Step 1: Perform the test
This is the first and easiest step in identifying your Enneagram type, but it is not perfect. It is worth starting with it, remembering that even the best-constructed Enneagram test is subject to a margin of error. Why? The basis of self-diagnosis in the test is how you perceive your behaviors and traits, not what ultimately determines your Enneagram type.
The basis and source of your Enneagram type are your primary, deeply rooted motivations. These form the foundation upon which your beliefs, characteristics, and automatic behaviours are built.
The goal of performing the Enneagram test is to narrow down your result to 3-5 most likely types. It is important that the test shows results along with numerical values – this way you will see which types were most strongly indicated by the answers you provided.
In our test, we describe the highest-scoring type for you. Furthermore, you get a chart from which you can read the intensity of the other types.
Remember! When taking the next steps, think broadly – do not consider only your current life situation, but rather its entirety.
Be firm in your choices, asking yourself the question: Does it matter for my entire life, or only for the moment I am in today?
Importantly, the purpose of the Enneagram is not to flatter your ego, but to reveal those places that you may be keeping secret even from yourself. By working with the results of the Enneagram test, adopt an open attitude and have the courage to look straight into your own heart!
Step 2: Basic desires
As I mentioned above, your enneagram type is based on your original motivation, not on your traits or behaviors.
After performing the test, take Examine the top 3-5 results from the test and analyze the underlying motivations of these types. The first type of such motivations are basic desires.
You will probably find some of them close to your heart – it’s hard to imagine a person who wouldn’t want security or a sense of self-worth.
However, in each of us there is one dominant, strongest need that drives our decisions and actions. Think about what you could never give up on if you could fulfill only one need in your life.
Step 3: Basic concerns
As with basic desires, most of our actions are blocked by only one basic fear. Of course, you can be afraid of various situations – but at their root there will always be one chosen factor. Find out what is able to stop you from acting.
If you had the power to eliminate just one fear, which one would you want to get rid of the most?
Step 4: Read and research
This is the most time-consuming part of finding the answer to the question which Enneagram type dominates you.
It may happen that the test already indicates, on the first approach, the result that is right for you. Perhaps an analysis of your core desires and core fears will orient your thinking and allow you to determine your Enneagram type.
However, if you are still not sure of your result (even if you are 100% certain that you have already recognized your type), I strongly encourage you to explore and thoroughly study the various Enneagram types.
The more you learn and the better you understand how each of them works, the more subtle similarities and differences you will begin to see. You will discover how each of these types reacts to specific situations. You will notice how each of them handles stress, conflicts, or the way they perceive the world in different ways.
Deepening your understanding of the Enneagram will help you accurately determine your dominant type and will help you better understand how you function within its limitations and possibilities.
If you encounter difficulties on the path to identifying your Type or feel the need for reassurance – contact us.