Who am I?
I found the Enneagram to be absolutely fascinating! My previous article briefly summarizes the Enneagram and attempts to give a very brief overview so one can have some understanding of what it is. Never before had I read a description of a personality and found it to be so applicable to myself. After I identified my type and read more and more in depth about it, I finally had words to describe who I was. This revelation was thrilling. It explained so many things that I had previously found inconsistent in my personalty. The enneagram had an answer to so many questions that I have had about myself. I began to understand myself in a way that I never had before. There are numerous tests you can take to determine your personality type. While these may be extremely helpful, I also think that by quickly looking at the one word description of each type, and then a 4 word description, and then looking at the Basic Fear and Basic Desire of each type, one may be able to figure out which type they are. After you have an idea of which is your dominant type, I highly recommend reading about that type in depth. Sometimes, you may not be able to decide between two types, but there is plenty of information about distinguishing between two types and this clearly helped me determine my dominate type. I am type 9 - Peacemaker with a One-Wing: "The Dreamer."
This article is about my type - type 9 - The Peacemaker. I summarized numerous articles I read about type 9, and wrote the information up so I had a description of myself through the eyes of the enneagram. I believe that this article will be of primary interest to 3 types of people: 1) those that identify that they are type 9, 2) those that have a significant other, family member, friend, loved one, or anyone in their life they are interested about who is a type 9, and 3) finally, this article will give a more thorough analysis of who I am. An important thing about the enneagram is that one person is not all the traits of the type at one time. There are 9 stages of health for each type, and depending what level of health you are in your personality, different traits will manifest.
I hope you enjoy this information. Please note that unlike my other articles which are 100% original material, the information in this article is a summary of the description of my type taken from various articles. Most of it was taken from articles by the enneagram institute at www.enneagraminstitute.com, and crystalknows.com although some other sources were used as well.
Type 9:
Basic Fear: of loss and separation
Basic Desire: to have inner stability “peace of mind”
The good:
Type 9's are accepting, trusting, stable and adaptive in their behavior. They are usually creative, optimistic, and supportive, but can be too willing to go along with others to keep the peace. They want everything to go smoothly and be without conflict. They like peace and appreciate stability and prefer to avoid conflict. They tend to enjoy time alone or with small groups. They are motivated by a need to be settled and in harmony with the world and, as a result, it is important for them to be accommodating and accepting.
Type 9's are:
Agreeable: easy to get along with. Others experience type 9's as open, receptive and peaceful.
Understanding: able to listen to differences and understand multiple perspectives, with a great skill in synthesis and finding commonalities across differences.
Patient: do things in a calm, sustainable way, trusting the natural rhythm of projects and processes.
Supportive: others feel accepted, heard and understood by type 9's. They accept people for who they are and see their full potential.
Genuine: what you see is what you get with type 9's . They are unpretentious and others can be at ease with them.
Type 9's fear fragmentation and a loss of connection with the people they most love. They make people feel safe and enjoy being comfortable and in harmony with the world around them. They are usually laid-back and even-kneeled, taking what life brings to them in a matter-of-fact, down-to-earth manner. They believe in emphasizing the good in life rather than focusing on the bad and enjoy delighting in the simpler pleasures of life. They dislike creating a scene, fighting, or getting worked up over the “little things.”
Type 9's are devoted to the quest of internal and external peace for themselves and others. They are “spiritual seekers” who have a great yearning for connection with the cosmos, as well as with other people. They work to maintain their peace of mind just as they work to establish peace and harmony in the world.
They are potentially the most grounded in the physical world and in their own bodies. This is ironic because they are so orientated to the spiritual world and are the center of the Instinctive center. They respond to pain and suffering by attempting to live in a state of premature peacefulness, whether it is in a state of false spiritual attainment, or in more gross denial. They tend to run away from the paradoxes and tensions of life by attempting to transcend them or by seeking to find simple and painless solutions to my problems. To emphasize the pleasant in life is not a bad thing - but it is a limited and limiting approach to life.
Top of Enneagram:
They are at the top of the enneagram because they seem to include the whole of it. Type 9's can have the strength of the 8’s, the sense of fun and adventure of the 7’s, the dutifulness of 6’s, the intellectualism of 5’s, the creativity of 4’s, the attractiveness of 3’s, the generosity of 2’s, and the idealism of 1’s. However, what they generally don’t have is a sense of really inhabitating themselves- a strong sense of their own identity.
Being a separate self, an individual who must assert themselves against others is terrifying. They would rather melt into someone else or quietly follow their idyllic daydreams.
The bad/ Their blind spots:
Type 9's can be complacent, simplifying problems and minimizing anything upsetting. They can have problems with inertia and stubborness. They can also be procrastinating, stubborn and self-denying. They can be neglectful or passive. This stems from their pattern of going along to get along with others and the eventual discomfort that arises when this strategy is not satisfying.
They avoid being controlled by others in a counterintuitive way, by being passive, non-assertive and unmoved. This pattern of indirect behavior may impact their communication and relationships.
They want to avoid being controversial. Despite disliking it when people pressure them into something, they also have difficulty saying no to people. While they go out of their way to accommodate others and downplay their own needs, they are setting themselves up to be overlooked and and they dislike being ignored.
They are often unaware of their own passive aggressive behavior patterns and how these affect others around them.
In pursuing their need to ensure that everyone is being heard, they can often present multiple viewpoints in conversation with others. This may lead to drawn out, lengthy explanations that cause the listener to lose interest. It can also impact negatively on their degree of influence and even credibility.
