Prepared

I am loyal & prepared

Enneagram Type Six

Type Six

Loyalist / Loyal Skeptic

People of Enneatype SIX are loyal skeptics who are motivated by a desire to find security, safety and predictability in their environment.  They are reliable, friendly and dutiful – looking for the right structures or people in which they can place their trust.

Sixes have very busy brains – actively attuned to potential problems, dangers, or hazards around them. They are natural trouble-shooters, quickly assessing the multitudinous potential outcomes of their endeavors in an effort to navigate the safest path.

The preoccupation to evaluate potential risks is often experienced by Sixes as a sense of constant anxiety, or sometimes as a compulsion to be prepared for anything.  This constant drive to foresee and prepare for all potential problems can sometimes result in fearful indecisiveness OR in reactive and contrary confrontation.

At Their Best:

Perceptive, responsible, loyal, compassionate, strategic, and courageous.

When Struggling:

Hypervigilant, indecisive, defensive, self-defeating, pessimistic, and paranoid.

What Type Sixes say about themselves:

  • I seem to be more aware of danger or potential problems than other people are.
  • I am often on the lookout for ulterior motives or hidden intentions in others.
  • I may not always agree with or follow the rules, but I certainly want to know what they are!
  • I seek reputable authority figures & structures, but can remain distrustful at the same time.
  • I am doggedly faithful to the people and things that deserve my trust.
  • Before I act, I often seek other opinions or external sources.
  • I can have a tendency to focus on what might go wrong with the things I want to do.
  • I ask a lot of questions because I care deeply about seeking out the TRUTH.
  • I often go back and forth when trying to make a decision.
  • I’m complex; it’s impossible to pin me down and “put me in a box.”

We each feel that we must show up in a certain way in the world in order to deserve love.

These are internal messages that resonate with Sixes:

BASIC FEAR: Of being without support and guidance.

BASIC DESIRE: To have security and support.

BASIC PROPOSITION: “You can assure life and certainty by avoiding harm (the phobic stance) or facing it (the counter-phobic stance) through vigilance, questioning, and either battling or escaping perceived hazards.”

AVOIDANCE: Uncertainty or rejection

FOCUS of ATTENTION: What could go wrong, worst-case scenarios and how to deal with them.

  • Positive aspect: The ability to quickly spot potential problems and troubleshoot with innovative solutions.
  • Negative aspect: The tendency to get caught up in overly-negative worst-case-scenario thinking.

 

Strategies For Growth:

  • Observe your habit of mind or focus of attention with as little judgment as possible. Ask yourself, how do I question and doubt in my internal dialogue? How am I magnifying situations in my head? Remind yourself that you have the ability to trust yourself and make good decisions for your own self.
  • It can be scary to trust others, but work on becoming more trusting. Find at least 1-2 people that you allow yourself to get close to. This will mean risking rejection, but the risk is worth taking.
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