The Enneagram is not a personality test

Don't stop at finding your number

“When it comes to recognizing the truth of our own identities, most of us experience a symbolic version of blindness that keeps us from seeing ourselves for who we really are.” – Christopher L. Huertz, The Sacred Enneagram

Most Enneagram content I see online are surface-level depictions of the nine personality types. It makes sense that the most basic assessment of a vast personality system in our algorithm-led social media ecosystem is what rises to the top of our feeds. Taking a quiz and finding their number is the beginning and the end of most people’s Enneagram journey. To define yourself, no matter how limited the terms are, is to temporarily make sense of who you are without asking yourself ‘why?’

We are so eager to claim an identity, to fit ourselves within parameters that make sense. But the truth is that our personalities are constructed to defend ourselves from everything we cannot control. The true essence of who we are is buried under layers of defense mechanisms, patterns, habitual traits, and labels that are not complex enough to truly define us.

In his book, The Sacred Enneagram, Christopher L. Huertz defines The Enneagram as “the nine ways we get lost, but also the nine ways we can come home to our True Self.” He suggests that The Enneagram “explains the ‘why’ behind how we think, act, and feel,” thus helping us break down the personality traits we hide behind as a form of self-defense.

Don’t stop at finding your number. Keep going and free yourself from the illusion that you can be defined.

Thanks for reading! I will be sharing more about The Enneagram in the coming weeks. Make sure you’re subscribed to stay tuned.