Have you ever wondered why you act the way you do? Are you curious about the hidden motivations behind your actions and those of the people around you?
As I reflect on my former life as an unhappy divorce attorney in Nebraska, I recognize now that I didn’t truly understand my own motivations back then. Why was I so driven yet dissatisfied? What was I seeking through achievements and material success? I didn’t understand why I was so hard-wired for anger – and why I got so down on myself when that anger would surface. It took leaving my career and embarking on a journey of self-discovery in the vortexes of Sedona for my purpose and passions to finally awaken, and for me to understand what was at the root of my feelings.
Within our need to understand why we do what we do, lies a profound tool: the Enneagram. I don’t consider myself an expert, but after years of deep study, I’m astonished by how well this strangely-named system describes self-awareness. So what is the Enneagram? It’s a personality test that cuts through our unconscious patterns to reveal the core beliefs that drive us – whether they be the assumptions we make, or even the unconscious lies we tell ourselves!
It was liberating for me when I discovered that I am an 8. My healing came through understanding what made me tick, and through cultivating self-compassion to embrace all parts of myself – even my anger!
The gift of doing self-discovery work is two-fold: increased capacity for unconditional compassion towards your quirks and flaws – and clarified vision to course-correct your limiting patterns so that they no longer block your path forward!
Below, you can discover how to read your enneagram chart and which style you are, but make sure that you reflect on your type with self-compassion: no type is better or worse! Consider imperfections as loveable rather than intolerable. Then explore where you reside on the Enneagram – and where you yearn to dive deeper into understanding yourself and those around you.
Welcome, my friends, to our comprehensive guide on the Enneagram – a powerful tool for revelations just like the one I had. Let me walk with you through the fascinating world of the Enneagram, where we’ll uncover your personality type, decode the deeper meanings to your actions, and even reveal some of the rarest traits that make you exceptional.
By the end of our time together here, you’ll have insight to improve your relationships, health and joy – because truly understanding yourself is the first step to transformation. The Enneagram test isn’t just another personality test; it contains keys to your inner wisdom!
Now, let’s begin this insightful adventure of how to find your enneagram, and discover the real you, why you do what you do and how this knowledge can positively transform your life!
What Is the Enneagram?
You may be wondering by now, “What are Enneagrams, exactly? The Enneagram originated in the Middle East hundreds of years ago and was brought to the West by the Crusaders. Because monks kept the process alive during the Dark Ages, many Roman Catholics are aware of the Enneagram. The Enneagram origins may trace back to ancient traditions, but it has surged in popularity more recently across schools, offices – even through memes online!
So why does the Enneagram test resonate so deeply? Because at our core, most of us share a common longing to understand WHY we do what we do. We want to make sense of our behavioral patterns in order to unlock our full potential.
Rather than us all being completely random personalities, the Enneagram test teaches that there are nine distinct personality types. What determines your type are your core motivations and even subconscious fears that are driving you. See also: How to Find Out Who You Really Are – Sedona Soul Adventures
The different Enneagram types also reveal our patterns of integrating these motivations in healthy ways or disintegrating into dysfunction when we’re unbalanced. Learning how to read your enneagram chart to discover our integration and disintegration points can teach us how and where we need to grow.
My friend, no matter your personality type, we all have a desire to understand ourselves on a deeper level and to understand others on a deeper level. Let the Enneagram test illuminate key parts of your core self!
This is why I believe self-discovery tools like the Enneagram test embody such power for personal growth. Not only do they help us act with compassion instead of judgment toward ourselves and others, they light our way along the path of becoming our highest selves. Learn more about the Enneagram System from the Enneagram Institute here: How the Enneagram System Works
Now I bet you can’t wait to find YOUR unique Enneagram personality type, am I right? Let’s explore below!
How to Find Your Enneagram Type
Discovering your Enneagram number is an introspective journey that starts with tuning into your own patterns:
You can begin by reflecting honestly on your typical behaviors, thoughts and emotions across various situations. Really try to tune your awareness into that inner voice.
Do certain motivations and fears seem to drive most of your decisions? Do you notice any self-sabotaging, self-critical or default reactions when you’re not mindful? Also see: Self-criticism is killing you! Here’s what to do – Sedona Soul Adventures
As you become more conscious of your habitual tendencies, you’ll likely recognize the dominant pattern of just ONE Enneagram type, or Enneagram Styles, as I refer to them.
