If you’re new to the study of the Enneagram, you are most likely curious of your particular type. Some people are able to recognize their type almost immediately just by reading the descriptions of each and knowing which one apply to them the most. For others though, it takes more than just a short read through the enneatype descriptions to figure it out. If you are among the people who need more time and effort to figure out your Enneagram type, you are actually given the chance to study yourself more deeply compared to those who can determine their enneatype immediately.

So how exactly can you determine your Enneagram type?

The most important aspect of the Enneagram is self-observation. It is the center and focus of the existence of the Enneagram and what makes it useful for people who want to get to know themselves better.

You can, of course, get yourself started by taking tests to determine your Enneagram type, but it all comes back to self-observation. The ability to observe your thoughts, emotions and how you behave in daily life situations is the key to getting results that can actually guide you to the finer points of your Enneagram type.

And it does not stop there.

Even if you can correctly and objectively observe yourself, you still need to be able to report those traits truthfully. In other words, you need to be honest with yourself.

Chances are you’re going to find out some things that you are not particularly comfortable with or even aware of in the first place, but that’s what it means to observe yourself objectively. After all, figuring out your Enneagram type is essentially your effort to know your true personality better. If you cannot be honest with yourself to begin with, it kind of contradicts that effort, don’t you think?

Self-observation can be done by doing these simple steps:

First of all, find a day to observe where the majority of your focus goes to and this includes your emotions, thoughts, what you’re interested in and what you talk to others about. You have to be aware of what stimulates you to give a reaction, things that feel important to you, what you like and do not like. Look out for tasks or occasions that you feel comfortable with and what you’re not comfortable with. It’s a good idea to take notes about these observations, preferably as soon as you can.

Then, take some time to reflect on what you have observed. Remember, you might find what you’ve recently discovered to be different from what you originally thought about yourself. It could be that you are actually afraid of certain situations that you have never thought of or finding a new point of strength in your personality. Regardless of what you found, use these discoveries to move on to the next step.

Using the points you’ve gathered from your self-observation, you can now narrow down your search to two or maybe three types of the Enneagram.

At this point, some people will have a bit of difficulty to pinpoint their exact type as some traits from one type can be confused or overlapped with another. From here, you can study the Enneagram as a whole and your particular type more from various resources available.

There are many books, websites and experts that you can refer to, but don’t stop at just one. Studying the Enneagram from different points of view can give you a lot of new ideas and notions about your type for you to explore on your own.

Always be ready to evolve and challenge your ideas about your Enneagram type.

As you learn more about your own and others’ along the way, you might find that your knowledge and understanding are inadequate and have to be improved. At the same time, you could discover more of the hidden parts of your personality that you do not like or want to know, but don’t make the mistake of simply brushing them off and only focusing on the good parts.

Knowing your strengths and weaknesses is vital in determining your personality as a whole, but rather than dwelling on those strengths and weaknesses without taking action, use them as your guidance in finding what motivates you in life and how you can grow as a person.

If you’re still unsure or having trouble determining your type, take our simplified Enneagram type test for free!