Have you ever felt like you’re always chasing something endlessly? We often stumble through life without knowing what we want or value. This puts us on a path of constant searching without knowing what we’re looking for. Sometimes, it even feels like a piece of us is missing, and we dedicate our lives to search for it.
If you’re reading this now, you want to know yourself better. No matter how much you read or journal, there are always blind spots that we miss. Even the most self-aware person won’t have 100% awareness of his or her personality. That’s why personality assessments such as Enneagram exists. These tools help push us into a journey of self-discovery through an objective third-party perspective.
About Enneagram and How It Can Help
Enneagram is an ancient nine-point system that puts people in nine distinct personality types. Each type describes a distinct personality type that reveals truths about ourselves, how we handle interpersonal relationships, as well as the growth and regression you experience during stress.
With Enneagram, we can start looking within ourselves and learn what we value the most. Knowing what we value the most is one of the most powerful things we can do for ourselves. When we know exactly what we desire, we don’t have to feel like a part of us is missing. We don’t have to keep chasing for something we think we want. We can finally start healing.
In this article, we’re going to discuss what you value the most according to your Enneagram. If you don’t know what your type is, take our free assessment. It’ll take you 5 minutes tops, and you’ll be able to gain a whole new understanding about yourself.
Type 1 (Perfectionist): Integrity
You’re a rational and idealistic person. You have principles and values that you live by regardless of circumstances. Some people would call you overly structured and rigid. In reality, you just wanted everything to be as you’ve imagined.
It may seem like you’re chasing perfection, but you’re looking for integrity. You respect people who have a set of values that they practice throughout their lives. Even though your beliefs don’t align with theirs, you still find solace in knowing that you’re not the only one upholding ideals. You want to believe that people have enough integrity to put their best foot forward in their lives. And you know that without hard work and integrity, your ideals will never come true
Type 2 (Caregiver): Love
You’re a generous over giver. No matter who it is, you’re always the first person to volunteer help. Sometimes, you’d bend over backward to help a mere acquaintance. People love you for your ability to give without reservations. You find joy in helping other people, so it works out for you.
You crave love and connection, but you don’t know how to keep or gain it. So you do the thing you do best: help others. Deep down, you feel like giving is the only way to gain love. You’re afraid of losing the love you’ve gained, so you keep giving. You’re scared that if you say no, you’ll lose everything. Because of this fear, you might go overboard and become possessive. You have to remember that people love you even though they have a life beyond you. It’s unhealthy to feel entitled to a person’s love, even if you can cure cancer for them.
Type 3 (Medalist): Success
You’re the epitome of success. Everyone looks up to you because it seemed like you’ve achieved so much. You’re a great mentor as well since you’re not selfish with your knowledge. Whenever someone asks about the secret to your success, you’re always happy to help.
Because you’re everyone’s role model, you feel obliged to fulfill their expectations. Your core values are made up of what other people expect of you. You’re not a shallow person by any chance. But you’re so afraid of losing praise and feeling worthless, you adopt other people’s goals as your own and fulfill them. You’re competent, confident and a workaholic to boot, which is why you often find success in everything you do. You have to be careful to not be consumed by praise and accolades. Otherwise, you might find yourself chasing endlessly for unattainable goals and trapped in the cycle of external validation.
Type 4 (Artist): Honesty and connection
Some might say that you’re over-reacting, but you know for a fact that you’re the outsider when you enter a room. You’re creative and unique, which is why you’ve always felt alone.
You’re always in a state of conflict with yourself. You want to be a special individual, but you acknowledge that this individuality is hindering you from making connections with other people. That’s why you value honesty and connection. Beneath the rebellious facade, you respect people who don’t conform with the norm while being in tune with other people. It’s hard for you to admit, but this is the person you want to be.
Type 5 (Detective): Competence
Even though you’re the super researcher with amazing analytical skills, you don’t believe that you’re ready for real life. When you’re confronted by discrepancies, you often choose to retreat into your mind and regroup before reacting.
You value competence because you feel like it’s the one thing you lack despite all the knowledge you have. Competence is a broad word for you. You want to be competent in all aspects of life, especially socially. Since you spend a lot of time alone when you study, your social skills are subpar. This is why you highly value competence – you don’t want to feel like you’re not enough to even after reading all the books.
Type 6 (Strategist): Acceptance
You’re probably the mother hen of your group. Trust and security are your trade – you’re an expert at connecting anyone and everyone. You’re confident and sociable. People truly like you and you’d never have any problems finding friends.
One of the reasons why everyone loves you is your resourcefulness. No matter what, it always seems like you’ve anticipated and solved the worst scenarios before they happen. That’s because you do. Your superpower is your ability to predict and anticipate because of your chronic skepticism. This is where it works against you, even when you’re trying your hardest to search for someone or something to trust irrevocably. That’s why you crave acceptance. You just want to believe that someone can accept you fully for who you are into their group.
Type 7 (Explorer): Happiness
You’re a true free spirit. You roam the earth to search for adventure. There’s no place unexplorable, or no person you can’t befriend. For you, every stranger is but a friend you haven’t met, and every corner an opportunity for excitement. You scoff at societal expectations and see them as restraints.
Because you get bored so easily, you need a lot of stimulation to feel alive. But all you want from these adventures is to be happy. Happiness for you equals activity and excitement, so you relentlessly search for the next big thing. When the going gets tough, you tend to abandon them. That’s why you tend to start a lot of new plans but never see them through. If you’re not careful, you can find yourself being trapped in the fiery pit of self-indulgence with nothing to show for.
Type 8 (Fighter): Control
You’re a tough cookie who is intimidating to people who don’t know you. Your confidence and ability to speak your mind freely make you a champion of rights. You don’t want anyone to feel controlled, so you work hard to make sure that everyone is free.
Deep down, you’re tough because you’re afraid to be hurt. You want control because you want to be free of control. Just like the people you advocate for, you want to be the master of your destiny. You want the ability to choose and build a life for yourself without the input of others. Pushing beyond the boundaries of comfort is how someone becomes stronger. You might appear combative sometimes, but that’s because you value control. Who’s going to fight for your rights if not yourself?
Type 9 (Diplomat): Assertiveness
Your easy-going demeanor might come across as passivity. Some people might even think that you’re a push-over. But in actual reality, you just value peace and harmony over trivial matters that other people care about.
Because of your laid-back attitude, you respect people who take charge and assert themselves. Being the spiritual center of Enneagram, you believe that focusing on the positive aspects of life is healthier than the negative. This sometimes leads you to ignore the negative instead of initiating positive change. This is why you respect assertiveness – assertiveness is needed to maintain harmony. That being said, you find it hard to assert yourself no matter how much you try.
Did we hit the spot with the qualities you value the most? Tell us in the comments below!
Need more Enneagram in your life? Check out this article about coaching your inner critics for a more successful life.