Enneagram type 7

Enneagram type 7 (also written Enneagram 7) is called The Enthusiast, also known as The Adventurer. Here you will find a thorough description of type 7: core traits, basic fear, wings, love and relationships, stress and growth. In the Enneagram, type 7 belongs to the head centre along with types 5 and 6.

Characteristics

Enneagram type 7s are optimistic and imaginative people who are preoccupied with what experiences the future may bring. They are motivated by all that is new and exciting, and to develop ideas that do not necessarily have to be realised.

For sevens, life must be fun and interesting. They are therefore experts at giving every experience a positive slant, and they are quick to see opportunities for new adventures. Sevens often have a youthful appearance, because troubles and burdens tend to pass their attention by.

Enneagram type 7s do not like to be locked into contracts and procedures; it is important for them to have a choice at all times and to be able to move on. This shows in their lively, light body language.

Contributes with

Enneagram type 7s are very enthusiastic and always have a good idea or a plan up their sleeve. They are good at seeing the positive in a situation and infect others with their optimism and commitment.

Thrives best with

Enneagram type 7s thrive on development and options. They like environments without fixed agendas, where the day changes direction and new initiatives are created.

Resources

• Upbeat
• Opportunity-oriented
• Good motivators
• Happy

Direction of stress

When Enneagram type 7s are under pressure and feel restricted, they lose their overview and experience "tunnel vision", where they only have an eye for detail. The movement goes toward type 1, The Reformer.

Direction of security

When Enneagram type 7s are resourceful and at ease with themselves, they become more introspective and thoughtful. They withdraw and enjoy reflecting. The movement goes toward type 5, The Investigator.

The subtypes of type 7

All nine types come in three subtypes, depending on which instinctual drive weighs heaviest: self-preservation, social or one-to-one. Two people with the same core type can seem surprisingly different, precisely because the subtype colours the entire expression.

The self-preservation type 7

The self-preservation type 7 is the practical networker. It creates opportunities for itself, collects good connections and makes sure there is always somewhere comfortable to land. There is a down-to-earth inventiveness here. The pitfall is that the comfort becomes an end in itself, and you never get round to what you actually wanted.

The social type 7

The social type 7 puts its own gratification on hold for something larger. It wants to contribute, to be useful and to be seen as a good person, and it can postpone a great deal for a cause. The pitfall is that the idealism becomes another kind of escape — you get out of facing yourself by living for others.

The one-to-one type 7

The one-to-one type 7 lives in the possible. It falls in love with ideas, people and pictures of the future, and describes them so vividly that others believe in them. The pitfall is that the fascination fades once reality arrives, and that there is always something more promising waiting up ahead.

Type 7 through the nine levels of development

The Enneagram describes not only which type you are, but how that type looks in different shapes. Riso-Hudson divide each type into nine levels of development, gathered into three bands: levels 1, 2 and 3 are the healthy ones, levels 4, 5 and 6 are the average ones, and levels 7, 8 and 9 are the unhealthy ones. You move between them over the course of a life, and often within a single day.

Below, the three bands for type 7 are described in outline. Riso-Hudson describe each of the nine levels in depth, and we work with that material on our courses, where you learn to recognise your own movements between the levels.

The healthy levels — 1, 2 and 3

At the healthy levels, type 7 becomes present in what it already has. The joy grows deep rather than wide, and the gift for seeing possibilities is spent on something particular rather than on everything. This is where the type's gratitude and appetite for life rub off on others without being an escape.

The average levels — 4, 5 and 6

Here the planning of the next thing becomes more important than the present one. Type 7 keeps many balls in the air, says yes to too much and moves on as soon as something turns dull or difficult. The restlessness looks like energy, but it is also a way of keeping discomfort at a distance.

The unhealthy levels — 7, 8 and 9

At the unhealthy levels the escape turns desperate. The impulses take over, the consumption rises — of experiences, of impressions or of substances — and the type can become reckless towards anyone who tries to slow it down. Beneath the surface lies the anxiety the speed was meant to keep away.

Your personal path of development

Enneagram type 7's path of development goes through letting go of the fixation on making plans and thinking about future prospects, and instead being present in the moment, whatever it contains. In this way they develop the special ability to relate soberly to reality, and sevens experience contact with the particular aspect of essence in which there is an almost supernatural sensation of the present moment, a source of endless joy and insight.

Passion

Greed

Fixation

Planning

Special ability

Sobriety

Essence

Sensing