while it's fun to take those quizzes to figure out which of our favorite film and tv characters we are i genuinely believe that there's something special about wanting to understand ourselves through someone else someone we can point to and say that's me of course picking mayonnaise over soy sauce on a buzzfeed quizzes no way to solo search which is why i'm happy to say that there are other personality typing systems out there that had a lot more thought put into the making of them like the popular mbti 16 personalities but the personality system that has
in my case not only been the most accurate but the most helpful in understanding myself and those closest to me on a surprisingly profound level is the enneagram now according to enneagram theory our personalities began as coping strategies we developed as children to feel safe and secure in the face of trauma and stress so one way to think of it would be to see our personalities as armor we grew to protect ourselves from threats we perceived in our childhood environments only we still wear that armor today which can dictate how we react to stress and
conflict and even how we interact with each other while this may have helped us get through our childhoods it could be the source of even more pain and conflict as we continue to suppress our true selves as adults it's pretty depressing this is what makes the enneagram different from other personality typing systems it doesn't focus on whether or not a type is extroverted intellectual or creative though it does claim that certain personalities are more prone to those behaviors than others the enneagram is more concerned with what drives those behaviors than with the behaviors themselves needless
to say the enneagram's a lot more complex than if you like mayonnaise and a clean desk than a toby flenderson but this got me thinking what are the enneagram types of characters in film would knowing their types help me understand the characters more and see them in a new light do their motivations strengths fears and weaknesses match up with those of the nine types well after investing all my time last year researching the enneagram and watching an overwhelming amount of character-driven movies in preparation of doing a 10-part video series where i explore how characters in
film portray each of the 9 types in depth the answer is yes definitely yes but before i can show you everything that i found in this huge project and how the enneagram works i first need to make some things clear first the enneagram is not scientifically driven nor based in clinical psychology but then again neither is mbti's 16 personalities however it has proven itself to be very accurate and useful in therapy and personal development for many people including myself think of it more as a neat tool for personal growth rather than the end-all-be-all scientific model
of human psychology and all of its mysteries because it's not that nor was it even made with that intention it's just a very helpful visualization for how personalities work that has made an undeniable positive impact on many people's lives and as it has been the case for many others it's helped me come to some profound realizations about myself as well as help me heal some childhood wounds i never came to terms with the second and final clarification i want to make is that just because i use a villain as an example of what a type
looks like when unhealthy doesn't mean that you or anyone else who is also that type is as morally depraved and evil like that character i'm simply saying that that character matches the description for that type when extremely psychologically unhealthy i'm not trying to label or limit anyone to being a villain from a summer blockbuster because that would be stupid i'm just exploring the enneagram through fictional characters to see how they exhibit the traits fears and motivations of their types alrighty now with that out of the way i'm going to go into how the enneagram works
and what better way to do that than through iconic characters yay so what does this symbol mean well you'll notice that there are nine corners or points each representing a different personality type starting with type ones we have the reformers type ones greatly value integrity and have a strong passion for the fulfillment of their ideals and the pursuit of high standards i could do this all day ones can feel like there is something inherently wrong with either themselves or with the world around them so they strive to satisfy their internal critic by restraining their instincts
being good and doing things correctly however this can be done in perfectionistic ways making them seem critical and judgmental to others it's leviosa not livio type twos the helpers tend to be incredibly caring generous and hard-working in the service of others with a focus on relationships and gaining approval 100 tickets i'm not going to write 100 tickets i'm going to write 200 tickets however they can use their helpfulness as a strategy to get their needs met as they continue to repress feelings that they're in conflict with this can lead to them becoming so self-sacrificial that
they forget to take care of themselves i do this time after time after time i do all this [ __ ] for other people and then i wake up and and i'm empty i have nothing type threes the achievers fear being worthless so they pursue achievement and recognition with a strong competitive drive to feel valuable cementing themselves as hard workers and social chameleons a man can change his stars and i won't spend the rest of my life as nothing however over identifying themselves with what they do and creating an image of success in the eyes
