Posted by Hal on July 01, 1998 at 09:50:13:
In Reply to: Re: Enneatype: Defense Mechanism? posted by Aislinn on June 30, 1998 at 20:23:46:
: Just a side comment from me, a 4w5. When I first took the RHETI I tested as a 7 (with high on both 4 and 5, but definite a 7). After I had studied the enneagram for some months I realised why I was acting like a 7 - and I now know I am not a 7 at all but a 4w5 struggeling with my defense mechanisms (disintegrating to 7, for example).
: That does not mean I have CHANGED personality, but I have leanred a lot more about myself and why I do what I do, and I have no doubt that I am a 4w5. When I do the test now, the 7 comes out a LOT lower, as I have started to learn not to act out in my wing's point of disintegration as much as I did before.
: I think it would be difficult for most people to answer the test a 100% honestly (or accurately) the first time, especially if one doesn't really know oneself as good as one thinks.
: -Aislinn
I see everyone's point, but I'm not convinced that your enneatype never changes.
If you act like a 7 and have motivations like a 7, does that not make you a 7?
And if you then "fix" those problems so you now act out of the motivations of
a 4w5, does this really mean you were a 4w5 all along, even though all evidence
suggested you were a 7?
In my own case, by all accounts I used to BE a 5. I felt like a 5, acted like
a 5, and everyone else could instantly identify me as a 5. Now I test as a 4,
and it feels right--it describes me, the way I am now, much better than 5 does.
And all my friends can see how much I've changed and moved towards 4. Has my
type not changed, even though my personality and motivations have? Have I
spent my life as a 4 in 5's cloting?
I guess my real question is this: if you can change personality, why is it that
you can't change type? Exactly what is the difference?
- Hal -