# What type seems most foreign to you?



## Recede (Nov 23, 2011)

I guess I'll start. The type most foreign to me is definitely 8. Lust, sadism, vengeance, pugnacity...those are all things that are hard for to me to imagine because they're so opposite how I am and how I think. There are other types that are pretty opposite me as well, but when I read things 8's have said, sometimes I'm left thinking "Whoa...That's so different. My mind has been boggled. xD" 8's are fascinating to me, perhaps because they're so different from me. And yet I still manage to find subtle similarities.


----------



## d e c a d e n t (Apr 21, 2013)

Type 8 does sound kind of alien. I can understand the wish for self-reliance and control, but I've never been much of a risk-taker, and I can't imagine "pushing against" and challenging everything.


----------



## Tater Tot (May 28, 2012)

5. I just can't imagine my main concern being not knowing enough.  In order, the types that I identify with from most to least:

3/7
9
6
4 (the imagining up feelings and stuff )
2
8
1
5


----------



## Bluity (Nov 12, 2012)

Threes. Their profiles make me think of Wall Street brokers who only care about the money. Also lawyers, media mongols, and hipster motivational posters.


----------



## meridannight (Nov 23, 2012)

1s for their morals and ethics.
2s for unconditionally wanting to help anybody.

all the rest i get on some level or another. but these 2 are antithetic with who i am.


----------



## kaleidoscope (Jan 19, 2012)

Type 5 is _super _alien to me. Being stuck in the observer role, not being able to fully interact with the world around you, not being in touch with your emotions, the detachment.. *shudder* I simply can't understand it. I am anything BUT detached.


----------



## sorry_neither (Mar 21, 2012)

It's a tie between Type 2 and Type 3. Heck, make it the whole image triad--core 4s are pretty foreign to me, too.


----------



## Sina (Oct 27, 2010)

Type 5 is most alien to me.


----------



## Mawcliy (Dec 2, 2011)

most foreign
2
8
3
1
7
9
6
4
5
least foreign


----------



## Curiously (Nov 7, 2011)

It's now difficult for me to answer such a question. While I find fellow Type 5's somewhat less foreign to me, when I sit with each core type individually, I feel that I can relate to each core on an intrinsic level. If I try to let go of my preconceived notions, biases and limitations, the essence of each type is understandable, even for a fleeting moment.

For instance, my mom is a core 2w3, and while in my everyday existence I don't operate like she does, I 'get' why she seeks to provide support to others by taking care of everyday and financial matters, why she gives people a multitude of chances, why she's more a Doer than a Thinker, etc. Or even take a core 3, a type that I admittedly shrugged off and didn't try harder to understand, I can understand why she/he wants to achieve and garner external success, acceptance, and stability. I can apply this to each type, and maybe that's why I'm starting to realize that we really are more similar than different, as @_Flatliner_ shares in his signature. We share so many parts and pieces of each other. We're different in some ways, but at end of it all, aren't we all just trying to be appreciated, understood, and acknowledged? I dunno. /end ramble/


----------



## Animal (May 29, 2012)

- The type 6 descriptions were pretty foreign to me. I related to some parts (like I did with many types), but I didn't "get" the whole thing. Then one day my brother described his mind and it was basically that of a type 6. I read him some 6 descriptions and he related and knew it was his type. We had a few other talks since then, and my brother isn't foreign to me so I was able to make sense of the mindset after that. Chalk it up to Fi or Fe (I don't know that system quite as well), but I can't really make sense of things without solid personal examples that are very prototypical of the type.

- My friend who is a 2 was like an alien to me; someone I had major conflicts with at one point but later came to respect when we both got healthier. Watching her live her own life has taught me more about being a healthy person than I could ever learn from an enneagram book. I've written songs about the things I learned from her, long before typing at 8 or delving seriously into enneagram. What's funny is, some of her behaviors and advice influenced me in a very positive way, but I see how they are problems for her, being that for her it's a core. That being said, when I read type 2 descriptions, it isn't alien to me at all... I relate to some portions and not to others.

I don't think any other type is alien because if I've known someone well who exemplifies the type, I am able to see how it works and then understand other people who work similarly. I was able to do this before enneagram but now I have put a name to each set of motivations, and obviously the depth of enneagram has shed a lot MORE clarity on such things.


----------



## Jewl (Feb 28, 2012)

Allow me to just say I feel most drawn to types Six (obviously), Nine, and Five. (And of course Seven to certain extents). Five especially, weirdly enough. Recently I've found I relate to quite a bit concerning Five. Possibly because I just seem to get along with them so well. (Apparently I just have a thing for Ego types.) I feel furthest away from the Image triad, but the type that feels most foreign to me is type Eight. 