In being diplomatic and accommodating, they may fail to make their true needs, desires and feeling known to the people around them. They may feel that they are doing so very clearly, but due to their approach, others may miss what they really want and need. They may be resigned to being slightly dissatisfied with certain aspects of their life and relationships.
Project even-tempered demeanor and keep strong feelings to themselves:
Although they experience a range of intense feelings, type 9's project an even-tempered and easy - going demeanor. They will keep strong feelings to themselves, allowing others to experience them as very approachable and serene, even though they may not feel this way internally. Because emotions seems really intense to them, and they long for harmony, they experience most emotions in the low to moderate frequency of intensity. They want to feel connected and close to people, and this often leads to a “blending” of energy with the people closest to them. This may take the form of adopting the habits, hobbies, interests or even emotions of the people in their intimate space. They like structure, processes, clarity and details and will create procedures or habits very quickly.
From best to worst: these are the states of very healthy to unhealthy for Type 9's:
(One way to understand these levels is that the Enneagram gives us a picture of our gifts when we are living as our true self, healthy and whole. The truest self would be when we are operating at #1. The Enneagram also makes us aware of the unhealthy places and habits we are prone to when we are stressed or afraid or operating at an unhealthy level).
1. They become self-aware, vibrant, indomitable, all embracing, self-possessed, feel autonomous and fulfilled. They have great equanimity and contentment because they are present to their self. At one with themselves, they are able to form more profound relationships, be intensely alive, and fully connected to self other others. They can bring people together and heal conflicts.
2. They are deeply receptive, accepting, unselfconscious, emotionally stable and serene. They are trusting of self and others, at ease with self and life, innocent and simple. Patient, unpretentious, good-natured, and a genuinely nice person.
3. They are optimistic, reassuring, supportive and have a healing and calming influence.
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4. They fear conflicts, so can become self-effacing and accommodating, idealizing others and “going along” with their wishes, saying “yes” to things that they don’t want to really do. They fall into conventional roles and expectation. They use philosphies and stock saying to defect others.
5. They are active, but disengaged, unreflective, and inattentive. They do not want to be affected, so become unresponsive and complacent, walking away from problems! Their thinking becomes hazy and ruminative, mostly comforting fantasies, as they begin to “tune out” reality, becoming oblivious. They are emotionally indolent, unwilling to exit themselves or to focus on problems. They become indifferent.
6. They minimize problems to appease others and to have peace at any cost.
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7. They can be highly repressed, undeveloped, and ineffectual. They can feel incapable of facing problems” become obstinate, dissociating self from all conflicts. They can be neglectful and dangerous to others.
8. They want to block out awareness of anything that could affect them, and dissociate so much that they can eventually not function becoming numb and depersonalized.
9. They finally come severely disoriented and catatonic, abandoning themselves, turning into a shattered shell. They can develop multiple personality and having dependent disorder.
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How can Type 9's grow in their type?
They need to examine their tendency to go along with others, doing what they want to keep the peace and be nice. They need to ask themself wether constantly acquiescing to the wishes of others will provide the kind of relationships that will really satisfy them. They have to remember it is impossible to love others if they are not truly present to them. This means they have to be their self , that they have to be (paradoxically) independent so that they can be really be there for others when they need them.
They need to exert themself. They need to force themself to pay attention to what is going on. Do not daydream drift off or tune people out. The feelings they have for others endows them with much of their identity and self-esteem. If they really love others, they can do no less than examine the role that they have played in whatever conflicts that have arisen. In the last analysis, the choice is simple: they must sacrifice their peace of mind in the short run for the satisfaction of genuine relationships in the long run.
They need to exercise frequently to become more aware of their body and emotions. Regular exercise is a healthy form of self-discipline and will increase their awareness of their feelings and other sensations.
It is best to get things out in the open first, at least by allowing themself to become aware of their feelings. They need to get in contact with their feelings of anger that they have been denying. When they are able to let in anger, then they are able to recognize that their avoidance of others is really an avoidance of themself.
They need to develop preferences and tastes and voice those to others despite the fear of conflict. They need to remember that if they choose not to choose, then they are choosing not to be involved.
Social Instinct:
A major aspect of human nature lies in our instinctual “hard wiring” as biological beings. I have a social instinct which means I long for deep connection with others. This does not always mean being involved in groups, meetings, and parties. I adapt myself to serve the needs of the social situation I find myself in. Thus, I am highly aware of other people,
whether in intimate situations or in groups. I am also aware of how my actions and attitudes are affecting those around me. I seek personal connection: I want to stay in long-term contact with people and to be involved in their world.
I am a ISFJ — introverted sensor.
While alone, I am reflecting on past experiences, maintaining order in my personal environment and making tangible plans for the future.
To me, a sensing introvert, reality exists as a series of physical observations and experiences that I can sort through and classify while alone. I am highly meticulous and detail-oriented, and enjoy keeping my home, self and environment in proper order. I am quick to notice patterns of behavior over time and I use those patterns to predict (and plan for) future occurrences. I place a high value on tradition and am extremely respectful of social and societal conventions. I am a rule-follower and tradition-upholder. To me, life is an ongoing process of putting- and keeping things in order.
I orientate myself to the world by introverting the sensation of possessing union with another - by interjecting another, and then idealizing that introjection. My sense of self comes from the emotion I feel when I sense my identification with another person.
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