Enneagram 1
Core Fear: Being corrupt
Core Desire: To be good
Overview
Body Triad
Enneagram 1s are in the Body Triad, which means they value effectiveness, functionality, implementation, & pragmatism. Body triad numbers (8, 9, 1) walk into a room and see what needs to be done. When a 1 walks into a room, they often immediately see what they can improve or fix.
Must earn being good
1s want to be good above all else. They feel as if "good" is something they must earn - not something that they are born with. Their actions always orient them towards their personal definition of "good", and they often find themselves frustrated about the fact that no one else seems to be as interested in doing the right thing as they are.
Responsive Stance
1s are in the responsive stance, which means that they have an external reference point. This makes them highly responsive to their environment and often want it to be a certain way before they can feel good. 1s are also oriented towards others and often find themselves working hard for whatever team they are a part of.
Enneagram 1
Enneagram 1s are people who believe that they must act a certain way in order to "earn" the right to call themselves good people. They are action-oriented and responsive to their environment and the people around them. 1s often find themselves fixing what others have broken or trying to right things that they perceive to be wrong, unjust, or inefficient. This can cause 1s to feel a bit resentful towards the rest of the world, since it can feel like they are the only ones trying to do what is right.
At their best, Enneagram 1s are conscientious and ethical, with a strong sense of right and wrong. They are people who can be trusted to do the right thing even when it is hard. At their worst, they can come across as perfectionistic and hold impossibly high standards for themselves and others.
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All 1s deal with what we in the Enneagram world call an "inner critic". 1s are doing-oriented and support their doing with feeling, which means that after completing any action they involuntarily and immediately evaluate it subjectively. This subjective evaluation causes them to constantly move the goal-posts for themselves and never be able to reach their end goal: perfection. This inner critic can be a singular voice (although it's often not), but no matter how it sounds it is experienced by the 1 as a push towards ever-changing standards and a rising bar of perfection. The inner critic is often seen as a good thing by 1s until they realize that it is pushing them towards something they can never truly achieve. The life work of a 1 is focused on learning when their work has been good enough and how to move on - even when their inner critic is telling them something different.
In stress, Enneagram 1s move to 4. This can cause them to pick up hopelessness and despair as their negative feelings finally take them over. 1s can experience a very deep low here, and may feel like nothing will ever be good enough and that they should just stop trying. With work, 1s can learn to embrace the access to feelings that 4 gives them and use it as a time to recoup their strength and connect with themselves.
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In security, 1s move to 7. This move gives them a chance to abandon their normally strict super-ego and instead chase what is fun and exciting with no rules or restrictions. 7 gives 1s a space to play and be care-free, an emotional state that is not easily accessed by a 1.