If you want to know how to find your Enneagram Style, there are some excellent, reputable Enneagram tests online to provide further clarity on your Style. See also: How To Find Your Enneagram Type
Below is the site I recommend in order to take the free test to get your Enneagram number, but I don’t want your test to be influenced by any of the things I’m about to say below, regarding the different Styles.
If you get to a question where you’re not sure how to answer, just answer it as you would have at the age of 25. If you’re younger than 25, just answer it based on how you feel, and if you’re older than 25, answer it as you would have at age 25.
For your test-taking experience, I recommend making a conscious effort to sit in peaceful contemplation. Approach it gently, without attachment to any specific outcome.
You can stop here and take the Enneagram test if you’d like. It will only take about 10 minutes. I recommend going here to take the test: Eclectic Energies Enneagram Tests (free)
Once you discover your Enneagram type, know that the result you receive isn’t about making snap judgments or rigid labels about yourself! Your Enneagram number serves as helpful information to guide you along the process of peeling away layers of dysfunction in order to reveal your true essence.
Be kind to yourself and trust the process. What matters most is using the Enneagram test for positive growth!
How to Read an Enneagram Chart
Here is some helpful information on how to read an Enneagram chart. The Enneagram symbol itself holds deep significance. The circle represents unity of self, with 9 points marking types. The lines connecting points depict your type integration.
As we delve into all 9 Styles from idealistic 1’s to imaginative 9’s, here are helpful tips on how to read your Enneagram chart and interpret your Style:
- Consider whether you display healthy or unhealthy levels of type traits
- Account for “wing” influences from adjacent types
- Watch for stress/growth patterns that map integration points
We all contain each Enneagram type to some degree, but normally ONE core type will seem like the truest match. Allow me to briefly describe the 9 Enneagram types so that you really get the gist of these fascinating personality types.
Type One: The Reformer
Type One is principled, organized and diligent in the pursuit of perfection. Their motivation is idealism and improvement, while their basic fear is never being good enough.
Reformers care deeply about doing things properly and fixing imperfect systems because their core desires are principles and righteousness. They perfectly embody integrity, even when nobody’s watching!
The Type One Reformer is motivated by integrity, principles and improving the world around them. They have an idealistic nature that is rooted in ethics. Reformers have an innate drive to correct wrongs and do things the “right” way. They desire to live their values, often standing up for justice. Perfectionism comes naturally to them.
Type Two: The Helper
Type Two are the generous caretakers who aim to feel loved by giving support. They’re motivated by pride in being needed, but can fear worthlessness when their help isn’t desired.
Helpers thrive on taking care of other people’s needs with a lot of affection. They love nurturing relationships and making sure everyone feels supported.
At their core, Type Two Helpers are motivated by love, togetherness and nurturing relationships. They focus on observing and anticipating other people’s needs, in order to give caring support. Relationships are what matter most to them, so Helpers express unconditional generosity and affection in order to forge loving bonds. They intrinsically thrive by making people feel loved!
Type Three: The Achiever
Achievers are super driven to accomplish great things, and to be the best at whatever they pursue. They yearn for success because outdoing themselves and getting kudos feels amazing!
Type Three Achievers are strongly success-oriented, motivated by accomplishments that will bring external validation and status. They are extremely driven, always looking to develop competence so they can excel and stand out from the crowd. Improving performance is what fuels them. Achievers want to be the best, and yearn to gain admiration for it!
Type Four: The Individualist
Type Four describes individualists who want to fully understand their authentic selves and reveal their uniqueness to the world through their creativity. Cookie-cutter lives totally bore them.
The core motivator for Type Four Individualists is establishing emotional authenticity, self-awareness and a unique personal identity. These individualists pursue passions that give them a sense of inner meaning and purpose outside of the mainstream. Type Four individuals are driven to cultivate their originality and creative talents in order to manifest a distinctive essence that feels true to themselves.
Type Five: The Investigator
Investigators absolutely marvel over gathering knowledge and connecting complex dots about why stuff works the way it does. Their curiosity is insatiable!
Type Five Investigators intrinsically crave comprehension, knowledge and deep understanding. Their key motivator is to retain mastery over the information flow that exists in their realms of interest. They have an intense drive to accumulate expertise about how the world works, through intensive study and astute observations. If given the right focus, no intellectual pursuit lies outside of their curiosity!
