The "Now What?" Stage of the Enneagram

The thing about the enneagram is that finding your true type is such a slap in the face that it can be difficult to see how that is a positive experience. It can be tempting to forget the enneagram exists, or to simply identify as a type and not try to break out of it.

My favourite analogies for the enneagram are:

Ian Cron’s (The Road Back to You): “The enneagram doesn’t put you in a box. It shows you the box you’re already in and how to get out of it.”

Cynthia Bourgeault’s (The Wisdom Way of Knowing): We are seeds; our personality type is our acorn. Only if we break out of the acorn can we plant ourselves, grow and become trees.

Regardless of whether or not the journey to find your type was easy for you or took you years, the real work begins when you know your type, because that’s when you start breaking your shell or getting out of your box.

The Enneagram’s Triangular Map

In the middle of the enneagram symbol, there is a triangle connecting points 3, 6 and 9. This triangle can be read as a map to self-actualization. This is how Beatrice Chestnut explains it in The Complete Enneagram (p. 40-43):

3: “Dis-identification from the Personality through self-observation” (a neutral study of your personality)

6: “Surrendering to the fear and emotional suffering associated with loosening your ego defenses” (confronting what makes you uncomfortable)

9: “Actively working toward transcendence and union” (getting out of your box / growing into a tree)

I find this “map” interesting because I made this blog before I read Chestnut’s book and I was following these steps without even knowing they existed – although I was kind of mixing the steps 3 and 6.

Finding the Patterns and Addressing Them

Step 3 is all about finding the patterns and analyzing them on the surface level. When do they come up? Each personality type is associated with certain patterns, but you are your own person and you use these patterns in your own way. What way is that?

This is a very neutral observation. Think mindfulness meditation. Just as in mindfulness, you’re supposed to notice your feelings, thoughts and sensations without judgment, in step 3, you’re supposed to notice the manifestations of your personality without judgment.

If step 3 is data collection, step 6 is where the real analysis begins. What is the early origin of these patterns? What triggers them now? What blind spots and consequences do they cause?

The Scientific Method

I’ll agree that the enneagram isn’t the most scientific thing I’ve encountered, but I find that the process described above reminds me of the scientific method for a never-ending experiment. You hypothesize that you are a certain type and that, providing this is your correct type, you can use it to grow. You try your hand at data collection (step 3). You start with a basic analysis (step 6) and realize that your hypothesis is wrong, so you go back to the beginning, study the theory some more, and produce a new hypothesis.

The process continues until you have found a type that seems more fitting than the others; then, you may decide to go back to data collection and dig deeper in your search. You will also probably work longer on your analysis. The process is likely to last decades.

I think it sounds like fun, but I’m aware that my idea of fun is usually not very popular – so I have been told, directly or indirectly, time and time again since my early years. I’m usually an instant gratification kind of person, so I wouldn’t even be attempting to do this if the process didn’t sound fun to me.

But I am my greatest weapon, and if I am a sword, I have to spend time sharpening the blade.

I think that’s a great argument to convince 8s, but what about other types?

1: to address the imperfection within you

2: to have more of yourself to give

3: to perform better and achieve more

4: to be more authentic

5: because you are the greatest mystery you could uncover

6: to be able to trust yourself more

7: to free yourself from the shackles of your personality

9: to find inner peace as a way to bring about outer peace

Honestly, though, I just think self-work is self-care, and self-care is essential.