The Tritypes
I found out about the enneagram when I was 19 and instinctively knew I was a Four. 14 years later, I discovered tritypes and realised I was a 4-7-9 - an exciting moment!
Katherine and David Fauvre developed the tritype theory, that we all have three main types:
- A type from the Thinking Triad (either 5, 6 or 7)
- A type from the Doing Triad (either 8, 9 or 1)
- A type from the Feeling Triad (either 2, 3 or 4)
Katherine and David Fauvre developed the tritype theory, that we all have three main types:
- A type from the Thinking Triad (either 5, 6 or 7)
- A type from the Doing Triad (either 8, 9 or 1)
- A type from the Feeling Triad (either 2, 3 or 4)
This understanding is fantastically helpful in many ways.
For one thing, now I know I am strongly 7 and 9 as well as 4, I feel more confident to slip and out of playing each of those roles at will. Sometimes the situation will demand me to be upbeat and positive so I'll be more Sevenish. Sometimes I will need to put someone at their ease and I'll become more Nineish. It's fun and powerful to play with different characters, and not just identify with the main Fourish role.
I am also finding it much easier to identify people's tritypes than trying to find just their main type. In this way, I can coach them better through by helping them realise their full range of innate strengths. I'm making some resources on this that I'd like to share soon.
Bear the tritypes in mind when reading through type descriptions. If we all have three main types, then each description on its own is bound to be more of a caricature.
NB. I've been having some interesting discussions about the fact that we have all the types in us, to different degrees. So now I think I'm a 4-7-9-3-5-1-2-6-8... Anyway, that's something to explore more in the future!
For one thing, now I know I am strongly 7 and 9 as well as 4, I feel more confident to slip and out of playing each of those roles at will. Sometimes the situation will demand me to be upbeat and positive so I'll be more Sevenish. Sometimes I will need to put someone at their ease and I'll become more Nineish. It's fun and powerful to play with different characters, and not just identify with the main Fourish role.
I am also finding it much easier to identify people's tritypes than trying to find just their main type. In this way, I can coach them better through by helping them realise their full range of innate strengths. I'm making some resources on this that I'd like to share soon.
Bear the tritypes in mind when reading through type descriptions. If we all have three main types, then each description on its own is bound to be more of a caricature.
NB. I've been having some interesting discussions about the fact that we have all the types in us, to different degrees. So now I think I'm a 4-7-9-3-5-1-2-6-8... Anyway, that's something to explore more in the future!