Personal Identity Series Chapter 4

Hey again!The Enneagram is all the rage right now and is the last “personality test” I’ll be sharing about. In my personal identity journey, I’ve discovered my MBTI type, how I receive and show love, and now, my Enneagram number. I believe there is MUCH more to someone's personal identity than the results of these three tests, but these are a great starting point. We’ve talked about how being confident in your personal identity and knowing who you are can positively impact your mental and emotional health. So now, we will add one more piece to the “knowing who you are puzzle”, your “ME” bucket, your personal identity. The Enneagram. There are 9 main numbers representing personalities you most relate to based on your answers to the questions on the test. Each number has a “wing” or a secondary number it pairs with, to sort of compliment, or add properties to that main personality. If I researched correctly, you will slide to a different number in times of stress or agitation or in healthy/average/unhealthy states of mind. There are tons of people who get really deep into the nuances of the Enneagram, and I am not one of them- I just read my results and was pleasantly surprised at how accurate mine were. I am a 9w1, if you’re curious. Derek is an 8w7 (I think?? He could be a 8w9?). A lot of what I read in these results either complemented or said some of the same things that my INFJ-T results from the MBTI test gave me, and I found this reassuring and confirming. Not everyone’s results will match up though! One of my best friends is also an INFJ, but is a 4w5 on the Enneagram. Here is the test I took, although I’m sure there are many others out there. (This one won’t give you your wing- you can do some research to figure it out, or find a test that includes it.)  https://www.eclecticenergies.com/enneagram/test   Figuring out the numbers of work colleagues can help teams work more smoothly, projects get done more efficiently, conflicts be resolved quickly, all because you know what makes the other person tick, how they respond to situations, and what they actually mean when they say things. The same goes for family members, too! Being able to resolve conflict quickly and effectively can take huge strain off of mental and emotional health levels, leading to more positive home and work environments and a lower stress life! (Who doesn’t want that?!)  I hope this little mini-series was helpful in some way to someone out there. We are all in our own spaces in the self discovery journey, creating our personal identities, figuring out who we are, and filling those “ME” buckets. If you have other resources you’ve found in your journey, please share them below!  Until next time,Jess