Exploring Enneagram: Lucky Number Seven

This year, our Houston Moms writers will be giving you first-hand accounts of life behind their Enneagram type. For an introduction to the Enneagram, see this post, and then read on as Christy shares her experience of living as an Enneagram Seven.

Lucky. Us sevens. Our mindset may create our supposed “luck”, but I’ll take it any way I can get it. Because, as a seven, I really only want to experience the good.

Sevens are labeled “The Enthusiasts” of the Enneagram. We are naturally optimistic and want to try everything. Often, sevens are extroverts, but I am not fully extroverted… while in the moment I do feel energized being around lots of different people, alone time is absolutely necessary for me to recharge.

I need my freedom. But after all this time at home, I would love to just GET OUT AND DO THINGS WITH PEOPLE I LIKE. Anything. Truly.

The Need to Experience Everything Good In the World

This is just one reason I know I am definitively a seven. Notice, I clarified that I only desire the good experiences. Sevens are highly curious and spontaneous people, which explains my ever-present obsessions with travel, concerts, and food.

My one regret from university: not studying abroad.

Yes, we are the FOMO people you know. We are also the YOLO people. Apparently, we are those acronym people. Sorry. Not really.

Thankfully, through my husband’s work, we were fortunate to live for several years in Australia and Chile. Both places also allowed for new vacation destinations. We have lived on three continents and traveled to five. The last two, Africa and Antarctica, are also high up on my unofficial travel bucket list. {It’s unofficial because sevens aren’t quite list makers—we might miss out on an experience if we limited ourselves to lists.}

This need for pleasurable experiences also extends to the dining table. It can lead to sevens sometimes being labeled as the “gluttons” of the Enneagram. I am pretty frugal when it comes to cosmetics and clothing, but I do not think twice about dropping a lot of money on a great meal. 

A meal is an experience.

A great one transports you to someplace you’ve never been before and allows for amazing conversation because it lifts your mood. Well, it lifts my mood.

Whenever there is something to celebrate, my mind goes immediately to what meal we will eat to do so or {if we have enough extra cash} where we will travel. It is never focused on acquiring more things. 

Note: Some sevens love to have all the best things. I like nice things, but it’s not everything. I will never get the same joy from clothing or a handbag that I get from a meal, vacation, or concert. Never.

And give me a crowd and a band any day of the week. Well, not during a pandemic, but otherwise… yes. It doesn’t matter if it’s The Rolling Stones or Keith Urban or some blues band I’ve never heard of. Those few hours will be absolute euphoria. And yes, I will work my way to the front of the crowd if it is even remotely possible. 

The Mind of a Seven

When I originally discovered that I was a seven, I was a little concerned. I thought they seemed flighty and lacking substance. I worried I might have mistyped, as I have always taken great pride in being intelligent, curious, creative, adaptable, practical and a bit of a perfectionist. It turns out, sevens go to ones {perfectionists} in stress. I am also married to a one {I know, I shouldn’t type him . . . but it is painfully obvious he is 1w9}, so I have adapted a bit to live in harmony. {Side note: Sevens often mistype as ones, but ones do not mistype as sevens.}

A lot of people say you will know your type is correct when reading about it makes you cringe. I cannot say this is my experience, as I am quite self aware. I can see my patterns clearly. And the Enneagram confirmed them. The confirmation was oddly soothing though.

My very obvious pattern: I like change. I am not a person who would ever have the same career for life. Sevens enter into everything with enthusiasm and ideas . . . until we get bored. And I do get bored and move on to something completely different usually. You see, sevens want to try all the things, and life is too short to be stuck in monotony.

This goes for both careers and projects. Sevens are great brainstormers. We think quickly. We formulate ideas and solutions that other people just can’t come up with. We are problem solvers. We see the big picture. Can’t be bothered with the nitty gritty details of execution. Sorry. Sevens get distracted by life and “What’s next?”

I guess that makes me cringe a bit. 

And don’t ever micromanage us. We will run. For the hills. And then we’ll post pictures on Instagram to show you how magnificent those hills are. #roadtrip

Our “wheels” are always spinning. And if the right conditions exist, that is an excellent quality. When they don’t, it can be catastrophic and paralyzing. We are cerebral, after all.

Since sevens are in the “thinking” center, we are prone to anxiety and are more likely than other types to suffer from addiction. The addiction component comes into play when sevens try to quell emotional pain.

Sevens Run From Emotional Pain and Negativity

While I realize that no one desires negativity or being emotionally hurt, they are absolutely draining to sevens. We try very hard to surround ourselves with likeminded people who can find the joy in life. This is not to say that we don’t value honesty and truth-telling. Sevens absolutely do. We just don’t like to dwell on the negative. We can acknowledge something awful, and then we like to move on. 

We also struggle with understanding toxic positivity. Because what feels extremely toxic to us . . . is negativity. We need a silver lining. It is life sustaining.

We dislike drama. We will not entertain anyone who constantly complains. We will find a way to exit the conversation or the room quickly when these conditions are present. 

Sevens also struggle with vulnerability. Greatly. Not only does it involve divulging something we see as negative, but it gives the negative thing more power over us {in our eyes}. Sharing something vulnerable can also feel an awful lot like complaining. If you don’t acknowledge it, you can pretend it doesn’t exist. I have had to actively practice being vulnerable to a few carefully selected people who have earned my trust.

The Sunny Side of Sevens

Yes, you guessed it. Sevens are the optimists.

We see the best in people. We expect everything to work out. We expect our food to be delicious. We expect our efforts to be rewarded {though it is not our motivation}. We think we always have more time than we actually do.

Note: Do not put a seven in charge of time management. It is not that we don’t value your time. We just try to do as many things as possible, and we always think that the time it takes to get somewhere on a good day, is the time it will always take. Because we’re optimists.

We see the beauty in nature and appreciate the differences in each season.

We want to celebrate everything, so sometimes we create reasons to celebrate.

We see beautiful moments in everyday settings. {Sunsets, the way someone looks at us, a beautiful plate of food, a well maintained garden, etc.}

We are internally grateful for so many of those moments.

We are so excited during a passionate conversation that we cannot help to interject. We want to sustain it. 

We see endless good possibilities.

We have great hopes and dreams for ourselves, the world, and those we love dearly. 

The Wind Beneath our 7 Wings

Wings are the numbers adjacent to your core Enneagram type. So, Sevens can only be 7w6 or 7w8. In this small detail, lies the key to understanding your Seven-ness. And yes, Bette Midler is a Seven.

7w8—The Realist

I am a 7w8. A strong 7w8. We are the realists. We are the connoisseurs of life who need our freedom but will also stand up and speak up for what we believe is right and just. We are assertive, but not confrontational. Think JFK, George Clooney, Simon Cowell, and Benjamin Franklin. My favorite fictional 7w8 is Lorelai Gilmore.

7w6—The Entertainer

Those who identify as 7w6 come across as a little more free spirited. They are excellent conversationalists and place great value on friendships. That six wing keeps them loyal and also makes them more of a planner than a 7w8. They are great fun and what most people associate with Enneagram Seven. Well known 7w6s are Charlie Sheen, Goldie Hawn, RuPaul, and Miley Cyrus. My favorite fictional 7w6 is Alexis Rose.

Want to Know More?

Curious about your Enneagram type after reading this? Click here to take the official {re: paid} test via the Enneagram Institute.

Exploring Enneagram:: Coming to Terms with My SIXuality

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