of others causes threes to lose touch with their feelings who they really are and what actually matters to them leaving them feeling empty i think i have this thing where i need everybody to think i'm the greatest and if they aren't completely knocked out and dazzled and kind of intimidated by me then i don't feel good about myself type 4s the individualists are said to be the most introspective and emotionally intuitive of the nine types and often focus their attention on their own feelings the feelings of others and authentic self-expression however they also feel as
though there's something missing in their lives something that they see as somehow unavailable but ideal which can lead to them over identifying with their negative feelings and dwell in melancholy the investigators are analytical curious and spend a lot of time collecting knowledge and information as a way to conquer their fear and feel safe in a world full of unknowns all while maintaining an emotional distance from others the book of the invisible son codex imperium kiev solomon you finished all of this yep fives greatly value autonomy and self-sufficiency and fear being incompetent and having emotional demands
placed on them causing them to detach from their feelings and over identify what they're thinking i need to do something to take my mind off her easy enough except i need an idea type sixes the loyalists are said to be the most fearful type on the enneagram resulting in three different ways sixes may react to their fear the more phobic sixes escape their fear by making close connections with others other sixes cope with their fear by following authorities and ideologies and more counterphobic sixes escape their fear by being strong and intimidating it's me will remember
we went to kindergarten together but no matter the subtype sixes are alert and watchful and focus on detecting threats in their environment however their strong sense of fear can make it hard for them to trust their own thoughts causing them to sometimes come across as anxious and paranoid you feel a break sometimes you can't tell because fluid is rushing into the area now any rushing fluids are you woozy how many stripes do i have type sevens the enthusiasts are fun spontaneous and quick-witted often avoiding unpleasant feelings by focusing on what's pleasurable by keeping the mood
upbeat and enjoyable life moves pretty fast you don't stop and look around once in a while you could miss it however they can do this to escape the pain and anxiety that boredom brings them while their fear of being trapped can feel positive quick thinking it can also cause them to act out in self-indulgent and excessive ways in their search for pleasure and happiness we want to be free to do what we want to do yeah we want to get loaded yeah and we want to have a good time type 8 the challengers are confident
assertive and fiercely independent expressing a need to be strong and go against power as they focus their attention on control all while being fearlessly willing to confront others and protect those they care about get away from her you [ __ ] however their impulsive tendency to take what they want can also lead to them becoming domineering aggressive and unwilling to experience vulnerable feelings you're an [ __ ] sue me and finally type nines the peacekeepers are easygoing laid back and like to go with the flow as they focus their attention on others their environment avoiding
conflict and achieving peace and harmony oh we got a hugger but this can be because they lack a clear sense of themselves and deeply fear conflict meaning they repress their own desires and replace them with the agendas of others just to keep the peace causing them to grow increasingly frustrated for not going after what they really want in life am i not supposed to have what i want what i need now i know what you're thinking isn't grouping every complex human individual into only one of nine personality types extremely limiting and overly simplistic and you're
right but as you'll soon see there aren't only 9 personality types there's actually 27 but we'll get to those in a bit everyone is a mixture of their basic type and the two types next to them often leaning towards one of them so take jack sparrow for example he's a type 7 meaning he's mostly concerned with satisfaction excitement and maintaining his freedom and happiness but does he win with six or eight well sixes are primarily concerned with security guidance and having support from others and are known for their strong loyalty and friendships which when we
consider how much jack sparrow manipulates and backstabs his friends throughout the entire trilogy you do that will you it becomes clear that he does not win with six but eights on the other hand are primarily concerned with strength resilience and having control over their own destiny which suits jack sparrow rather nicely making him a seven who wins with eight or to use the appropriate term a seven wing eight now it's important to remember that you can only wing with the numbers adjacent to you something like a five wing eight doesn't exist a five can only
wing with four or six in case you were wondering i'm a nine-wing one which means i'm primarily concerned with keeping myself and others at peace but also share the perfectionism of type 1 which is why it takes so long to make these damn videos moving on to the inside of the symbol you'll see that there's a bunch of lines and arrows connecting between the personality types this is known as the inner flow basically a type will adopt the behaviors and characteristics of another type depending on if they're in a place of growth or stress for
