You and Your Type: The Gifts and Challenges

The prolific and oh-so-wise Fr. Richard Rohr likes to say, if you’re on the fence about your Enneagram type, it’s likely the one that humiliates you the most.  This checks out for me big time.  The first time I read the description of type four, the Romantic, I felt equal parts seen and squirm.  To this day, when I teach the basic nine types to folks, type four still feels a little cringy.  

I believe this is due to the fact that as humans, we are well aware of our weaknesses.  Most of us tend to focus more on those than the glowing parts of us.  

Have you ever had a work review or played a show or given a presentation where 95% of the feedback was positive and 5% negative only to spend the remainder of the day fixated on the 5%?  I can’t even count the times in my experience.  

There is actually science behind this phenomenon which we won’t get into here, but suffice it to say, the Enneagram gives us a clear bird’s eye view into both the gifts and challenges in our type.  

In my new Enneagram & Lunch Mastermind series, we will spend some time understanding what motivates us in our unique type in order to have greater self-awareness and compassion.  I’d love for you to join us! 

Today, I want to unpack the high-level gifts and challenges for every type.  

Type 1: The Improver

Gift—True to their values and convictions and motivated to make the world and themselves a better place.

Challenge—In the process, they fall prey to perfectionism and chronic self-criticism, resulting in others-criticism and resentment.  

Type 2: The Helper

Gift—Generous, warm and compassionate.  Twos focus on other people and prioritize deep bonds in their relationships.

Challenge—In the process, they repress their own needs and desires, placing them on the back-burner and let their own physical and emotional well-being fall by the wayside.  

Type 3: The Achiever

Gift—Due to their steely determination and drive, they achieve great things in the world and inspire the rest of us to do the same.  

Challenge—Work and the appearance of success take center leaving relationships with others and themselves to falter, often resulting in disconnection dishonesty with their true selves.

Type 4: The Romantic

Gift—Creative, idealistic, and emotionally honest, fours draw out the meaning and beauty in life and invite us into deeper authenticity.   

Challenge—In the process, they get stuck in comparison with others and focused on what is missing in life resulting in self-absorption and a feeling of being misunderstood.  

Type 5: The Observer

Gift—Inventive, knowledge-seeking, and inquisitive, fives are motivated to find interesting solutions to problems and have a huge capacity for learning and mastery of all sorts of subjects.  

Challenge—Due to their need for privacy and solitude, they often struggle in interpersonal relationships prioritizing a sense of self-sufficiency and the preservation of emotional and material resources.  

Type 6: The Loyalist

Gift—Sixes live with a sense of responsibility and foresight, highly attuned to the safety and security, and maintenance of the common good.  They are incredibly loyal to their friends and beliefs.  

Challenge—In an effort to avoid potential problems, they become seekers of problems often going to worst-case scenario thinking and high anxiety.

Type 7: The Enthusiast

Gift—Sevens are upbeat and positive, always looking for the good in every situation and inviting us into greater joy and adventure. 

Challenge—In the process, they avoid the painful realities of life, always looking for the next fix or adventure.  In turn, this can result in a fear of commitment and an inability to follow through.  

Type 8: The Challenger

Gift—Eights are bold and impactful, effecting change in the world due to their passion to protect others, often the marginalized, and seek justice.  

Challenge—In the process, eights can become overly impactful, controlling and impulsive, often aggressive, asleep to the softer vulnerable parts of who they are.  

Type 9: The Peacemaker

Gift—Nines bring a sense of openness and harmony to the world.  They are  incredibly grounded and invite us into more presence and spirituality.  

Challenge: As they focus heavily on the agendas of others and maintaining the peace, they fall asleep to their own needs and desires, often feeling that their presence and voice don’t matter in the world.  

How do you experience your gifts and challenges of your type?  I’d love to explore this more with you in my upcoming group!