Get a wake-up call for each Enneagram number for when you’re spiraling downward. Also see unique gifts that each type gives the world.
Know Yourself
We all have times when life is going smoothly. Maybe we’re loving generously, working successfully, staying keenly aware in our everyday activities.
But life keeps coming at us, an unexpected bill here or a health problem there, a relationship struggle or a job change.
Is it possible to use the Enneagram as a wake-up call before we fall further down the hole? What are the pitfalls and warning signs to watch for in a potential slide from healthy to unhealthy versions of ourselves?
9 Wake-Up Calls
The following is a compilation from several sources, including Riso and Hudson’s, The Wisdom of the Enneagram, and Rohr and Ebert’s, The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective.
1 The Perfectionist
Wake-Up Call: You sense an intense personal obligation to fix everything yourself.
“Everyone is so lazy and irresponsible. Right is right and wrong is wrong and there are no exceptions.”
Your pitfall is to become hypersensitive.
Your temptation is to search for perfection.
Warning Signs
- Taking rigid, inflexible positions
- Extreme self-righteousness and judgmentalness
- Rationalizing and justifying your own actions
2 The Helper
Wake-Up Call: You become overly supportive of others to win them over.
“I can make anyone like me. . . . Let me do that for you.”
Your pitfall is people-pleasing.
Your temptation is to make others dependent on you to make yourself feel worthy.
Warning Signs
- Extreme tendencies toward self-deception
- Acting with a sense of delusional entitlement
- Episodes of manipulating and coercing others
3 The Performer
Wake-Up Call: You think your value depends on your success.
“I can do this better than anyone else. I’ve got it altogether.”
Your pitfall is superficiality.
Your temptation is efficiency.
Warning Signs
- Physical exhaustion, burnout, inner emptiness
- Increasingly false self-image
- Jealousy and unrealistic expectations of success
4 The Individualist
Wake-Up Call: You are imagining things to hold on to and intensify feelings.
“No one understands me. People are insensitive to me.”
Your pitfall is depression or melancholy.
Your temptation is a frantic striving to be authentic.
Warning Signs
- Oppressive sense of alienation from self and others
- Extreme emotional volatility and touchiness
- Depending on one or two others, with unstable relationships
- Chronic, long-term depression and hopelessness
5 The Investigator
Wake-Up Call: You retreat into your mind.
“Is it safe to come out? I need more time.”
Your pitfall is emotional stinginess.
Your temptation is to know more and more.
Warning Signs
- Increasing tendency to isolate yourself
- Chronic physical and social neglect, letting yourself go
- Severe insomnia, nightmares, and sleep disorders
- Refusing help or even being hostile to it
6 The Loyalist
Wake-Up Call: You look for a sure thing (guidance and support outside yourself).
“What can I trust? I’m so mad and I’m not going to take it anymore!”
Your pitfall is cowardice (if phobic 6) or recklessness (if counter-phobic 6).
Your temptation is an exaggerated need for security.
Warning Signs
- Intense anxiety, panic attacks, and paranoia
- Acute inferiority feelings and chronic depression
- Constant fear of losing support from others
- Alternating dependency and impulsive displays of defiance
7 The Enthusiast
Wake-Up Call: You think something better is available elsewhere.
“I don’t want to miss out; let’s get going. I want it and I want it now!”
Your pitfall is scheming.
Your temptation is idealism.
Warning Signs
- Impulsiveness, offensiveness, and infantile reactions
- Debilitating addictions to escape anxiety
- Compulsive activity and highly exalted mood
- Periods of being out of control
8 The Challenger
Wake-Up Call: You think you must push and struggle to make things happen.
“It’s all up to me. No one tells me what to do.”
Your pitfall is revenge.
Your temptation is appointing yourself as avenger.
Warning Signs
- Paranoid feelings of being betrayed by “my people”
- Increasing social isolation, bitterness, and vengeance
- Lack of conscience and empathy; callous hard-heartedness
- Episodes of rage, violence, and physical destructiveness
9 The Peacemaker
Wake-Up Call: You outwardly go along with others.
“It doesn’t matter to me. I’ll deal with this later.”
Your pitfall is lethargy (comfort).
Your temptation is self-deprecation.
Warning Signs
- Denial of serious health, financial, or personal problems
- A sense of inadequacy, general neglectfulness, and dampened vitality
- Dependency on others and allowing yourself to be exploited
- Chronic depression and emotional flatness
Spiritual Practice #19—Use Your Gift
While each type has a particular set of temptations and weaknesses, each type also has multiple benefits. Embedded inside each person is a unique set of gifts.
Read the following gifts that each mature type can offer the world. Add more from your own experiences.
1—Moral Integrity
Healthy 1s have an extraordinary ability to know how to do the right thing and make a positive difference in the world. They are willing to take a stand and make sacrifices, while being grace-driven, not guilt-driven.
2—Service
When 2s learn to give with an open hand and with humility, they can be of great service to their community and help other people thrive. They also allow others to serve them.
3—Genuineness
As 3s become more genuine, not trying to be more or less than they really are, they are available to lead others with honesty and humility as a non-competitive team, giving others the opportunity to share in the spotlight.
4—Beauty
Healthy 4s bring their emotional life into balance and become impressive personalities. They deal sensitively and passionately with real life, becoming and creating works of art as gifts to humanity.
5—Objectivity
When 5s harness their ability to detach, they are compassionate and perceptive listeners. They are able to share not only the riches of their minds, but also the depths of their hearts.
6—Courage
6s can overcome their fear in moments of crisis more easily than anyone else and become a stabilizing presence. They are inclusive and accepting of others, grounding people in reality and drawing out their emotions.
7—Joy
7s have the ability to find and spread joy in the face of and despite all the difficulties of life. At their healthiest, they are satisfied with very little, staying present in the moment, knowing there will always be enough for them and everyone else.
8—Protection
8s at their healthiest learn to trust and be good to the vulnerable child in their own soul. They are strong and have the power to inspire others to be heroic, impacting the world in important ways.
9—Healing
Mature 9s intuitively see all sides of an issue and are a comforting presence for peace in environments of conflict. They are steady, engaged, and dynamic in working for peace and healing in the world.
Do you recognize your warning signs? How can you use your gift in the world? Please share in the comments.
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Next: Your Cheat Sheet: Summary for Enneagram Types {Series #28}
