The starting point

One of the dangers of personality typology systems including the Enneagram is that there is a tendency to dwell on what Type you are and to use it almost as an excuse for your behaviour. We may find ourselves saying things like 'Well I'm a Five so I can't help getting down into the details of everything, always wanting to know why everything is the way it is. That's just the way I am' when in fact we are made up of all the Types - we have all the Types in us. It is simply that we have one that is dominant and it is important to remember that the dominant one is actually where we are out of balance. This is why it is often referred to as the fixation. For example we may say someone is fixated at Two, or Six, when referring to their Type. The idea is really not to get too hung up on Type because that is not who we really are. It simply indicates our ideas of self, our fears and desires and our understanding of things and how that expresses itself.

It is an important part of the journey to be able to identify your Type so that you can understand your way of seeing. But ultimately this understanding is most useful to help you see beyond Type and to be less fixated there. The awareness loosens the reins of the personality and ultimately allows us to be more present and more authentic in our responses to situations and circumstances as they arise. For this reason it is important to look at all the Types and not to simply stop once you think you have discovered your own. What Type you are is not important. It doesn't matter. It's really only the starting point.