Best jobs for Enneagram type-9 people

In this article, we will see the Best jobs for Enneagram type-9 people.

Introduction

American Psychologist Gordon Allport defines Personality as “the dynamic organization within the individual of those psycho-physical systems that determine his unique adjustments to the environment.” There are different perspectives on personality and their types. One such is the Enneagram of personality. In this article, I will tell you about the 9 interconnected types of the enneagram model. We will specifically dive into Enneagram type-9 in detail. 

Are you Enneagram type-9? Do you wish to understand how you can make your personality type work for you? Want to find out the best career option for your type?

Keep scrolling to know more!

In simple and easy terms, people with Enneagram type-9 are known as the “peacekeepers” or the “mediators” of society. They are harmonious, agreeable, cooperative, and open-minded. They tend to avoid conflict to the best of their abilities. They bind the community together by their mediating nature. They seek peace and harmony in interpersonal as well as intrapersonal relationships.

Now let us dive into a deeper understanding of the same. To understand Enneagram type-9 in detail, I will explain the Enneagram model briefly. 

Definition

The Enneagram of personality is a model of the human psyche that talks about nine interconnected personality types. It was developed by Oscar Ichazo and was popularized in the United States by Claudio Naranjo. The model helps understand different personality types. This proves to be beneficial in understanding self, self-development, and self-actualization. 

The nine types of enneagram of personality are as follows:

1. Perfectionist/Reformer
2. Helper/Giver
3.  Achiever/Performer
4. Romantic/Individualist
5. Observer/Investigator
6. Skeptic/Loyal
7. Enthusiast/Epicure
8. Challenger/Protector
9. Peacekeeper/Mediator

Enneagram type-9

People with personality type nine are accepting and stable individuals. Their personality type influences them to be supportive and open-minded. They are always in search of internal and external peace. In their pursuit of harmony, they can go to great lengths. This means that they can put their motives, opinions, or interests on the back burner to avoid conflict. They tend to go with the flow or follow the bandwagon to be free of making difficult decisions. They fear loss or separation. They are happiest when there is goodwill among their peers. Type nine is the most common and basic type and people with this personality are found in great numbers. They struggle with getting their priorities sorted and considering self-interests. They tend to be diplomatic in their approach and try to protect everyone’s feelings. They don’t self-assert and usually adapt to other’s preferences.

Characteristics

Some of the characteristics of people belonging to Enneagram type-9 are as follows:

1. Agreeable: Being known as mediators or peacekeepers, their prominent characteristic is that they are extremely agreeable. They get along with people and show concern for social harmony. People with Type-9 personalities are cooperative and friendly and sometimes even compliant. 
2. Self-Effacing: Individuals with personality type-9 are extremely self-effacing and inconspicuous. They try their best to not attract attention to themselves. They are humble and modest in their demeanor. They are shy and stay out of the spotlight, avoiding attention or praise. 
3. Compliant: In their efforts to avoid and eliminate any possibilities of conflict, such individuals become extremely compliant. They obey and follow rules even when they might not necessarily agree with them. They are submissive to a great extent and tend to be passive when it comes to decision-making.
4. Receptive: One of the reasons why Type nine individuals are excellent mediators is because of their receptive attitude. They are willing to listen to different viewpoints and ideas. They are open-minded and refrain from passing judgment. This enables them to listen without personal bias and solve interpersonal conflicts. Their inherent goal to maintain peace is compatible with this characteristic. 
5. Reassuring: Type nine’s easygoing nature makes them a kind and comfortable presence. They might help their peers in time of need by assisting them to get over their doubts or fears. They likely become a listening ear to the ones around them. Their soothing presence helps in their role as a mediator. 
6. Accepting: Such individuals provide a comforting presence as well as create an accepting environment. Their open-mindedness helps them to be accepting of different people and different lifestyles. This enables them to bind communities together. Hence, they are often called the “glue” that holds society.

