In order for the Enneagram to reveal the deeper motivation behind your behavior and ultimately help you grow in self-awareness, it’s crucial that you are sure which type actually reflects your personality and don’t end up mistyping yourself. This page is specifically for Type Sevens to have a quick check, whether they might have mistyped themselves.
If you want to know more about how and why misidentifications happen in the first place, you can do so here.
If you are even faintly familiar with these types, you will agree that it’s pretty much impossible for them to misidentify. Sevens, with their easy-going, spontaneous and care-free attitude, are simply hard to mistake for the controlled, principled and self-conscious Ones. Yes, they often both have a strong vision and the sense of needing to convince other people of their ways, but they do so in very different ways. Where Sevens are optimistic and wide-eyed, Ones are pure realists – and therefore less surprised (but still annoyed) when they get disappointed by others.
And yes, some Sevens may see themselves as „perfectionists“ – and therefore mistake themselves for being Ones. But rest assured, there is a big difference between the kind of perfectionism that makes you beat yourself up for a week over a misplaced comma in an otherwise flawless fifty page essay (Ones), and the kind of perfectionism that makes you feel a bit frustrated because they put a little too much sugar in your Daiquiri (guess who).
What makes Sevens prone to misidentify themselves as Twos and, though more rarely, Sevens as Twos, is their seemingly similar way of being very emotionally expressive and having deep feelings. Both types like to have people around them and fall on the more extroverted side. They can also both be very generous towards others with their time and resources.
If you look more closely however, you quickly start to see the differences. Yes, they both like to be around people. But while Twos want to be part of their loved ones lives, the center of a community and the confidants of the people they invest in, Sevens really don’t want to get that involved. They’d rather be the center of the party and off to the next one once it’s over.
In other words: While Twos want to be needed and others to depend on them, Sevens very much don’t want anyone to depend on them too much – it would only slow them down and take away their prized freedom.
It also shows in the way Sevens approach life, which is mainly by thinking. Their emotions, while often being quick, volatile and dramatic, kind of stay on the surface. The emotions of Twos on the other hand run deep, they are warm and not prone to change as quickly. It’s a bit like two puddles that look the same on the surface. But while one is shallow enough for you to jump into it without hesitation and just have fun, the other one turns out to be a well that you can swim and dive in.
Threes and Sevens can look very similar from the outside in their default state, which makes it easy to mistake one (or yourself) for the other. They are both assertive, they like to pursue wealth and status symbols, they are likeable and outgoing. Both can show impressive accomplishments, and on lower levels of maturity, both can become quite narcissistic about them.
That’s why, for these types, it’s essential to look at why they do the things they do. Their motivations are where the big differences start to show. Sevens want to experience stimulation and excitement. When they acquire wealth, it’s for the pleasures it can give them. Threes on the other hand need validation and the feeling of being able to rise in status and recognition. When they acquire wealth, it serves as a status symbol and a sign that they belong to the cool kids.
That’s why Threes usually come across as much more composed and controlled – because that’s the image they want to project. Sevens don’t really care too much about what others think of them as long as they’re having fun, which makes them much more comfortable with showing their rough edges and emotions.
Threes make you want to be around them because they seem so successful and suave that you secretly wish to be like them. Sevens make you want to be around them because it’s just so much freaking fun.
Although there aren’t any true opposites on the Enneagram, Fours and Sevens come pretty close. The introverted Four that loves to dive into the dark depths of human existence doesn’t pair well with the fun-loving Seven who would love nothing more than to never be concerned with any negativity at all. So this misidentification happens, well, kinda never.
The only time these two types start to look remotely similar is in their increasingly less mature states, when both go into excess: The Seven becomes materialistically excessive, insensitive and uncaring in order to escape their fear of pain. The Four however becomes emotionally excessive, self-indulgent and overly concerned with sensual pleasures – not in order to escape the pain but to become numb to it.
However, since even this is pretty rare, we won’t go into any more detail here. We just wanted to mention it.
Sevens and Fives are very easy to tell apart. While they are usually both curious thinking types, Sevens are extroverted, highly sociable optimists that love to follow a spectacular vision, but not to spend too much time poring over the details. Fives are the opposite of all that: withdrawn, highly focused introverts who mistrust spectacular visions because they’ve usually done the painstaking research which pokes holes into them.
Fives are comfortable with (or at least used to) the dark side of life and how bleak reality can get – Sevens want to get away from all that as much as possible. They are a bit like ice and steam – both made out of water, but in completely different aggregate states.
As with all types that are next to each other on the Enneagram, Sixes and Sevens don’t get so much misidentified but rather confused about which one is their main type and which one their wing. Since we will talk about wings in more detail somewhere else, we will just mention the main difference between the two types for now.
The thing that links these two types is that they are both confronted with feelings of anxiety more than other types. What tells them clearly apart however is how they react to this anxiety:
Sixes try to guard themselves against it by thinking through every possible danger and either finding things (or people) to reassure them, or, if their trust is abused, by rebelling against it.
Sevens by contrast don’t engage their fears at all (if possible). They rather avoid them by distracting themselves with things that are fun and enjoyable.
That’s why Sixes are easy with commitment – it makes them feel secure – while Sevens are easy with being spontaneous and free – it reassures them that they can always escape when things get too dangerous. Sixes built a home with a sturdy fence. Sevens buy a home with a garage for their fast car.
As with all types that are next to each other on the Enneagram, Sevens and Eights don’t get so much misidentified but rather confused about which one is their main type and which one their wing. Since we talk about wings in more detail somewhere else, we will just mention the main difference between the two types for now.
Both of these types are aggressive about getting what they want. They’re often powerful personalities that can be intimidating to others, although for different reasons: Sevens often seem to have such amazing, exciting lives and personalities that it makes everyone else look pale in comparison. Eights however simply overwhelm people with their force of character.
That’s because their core motivation is different (and this is what will help you tell apart which is your wing and which your core type): Sevens want to avoid any feelings of anxiety and pain, so they fill their lives with as many positive and exciting things as possible (and they can work hard for that). Eights want something else: to avoid feelings of inferiority and vulnerability, which is why they simply try to conquer them.
Eights don’t look for distraction, but for domination. Similarly, Sevens don’t care as much for power like Eights do. They crack a joke in the face of adversity, while Eights just try to stare it down.
You would think Sevens – one of the types with the highest energy, hyperactive extroverts – and Nines – low-key lovelies with the least amount of energy – are hard to confuse. If you look at it that way, sure. But not every type necessarily falls into the extremes of those behaviors, and there are some things that can make these two types look very similar, so let’s take a look nonetheless.
Both Sevens and Nines share the core behavior of trying to escape their inner worlds. But what they’re trying to avoid are different things, which is why they use different strategies to do so.
Sevens try to escape feelings of being bored or afraid, of having to look the darker aspects of life in the eye. Their response is to throw themselves into activity and (almost) constant (over)stimulation. The fewer chances to confront their pain, the better.
Nines on the other hand want to avoid their inner turmoil (as well as conflict with others) by trying to stay clear of anything that upsets them – and too much stimulation is a part of that.
So while Sevens become ever more active and restless the less healthy they are, Nines become ever more passive and indifferent. In that way, they are polar opposites – as happy and unfazed as they may both look on outside.
I’m a type 5
Who would think? I was always told it was type 7
I was pretty sure it was a 9 but now that I read this I got confirmation
Type 8 as i always suspected