Putting It All Together for Type Seven

Robin Williams was thought to have a Type Seven personality.

This week, we end the “Putting It All Together” series on the Enneagram types with an exploration of Type Seven.

Here are some of the various components that make up a Type Seven personality.

Center: Head/Thinking (underlying emotion is fear)

Hornevian: Assertive

Harmonic: Positive Outlook

Object Relation Group: Frustration

At one point in my late 20s, I had activities scheduled four work nights a week. Toastmasters, prayer meeting, and on and on. I would rush from work to each event, or stop at home just long enough to gobble some dinner. One day, I found myself triple-booked. I spent the first event anticipating the second one, and couldn’t really enjoy the second because I was thinking about the third. When I got home, I thought, “All these things are supposed to be fun, but they’re wearing me out!”

Welcome to the world of the Seven.

Like their sister Head types, Five and Six, Sevens process the world with their intellect. They are Fear types that don’t seem afraid at all. However, their Basic Fear is that they’ll be trapped in emotional pain or deprivation, and they believe that there is no to rely on to get their needs met; they’re on their own in the scary world. So, because they are Assertive, they go forth boldly into the world to get those needs met as quickly as possible. And they do it with gusto and joy, leading others in their train – and sometimes leaving others in their wake.

To be assertive is to move out into the world – to actively assert one’s position or agenda. Assertive types (3,7 and 8) make things happen. If Sevens are focused, they can complete projects and realize their big dreams. Otherwise, what Sevens make happen is a lot of interesting activity that doesn’t amount to much.

One things Sevens assert is their Positive Outlook. If you combine the Harmonic and Hornevian Group names, you get Assertive Positive Outlook. We could call this “aggressively happy.” Being positive is the Seven’s first line of defense, and a Seven will bulldoze over and minimize or altogether discount your pain in the relentless assertion that there’s always a brighter side to look at. This, of course, ends up hurting people – which the Seven is typically oblivious to.

How can a person who is aggressively happy have Frustration as their Object Relation? Well, it seems like an irony, but it makes perfect sense if you look a little deeper. Sevens, because they fear being trapped in deprivation or pain, want everything to be easy and pleasant. They want to skate through life—sometimes literally!—from one fun or fascinating thing to the next. Of course, this is not real life, so Sevens are constantly coming up against opposition to their positive attitude.

Herein lies their frustration. A Seven’s experiences never fully satisfy them, bringing up the realization that what they’re doing isn’t working and may, in fact, be causing their suffering (that’s what Riso & Hudson call the Red Flag Fear for the Seven). But they don’t know what else to do, so they keep following the Seven script, even doubling down if necessary by accelerating their activity.

Again, this and all of the posts in this series are not at all exhaustive or definitive; they are vignettes designed to encourage a deeper understanding of what’s going on beneath the surface of ourselves and of other human beings. As always, I welcome your comments, additions and insights – either in the comment section below or on Twitter or Facebook. Join the conversation! It’s such an important one.

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