Basic desire

Individuals with type-9 personalities have the basic desire of attaining peace of mind. They strongly root for harmony in their inner self and their external circles. Their main goal is to achieve inner stability. Their self-identity is validated by their social circles. 

Basic fear

These individuals strongly fear loss. They are scared to be separated from their close ones or to see their social circles get fragmented. To avoid this, they try very hard to ignore and cease any possible conflict. In this process, they go to extreme lengths, often forgetting themselves until their self-identity becomes an extension of their social groups. 

Tendencies displayed

Individuals with enneagram type-9 tend to:

• Avoid Conflicts: Type nines will do their best to avoid conflict with the world around them. In doing so they can even try to numb themselves to their feelings or emotions. 
• Seek Peace: Their ultimate goal is personal and external harmony. They fail to notice the covertly toxic methods they might choose to achieve this. They will do anything to avoid confrontation, forgetting that an open dialogue is healthy for growth.
• Be Accepting and Agreeable: Their primary characteristics of being accepting and agreeable go hand in hand as they are very compatible with their basic goals. They accept different viewpoints and choose to be cooperative and friendly.
• Disengage Their Feelings: In their pursuit of social harmony, these individuals tend to numb their feelings to the point of apathy. They become indifferent to their own emotions. In the process of considering others’ opinions, they fail to consider their own. This leads to the dissolution of self.
• Fear Loss and Separation: And this is their basic fear, it is displayed very frequently in their behavior. Their motives are influenced by this fear, directly and indirectly. They become social chameleons to fit in easily, adapting the behaviors of those around them.

Strengths vs Weaknesses

Strengths

1. Mediating Conflict: As their name suggests, they are excellent mediators. Their resolution for social harmony and open-mindedness enables them to resolve conflict efficiently and effectively
2. Ability to see multiple perspectives: Type nines are blessed with the ability to view and validate different perspectives and ideas. They are open to hearing new propositions and truly listen to them. Their easy-going and kind nature makes them a comforting presence for their peers to go and vent to. 
3. Reassuring and supportive presence: These individuals tend to be extremely understanding and patient with those around them. They can get rid of other’s doubts or fears with their reassuring words. Their supportive nature is a blessing to have around as they are great to connect with.
4. Being adaptive and accommodating: Type nines are adaptable and accommodating. Their behavior is heavily influenced by their social circles and their circumstances. They blend well in groups because of their agreeable and friendly nature. 
5. Patient and understanding: Type nines are patient and calm individuals with a liking for slow-paced environments. They like to connect with people and show great patience when dealing with them. They offer genuine support and show understanding of their problems. 

Weaknesses

1. Difficulty in addressing personal conflicts: As these individuals strive for peace of mind, they find it extremely difficult to stand up for themselves. They would rather brush their feelings under the rug than face a confrontation. They try not to have too strong opinions of their own and instead tend to be “okay with anything” This makes them ill-suited for voicing their own opinions and views in times of need. 
2. Minimize problems: These individuals often tend to trivialize issues for the sake of avoiding conflicts. According to them, social harmony stands above addressing any issue at hand. They avoid difficult or unpleasant situations as much as they can and try to balance the energy of the group by their neutral attitude.
3. Tendency to be passive-aggressive: Just because these types don’t overtly express their emotions doesn’t mean they don’t feel negative emotions. They try the best of their ability to conceal their emotions, but this only results in unhealthy coping techniques. Once drained out of their pleasant energy, they might display passive-aggressive tendencies. This only prolongs conflict instead of avoiding it, thus, leading to unhealthy behavioral patterns.
4. Making tough decisions: Their lack of self-assertion and tendency to follow the bandwagon means that these individuals have very little practice of making tough decisions. In the event of making difficult and stern decisions, they get stressed out and feel out of their element. They are people-pleasers to some extent and making a decision and displeasing someone makes them feel uncomfortable.
5. Blurred personal boundaries: These individuals fail to establish and maintain personal boundaries. Never considering their feelings means that they let others walk over them in the fear of losing social relationships. This leads to exhaustion and an unhealthy dynamic in relationships. Their tendency to not voice their concerns makes them passive-aggressive eventually which harms their existing relationships.

