I’d like to talk to you today about Ennea Type 3 personality, often called the “Achiever” or the “Performer“.
This is a very high energy, dynamic kind of person, extremely goal-oriented.
The basic desire for this type is to have value, inherent worth. They want to be found worthy. And what’s the basic fear? It’s to find that they have no worth, that they do not have inherent value.
And, so what this translates to for the 3 is the inner belief that “I need to achieve in order to have love”. “I need to be successful in order to attract friends to me”. “So, I am going to pursue my goals and to make myself into the best of the best no matter what”. This is our over-achiever.
They are also the beautiful people, you know, they spend a lot of time taking care of their appearance; they understand that their appearance affects how they are perceived. This is the type that we say is often more concerned about others think of them than others types.
And, so what this does is, it drives people to chase after success… Which is great, you know, in the United states we really reward and value the successful people.
Well, what’s the… what’s the trade-off there? The trade-off, the passion, the stress behavior for the 3, in their case, is called “deceit”.
Does this mean that every 3 you ever meet is deceitful? No. That’s not what it means. What we are talking about is actually self-deception.
Because the Type 3 does not necessarily recognize that they have intrinsic value already. What they believe is that they need to appear a certain way, in order to get that for themselves. And so they start modelling themselves after people they respect. They start dressing like them. They start reading what they read… They start running with the same kinds of people.
Overtime they can actually start to disconnect from the inner self, from the true person in there, and they start choosing goals that would get them to look more like other people that they respect.
So, the self-deception is really about disconnecting with their deeper self and of course, this can lead them astray.
Now, they are possibly telling untruths to other people… Not because they are trying to be a liar but because they have lost touch with the truth within themselves.
So the work for the 3 is working on authenticity; being willing to be vulnerable and honest about your flaws in front of other people. This is extremely scary business for the 3 who always, always wants to appear their best.
But this interferes with intimacy and relationships. If you are not willing to allow your beloved to really know the “real you”, work and all, fear and all, failures and all… Then you will never really have deep connection and deep love… and that’s what we want for the 3. That’s what “midlife crisis” is all about, right? Waking up after 30 years of pursuing your goals and realizing: “Where are all my relationships?” “I thought I was going to win so many people to me and instead I isolated myself”.
So the work for the 3 is working on authenticity and vulnerability, being willing to be the real “flawed self” in front of other people. It sounds scary but it actually brings you an enormous amount of fulfilment.
If you’re interested in learning more about this, I would love you to come in and have an appointment with me. We would take your test and figure out your Ennea type.
Thank you so much!
Candice Thomas, Licensed Acupuncturist
Owner of LightWorks Acupuncture, a Holistic Medical Center
Call us for an appointment at (520) 318-5560
To learn more about the Enneagram and how it can help you in understanding your temperament and living a more fulfiled life, subscribe to our YouTube channel!
