Type 4

Fours are motivated by the need to understand their feelings, to search for what is missing and for what life means, and to avoid being ordinary. They are "romantic" in the sense of having an imaginative or artistic view about their own personality.

Twos, Threes, and Fours constitute the heart center of the Enneagram. Fours need to express their feelings and need to be seen as special. Since they compare reality with what could be, they find fault with who they are and what they have.

Fours at their BEST are:

• Individualistic
• Perceptive
• Expressive
• Creative
• Warm
• Supportive
• Refined
• Compassionate
• Gentle
• Witty
  

Fours at their WORST are:

• Temperamental
  
• Withdrawn
• Self-absorbed
• Envious
• Emotionally needy
• Easily hurt
• Snobbish
• Depressed
• Critical
• Self-indulgent
  

What a Four would say ...

An Overview of the Four (pg 106-107)

In the artist of all kinds I think one can detect an inherent dilemma, which belongs to the co-existence of two trends, the urgent need to communicate andthe still more urgent need not to be found. (D.W. Winnicott, quoted in Anthony Storr, The Dynamics of Creation, 58.)

What more fruitful way to redressing the balance than by portraying one's inner world in a work of art and then persuading other people to accept it, if not as real, at least as highly significant? Part of the satisfaction which a creative person obtains from his achievement may be the feeling that, at last, some part of his inner life is being accepted which has never been accorded recognition before. Moreover, since art became an individual matter generally recognized as being especially apt for expressing the personal style of an individual (which is of course closely related to his inner world). The value we place upon authenticity is often exaggerated, ...

Personal Growth Recommendations
for Enneagram Type Fours

• Do not pay so much attention to your feelings; they are not a true source of support for you, as you probably already know. Remember this advice: "From our present perspective, we can also see that one of the most important mistakes Fours make is to equate themselves with their feelings. The fallacy is that to understand themselves they must understand their feelings, particularly their negative ones, before acting. Fours do not see that the self is not the same as its feelings or that the presence of negative feelings does not preclude the presence of good in themselves" (Personality Types, p. 172). Always remember that your feelings are telling

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Overview
You want to be gifted, intuitive, original and unique. More importantly, you want to be passionate, true to your feelings and uniquely authentic. You see yourself as sensitive, expressive and spiritual. You would like others to see you as idealistic, emotionally deep and compassionate. Your idealized image is that you are accomplished and special.
Motivated by the need to understand and to be understood, you desire experiences that are rich with feeling and meaning. You may find it easier to deal with painful emotions than to deal with the tedium of daily routine. You have the temperament of an artist and long to freely express yourself. You feel your emotions deeply and are not afraid to go emotionally where others fear to tread. This includes having an exquisite, intuitive ability to distinguish between subtle emotions that others often miss. Painfully ...

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