, I wouldn't have any ego-fixations at all to deal with. Something tells me I'm not that free yet.

 

[Duffy]

I don't really understand 6ish reactivity. From the outside looking in, there are 6s that seem to be reacting for the sake of reacting. I think the thing that stuck out in these instances were that it almost always had something to do with perceived unfairness, though I'm not entirely sure.

 

[Patrick]

I don't really understand 6ish reactivity. From the outside looking in, there are 6s that seem to be reacting for the sake of reacting. I think the thing that stuck out in these instances were that it almost always had something to do with perceived unfairness, though I'm not entirely sure.

We Sixes aren't entirely sure either; that's part of what makes us Sixes.

When I react in a way that seems to confuse someone else, it's usually a case of my having "read between the lines" and inferred some hidden meaning or agenda behind what the other person said or did.

My wife: "Why did you blow up at me like that? It was totally uncalled-for!"

Me: "No, it wasn't; you were clearly implying that I'm an idiot (or wimp, or whatever), and I resent that."

Her: "I wasn't implying any such thing. Stop trying to read between the lines."

Unfortunately, it can be almost impossible for a Six to stop reading between the lines, being on the lookout for hidden motives or concealed implications. Those subtle (and sometimes just imagined) threats or attacks seem as real as any direct, open attacks. There might be a deadly snake lurking in every clump of grass.