Months ago, I had my first Deep Dive client. She is a Six. I was concerned because I didn’t think I fully understood the Six, but we managed to work together and learn something from one another. Since then, I’ve discovered some of my favorite people in my life are Sixes. Maybe it is because the Universe wanted me to see them in a different light. Maybe because they are one of my Wings. Either way, the Six is one of those Types I understand and love.
Type Six’s strengths are being awake and aware, trustworthy, cooperative, and committed. At their best, they are courageous, self-reliant, trusting, secure, and decisive. The Sixes in my life are loyal friends. Their Center of Intelligence is Head (so I can relate to them). When they are behaving in an average way they look for security, and are dutiful, and prepared. When they are behaving in a not-so-great way they are doubting, worrying, and pessimistic. Many times I have witnessed these behaviors in those I love, but that is because they are close to me and allow themselves to be stressed and/or vulnerable. We can’t always be on our best behavior so please give space to those in your life who tend to go to the anxious or worried place.
Anxiety and worry are key components of the Six’s strengths going awry and it is manifested in fear (insecurity). Fear is the Six’s Shadow. Remember, our Shadow is something about ourselves we don’t want to admit to ourselves or others. Recently, I was typing a friend who is a Six and she had so many a-ha moments during our typing session when we were nailing down her type. Her Shadow of Fear resonated with her yet she never really looked at it like that. Once it was labeled, she could give me concrete examples of how this played out in her life, but it wasn’t until we labeled it (and she owned it) that it made her aware of this. Now when she knows what to look for. This is the beauty of the Enneagram.
As we move around the Path of Wholeness circle, we come to the Six’s Saboteur - Hyper Vigilant. Hyper-Vigilant manifests as continuous intense anxiety about all the dangers, and what could go wrong, and includes a vigilance that can never rest. Sixes are worse-case-scenario planners. My Type Six friend’s Saboteur Assessment didn’t show much of this Saboteur but she could easily look back on her life and notice when it was pervasive. This isn’t unusual when we take assessments. It is a snapshot in time and for people who have “done the work” it is hard to discern who we want to be with who we really are. We can show up to these tests having “done the work” and type erroneously. Her actual type ended up being the third result on her assessment. With a type Six, it is also difficult to admit to oneself and others the anxiety and worry that comes with this type on a day-to-day basis. However, this can be curtailed by bringing awareness to it and deciding to behave differently. Which brings us to the Six’s Wholey Idea.
The Six’s Wholey Idea is Strength and Faith. When Sixes realize there is something they can trust - The Universe, they can rest in this knowledge and drop the anxiety and worry of always planning for the worst-case scenario. Showing up courageously, and pushing oneself just outside their comfort zone is where the Six can grow in their strengths of being awake and aware without anxiety and embracing the full realization that the Universe believes in them and they cannot be harmed. So powerful and liberating. This is true for every Enneagram type. Our Wholey Ideas are powerful and liberating but they make zero sense if we do not know our type making the Path to Wholeness rocky at best without the compass of knowing our type including our strengths, Shadow, and Saboteur.