Overview
General Archetypal Names: Enthusiast, Entertainer, and Epicure
Core Motivational Theme: Choice/Freedom, Satisfaction/Contentment
Core Fear: being deprived, in pain, constrained, bored/boring, committed/trapped; FOMO (fear of missing out)
Core Desire: having options/choice; being happy, satisfied, content, excited, joyful; being free to explore and experience
Center of Intelligence: head/thinking
Connecting Points: 1 (gut), 5 (head)
Archetypal Journey (Levels of Consciousness)
From least to most conscious, these archetypes represent the varying ways that a human may respond to the core motivation arising out of point 7 on the Enneagram.
“The world exists for my happiness. It revolves around me and my desires.”
“Never a dull moment, I am constantly engaged and never bored, nor am I boring. I’m basically a best-selling author; I just kind of have to finish my book; but first, I need to finish my painting; but first…”
“By being present to pain, I transcend and transform it. I choose to follow and commit to my highest bliss rather than settle for immediate distractions and gratifications.”
Integration and Disintegration / Connecting Points
Examples/Helpful Resources/Suggestions
1. Gratitude Journaling (The Science of Gratitude: pdf)
Gratitude journaling is something that has received considerable psychological research and shown many benefits: improved psychological and physical health, better sleep, increased resilience and relationship satisfaction; as well as reduced resentment and social comparison. Despite the benefits, it’s important to view gratitude journaling as more than just ten minutes of writing down a few nice things that happened, and expecting happiness in return. Gratitude journaling is really a process of discovery; an opportunity to be curious and inquire into the nature of your experience and ask, “What actually really makes me happy?” If you look closely, often the mind’s expectations about what will bring happiness and what actually does are not on the same page. Often the mind craves peak experiences, but remains selectively ignorant to the ways in which insatiable craving for more, fear of loss, and feelings of anxiety and isolation follow these experiences and decrease overall life satisfaction and fulfillment. Gratitude journaling can be a way to learn about the totality of your experience, and then realign yourself towards things that please your entire being in the deepest, wholest sense.
2. The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz (Book)
In modern society, and in most 7s’ minds, choice seems to have only a positive connotation—more is better! “Why wouldn’t I want choice? Isn’t choice a good thing? Isn’t it better than the opposite: a lack of choice, a lack of freedom?” the mind may say. But is it so? After all, choice can often take us away from joy, and busy the mind with unsatisfactoriness and doubt; “Do I get this or do I get that? Will I be happy with this, or is that other thing better? How do I choose? What if I’m not happy with what I chose? How do I get out of what I’ve chosen?”
Half of the time we humans want choice, yet half of the time life would be so much easier if someone could just relieve our doubts, tell us what to do, and choose for us!
The Paradox of Choice: Why Less is More: How the Culture of Abundance Robs Us of Satisfaction by Barry Schwartz is a fun and engaging exploration of this themes that invites one to find more joy, happiness, and contentment in life by learning to recognize when “choice” can become more so synonymous with discontent and constraint than true freedom.