Kathleen V. Hurley & Theodore E. Dobson

What's My Type?
Use the Enneagram System of Nine Personality Types to Discover Your Best Self
HarperSanFrancisco, 1991, 186 pages

One: The Achiever

Questions

1. Do you continually think about ways you could have done something better or ways you might have responded to a person or a situation more to your advantage?
2. Is there a voice in your mind that criticizes everything you do and many things other people do?
3. Have you frequently had to sacrifice your desires or opportunities because people close to you are more verbal or more aggressive about their needs, or because they have needs that seem to take priority?
4. Do you make "To Do" lists for yourself and for others?
5. When you are working on a project, do interruptions break your concentration on the details and trigger a "slow burn" of anger?
6. Do you think you try hard at everything in life and often wish you could be more laid back or easygoing?
7. Do you feel revulsion toward people who are always needy or looking for a "free ride" in life and silently criticize them for not taking charge of their own lives?
8. When planning to make a purchase, do you ignore the person who tries to give you a sales pitch and look for someone who will give you the information you need and let you make up your own mind?
9. Do you consistently find yourself redoing tasks because others failed to do them right the first time?

Two: The Helper

Questions

1. Are you so sensitive and responsive to the pain in people around you that others might good-naturedly refer to you as a "mind reader" or "psychic"?
2. Do you find it difficult to limit the time or energy you spend when others seem to need you?
3. Do you struggle with organization in your personal life -- starting many projects but following through on very few?
4. Is it difficult for you to judge how much time is appropriate for youself or others to focus on meeting personal needs without becoming selfish?
5. Are you a flexible, accepting person who seldom, if ever, finds strictly right or wrong answers to life's problems?
6. In personal relationships, does your dedication to finding creative ways of expressing your affection often collide with feelings of resentment over being taken for granted?
7. Do you quickly become agitated or "stressed out" when doing tasks that focus on theoretical, objective issues that are devoid of any interpersonal dimension?
8. No matter where you are -- on the job, shopping, on vacation, at a restaurant, at a party -- do you seem to attract people, even perfect strangers, who pour out their hearts or tell you their life stories?
9. Do you gain a sense of personal fulfillment at helping others achieve their goals?

Three: The Succeeder

Questions

1. Do you sometimes think you're too cynical or suspicious because you intuitively seem to know the hidden motives of others -- especially their dark, manipulative intentions?
2. Are you able to be positive, optimistic, and upbeat around others even though you feel pessimistic or desperate about your life when you're alone?
3. Do you guard against becoming too emotionally vulnerable or dependent upon even those closest to you because you fear being manipulated?
4. When your goals are unclear or you don't have any goals, do you lose your energy and find that life is suddenly dull and boring?
5. To avoid being rude or hurtful, do you often have to feign interest in a conversation you're having because a new idea or important current project is beginning to race through your mind?
6. Do you prize relationships that are free and undemanding and break relationships that become too complicated or time consuming?
7. Are you able instantly to hide your feelings of shock, disappointment, anger, embarrassment, and so on until you can deal with them in private?
8. Would you tend to err on the side of saying too little rather than saying too much?
9. Is it difficult for you to take time for yourself, to relax or to "do nothing" when there are still projects left undone?

Four: The Individualist

Questions

1. Would you say that being with people, nurturing personal relationships, and being intensely loyal to the people you love are the innate gifts that bring the greatest pleasure and meaning to your life?
2. Even in your closest relationships, does fear of loss or abandonment cause you to struggle against feelings of jealousy or possessiveness?
3. Do you tend to avoid or procrastinate over tasks that require focusing on details or paperwork, seeing them as tedious and depressing?
4. When presented with a new plan, idea, or project, do you feel that it's important to recognize flaws first so that the possibilities won't become unrealistic and therefore disappointing?
5. Is your sense of meaning and purpose in life best expressed through the symbols, stories, ad traditions that connect you to people, to your faith, or to life in general?
6. Have you spent a great deal of time and energy on a quest to understand the meaning of your own life and history, hoping to understand your purpose for being on this earth?
7. When experiencing the beauty of nature -- for example, a sunset or a budding flower -- do you connect with something spiritual and even sometimes feel your heart will burst because of the sheer wonder of creation?
8. Do you often feel so many emotions at once that you become confused about which to express first and how to organize your thoughts?
9. Are you attracted to the dramatic or unusual things in life -- in clothes, food, friends, art, decor?