I cannot fathom it, really. It makes it harder that I don't know how to identify an Eight. I mean, I wonder if there's people I consider to be Counterphobic Six that are actually Eights. But I feel like in so many ways they are my opposite. Assertive where I am not. Defiant. Leaders. Their energy is stored up inside themselves in a single point. And sometimes Threes can feel like this too. But perhaps simply for the fact that my sister (who is extremely close to me) is a 4w3, I don't feel like the Image type Three is so impossible to "get". Whereas I slip into the background and that sort of anger Eights report experiencing feels to some extent like it's not there. Or at least, my anger stems from an entirely different place. 

For many of these reasons, I cannot quite understand what it means to be a type Eight. Occasionally I'll browse their forum just to "spy". XD They intrigue me for that reason. It doesn't help that certain users here seem like they'd fit Eight perfectly (at least their persona would) but then it turns out, nope! ( @Boss. *cough*) I need to meet some Eights.  I learn from experience best.


----------



## Animal (May 29, 2012)

kaleidoscope said:


> Type 5 is _super _alien to me. Being stuck in the observer role, not being able to fully interact with the world around you, not being in touch with your emotions, the detachment.. *shudder* I simply can't understand it. I am anything BUT detached.





Boss said:


> Type 5 is most alien to me.


Disembodied minds is probably a species of alien somewhere, and if they ever come to Earth, I imagine the only humans they would communicate with effectively are type 5s.


----------



## Animal (May 29, 2012)

Julia Bell said:


> Allow me to just say I feel most drawn to types Six (obviously), Nine, and Five. (And of course Seven to certain extents). Five especially, weirdly enough. Recently I've found I relate to quite a bit concerning Five. Possibly because I just seem to get along with them so well. (Apparently I just have a thing for Ego types.) I feel furthest away from the Image triad, but the type that feels most foreign to me is type Eight.
> 
> I cannot fathom it, really. It makes it harder that I don't know how to identify an Eight. I mean, I wonder if there's people I consider to be Counterphobic Six that are actually Eights. But I feel like in so many ways they are my opposite. Assertive where I am not. Defiant. Leaders. Their energy is stored up inside themselves in a single point. And sometimes Threes can feel like this too. But perhaps simply for the fact that my sister (who is extremely close to me) is a 4w3, I don't feel like the Image type Three is so impossible to "get". Whereas I slip into the background and that sort of anger Eights report experiencing feels to some extent like it's not there. Or at least, my anger stems from an entirely different place.
> 
> For many of these reasons, I cannot quite understand what it means to be a type Eight. Occasionally I'll browse their forum just to "spy". XD They intrigue me for that reason. It doesn't help that certain users here seem like they'd fit Eight perfectly (at least their persona would) but then it turns out, nope! ( @_Boss_. *cough*) I need to meet some Eights.  I learn from experience best.


That is interesting, considering I had so much trouble understanding what it means to be a 6. :O

I wonder if other 8s and 6s also find the other type alien. My brother is a 6 and I realized this a week ago; he was the last person I know well who I failed to type because I didn't understand. But in retrospect we do seem to fill in where the other lacks in many ways (he's also probably Si-Te while I'm Ne-Fi) .... I err on the side of impulsive and failing to take others feelings into account despite my good intentions, while he errs on the side of caution and considering others too much.


----------



## Sina (Oct 27, 2010)

@_Julia Bell_

For all you know, I am an undercover 8. :laughing:

Btw, whatever is 8-like, or 1 like or whatever, about me is not simply persona. It's who I am.


----------



## Animal (May 29, 2012)

Boss said:


> @_Julia Bell_
> 
> For all you know, I am an undercover 8. :laughing:
> 
> Btw, whatever is 8-like, or 1 like or whatever, about me is not simply persona. It's who I am.


Perhaps you just have so much personality that you managed to transcend enneagram? 
you're every type except 5!


----------



## d e c a d e n t (Apr 21, 2013)

I'm not sure if I would go so far as to call them "alien", but it did take me a while to get what type 7 is about.


----------



## Jewl (Feb 28, 2012)

Boss said:


> @_Julia Bell_
> 
> For all you know, I am an undercover 8. :laughing:


O.O This is actually a possibility. Lol. Drat it. WHY YOU MAKE ME DOUBT. 



> Btw, whatever is 8-like, or 1 like or whatever, about me is not simply persona. It's who I am.


Haha, note taken.  It's difficult. There is so much about you that seems Eight-like. I feel like if I didn't trust the observations you've posted about yourself on Three then I'd probably end up typing you as an Eight. (Or 7w8 at least.) But I keep on circling around on 3-7-8 for you. I could probably argue that either of those three could be your core. 

You break the Enneagram. XD


----------



## Runemarks (Jul 23, 2012)

most foreign
8
6
4
3
1
2
5
7
9
last foreign

Or something like that.


----------



## Bluity (Nov 12, 2012)

Maybe said:


> Disembodied minds is probably a species of alien somewhere, and if they ever come to Earth, I imagine the only humans they would communicate with effectively are type 5s.


We ARE the aliens, but we're trapped in human bodies. We've been trying to phone home ever since.