Type Six: The Loyalist
Loyalists feel most secure with consistent guidance that they can fully trust, and with committed partners who are by their side ready to tackle any crisis together. They totally avoid going rogue.
Motivated by stability and shared trust, Type Six Loyalists fervently seek out reliable alliances and guidance in order to ease their anxiety about anticipated disasters or worst-case scenarios. They strive for assurance that they can dependably get support when they need it. Loyalists crave a sense of certainty about placing faith in the right authority, doctrine or belief system.
Type Seven: The Enthusiast
Enthusiasts live a “carpe diem” style life, always chasing the next exciting adventure. Their energy stays positive because fun possibilities fuel their soul.
As their name denotes, Type Seven Enthusiasts are highly spirited souls who are motivated by joy, adventure and exciting possibilities. They maintain an upbeat attitude and energetic demeanor as they sample endless fun activities. Enthusiasts thirst for rich experiences, seeking to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. They live passionately in the moment with infectious zeal and zest.
Type Eight: The Challenger
Challengers seize opportunities to overcome obstacles and to conquer goals on their own gutsy terms. Nobody else makes rules for them to play by, if they can help it!
Type Eight Challengers are motivated by gaining control, in pursuit of autonomy, leadership and top-dog status. They have a strong drive to dominate their environment so that they can wield power and make their own rules. Challengers will champion causes of justice with forceful conviction, without hesitating to confront possible threats. They desire the freedom to steer outcomes based on their self-defined goals, rather than obeying what society might be telling them to do!
Type Nine: The Peacemaker
And lastly, Peacemakers avoid ruffling feathers at all costs in order to retain harmony. Instability totally stresses them out, so they prioritize adapting well to any given circumstance.
The core motivator for Type Nine Peacemakers is to maintain stability, harmony and peace of mind. They avoid engaging in disagreements or heated conflicts of any kind, so as not to lose their inner sense of tranquility and equanimity. Willing to go with the flow, Peacemakers feel relaxed as long as situations remain smooth! They excel at supporting others, rather than taking charge themselves.
Many people who have discovered the fascinating world of the Enneagram have also asked at some point, “Can your enneagram change?” And the answer to that is no, it does not change. That special Enneagram number you uncover sticks with you no matter how much else shifts in your winding journey of life.
For information on embracing what we can’t change in life, read here: 5 Things We Cannot Change – Sedona Soul Adventures
To dive a bit deeper, our core types take root early on, probably based on how we learned coping strategies as children (although interestingly, some Enneagram teachers believe our Enneagram type may have karmic influences). Even as your perspectives and habits might transform through different life experiences or from doing inner work on yourself, your Enneagram type will forever reveal the motivations that are unique to your soul!
It’s those precious internal drivers that stay steady, making it easy to distinguish a questioning Investigator from a trailblazing Challenger. Because our Enneagram numbers reflect inborn aspects of ourselves — not passing personality trends! They reflect what drives us.
Your specific Enneagram number can be a lifelong anchor for you that can illuminate your ultimate path of growth. There can be comfort in knowing that your actions link back to these constant, compassionate parts of you.
I hope this gives you a glimpse into what distinctly drives these 9 personality types in ways we can all relate to from our shared experience of life!
Now that you know how to identify the types, let’s uncover the most rare personality type!
What Is the Rarest Enneagram Type?
Now that you’ve read about all of the types, you may be wondering, “What is the rarest Enneagram type?” This is a topic that has been up for debate, with Type Four, Type Five and Type Eight all being considered rare, but Type Five is considered the rarest Enneagram type, statistically speaking. See also: Which Enneagram Is the Rarest? Why?
While all Enneagram types offer valuable perspectives, Type Five represents just 4.8% of people, making it the rarest Enneagram type. As “The Investigator”, Type Fives are unrelenting at pursuing knowledge and self-understanding.
Here are some key Type Five Traits:
- Naturally curious and inquisitive
- Highly independent and introspective
- Tend to be reserved and enjoy solitude
- Cautious decision makers
- Adopt a minimalist lifestyle
- Their core fear is feeling incapable or incompetent. Their desire is to gain skills and comprehension to feel assured and stand apart through expertise.
