Yes, that is right! I am a Type 6, the Loyalist, and I want to subjectively share with you what that means! Additionally, I will include some personal stories of how I have seen my Type surface recently within my life.
As a Type 6, my intelligence center is my head which means my thoughts, actions, and words derive from, well, my head! Originally, I did not perceive my intelligence center to be my head; rather, I believed my thoughts, actions, and words derived from what I was feeling within my heart. However, this past summer I realized that I am in my head so much that I sometimes exhaust myself from simply overthinking! It is as if I cannot shut my mind off! Ever! I am always thinking about something, and if I thought, acted, and said things from my heart, it would be more emotionally based. Instead, despite having a lot of emotions (just ask my friends, boyfriend, or family) I use logic to think, act, and speak. It was quite the realization to understand this as well as how how my desires, fears, growths, and stresses are evoked.
The basic desire of a Loyalist is to have security and a solid support system; consequently, the basic fear of a Type 6 is to be without support and security. I have seen my basic desire surface the most by the way that I have a plan for almost everything I do. I have a deep desire within me to know that whatever my future holds, I am going to be alright. This includes my academic career, professional career, friendships, family, financial wellbeing, etc. So, I make plans to assure that I am on the right path to success. This desire of mine is good, but, when I become extreme with it, it is also a weakness. Why? Well, I need to trust that God has a plan for my future and that His plan is good. Instead of allowing God to have control over my life, I will try to do it myself. Want to know a secret? Whenever I try to have complete control over my life, it doesn’t work out. I become so overwhelmed and anxious as well as drained in all of my efforts. God is truly good, and so are His plans for me. I need to remember that. My efforts to control my life demonstrate my basic fear to be without security and support, but my personality’s holy idea allows me to lift up my basic fear to God and trust him with my security.
A Type 6’s Holy Idea is strength and faith. As I shared above, I can only find strength and security when I am intentional with my faith and relationship with Christ. Understanding this has been a great reminder for me to be in the Word daily 🙂
When discussing wings, a Type 6 will either wing towards a Type 5 or Type 7. In regards to myself, I wing towards a Type 7 – also known as the Enthusiast! This means that I can have a lot of energy and am witty. I am not one to crack jokes, but I do like healthy sarcasm 😉 This also means that I am very relational. I enjoy being around others and caring for them. Yet, despite the good qualities, of being a 6 wing 7, I do become very anxious. I will think of worse case scenarios to whatever situation I am currently in or could become a part of, and, as I mentioned above, I prefer to have a plan for my life so that I may avoid ambiguous situations and be secure in my future. I see the good qualities of a 6 wing 7 surface in my relationships with others, and I recognize my struggle with anxiousness and worry in my academics and financial wellbeing. There is so much I could say about this, so if you would like to hear more about myself as a 6 wing 7, contact me!
As a Loyalist, I grow into a Type 9: the Peacemaker. This means that at my best, my anxious thoughts and attitudes settle down a bit, and I become more relaxed and optimistic about what is taking place around me and where I am in my life journey. Also, when I grow into a Type 9, I become more flexible, energetic, and empathetic. I have a greater feeling that everything will be alright, and I allow myself to enjoy the little things instead of worrying about the bigger picture all the time. I think that I grow into a Type 9 often, and it shows in how I relate to others regularly. I truly enjoy being in community with others! You will also find me smiling quite a lot which demonstrates my relaxed and hopeful state. I love to help others, love others well, and have fun!
Furthermore, as a Type 6, I stress into a Type 3: the Achiever. When I stress into a Type 3, I will suddenly become more competitive, self-conscious, engrossed in my schoolwork or other obligations, highly pursue success, and take on the role of the devil’s advocate. This sounds so bad, doesn’t it! Yet, it is in these lower moments that I remember my holy idea of strength and faith, and I will recognize my need to surrender my life to God. When I stress into a Type 3, my basic desire to have security and support evokes more intensely, and this not only includes security in wellbeing and success but also my ego. It is really hard for me to acknowledge this, but there are times when I will reluctantly do something in fear that I will not be successful in it. A prime example of this is disc golfing. I have not had very good experiences disc golfing, and when I go, I am often with people who are very good at it. This causes me to become self-conscious and insecure about my abilities, and I will simply give up. This is not an amazing quality of mine, and I realize that. However, because I can acknowledge this, I strive to recognize the moments that I become stressed in this manner and refocus my attitude towards personal growth in my disc golfing skills or whatever area of my life is applicable.
This next area of my personality sounds kind of ugly, but it is prevalent within each of the 9 Types on the Enneagram: the “Deadly Sin”. For me, as a Loyalist, my deadly sin is fear and anxiety. My anxiousness can become overwhelming and influence my words, actions, and thoughts in ways that I wish it wouldn’t. I feel that I limit myself because of my fear of insecurity also. That is why it is deadly for me!
But, to end on a good note, my personality type is the most loyal of them all! And, I believe this is true. When I invest myself in relationships, I am truly dedicating myself to them. I relate to the quote about Loyalists from Bella in the Homing podcast that says, “They will follow you to the bottom of the ocean, and they will not even stop to ask why you are going there until you get there. They trust you and have your back with no questions asked.” I cherish my friendships and relationships with others, and I desire to help people understand how important they are and how loved they are. I have my flaws, just like everyone. But, recognizing my strengths and weaknesses, I will be able to grow as an individual and become a more loving mentor, friend, daughter, girlfriend, student, and co-worker within my community.
I want to know what your Enneagram personality type is, so comment below! If you are unsure, you can take this quiz, listen to the Homing podcast, and visit the Enneagram website! It is exciting to learn what personality type everyone has identified with!
Super cool! Love the blog name☺️