Seven (Enneagram)
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This is an article describing personality type number Seven according to the Enneagram.
According to Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson, the Enthusiast is synonymous with the Enneagram's type Seven.
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[edit] Basic Description
Enthusiasts are people who interact with the world through direct experience in order to feel fulfilled. Enthusiasts have problems dealing with anxiety and insecurity, particularly concerning inner conflicts (which explains the need to resort to the external environment for happiness and satisfaction). When Seven's learn that being "alive" not only involves shallow experiences but also in-depth understanding of why experiencing life is good, then they will learn to love life for what it is, even in the mundane.
[edit] Childhood
Enthusiasts often feel that they could not depend on the nurturing figure to provide happiness or security. Thus they feel that they must compensate for the ineffectiveness of the nurturing figure by satisfying themselves. Whoever the nurturing figure was (mother, grand-mother, in some cases the father, etc.), they may not have necessarily been themselves ineffective, but instead incapable of proper nurturing due to another factor (poverty or war for example).
[edit] Wings
[edit] Seven With a Six-Wing: The Entertainer
[edit] Healthy
When 7w6s are healthy, they are highly productive and charismatic. They are optimists, cheerleaders, and often the life (and hosts) of the party. Their ecstatic nature is infectious. Quick-witted and insightful to the inner wonders of fun.
[edit] Average
When 7w6s are average, they tend to be impatient with others for not meeting their expectations or keeping up with them. Their enthusiasm is less controlled and more tiresome than a healthy 7w6 and they become self-centered, expecting others to be happy with them and making them happy when they are down. Subject to substance abuse.
[edit] Unhealthy
Unhealthy 7w6s are riddled with characteristic Unhealthy Seven insecurity coupled with Unhealthy Six clinginess. It is up to others to get Sevens out of their misery, a position they adamantly and obnoxiously assume. If expectations are not met, 7w6s become hysterical and helpless.
[edit] Examples of 7w6s
Examples of 7w6s are Robin Williams, Steven Spielberg, Arthur Rubenstein, Mozart, Leonard Bernstein, Elizabeth Taylor, Timothy Leary, Bette Midler, Liza Minelli, Elton John, Carol Burnett, Jim Carrey, Bob Hope, Mel Brooks, Mickey Rooney, Regis Philbin, Liberace, Zsa Zsa Gabor, John Belushi, and "Miss Piggy".
[edit] Seven With an Eight-Wing: The Realist
[edit] Healthy
When 7w8s are healthy, they enjoy the good things in life but more importantly, understand how to acquire and maintain such wonders. They are highly successful in their endeavors, proactive, and possess great leadership potential.
[edit] Average
When 7w8s are average, they tend to be selfishly assertive, pursuing their interests and wants for their own interest. Regarding experiences and their materialist interests, it is the intensity and value of such things that attracts them. They have stronger willpower than 7w6s and thus are less susceptible to substance abuse.
[edit] Unhealthy
Unhealthy 7w8s seek extremes in terms of extravagance and experience, truly and dangerously "living on the edge". They become reckless and destructive, doing what it takes to get what they want.
[edit] Examples of 7w8s
Examples of 7w8s are John F. Kennedy, Cary Grant, Joan Rivers, Cole Porter, Larry King, Geraldo Rivera, Howard Stern, and "Martha"in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.
[edit] 'Fuels' that drive the type focus of attention
Passion/Fixation: Gluttony
Basic Fear: 'Of being deprived and in pain'
Basic Desire: 'To be satisfied and content — to have their needs fulfilled'
[edit] References
Don Richard Riso, Personality Types: Using the Enneagram for Self-Discovery. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1987. ISBN 0-395-40575-0.
Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson, The Wisdom of the Enneagram: The Complete Guide to Psychological and Spiritual Growth for the Types. New York: Bantam Books, 1999. ISBN 0-553-37820-1.
| One: The Reformer | Two: The Helper | Three: The Achiever | Four: The Romantic | Five: The Observer |
| Six: The Loyalist | Seven: The Enthusiast | Eight: The Leader | Nine: The Mediator |
