Typology

Enneagram Twos are called The Helpers.  They are some of the most loving, kind, supportive, upbeat, and—when healthy—genuinely helpful to other people.  Their underlying motivation is to feel loved and needed. But sometimes that need to be needed can lead to burn out. In this week's episode of Typology, we revisit our Panel of Twos who describe what it's like to view life through the eyes of The H...

Discovering the Enneagram was a game-changer for Rob. His knowledge and enthusiasm for the Enneagram runs deep, and as you'll discover while we revisit this episode, Rob is an Enneagram "7 with a 7 wing." Check out Rob's latest book,  What Is the Bible? , and visit  RobBell.com  for speaking dates and other events.

This week we are revisiting Ian's interview with 'Science Mike' McHargue as he shares his journey through the inner sanctum of an Enneagram Nine and his process of building a healthy connection to anger.   To preserve their inner peace and harmony, Nines often deny or simply don't even recognize their anger. Instead, they create an inner boundary to tamp down any feelings or desires that might dis...

For the month of July we will be revisiting some of Typology's most downloaded episodes.  This week we revisit Ian's interview with Sarah Thebarge. Sarah shares how she approaches the world through the lens of an Enneagram Six. With a strong need for security and consistency, Sixes appreciate order, plans and rules and like the comfort and predictability of laws and guidelines.  But their passion...

Today we are revisiting Ian's interview with celebrated Author, Speaker Bob Goff and his wife Maria. Bob is an Enneagram 7 and Maria is a 9.  And even though this episode provides a lot of insight into the worldview of a 7 and 9, the show today is really more about marriage and how two very distinct personality types can create a climate in which difference isn't merely tolerated, but rather is ce...

As Richard Rohr says, Ones are childlike and full of joy and wonder at the world and creation.  But for Ones, that sense of joy has been lost.  Instead, they suppress their own feelings and focus on being good and doing what is right.  They feel a sense of duty and responsibility and may harbor resentment toward others who don't see things the right way – their way.  But what would it look like if...

Every single day I receive multiple emails from listeners saying they are stuck and can't figure out their Enneagram type.  Usually, my first recommendation is to dive into the Subtypes of each number to see if that helps narrow things down. But there is something else to consider…something we have not yet talked about on Typology.  Just as the Enneagram is broken into Triads, it is also broken in...

Our guest today is an Enneagram professional, spiritual director, coach, facilitator, and author who is passionate about the Enneagram personality model and its value in Christian spiritual transformation. Her workshops and retreats focus on how the Enneagram helps people identify barriers to living out their unique expression and experience as one created in God's image. This show is packed with...

Eights are often called the Challengers, but I like to call them the Protectors or Defenders. Every type has a basic fear and desire coloring the waters of their personality.  The basic fear of an Eight is being not in control of their self. The basic desire is to avoid feeling weak or vulnerable. But Eights can often be misinterpreted. Though they can often appear blunt and aggressive, Eights are...

Sevens are the joy bombs of the Enneagram.  The energy they give off is energetic, fun-loving and naturally cheerful. They are optimistic by nature and seize every moment of life. They live for the next adventure and are experts at reframing a negative situation to find the silver lining.  But all their "living for tomorrow" is really to avoid pain and introspection.  Sevens may have an underlying...

The last time I spoke with Jen Hatmaker on her "For of Love" podcast, we talked about how she identifies as a Three. As our conversation continued I began to think, "Man, you've got a lot of features of an Eight. I wonder if you should check out this other type."   Threes and Eights are both assertive, ambitious, and competitive. But the difference is that an average eight wants to get their way p...

Last week David Gungor shared his struggle in determining his type, how he embraces his "chaotic intentionality," and what it means to need others to "get out of his face."  Today we continue the conversation about how the Enneagram can help Enneagram Eights grow in self-awareness through spiritual practices and leaning into the people they do trust to gain true intimacy.   David Gungor is a membe...

Enneagram Eights are called The Challenger for a good reason. Eights don't like to feel controlled and avoid any appearance of vulnerability.  They are naturally confrontational and their combative energy can feel intimidating to others.  But what feels like intimidation to others actually feels like connection to an Eight. Eights express their anger freely, are fueled by high levels of stimulatio...

