Keeping in mind the General Principles, (re-stated over in the column to the right for your convenience) click on each geometric shape, and then read the short descriptions on each window without too much analysis.  These are basically like using "Flash Cards," so you want to avoid getting caught up in the paralysis of analysis.  You can open up all of the Flash Cards at the same time or one at a time, however you'd like to do it.  They do stack on top of one another, so you may need to move them around to see if there's one card hiding underneath another.

IMPORTANT:  The Flash Cards are java scripted pop-ups, so if they don't open, you need to re-set your browser to allow them.  In Microsoft Internet Explorer, go to Tools/Internet Options, select the Security Tab, and move the slider down to Medium.  If you have a Google Toolbar, you can just click on the Allow Pop-Ups button.  Firefox is the easiest: each card just opens in a new tab!

ALSO: When the Flash Cards open, this page scrolls back to this screen, so don't be concerned; just scroll back to the shapes and click on them.  The cards will all open although they may be hiding underneath this page.

You're going to be paring down to the three that are closest to describing your worldview or just which three feel closest to you.  You'll do this using a process of elimination, so as you read the descriptions you're looking for the "no way!  this is definitely not me!" descriptions as much as the "this rings pretty true" descriptions.  The "well kinda" pile will help as well, by creating a pattern of "leanings."  This pattern is often quite helpful when it comes time to figure out the five stars in your constellation, or voices in your choir if you prefer.  As you rule out the ones that don't fit, just close their windows.

Hopefully you're down to three shapes, but even if you weren't able to whittle down that far, it's okay.  The process will still work.  Let's move on to the next stage of the assessment; Stage Two.  You'll see another grid of the same shapes down below (no you don't have to scroll down yet).  You're going to click on the same shapes that you already chose as Flash Cards.  That will take you to a more complete description.  And this is where the rubber meets the road.

This is where you need to apply what I call the "Three Criteria Rule" for a really accurate assessment.  After years of doing assessments, one of the most confusing things for people is how so many types can look-alike at first blush.  They may look alike in their normal state, but your perspective shifts drastically, when moving from an average state to a stressful state, or to a secure/confident state.  Two types that look very much alike when in a normal state can diverge drastically when stressed or secure, so that's what can help us differentiate, and make a more accurate choice.

If the description is accurate for your average state, but totally wrong for your stressful state, that disqualifies the shape.  The same rule goes for how you feel when you're totally confident and secure.  All three have to fit for the Type to be accurate.

This process effectively "triangulates" your position, just like when you give someone an address, and give them the two streets the address is between.  Even if that address could be found elsewhere, only the one between those streets is the correct one.

You may discover that you prematurely disqualified one of the original "Flash Cards," so don't worry, you can always go back and forward during this assessment process, and take as much time as you need.

Okay, ready for Stage Two?  Here, hopefully your process of elimination has you down to the closest three geometric shapes.  Select them again one at a time from the table below.  This will take you to the Stage Two page, where there will be more detailed descriptions, including those descriptions of stressed out and security/confidence states.  At the end of each description you'll have the choice of agreeing with that description, or coming back to this page to try another shape.  You can't break anything or do anything wrong, so have fun.  If you get confused, you can always contact me with questions, or for more explanation.

Table of Geometric Shapes

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FAQ Page

General Principles 

Sure you can relate to all of them.

We can reflect all Nine Types, but five of them are what I would call "indigenous" and the other four reflect learned survival strategies.  One Type is your primary core lens, even if we can see ourselves thru several if not all of them.

If you threw a rubber ball into a box, it would likely bounce off of every wall, but it would hit one wall first.  That would be your Primary Type.  From there, we are an amalgam of those five indigenous types: your Primary (how you usually take in the world around you), your two adjacent Wings, (which have differing levels of influence) your lens in Stress (you know how you see the world differently when you are totally stressed out?) and your lens in Security (once again the world looks very different when you feel confident and secure).  Obviously, your own blend is what makes you unique, and yet allows for deeply shared experience.

Age and Experience – Think of yourself as you were at age 25 or younger.

As we progress through our lives, we take on and learn coping strategies from those around us.  We are sort of like a giant snowball rolling downhill picking up more and more snow, and yet that core in the very center (which is still you) hasn’t changed.  It can be hard to sort out what your own original strategies are unless you place yourself at the age before this process got under way.  If you are 25 or younger this is a breeze, but for many of us it’s kind of a stretch.  This is the age that most people really take their original coping strategies “on the road,” and the “cross-contamination” that can confuse the assessment usually begins.

Motivation not Behavior – Don’t focus on what you do.  Focus on why you do it.

The real magic of the Enneagram is how it addresses who you are on a much deeper level than defining yourself by what you do.  You and I could do the exact same thing for completely different reasons, thus the behavior itself doesn’t tell us nearly as much.

 

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