There’s lots of buzz about the enneagram these days. My social media feed are full of memes and witty examples of how different enneagram numbers approach certain things from being on an airplane to dealing with the COVID-19 virus. On top of that of the many podcasts I listen to, many of them have had Ian Morgan Crom on speaking about the enneagram.
I decided to pick up The Road Back To You and see what the fuss was about. I have been a part of organizations that used Myers Briggs, DISC, True Colors, PEP, Strengthfinders and several other personality type tests. It seemed to me that enneagram was just another personality test but one I wasn’t familiar with. While it is another personality test I seemed to connect with it on a different wavelength.
Ian and Suzzanne lay it out for you in easy to understand language with plenty of examples. The more I read the more I connected. I had already taken some online free tests so I knew that I was probably an enneagram 8, also known as the challenger or the controller. However I know that you get what you pay for so that buyer must beware. After reading the chapter on 8’s and the rest of the book I had no doubt.
There’s a section in each chapter describing that type as children. The section on 8’s made me cry. I was wondering how it was possible to have nailed it so closely. Each chapter also describe the healthy, average and unhealthy versions of each type and their tendencies. It nailed me to a tee. In fact as I’ve discussed it with others reading the book they seem to have the same experience.
There’s not a test included with the book so you have to kind of read and self assess. For me that wasn’t that hard. I have since taken a paid profession test and I am no doubt an 8. Each of the 9 types falls into one of three triads each with three expressions of that type of feeling. I won’t ruin it for you but I highly suggest you pick up this book and read it. I will be rereading it many times for sure.
I know the arguments against these types of personality tests usually go something like “don’t put me in a box”. I love the statement about that in the book:
The enneagram doesn’t put you in a box. It shows you the box you’re already in and how to get out of it.
The enneagram goes beyond psychological wiring and into the spiritual. It unpacks some motivations for why we are the way we are and how to give that to God. I know some reviews I’ve read lamented the lack of scripture but I can’t help but see the hand of God all over the enneagram. I see it as a tool of helping people become spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. healthy. So much so that I am pursuing certification in the IEQ9 enneagram test this May. I see application in parenting, marriage, church and workplace relationships.
Pick up a copy today if you haven’t already. If you have, let me know what you think below in the comments.