4 Simple Ways to Find Your Enneagram Type
I still remember how fascinated I was, scrolling through Instagram, coming across an artsy graphic on my friend’s story, saying, “Enneagram Type 4 — Creative, Melancholic, Dramatic.”
…or something like that.
Honestly, it’s not fair to ask anyone what exactly they saw while doom scrolling on social media six years ago — or even last night for that matter.
But I do remember how connected I felt to the description that was “so me.”
I thought to myself, “I am the creative, artistic, moody, and misunderstood type. What is this Enneagram thing anyway?”
So, I Googled some things about the Enneagram, found some IG accounts with interesting graphics, and found out more about each type and what kind of personalities each one of them had.
Definitely a dazzling experience for anyone just discovering the Enneagram — but also confusing.
I read more about all the types, starting with Type 1, The Perfectionist…which also sounded like me. The “inner critic” sounded way too familiar.
I read all the way to Type 9, and thought, “I kind of feel like all of these.”
Of course, my romanticized self-image would float back to Type 4, and while many things did resonate with me about the type, something didn’t quite feel right.
“How do I know which Type is mine?” I thought.
So, I did what most people do — I took a test — then I took another test. I probably ended up taking four or five tests just to see if I got the same answer — and I got three different answers.
Finding your Enneagram Type both excites and confuses you — and you get more confused than excited when you don’t have the right tools.
If you’re just starting out on your Enneagram journey, you most likely have no idea what you’re looking for or what you’re trying to find. Plus, the overwhelming amount of information you have at your disposal doesn’t make the process easier.
Even if you’ve been learning about the Enneagram for some time, you’re still prone to mistyping yourself on the Enneagram if you don’t know what to do with the information you have.
But here’s the good news — once you have a few building blocks to help you find your type on the Enneagram, it’s way easier than it seems.
And you don’t have to be an expert to use any of the tips below.
So, let’s start with the basics…
What is an Enneagram Type?
An Enneagram Type represents one of nine personality types on the Enneagram. Each type is arranged on a diagram with nine points, and every type represents a pair of core desires and core fears.
According to the Enneagram, these core motivations drive the behaviors and personalities of each person. So, it’s a helpful tool for understanding yourself and others better.
What are the benefits of knowing your Enneagram Type?
Well, knowing your Enneagram Type gives you clarity on why you act the way you do, and how you relate to others. The Enneagram shows your healthy and unhealthy patterns of behavior, and it gives you tools to enhance your personal development and improve your relationships.
There’s a lot at stake when it comes to maximizing your potential for growth and transformation.
Which is why it’s so important to type yourself correctly. After all, you want to take steps for growth that work for your personality type, not someone else’s.
What are Common Ways to Mistype on the Enneagram?
There are a ton of ways to mistype yourself on the Enneagram, especially when there’s a ton of information about the Enneagram almost anywhere.
Pretty much anyone who uses the Enneagram finds whatever they need from all the articles, social media accounts, assessments, and books available on this tool.
And while these resources help, they’re a little overwhelming at times.
Here are a few ways people mistype o the Enneagram:
Enneagram Assessments
I know. Personality tests are so fun, especially when it’s an Enneagram test. I’m sure you’ve taken multiple Enneagram tests just to see if the results match.
But many experts say Enneagram tests aren’t as reliable as you think they are.
The main reason? They focus too much on behaviors and not enough on motivations — which is the main purpose of knowing your type on the Enneagram.
Someone Else Typed You on the Enneagram
It’s normal to value the input your friends, family, and work buddies give you on your Enneagram Type.
And truth be told, other people’s perspectives do help…sometimes.
As well meaning as these insights are, they have their limits.
Yes, these are the people you live or work with. But even those wonderful people can’t give you the full context of your personality or the motivations that shape your personality — only you have full context to why you are they way you are and why you do the things you do.
Life Circumstances
While your Enneagram type never changes, different circumstances in your life have the power to make you look or feel like a type that’s different from your core type on the Enneagram.
Sometimes your stress number takes over more than you realize. Other times, your security number shows up unexpectedly in your behavior as well.
But overall, circumstances have the power to adjust your focus towards what you do instead of helping you focus on why you do certain things.
So, no matter the amount of information you gather or conversations you have, only you have the best tool to finding your Enneagram Type — your personal experience.
You have the best context for yourself and how you experience the world.
Don’t get me wrong. I believe firmly that consulting resources and talking with people who know the Enneagram helps tremendously when finding your type — especially when it’s a certified coach who consistently guides people in finding themselves on the Enneagram.
But that doesn’t mean you don’t have what you need to start finding your Enneagram type right now.
4 Steps to Finding Your Type on the Enneagram
Core Motivations
This is the tried and true of knowing your Enneagram number. One of the core messages of the Enneagram is the way you approach life is heavily influenced by the core desire and core fear represented by your number.
You might be thinking, “Okay, but I feel like I relate to a lot of these motivations. Sometimes, all of them.”
Of course you do. It’s normal to desire peace like a Type 9 and authenticity like a Type 4. It’s normal to be afraid of being incompetent like a Type 5 and being morally flawed like a Type 1.
Every motivation on the Enneagram is a human motivation. The key to knowing your unique type is knowing the motivations you lead with.
Here’s an Enneagram pro tip: Keep asking yourself, “Why?”
Because the secret sauce to finding your Enneagram Type is to find the motivation behind your motivations.
So, when you’re reflecting on your personality traits, ask yourself, “Why?”
