Enneagram Type 4 - The Creative

Enneagrams Four have a motivational need to express their uniqueness and to be authentic. The Four value individualism and therefore feelings, self-expression and goals are important to them. They are quite romantic at heart and appreciate beauty and the creation of meaning for themselves and others. They may feel misunderstood, while others see them as melancholic and capricious. This pattern stems from the Four's acute awareness of their own wounds and shortcomings.

Something to think about for the 4 :

"There's something missing - I need to find what's missing in my life. I need to be true to my purpose and express my authentic self. I need to create beauty and meaning for myself and for the world."

The characteristics of the enneagram type 4

In a few words :

• Self-awareness: The Four are aware of their own emotions and those of others, and seek to understand these emotions. This allows them to make deep connections.
• Purposeful: Listening for meaning and purpose leads the Four to express their personal purpose and contribution to the world.
• Inspired: Their creative and imaginative ability allows them to express what's important to them in unique ways.
• Sensitive: The Four are able to recognise what's missing and get to the heart of issues. Their intuition based on feeling enables them to be very attuned to their environment.
• Courage: The Four are not afraid of suffering and the most painful aspects of the emotional world, which gives them the courage to ask difficult questions.
• Typical Action Patterns: Emotional centre in the enneagram (the heart). Enneatype Four focuses on the past moment and the main feeling that accompanies it is sadness, which in their case, is perceived as that permanent need to be unique and find meaning (or fear of being banal and ordinary).

Blind spots :

1. Fours want deep, meaningful relationships but often act in ways that reflect their need to feel different, special and separate. This can lead them to attract people to them and repel them, especially if they feel rejected or disappointed. The net effect can be to drive people away from them.
2. The Four may also focus on what they lack, desiring what they don't have and rejecting what they do have. This alternating focus reinforces their sense of loss and emotional sensitivity.
3. Believing that others share their preference for discussing emotions and feelings and reaching an emotional conclusion, the Four may dwell too much on this subject. This can lead others to think that the Four are overly dramatic and intense.