The Best Personality Test: Why I'm Obsessed with Enneagram Types
You might have been been hearing a lot of people mentioning the word Enneagram lately… I know I spotted it dropped casually into a blog post, then a podcast and after that just had to go and google what it all meant. I obviously proceeded to fall down a complete rabbit hole with it, taking a test and obsessively consuming the results. The interesting thing here, is usually I find things like personality tests all a bit wishy-washy, like it doesn’t really speak to who I am. But the Enneagram test I did was like no other and I came out the other side fully embracing my new understanding of myself as a type 4 (The Individualist).
The basic description for a Type 4 is that they are sensitive, withdrawn, expressive, dramatic, self-absorbed and temperamental - flattering eh? However, there are so many things in the longer description that really spoke to me, particularly parts about not being sure who I really am. Also, should probably add that there is also some good stuff in my description as well I promise, I just don’t want to dwell too much on baring my soul on here! It was just amazing to do a test and read a description so close to how I feel as a person. Everything was super spot on., even things I’d never realised before that now seem so clear. I even made Adam do his to cheeck and my-oh-my, his was bang on the money. He’s made me promise not to post what type he is but honestly, when he was reading it out to me and I could not stop yelling “it’s you! It’s totally you!”
Don’t get me wrong I scored highly on some of the other types too, (the test I took showed you your score for each of your highest scoring) but while I agree with everything about being a type 4, the others each had sections that didn’t quite match up, despite some compelling arguments about my indecisiveness…!
The quiz I took was a free one from eclecticenegeries.com (ignore their website design please) and found that having the simple choices of Yes, Partly and No were better than ones with more options as it makes you really think and pick whichever is most appropriate. Once I had my result, I read up on my type both on there and also The Enneagram Institue to get a well rounded picture and both sites highlight slightly different things.
Here’s a list of all the types for reference:
1. The Reformer
The Rational, Idealistic Type: Principled, Purposeful, Self-Controlled, and Perfectionistic
2. The Helper
The Caring, Interpersonal Type: Demonstrative, Generous, People-Pleasing, and Possessive
3. The Achiever
The Success-Oriented, Pragmatic Type: Adaptive, Excelling, Driven, and Image-Conscious
4. The Individualist
The Sensitive, Withdrawn Type: Expressive, Dramatic, Self-Absorbed, and Temperamental
5. The Investigator
The Intense, Cerebral Type: Perceptive, Innovative, Secretive, and Isolated
6. The Loyalist
The Committed, Security-Oriented Type: Engaging, Responsible, Anxious, and Suspicious
7. The Enthusiast
The Busy, Fun-Loving Type: Spontaneous, Versatile, Distractible, and Scattered
8. The Challenger
The Powerful, Dominating Type: Self-Confident, Decisive, Willful, and Confrontational
9. The Peacemaker
The Easygoing, Self-Effacing Type: Receptive, Reassuring, Agreeable, and Complacent
If you do a test, I would love to know which type you are! I’m using mine to make sure I’m functioning in the healthiest way possible. As I’ve said, the results surprised me with how accurate they were so I’d definitely give it a go as it only take about 5 minutes!
Eliza x