 At their best and their worst

Enneagram type-9 are stable and peace-loving individuals. At their best, they are excellent mediators and help maintain social harmony in their circles. They are emotionally available and tend to be great listeners. Their ability to understand different perspectives enables them to create an accepting environment. They use their calm and stable energy to better their own and other’s lives. Their pleasant demeanor helps diffuse conflicts. When they are at their best, they feel optimistic and full of life and use this energy to influence the moods of those around them. Their energy is best spent in bringing two groups together and resolving conflict.

As nines prefer stability, they are sometimes rigorous planners. They create familiar patterns and schedules to work through their day and follow them religiously. This helps them to be free of surprises or encounter any conflicts, thus making it their comfortable bubble. They dislike change and are attracted to familiar and cozy lifestyles. They stay motivated when there is peace and stability in their lives. Though nines show an aversion to change, they adapt well to their circumstances due to their chameleon personalities. This causes them some stress but their basic fear of loss and tendency to shun attention makes them follow the crowd. They are motivated when they feel accepted and their feelings are validated by their peers.

When nines are at their worst, they become stagnant. Their obsession with stability makes them sluggish and lethargic. They get drained of their energies and become shut off. This is mainly due to a lack of emotional expression. Always considering other’s views but never considering their own makes them feel pitiful. Their behavior is heavily influenced by their peers, but this leads to a lack of self-expression and a self-identity crisis. They start believing that they don’t matter in the big picture. This is mainly due to their herd mentality. As they follow the majority, they believe that their opinions do not matter. As they follow familiar patterns and schedules, they experience burnout and lack the motivation to take up new challenges. They experience life on autopilot and don’t actively try to achieve something or contribute in some way. They tend to procrastinate a lot and find it difficult to focus.

Their lack of self-expression means that they have a lot of pent-up emotions that they try to conceal. However, when this reaches a limit, they start to show passive-aggressive tendencies to cope up with the negative emotions. They do not condone overt forms of expression, so they start to show subtle signs of emotional exhaustion. These are unhealthy methods of coping that severely affect their social relationships. This causes them extreme stress as their basic fear is loss. They dislike disappointing those around them and hence try to maintain a calm composure overtly, even when that might not be how they feel on the inside. 

Self-Improvement tips

Nines are calm and stable individuals with a liking for social harmony but some of their tendencies make them prone to experience emotional exhaustion, normalize unhealthy behavioral patterns, and face a lack of motivation. Thus, there can be an area for self-improvement. 

Here are some tips that you can inculcate in your behavior as a type-9 to unlock the best version of yourself!

Treat conflict as a necessary part of life.

If you are a type nine, you run away at the slightest evidence of conflict. Though being a good mediator to diffuse conflicts between a third party, you dislike conflict when it concerns or stems from you. You put social harmony over your well-being. But it is time to change that thinking.

You need to understand that conflict is a very necessary part of life, and sometimes even healthy! There is no need to avoid conflict when you can address it and use your conflict-diffusing skills to resolve it. This will save you from a lot of internal stress and help you achieve your peace of mind, which is your strongest desire. Be open to disagreements since it helps you get a deeper understanding of those around you. 

Express yourself

Your lack of self-expression is possibly your biggest struggle as a type nine. You tend to numb your feelings and disregard your views. You might believe that expressing yourself might lead to conflict, but don’t be afraid of it! As mentioned before, conflict is a healthy part of life and so are emotions. All those pent-up emotions are unhealthy for your mental and emotional well-being. These emotions tend to express themselves eventually in unhealthy forms that strain your social relations. Don’t be afraid of negative emotions like anger, sadness, disgust, etc. Paul Ekman considers these emotions to be a major part of life that everybody experiences from time to time. So, the next time you have an opinion or feel emotional, express it healthily!

