Enneagram Type 1

Enneagram 1s idealise the innate quality of ‘brilliancy’, which is like a sort of perfection. And so, the personality constellates around manufacturing this quality of brilliancy. How do you embody brilliancy in the world? By being good, right, having integrity and ideals, and adhering to exceptionally high standards. How profoundly irritating, then, when others are not doing the same. Resentment is type 1’s Passion, the Enneagram’s term for a key feature of the personality, and it is most evident in the domain of the dominant instinct.

Names given to Enneagram Type 1

The Perfectionist (the Narrative Enneagram), the Reformer (the Enneagram Institute), the Good Person (Jerry Wagner), Striving to be Perfect (Mario Sikora), Righteous Serenity (Khaled ElSherbini).

One of the Body Center types

Along with types 8 and 9, Enneagram 1s belong to the Body Center (sometimes also referred to as the Belly Center, Gut Center and Instinctive Center). If you care about inner development and transformation, you want to ensure that you understand the significance of the Centers. If you intend to self-study, I recommend getting a copy of something like the Wisdom of the Enneagram or the Enneagram Triads.

Because each triad shares characteristics, this aspect of the Enneagram can also help you to know whether you are the type you think you are, or whether you have mistyped. Below are some general characteristics that have been associated with the Body types, types 8, 9 and 1.

Enneagram Type 1 Subtypes

As discussed on the instincts page, ‘subtype’ is the name given to what happens when our Enneagram type intersects with the instinctual part of us. Some teachers prefer to simply name this situation as a ‘type/instinct’ combination, versus giving it a special name

Remember that descriptions are approximations. The descriptions below are from Beatrice Chestnut, whose work built upon the teachings of Claudio Naranjo, and Russ Hudson, who has slightly different descriptions (which he shared over a series of Tweets once).

Self-preservation 1

‘Worry’ (Ichazo, Naranjo and Chestnut)

• The true perfectionists of the Enneagram.
• See themselves as highly flawed and try to improve themselves and make every detail of what they do right.
• The most anxious and worried 1s, but also the most friendly and warm. It is their repressed anger which, through the mechanism of reaction formation, creates this warmth.
• Excessively gentle, decent, and kind.
• Can have the ongoing sense that anything can go wrong at any moment unless they stay on high alert.
• Difficult for them to let go of worrying if they can still have an effect on a situation.
• Constant fretting serves to (1) attain perfection, (2) avert misfortune and (3) free themselves from blame.
• Can get confused with Enneagram 6s.

‘Self Control’ (Hudson)

• Frustrated about self-preservation matters and feels that there is a ‘right way’ to do them.
• Tend to focus their perfectionism on health and self-care issues, and on the practical matters of maintaining a home and business.
• Not necessarily focused on big social issues, but know how to maintain a kitchen or a set of accounts, or what vitamins or diet would be best.
• Can hold very strong opinions about practical affairs.
• Become advocates or media personalities educating the public on health and practical issues.
• May also create beautiful home environments.
• When troubled, impose rigid philosophies on instinctual matters, such as staying on a strict diet which may or may not support their health.
• Can become obsessed with issues of purity and contamination.
• At their best, they are kind and wise guides to living well.

Sexual 1

‘Zeal’/ ‘Jealousy’ – the countertype (Ichazo, Naranjo and Chestnut

• Focus on making other people (and society as a whole) more perfect, feeling less of a need to perfect their own behaviour.
• More reformers than perfectionists, they can be explicitly angry, impatient, invasive, and may be entitled. It is their overt anger that makes them the countertype.
• Have a liberated attitude towards sexual desire and a ‘go get it’ attitude.
• Don’t question themselves much.
• Can have great strength and determination.
• Have a playful side oriented towards pleasure, and an aggressive side.
• Repress pain.
• Energy, assertiveness, and strength can make them look like Enneagram 8s.

‘Shared Standards’/ ‘Chivalry’ (Hudson)

• Not stereotypical 1s.
• When interested in something, it is not a casual interest.
• Can judge people as low lives and for lacking decorum. The whole idea of chivalry, of elegant courtship, is related to this perspective.
• Have great focus and want to stay in sync with the objects of their attraction. When they meet someone who feels right, they can be anxious about maintaining the high standards of the relationship.
• Don’t like to fill up space, like pauses in conversation, and take their time communicating.
• Tend to be adventurous, and it’s often as if they have lived different lives in the same life.
• Attracted to sexual energy, but want it to be classy and elegant.
• Often seem as if they came from an earlier time, which is part of their allure.
• Notice how well others handle themselves.
• Have a hard time finding partners because few can meet their standards.
• When troubled, they can get depressed over never finding the perfect match, or can become very controlling of a partner, fearing they may stray from their idealized sense of an energetic union.

