Enneagram type 1

Welcome to the first article in the series on becoming a better version of yourself (using the enneagram).

The information below is all based on the following book (The Complete Enneagram | By Beatrice Chestnut) which I highly recommend, if you want to learn more and go much deeper on the enneagram and on type 1 specifically.

Cyril is all about right and wrong and about criticism.

He’s a perfectionist and he can create wonderful things in the world leveraging his high standards.

What usually happened to Cyril in his childhood was that at a very young age, extremely high demands were put on him which he struggled to cope with. This instilled in him an extreme kind of a phobia of being wrong, being criticized or of not doing the right thing.

So because Cyril is so afraid of feeling that huge pain of being wrong or of not being up to the challenge that the world threw at him, he became extremely mindful of always trying to do everything perfectly or “the right way” and therefore he is very critical of himself, or of others or possibly of both (depending on his subtype).

Cyril is also inherently an angry person although he might not be aware of this at all. He is frustrated by this situation of things not being right and not being perfect as well as of not being able to handle the situation. This causes him pain.

However, Cyril also believes that being angry is wrong. He will likely repress his anger and try not to show it.

Usually this backfires however, and other people around him can still see that he is touchy, resentful, and overly critical but he might not be aware of this.

There is a vicious cycle going, as Cyril gets more angry, he gets more guilty and then more resentful, which leads to him feeling even more guilt.

The three subtypes:

The self preservation Cyril is all about perfectionism and worry.

He constantly want to make sure he is being perfect because that is the only way he can avoid the pain of being wrong or being criticized.

Constantly trying to do the perfect job in everything, in order to avoid the pain.

The social Cyril on the other hand is about making the world perfect.

He has high ideals of how everything should be. He is a strong believer in right and wrong views and can get very upset when people don’t agree with him on issues that he feels are of a moral nature, where he feels there is no room for diversity of opinions.

There is a right way and a wrong way. Cyril may be seen by others as being rigid.

The sexual Cyril, is a zealot, he is about fixing other people and bringing them up to acceptable standards. He Sees imperfections in others is painful for them, so he tries to help them.

So, what can Cyril do to grow and to become a better version of himself?

Apparently the main thing he needs to learn is to become more loving and accepting of himself, with all of his imperfections.

Of course like most worthwhile things, this is easier said than done.

But that is the gist of Cyril’s growth path on one foot.

Thank you for reading.

Read about Enneagram type 2.

To learn more about Beatrice Chestnut and her work please visit her website at https://beatricechestnut.com/ were she offers books, coaching, trainings and workshops.

Originally published at blog.myquestions.co on June 17, 2018.