Five: The Observer

Questions

1. Do you relish and even require extended periods of time alone to ponder and sort out the important issues of life?
2. Do you have an unquenchable thirst for new experiences, new adventures, or new knowledge, and are you quickly bored by repetition?
3. Do you usually have a point of view different from everyone else's and find yourself amazed at the lack of rational thinking behind others' conclusions?
4. Do you enjoy talking about and planning a project for months, even years, but find your enthusiasm slipping away at the prospect of beginning the hard work of actually doing it?
5. In personal relationships, do you often feel frustrated and pull back because others misread your intentions?
6. Are you generally impatient with group decisions, becoming restless and irritated as others ramble on and on about unrelated, unimportant issues?
7. Do you tend to see the absurdity of life and enjoy throwing people off guard by pointing out the ridiculous with wit and humor?
8. Do you place great value on individualism, personal freedom, and space and become quickly interested by anything new, unexpected, or unexplored?
9. Are the social interactions of your life initiated primarily by others, even when you want to be included or want some form of communication?

Six: The Guardian

Questions

1. As you get up in the morning, are you enlivened when you have a full schedule of diverse activities for the day?
2. Are you generally more at ease entertaining in the comfort of your own surroundings, even though it means more work for you?
3. Would you say that dedication to home, family, marriage, and/or community are the basic values out of which you live your life?
4. As a person who takes responsibility seriously, do you often resent and feel overburdened by the number of people who make irresponsibility a way of life?
5. As a general rule, do you need to gather the opinions of others -- family, friends, co-workers -- before making a decision?
6. Having strong opinions about life, do you mistrust and become upset with people who attempt to justify and expand the "gray areas"?
7. Do you feel more connected with people who are important to you when you know the details of what's going on in their lives on a regular basis?
8. Are you a hard-working, organized person who prefers to keep to a tight schedule, even to the point of scheduling your vacation or relaxation time?
9. Would you have more confidence in and loyalty toward an authority figure who laid down specific rules rather than one who was flexible and able to "go with the flow"?

Seven: The Dreamer

Questions

1. When a situation becomes intense, do you get a nearly uncontrollable urge to laugh or to point out the absurdity of it all, often with a good one-liner?
2. When you hear about or see problems in the world or in people's lives, do you almost automatically start thinking of solutions?
3. Are you "turned off" when people tell you how gifted you are or what great potential you have because you know that underneath is the expectation for you to be doing something more meaningful or productive with your life?
4. Are you stimulated by intellectual sparring, by new and different experiences, or by the possibility of being on the cutting edge of a new venture but "turned off" at the thought of your life being stable, secure, and routine?
5. Do you prize flexibility and avoid making long-term commitments or plans "set in concrete"?
6. Do people almost universally enjoy your company but at the same time give you the feeling they don't see the deeper, more intelligent, more loyal side of your personality?
7. Do you see yourself as a good communicator with a broad enough range of interests that you can keep a conversation going with just about anyone?
8. Are you the kind of person who, if given the opportunity, can see the potential use of many things others might throw out as junk?
9. Do you enjoy mental challenges and find yourself seeking out these kinds of challenges to keep life enjoyable or to keep from being bored?

Eight: The Confronter

Questions

1. Do you have clear and firm ideas about what is right and wrong in situations that are important to you?
2. Do you generally find that you need to be alert for people with hidden agendas?
3. Do you find that the most irritating and difficult people to deal with are those who beat around the bush and never directly say what is on their minds?
4. Would you agree that indecision is the greatest thief of opportunity and therefore a valid argument against getting caught in group decision making?
5. Are you at ease in leadership positions and find them falling naturally into your lap?
6. Do you find that others often simply expect or assume that you will take charge?
7. Do you think of yourself as a practical person who understands what it takes to get the job done?
8. Are you the kind of person who is unafraid to take a stand against injustice, especially injustice toward people who are unable to defend themselves?
9. Do you generally express your views just as intensely as you feel them and even feel exhilirated in a discussion in which everyone disagrees?

Nine: The Preservationist

Questions

1. Are you known as an easygoing, affable, common-sense kind of person even when inside you may be feeling very different?
2. Is there a place in your home that you find comfortable and relaxing and to which you generally gravitate to think, read, or relax?
3. Do arguments make you so uncomfortable that you avoid them, even to the point of walking out of the room when they begin?
4. Are you greatly attracted to outdoor activities, and do you find being in nature an almost sacred experience of freedom?
5. Do you feel that the best way to prevent trouble is to keep your thoughts to yourself and let the other person do the talking, even if you don't agree?
6. Do you see yourself as an independent person who can do what you need or want to do and not be swayed by group pressure?
7. Would you agree that in general people create most of their own difficulties because they take life too seriously and get all worked up over very minor things?
8. Do you enjoy thinking your way through puzzling questions, and do you often find practical answers to intricate problems?
9. When given the option, would you avoid sophisticated political or social gatherings, choosing instead the quieter, simpler pleasures of life?