A Brief Explanation of the Enneagram

Essence: strength, aliveness and immediacy

Came to believe: the world is hard and unjust where the powerful take advantage of others. 

Strategy: hiding their vulnerability and imposing their truth on others

Focus of attention: power and control 

Strengths: confident, persistent, fair, decisive, protective, friendly and able to energize others 

Challenges: being excessive, controlling, intimidating, impatient and overly confrontational 

Avoids: being weak, uncertain or dependent

Defense: using denial as a way of avoiding vulnerability and to maintain a self image of being strong

Path back to balance: extending mercy to others and themselves

Essence: unity, wholeness and being

Came to believe: the world makes people unimportant and it is easier to blend in than to stand out

Strategy: going along to get along

Focus of attention: other people’s agendas

Strengths: attentive to others, empathic, supportive, grounded, steadfast, receptive and adaptable

Challenges: prioritizing goals, decision making, inertia, stubbornness and asserting their own agenda

Avoids: conflict

Defense: using narcotization or "checking out" as a way of withdrawing from their own lives

Path back to balance: taking action on their own behalf

Essence: integrity, alignment and goodness

Came to believe: people are not accepted for who they and bad behavior and impulses are punished 

Strategy: of being good, responsible, and following rules

Focus of attention: making mistakes, what is correct and incorrect

Strengths: idealistic, integrity, concern for improvement, self-reliant, self-restraint, discernment and high standards

Challenges: being critical, judgmental, overly detailed, resentful and close-minded

Avoids: making mistakes and losing self-control

Defense: using reaction formation as a way of controlling negative reactions in order to maintain an image of being right

Path back to balance: acceptance and going with the flow

Essence: love, tender-heartedness and generosity

Came to believe: in order to receive you must give, in order to be loved you must be needed

Strategy: of giving in order to make people dependent on them as a way of getting their own needs met

Focus of attention: other people’s needs

Strengths: being generous, supportive, sensitive to the feelings of others, appreciative, expressive, romantic and exuberant

Challenges: being intrusive, manipulative, over-extended, controlling and overly helpful

Avoids: feeling useless and disappointing others

Defense: using repression to deny their own needs and to maintain an image of being helpful

Path back to balance: taking care of own needs first

Essence: value, glory and radiance

Came to believe: the world runs on individual effort and rewards people for what they do, not for being who they are 

Strategy: of working hard and achieving success

Focus of attention: things to do

Strengths: being personable, enthusiastic, self-assured, practical, competent and efficient

Challenges: being impatient with feelings, overdoing, competitiveness, cutting corners and being too driven

Avoids: the appearance of failure and slowing their pace

Defense: using identification to step into a role then losing contact with themselves

Path back to balance: slowing down to recognize feelings and needs

Essence: depth, mystery and true identity

Came to believe: people experience a painful loss of their original connection, leaving them feeling abandoned

Strategy: of longing for the ideal partner or circumstance 

Focus of attention: what is missing

Strengths: sensitive, creative orientation, being attuned to feelings, capacity to empathize with suffering, passionate, emotional depth and authenticity

Challenges: being overly dramatic, moody, self-absorbed, unsatisfied with responses and emotionally intense

Avoids: feeling rejected

Defense: using introjection or negative and/or positive self-talk to maintain a self image of being unique

Path back to balance: emotional balance by valuing the ordinary

Essence: clarity, illumination and compassion

Came to believe: the world demands too much from people or gives them too little leaving them depleted 

Strategy: of limiting their desires and being self-sufficient 

Focus of attention: intrusions of others

Strengths: being knowledgeable, thoughtful, calm in a crisis, objective, respectful, good listeners and resourceful

Challenges: being overly private, detached, withdrawn, excessively analytical and distant

Avoids: strong feelings and the demands of others

Defense: using isolation by either physically withdrawing or retreating into their heads

Path back to balance: sharing themselves and insights with others

Essence: awareness, faith and devotion

Came to believe: the world is unpredictable, hazardous and people cannot trust one another

Strategy: of questioning, doubting and testing  

Focus of attention: what might go wrong

Strengths: trustworthy, loyal, thoughtful, warm, perseverance, curious, intuitive, witty and problem-solving

Challenges: the need to test and doubt others, chronic worrying, overreacting and pessimism

Avoids: feeling helpless in the face of danger

Defense: using projection to amplify their premise of a hazardous world

Path back to balance: trusting their own intuition and guidance

Essence: joy, freedom and expansion

Came to believe: the world limits people, frustrates them and causes them pain

Strategy: of engaging in pleasurable activities and imagining future possibilities in order to avoid pain and limitations 

Focus of attention: on positive options

Strengths: playful, inventive, being enjoyable and upbeat, optimistic, love of life, visionary and enthusiastic

Challenges: being overly quick to shift topics, being self-oriented and indifferent to others’ input, changeable and prone to making excuses

Avoids: frustrations, constraints, boredom, painful feelings

Defense: using rationalization to re-frame experiences into the positive

Path back to balance: moderation of feelings, experiences and future plans