Twos have an amazing way of making other people feel safe and comfortable. They are some of the most caring, supportive and upbeat people I know.  They accept you as you are, aren't judgmental and create space where people can speak from their hearts and experience.  Yet, Twos need to be needed but for a Two to admit their own "neediness" is very difficult. They rarely ask for help and don't know...

This week we continue with our panel of Fours -- Sandra McCracken, Megan Miller, Matthew Perryman Jones, and Don Chaffer. Tune in as we discuss the strengths and challenges of being a Four, and then stick around to the end when Ian and guests pull some guitars down from the studio walls and spontaneously break into a Dylan tune. It's pretty unforgettable.

For those who are new to the Enneagram or to what life is like as an Enneagram Four, let me just give a 50,000-foot fly-by of the Enneagram Four.  Fours, called the Individualists, sometimes called the Romantics or the Tragic Romantics, these are folks who have a sense that they carry within themselves some deficiency--some irredeemable deficiency--a missing piece in their essential makeup that th...

After a knee-jerk reaction of skepticism, Dr. Richard Beck and his wife, Jana, share how the Enneagram has had a profound effect on their family. In today's show, we talk about the disjoint of how we conceive ourselves and how we behave on the ground, how personality and virtue cut across Enneagram types, and the unique contribution of the fluidity of the Enneagram. Richard Beck, Ph. D. is a resea...

This week we jump back into our conversation with Paul Young to help nail down his type.  Figuring out his type was hard, as it can be for many.  But I think Paul has suffered and worked through so many things in his life, he has reached a point where I think he's maybe one of the most integrated nines I've ever known. Also, because of that, he has a mystical quality.  When they're healthy, nines...

When learning the Enneagram and figuring out your number, one of the things that complicates the process is trauma and the effect of trauma on personality development and theory. I always say, I think personality, just the defensive nature of the personality thickens on people with trauma. The staircase is steeper that we have to climb. Our guest in this two-part episode is not sure if he's a 9 or...

I've said it before, Sixes are wonderful. They have a strong need for security and consistency. They appreciate order, plans and rules and like the comfort and predictability of laws and guidelines.  But Sixes also have a shadow side.  Their passion is fear, which is often experienced as anxiety.  Anxiety is a vague, free-floating sense of apprehension that arises in response to an unknown or pote...

Every type on the Enneagram has misbeliefs and errant unconscious motivations that get us to do and think and feel things that just are not in our best interests.  We all have these broken messages in our lives that run like recordings in the background. The hurtful words and experiences from our past often determine what record play in our head as an adult. In her new book, How to Fix a Broken Re...

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go on tour with a band?  It sounds exciting, right? You'd hop on a tour bus, travel coast to coast seeing the world, and entertain thousands of people every night.    But, what is it truly like to live on a bus with 11 other people day-in and day-out?  Well, when the road manager of Tenth Avenue North reached out to talk about how the Enneagram, and ...

When Nines are healthy and self-aware, they learn to feel special and important. They get in touch with their own passions and feel secure enough to stand behind their accomplishments. They become assertive and decisive. But when they switch to autopilot and spiritually fall asleep at the wheel, they doubt themselves and become more pessimistic. The deadly sin, or the passion of Nines, Sloth, is r...

In Enneagram-speak, Enneagram Twos are called The Helpers.  They are some of the most loving, kind, supportive, upbeat, and—when healthy—genuinely helpful to other people.  Their underlying motivation is to feel loved and needed. But sometimes that need to be needed can lead to burn out. But, why listen to me talk about The Helper when you can hear it from those who actually live it?  In this week...

Our personality types can put us into an almost hypnotic trance, something I'd call the shadow. We relegate to the shadow those parts of ourselves we don't want to see. What the Enneagram does is it takes a flashlight and it goes into the shadow with you. It says, "Okay, we've got to look around." It helps us embrace the journey inward. And no, it's not going to be comfortable. It is going to be p...