“Why do I do this?” “Why do I desire that?” “Why do I think like this, feel like this, or do things like this?” Your core motivations are the driving force behind the answers to these questions.
For example, let’s take someone who can’t stand arguing. Well, a Type 2 who asks themselves, “Why do I hate arguing so much?” finds that arguing with someone makes them feeling like a burden which brings about their worst fear: being unloved or unwanted.
But, a Type 9 who asks themselves the same question, “Why do I hate arguing so much?” eventually finds that arguing leads to a rise in conflict and a lack of peace which leads to their deepest fear: separation or loss of relationships.
Stress and Security Numbers
The way you act when you’re feeling either stressed or secure acts as a hint to your core number on the Enneagram. Since each type takes on behaviors of one type in stress and another type in security, taking note of how you act during times of stress and security helps you know your core type.
Here’s how knowing stress and security numbers helps you find your Enneagram type.
Think back to times when you felt stressed.
What patterns do you notice? How do you think, feel, or do things when you’re stressed? What’s different about you when you’re dealing with stress?
Okay, now think about a few times when you felt secure.
What patterns do you notice? How do you think, feel, or do things when you’re secure? What’s different about you when you feel secure?
Now, take what you’ve observed about yourself in stress and security and find the numbers associated with the ways you behave in stress and security. These are your clues to discovering your core number on the Enneagram.
Let’s say you notice that stress makes you more rigid, more of a perfectionist, and makes you use more black and white thinking — kind of like a Type 1. That means your core number is Type 7 since the stress number for Type 7 is Type 1.
In the same way, if times in security allow you to be more reserved, waste less energy, and think things through more carefully — more like a Type 5 — that’s another clue that your core number is Type 7 since the security number for Type 7 is Type 5.
You might be saying, “Okay, genius. What if the core numbers associated with my stress and security behaviors are different?”
Remember: These are just clues. So, if the numbers are different, learn more about each type and their motivations, and see which type resonates with you the most. After all, the core motivations are the key to knowing your Enneagram type.
Dominant Centers of Intelligence
The three centers of intelligence — thinking, feeling, and doing — are great indicators of your core number on the Enneagram. Each type has a center of intelligence it uses the most when taking in information about their environment. And figuring out which center you use the most helps you narrow down your choices to at least 3 since the Enneagram splits these centers into triads — or groups of three.
Here are the triads for the Centers of Intelligence:
Feeling/Heart Triad: Type 2, Type 3, and Type 4
Thinking/Head Triad: Type 5, Type 6, and Type 7
Doing/Gut Triad: Type 8, Type 9, and Type 1
So, how do you take in information from your environment?
Is it with your thoughts, your emotions, or your actions?
When you experience your environment, which of these questions do you see yourself asking the most?
“What do I think about this?
“How do I feel about this?”
“What should I do about this?
Your answer tells you which triad you belong to and gives you three possibilities in finding your Enneagram number.
And knowing your dominant center of intelligence gives you one of two major building blocks to a tool that help you get clarity on your type.
As for the second major building block…
Repressed Centers of Intelligence (Stances)
On the flip side, just like every Enneagram type has a center of intelligence they use the most, each type also has a center they use the least. And every type is put into another triad of numbers that share the same repressed center of intelligence — These are called Stances.
In case this is new to you, here are the Enneagram Stances:
The Withdrawn Stance — Types 4, 5, and 9 — represses doing.
The Dependent Stance — Types 1, 2, and 6 — represses thinking.
The Assertive Stance — Types 3, 7, and 8 — represses feeling.
Let me be clear: Repressed doesn’t mean you don’t use these centers. Repressed means you don’t use this center as much or as well as you use other centers.
Put simply, when you repress thinking, feeling, or doing, you either use this center or avoid using this center to either distract yourself or protect yourself from others.
The good news? Knowing your repressed center of intelligence helps you tremendously with discovering your type and growing out of those unhealthy patterns of self-protection and distraction.
So, take a moment and ask yourself, “Which one of these centers of intelligence do I use to protect myself?”
“Do I self-protect with the way I think, the way I feel, or the way I do things?”
This is the second major building block to the tool that helps you find your type on the Enneagram.
So, with dominant centers of intelligence as building block #1 and repressed centers of intelligence as building block #2, what do we do now?
Well, let me show you how I use this info to find my type on the Enneagram…
I repress doing. But I don’t just simply not do things — at least, not all the time. I either do things that aren’t important, or I simply forget to do things that I need to do.
Here’s my Enneagram pro tip…I also take in my environment through what I need to do. Actually, I know all the things I need to do, want to do, or should do…because I’m also doing dominant.
So, I’m doing dominant, and I’m doing repressed. Where does that show up on the Enneagram? Type 9.
You see what I did there? I took what I knew about my repressed center of intelligence while pairing it with my dominant center of intelligence.
That’s the pro tip. Since each Enneagram Type has both a dominant and a repressed center of intelligence, your personal insights on how you use thinking, feeling, or doing in your daily life helps you discover which type best fits you.
So, what’s next?
Well, with your four tools in mind — the core motivations, the stress and security numbers, the dominant centers of intelligence, and the stances — you’re all set to do a little self-discovery to get clear on your Enneagram type.
Sure, it’s gonna take some work. After all, each of these tools require you to learn more about the Enneagram.
But let’s be real, you could spend hours falling down the Enneagram rabbit hole — and it only gets more interesting.
So…get to work and have fun!