This innate thirst for mastery across topics can distract Type Fives from practical duties. And the tendency to retreat inward can hamper them socially. But at their best, Type Fives have a knack for unlocking innovation through their tireless research and insights. For more information on the rarest Enneagram number, see also: What Is the Rarest Enneagram Type? Reasons, Implications – HiPeople
In this case, rarity relates to uniqueness, not value! Einstein was a Five! Regardless of prevalence, no Enneagram type is fundamentally better or worse. Each simply represents the different mapping points on the path to self-knowledge.
Embark on Your Personal Retreat
Now that you have a firm grasp on how to find your Enneagram, what your Enneagram number is, and how this fascinating system can be used to reveal your innermost motivations and behaviors, I hope you share this with someone you want to understand on a deeper level!
And if you’re yearning for even deeper truth on your journey toward joy and purpose, consider embarking on a customized, Enneagram-focused retreat here in stunning Sedona! Our team has led thousands of individuals and couples into profound breakthroughs through our unique retreat experience. Our personal retreats are lovingly designed just for you, and offer far richer guidance along your path of self discovery than any group format ever could! Let us help you navigate the ins and outs (and the joys and the challenges) of your Type.
Why Does the Custom Design of our Retreat Intensives Make Such A Difference?
Because no two people are alike. What brought you to where you are today – your joys, your sorrows, your issues, your problems – is completely different than what brought someone else. The underlying causes of those issues – the Core Wounds, the limiting beliefs, the fears, the traumas, the blocks, the patterns (what we affectionately call the “gunk”) – that are holding you back or causing all the trouble, are completely different for each person. Each of our personal retreats and couples retreats are completely custom designed for each individual or couple.
Using our Sedona Proven Process, we first find, release and heal the “gunk”; then we use processes to bring you into connection on all the levels – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. When you’re operating in connection, every part of your life operates in a new and wonderful way. You always know your purpose and you always know what to do. Life’s problems and frustrations don’t affect you in overwhelming ways.
Why Does It Make Such A Difference that our Retreat Intensives are Private?
Again, because everyone is different and their issues are different. Just as in the Enneagram, every Type is different (and has sub-types). If you’re in a group, the facilitators might address some of your issues, but they certainly can’t focus only on your issues. And if you’re on a personal retreat don’t you want that kind of personal attention?
Also, how likely are you to totally open up about absolutely everything about yourself in front of a group of strangers? Are you going to admit that your children sometimes drive you so crazy that you sometimes have wild, terrible thoughts?
If you’re part of a couple, do you want to discuss in front of other people that you’ve been having an affair?
Finding, releasing and healing the “gunk” that’s holding you back, plus bringing yourself into connection on all the levels, will transform you into a new person – giving you the peace, confidence, ease and grace to return to your life with a new passion, knowing that whatever life throws at you, you can handle it with no problem. In addition, we provide you with ongoing self-care after you return home, to make sure your transformations last a lifetime.
Rather than general group classes at a wellness resort, our Practitioners dive deep with you at our personal retreats in a one-on-one setting (or two-on-one for a Couples Retreat) to precisely pinpoint, then compassionately heal, anything blocking you from embodying your highest self.
At our personal Retreat Intensives, the objective is fostering your long-term spiritual growth, not merely alleviating superficial symptoms. Expect profound ‘aha’ moments and spontaneous emotional releases as chosen modalities gently unpack old belief systems, ancestral patterns, past life remnants, Core wounds, limiting beliefs, fears or unconscious behavior loops you never even knew were weighing you down…until suddenly you feel their density lift away for good!
Many of our clients describe euphoric sensations where long-forgotten joys, passions and soul gifts spontaneously reawaken, once that dense energy dissipates.
Our clients credit our unique process for finally helping them push through growth plateaus that they had struggled with on their own for years – even decades! Their revived creativity, playfulness, inspiration and motivation often shocks loved ones back home (in a wonderful way)!
So if you are ready to embark on your self discovery journey, yet still sense something obstructing your full potential, consider booking a personal retreat for your journey to accelerate like never before! See also: Personal Sedona Retreat
Our custom process is steeped in mindfulness, neuroscience, holistic wellness and metaphysics, in order to support you in accessing your highest, most fulfilled self. Expect incredible forward movement towards your goals on one of our retreats!
Are you ready to uncover hidden aspects of yourself, in order to fully step onto your highest path? Speak with one of our caring Soul Guides today about where you are – and where you want to be, but calling us at (928) 204-5988 or Ask us to call you.
This could be your most powerful act of self-love yet. You deserve to understand yourself on a deeper level, and it all starts here!