Social 1

‘Non-Adaptability’ / ‘Rigidity’ (Ichazo, Naranjo, Chestnut)

• Paragons of correct conduct, they focus on doing things perfectly in a larger sense and modelling how to do things right for others.
• Have a teacher mentality; they see their role as helping others see what they already know (how to be perfect).
• Anger is half-hidden, and instead of being transferred into warmth (as with the self-preservation), it is cold.
• Cooler, intellectual type.
• Can resemble a type 5 because of introversion and seeming “above it all” and detached. Can seem remote at times, and self-sufficient in relationships.

‘The Crusader’ (Hudson)

• The focus is on causes, they are willing to make sacrifices for a greater good.
• See the long-range picture and can delay gratification for a better future. This can become a self-denying lifestyle.
• Naturally generous and will give the shirt off their backs to someone in need without hesitation or need for affirmation.
• Can be highly triggered by seeing what they deem as selfishness or self-indulgence in others.
• Most like the stereotypical idea of 1s.
• Can be found in many professions but they are often drawn to politics and journalism.
• Natural activists, seeking change in society, and pointing out injustice and corruption when they find it.
• Concerned with being publicly in integrity with their stated views.
• Like to have a mission in life and are focussed on contribution, but can be so fiercely focused on their chosen causes that their personal life and relationships may suffer.
• Loyal friends.
• When troubled, they can be intolerant and openly judgemental.

Types connected to 1 (and how connected)

Type 4 – the ‘Stress’ (Hudson) or ‘Resolution’ (Uranio Paes/Chestnut) point

The inner lines are important when it comes to a growth path. As a general rule, the more dynamic movement between the arrow points and core point, the less fixated we are in our types. And the more conscious the movement, the greater our depth of presence (and freedom from the patterns).

The lines can also help us to know for sure that we have typed correctly. Following Russ Hudson’s teaching on the lines, 1s move to Type 4 when they have been overdoing their main coping strategies. When Type 1 moves to Type 4 unconsciously, they can be “plunged into uncomfortable feelings that are difficult to manage; their usual self-criticism may become self-loathing; depression underneath not being perfect arises and they may feel overwhelmed regarding managing negative emotions” (ideas from Paes/Chestnut).

When they move to Type 4 consciously, they are able to “access feelings and creativity; do what they want to do rather than what they should or have to do; things get more meaningful and they loosen self-control” (Paes/Chestnut).

Type 7 – ‘the Security’ (Hudson) or ‘Energising’ point

Many of us struggle to own the behaviours we see at the security point for our number, in particular the ‘low’ behaviours. However, as discussed elsewhere on this site, the integration of the security point becomes a way of knowing if we’re making progress in our inner work.

For 1s, movement to Type 7 when unconscious can show up as “nervous energy that fuels a focus on pleasure that’s depleting rather than restorative. Resentment is veiled by humor; 1s may exhibit avoidance of responsibility as a reaction to over-responsibility; and may experience anxiety expressed through impulsiveness” (Chestnut/Paes).

On the conscious and positive side, movement to Type 7 “brings out Type 1’s flexibility/innovation; strengthens their sense of humor, and 1s are able to have fun and relax. They are more spontaneous, critical of the status quo, curious for the new, and give themselves permission to act on their own impulses and desires”.

The ‘Wings’ or types on either side – Types 9 and 2

The presence of the attributes of the types on either side of our core type is another way of knowing whether we have typed correctly. When it comes to inner development and transformation, they aren’t as significant.

Enneagram teacher and direct student of Naranjo, Micheal Goldberg, teaches that each Enneagram type is formed out of a reconciliation of the forces of the Wings. 

In Type 1’s case, they are caught between the inner sense of worthlessness and resignation of Type 9 and the self-inflation and grandiosity of Type 2. It is a stretch between going to sleep and pride, which the Type 1 responds with resentment.

In terms of practical interventions: accessing Type 9 “means a Type 1 is able to tone down intense need and drive to correct; develop a more trusting acceptance of others; tap into the willingness to surrender to the natural unfolding of events; and seek out more viewpoints”. Accessing Type 2 “supports Type 1 in tempering their critical attitude towards others with compassion and understanding; accepting limitations; and expressing idealism constructively in service of others” (ideas from Integrative Enneagram Solutions).