example threes move to nine in stress and lose touch with themselves in the world around them just like mr incredible does in the first film dash got sent to the office again good good no bob but when threes are healthier they move to six and become more accepting of their fears and learn to work with others i'm not strong enough if we work together you won't have to be this happens with every type and the respective stress and growth points the final aspect worth mentioning about the symbol is the three centers in which the nine
types are divided into at the top we have the body types which are best characterized by their relationship to their instincts to the right we have the heart types which are best characterized by their relationships to their feelings and to the left we have the head types which are best characterized by their relationship to their thinking in each center there will be a type that over expresses instinct feeling or thinking a type that is out of touch with instinct feeling or thinking and a type that is in conflict with instinct feeling or thinking for example
ace overexpressed their instincts causing them to seem impulsive and domineering why do you suppose i just hurled a chair at your head neiman nines are out of touch with their instincts causing them to seem lazy and unmotivated you know that's just like uh your opinion man and ones are in conflict with their instincts causing them to seem rigid and tense i've done you wrong let no forgiveness be shown the beautiful thing about the enneagram is that all of what i just said is brilliantly visualized to this symbol and i love it but there is one
last thing about the enneagram that i need to cover like i said earlier the enneagram is far more concerned with what motivates the types behavior than with the behavior itself thus we have people who seem nothing like their enneagram type due to how they act but still deeply relate to the core themes and motivations of that type for example as different as winnie the pooh emmett and hiccup all seem from each other they're all type nines this is where the 27 subtypes come in three subtypes exist within each of the nine types each of them
focus on a different path we might take to satisfy our core motivations and fears the three subtypes are self-preservation social and one-to-one the self-preservation subtype focuses on and shapes behavior around issues related to survival and material security the social subtype focuses on and shapes behavior around issues related to belonging recognition and relationships with social groups and the one-to-one subtype focuses on and shapes behavior around the quality and status of relationships with specific individuals this is why winnie the pooh emmett and hiccup are all the same personality type despite behaving very differently pooh is a self-preservation
nine and seeks peace through physical comfort and security that is a very fine looking pot of honey you've got there emma is a social nine and seeks peace through merging and getting along with the group introducing the double-decker couch so everyone could watch tv together and be buddies and hiccup is a one-to-one nine and seeks peace through bonding with an individual you are my best friend but so when you take all of this into account the nine types the wings the centers the inner flow and the 27 subtypes you get what is in my opinion
the most accurate and helpful personality typing system out there it's not an either or system like mbti where you're either an introvert or an extrovert a feeler or a thinker the enneagram doesn't put you in a box and instead shows you the box you put yourself in and the way out the enneagram is fluid and dynamic which i think better suits us as the messy complicated human beings we are if you're curious and want to find out what type you are i strongly recommend against taking an online test for whatever dumb reason the online tests
are comically inaccurate one told me i was a four another told me i was a seven and then another one told me i was a five which was when i decided to just read up on all of them and discovered that i was actually a type nine when its description hit way too close to home this is a common occurrence for people when they first get into the enneagram there have been so many cases of people who go for years thinking that they're one type only to discover that they're actually another once they learn more
about it this is why i'm a strong advocate for the idea that the only person who can type you is yourself so in order to do that i strongly recommend that you read the description for all nine types you'll know you found your type when the description makes you feel uncomfortable and embarrassed it's really important to remember that you're typing the person you are instead of the person you wish you were the enneagram takes a lot of honesty and introspection but i've found it to be incredibly valuable for my mental health last year this series
took me down some introspective paths i didn't expect to go down through learning about the enneagram and analyzing all these characters it's weird to say but i've come to a deeper understanding of myself i can honestly say that i've never felt more understood than when i read the description for the social line in the book the complete enneagram it put towards what i felt on a very personal level and i cried a lot but it allowed me to come to terms with some pain i was still holding on to and for that i'm extremely grateful
for it and while i can't say that it will undoubtedly do the same for you i sincerely hope it helps and if this stupid series somehow manages to inspire you to look more into the enneagram then all the work i've put into this has been worth it so i hope you enjoy it and thanks for watching
