The Six: A gift for navigating

Sixes are the most fear-driven and anxious of the Types. As such, they are always looking to bolster their security whether that be financially, socially, professionally etc. In many ways the real beneficiaries of this are the other Types as Sixes are very loyal friends, partners and work colleagues. They understand the value of having people around them, are good team workers who are able to sacrifice their own interests in order to do what needs to be done but who are also able to take the lead if necessary. Because of their anxiety they are very alert to things that can go wrong and will do their best to cover all bases to make sure that nothing does. All of this makes them reliable and responsible, people who think things through and are in service to the 'next right action', excellent at navigating their way through situations and often valued for their trouble-shooting capabilities.

The downside of all this alertness to looking ahead at what could go wrong in order to navigate a way through, however, is that it creates more worry and a tendency to catastrophism. Needless to say, catastrophising not only leads to even greater anxiety but, as a result, can make Sixes overly cautious. They can end up operating on a 'better the devil you know' basis and, as a result, end up staying in unhappy situations - even ones that are actively damaging to them - much longer than other people would. As Sixes have to learn, being able to navigate one's way through life and its vicissitudes is one thing but running away from life completely is another.