Prioritize your wants and needs

In your pursuit of social harmony and tendency to consider everyone’s feelings, you often forget yourself. You let your feelings and opinions take a backseat because you value other’s needs more than your own. But that is not okay. Everyone needs to value their own needs and cater to them. That does not make you selfish. When your needs would be met you would be happier and healthy. This would energize you to maintain healthy relationships and effectively perform your role as a mediator. You can only maintain external peace when you are at peace internally.

Practice self-assertion

Your tendency to bite your tongue and let others walk over you is due to your lack of self-assertion. You need to confidently address your own needs and concerns. This might be intimidating to you and can feel out of character. One trick to get over this is to practice in front of a mirror. Try saying out loud what you want or need and see how it feels. This will make you confident and help you believe that you can in reality do so. Next, try to practice the same with people you trust and feel comfortable with. Eventually, this will come more naturally to you and you will be able to assert yourself in real-life situations. Go practice right now, I believe in you!

Leap into the unknown

You value comfort and routine as a Type-9 and stay away from adventure. It can be difficult to step out of your comfort zone and it is normal to feel so. But try doing something spontaneous occasionally. Consider this as a new learning experience where you can gain different perspectives and ideas, which falls right in your element. It is possible that it will not immediately or directly benefit you. I do not believe that growth only happens outside of your comfort zone, but every experience is worth having. 

Actively try to make decisions

Making decisions is not your strong suit but being indecisive is a curse. If you let others always decide for you, you will never be able to get what you want since you are not your sole provider. Begin by making small decisions in everyday life. Here is one small task for you- The next time you go out to have a meal with friends, don’t order what everyone else is having but order something completely different. This will not only help with your decision-making struggle but also help you to be spontaneous. 

Best suitable jobs

Calm and balanced individuals, type nines prefer to work in environments that are compatible with their characteristics. They like a slow-paced environment where they can connect with people. They thrive in any area where they can utilize their peace-making passion.

Here are some career options for enneagram type-9:

1. Counselor: Qualities needed – Patience, Accepting, Supportive. Counselors offer guidance and support to individuals dealing with problems in education, career, relationships, life, etc. They help people with mental health issues and help improve their well-being. 
2. Human Resources Manager: Qualities needed – Conflict Resolution, Patience, Social Responsibility, Planning. Human resources managers are responsible for handling all people-related matters in a business. They plan and coordinate the administrative functions of the company. They are also responsible for employee grievance redressal and resolving any interpersonal conflicts.
3. Diplomat: Qualities needed – Compassion, Cooperative, Organization, Communication. A diplomat is a person appointed by a state or intergovernmental institution to handle matters related to international affairs and conduct diplomacy with other states. 
4. Social Worker: Qualities needed – Calming Presence, Compassion, Reassuring, Active Listening. Social workers are individuals that work for social causes. They help protect the rights of vulnerable sections of society like children, women, minorities, etc. They assist and support those in need. They promote social change, development, and empowerment of people and communities.
5. Librarian: Qualities needed – Calm, Organized, People-Skills, Helpful. Librarians are people responsible for the organization and maintenance of libraries. They work in slow-paced environments and can connect with different people. They help people in their research work. 

Now that you know all there is to know about Enneagram type nine, here are some famous personalities that have the same personality type.

1. Carl Jung
2. Ariana Grande 
3. Audrey Hepburn
4. Winnie the pooh
5. Dorothy from Wizard of Oz

To conclude

Enneagram type-9 are balanced, calm, and patient individuals. Their mediating personalities have earned them the name “peacekeepers” They strive for internal and external peace and strive when there is harmony in the same. Some of their weaknesses sabotage their relationships and hinder their personal growth. The self-improvement tips provided in this article will help you greatly to build a better version of yourself. Some of the best career options for you would be where you can help and connect with people, enjoy slow-paced environments, resolve conflicts and help establish peace.