When your bestie comes to you with a personality quiz you’ve never done, are you really going to say no, not interested? Well not if you’re me! I jumped right on it and dived in… So earlier today when Sarah came to me and asked if I had heard of the Enneagram I absolutely had to write a little minor investigative post for y’all. But really it’s just a lot of my quirky thoughts and real-time emotions while I was taking the test. A case study of sorts if that makes it more scientific.
According to the Enneagram there are 9 different personalities.
To find out which one you are there is a rather long questionnaire, it’s no e-Harmony questionnaire, but it’s’ a doozie. About 6 pages of approximately 16 questions per page making it a total of 105 questions. The questionnaire takes about 10 minutes to complete (according to the FAQ, but in my time it was like 30-40 minutes...I get distracted okay?).
Now the test is free but for a more in-depth report there is a fee i.e. click bait to buy something from them. Everyone’s gotta make money.
While I was taking the test, I actually found myself having realizations that I may have never thought about before. I appreciated that feeling, that soul, eye opening revelation stoner moment. But then as I poured the honey onto my toast for my adult dinner of honey and pb toasted sandwich, I pictured several cartoon bumble bees with signs chanting, “bee objective, bee beeeee objective” and my research mindset was turned back on. It’s hard to admit to bias, but I had it, especially cause my very own dignity is involved. Hard to forget something you just learnt about yourself, tbh. It also could be, however, the mere powers of suggestiveness.
And 50 odd minutes later, et viola, my break down! My dominant personality type is….*drum roll please* Type 2 - The Giver; alright well, yes, I have no argument here. Defining characteristics: warm smile and eyes. Check. I am always complemented on my smile and eyes, approachable *yea*, radiates kindness *swooooon*, vocal volunteer or activist *yeah I’d say so* , excellent team player *... I think so?*, caring and gentle *dead on*, nurturing and patient *well patient to a point*, smooth, flowing movements *well I do have long wavy hair, curves and wear very flowy clothes.* I just agreed to about 98% of the things they just said about be, from 105 Likert scaled questions rating accuracy. (Side note: I'm so inspired by the phrase “radiate kindness”. these two words together; oh how romantic… damn they are good writers).
It’s rated that I am 98% this type. That’s a high freaking claim to be making. Wish I knew more, I could buy the detailed report…no, you cannot buy it! You must save for wedding! Focus!
Well damn. I kind of feel… heard, validated and slightly freaked out. Is it really that accurate? It it just MY own view of me, not the view or ratings of others, like my friends or family or even followers. See, there I go again, making it about how others feel or see me. How they validated my existence. I really must be a Type Two.
And so I read on, “twos are defined by their desire to belong and to be loved by others. They are helpful, nurturing and caring towards others.” Yup, yup, and yup. I check off the qualities I see myself as, the memories that confirm this concept of myself come to surface of my mind. “They are eager to involve themselves in others’ lives and rarely say no when others ask them for help. They make sure they are important to others by always being there for them.” Okay, yeah sure. I can see that aligning with my preconceived notions about myself.
“Twos fear being alone and unloved, and cope with this fear by taking care of others and make themselves central to other people’s lives.” Well fuck. That explains every serious relationship - friendship, romantic or familial I have ever had.
Holy eff, these people, they’re good writers. Or this test is really accurate. I cannot tell this far. And that's just the top personality type. They give you a percentage of all 9 types. So much more to read! So I read a little bit more, but there is a lot to discover, these clever writers. But basically the personality type you get from this test is the one major core value your personality branches out from. Everything you do can be linked back to this one core value. But you're not 100% only one type, no no no, there is so much more to discover, again really great writers have explained their test perfectly here: https://www.truity.com/enneagram/what-is-enneagram (this is also where I completed the test, and got the pictures used today from).
One last thing that made me really connect with the results of this test, now I’m going to share something personal with you guys, I’ve been working a lot on core values using CBT strategies to deal with my thoughts. As you know I struggle with anxiety and depression, a lot of my insecurities stem from the desire to be well loved and liked, to be important to people. I'm working through how this core value impacts my life and how to develop a more balanced approach to help spread out my energy. Which ultimately means this test is pretty freaking accurate for my current perception of self. I have to say there has got to be something scientific going on here...
...that’s just my experience with Enneagram, and it seems I’ve barely touched the surface of how in-depth this test can really go. Have you taken this test? Tell me in the comments or over on Instragram @rhamiltonbyline!