----------



## LimeDegree (Mar 6, 2012)

sorry_neither said:


> It's a tie between Type 2 and Type 3. Heck, make it the whole image triad--core 4s are pretty foreign to me, too.


My answer as well.

Very difficult to see the payoff.

Although the type 4 seems most palatable of the three.


----------



## Bluity (Nov 12, 2012)

LimeDegree said:


> Very difficult to see the payoff.


I was thinking the same thing. When I first started the enneagram, I could see the pitfalls in the thinking of all types, as opposed to Fives where I turned a convenient blind eye. "What's the downfall of being detached? Who wouldn't want to be an observer? 'They must learn how to open up to their emotions' - why would I want to do that?"


----------



## Doll (Sep 6, 2012)

Probably 6s. I always want to tell them to chillax. I'm speaking more of the phobic 6s, though, and likely the intensely unhealthy ones.


----------



## ThatOneWeirdGuy (Nov 22, 2012)

I can fully relate to all types except for nines. I've never even understood the concept if "inner-peace." And I wish I knew how to suppress my anger and emotions sometimes. I don't even know why one would want to though.

Also, no surprise fives were the most mentioned in this thread.


----------



## Recede (Nov 23, 2011)

Actually, come to think of it, there are aspects of every type that are foreign to me.

1 - strong opinions and judgments, self-righteousness
2 - selflessness, emotional manipulation
3 - drive for success, deceit, workaholism, losing touch with what they really want for themselves
4 - strong emotions, need to be unique, drama, elitism
5 - need to know everything
6 - difficulty trusting, suspicion, paranoia
7 - energy, enthusiasm, outgoingness, narcissism
8 - lust, sadism, vengeance, pugnacity, dominance, physicality...almost everything really
9 - trouble saying 'no', being afraid of conflict, losing themselves in participation, merging


----------



## mimesis (Apr 10, 2012)

Can't name any type in particular foreign to me.


----------



## Loupgaroux (Mar 9, 2013)

As a 4w5, I can understand's One's perfectionism, Three's desire for acclaim, Six's difficulty trusting, Seven's need for pleasures & Nine's desire to maintain peace. Aspects of Two & Eight are ones I've never experienced as far as I can recall.

Although.... Nine's tendency to merge with others is one that throws me for a loop. That is 100% out of my nature.


----------



## mimesis (Apr 10, 2012)

Bluity said:


> I was thinking the same thing. When I first started the enneagram, I could see the pitfalls in the thinking of all types, as opposed to Fives where I turned a convenient blind eye. "What's the downfall of being detached? Who wouldn't want to be an observer? 'They must learn how to open up to their emotions' - why would I want to do that?"


Well there's a difference between being emotional and being in touch with your emotion. Knowing where it comes from, or even being aware of them. If you are not aware of them, you are not aware of how emotions can distort perception, making you vulnerable for self-serving bias and confirmation bias. Emotional detachment, or rather equinimity is important for observations of others and to observe oneself. 

On more unhealthy levels within the realm of Five (in its descriptions), detachment becomes more like 'disembodied mind', social or emotional disengagement, cynicism or nihilism, but just like e.g. a Four can become self-absorbed, envious of others, emotionally paralyzed, alienated, self-hating. How is that being any more in touch with emotions? It's just as much emotionally locked-in and disengaged from others like any other type at these levels.


----------



## mimesis (Apr 10, 2012)

Loupgaroux said:


> As a 4w5, I can understand's One's perfectionism, Three's desire for acclaim, Six's difficulty trusting, Seven's need for pleasures & Nine's desire to maintain peace. *Aspects of Two & Eight are ones I've never experienced as far as I can recall.*
> 
> Although.... Nine's tendency to merge with others is one that throws me for a loop. That is 100% out of my nature.


Not meaning to suggest anything to you personally, but it happend to cross my mind: how about co-dependency? I could imagine a Four being codependent on someone else (or longing to that S.O.) in order to feel significant oneself, just like a two needs to be needed to feel loved. (and I think this also connects to 8 in terms of control, being dependent may also mean being controllable)


----------



## Lotan (Aug 10, 2012)

Dying Acedia said:


> 7.
> 
> I get what they're about, but their inner world eludes me.


I've got like five inner worlds all going at once so maybe that's why. :wink:

I have the most difficult time understanding Type 2. I've had 2s in my life that are awesome, but I don't understand 'em...I've always been a kind of "everyone for themselves" type. I like competing too much.


----------



## kaleidoscope (Jan 19, 2012)

Nonsense said:


> Do you do it at will, or is it more something that happens?


I can sometimes exacerbate what I'm feeling on purpose, but I also generally feel things very deeply, and am abnormally attuned to my emotions.


----------



## mimesis (Apr 10, 2012)

LimeDegree said:


> My answer as well.
> 
> *Very difficult to see the payoff.*
> 
> Although the type 4 seems most palatable of the three.


Would Apple have survived without it's image? A lot of people don't have the time or the knowledge to go through the specs, make risk analysis, calculate total cost of ownership, whatever to see what is the best option. They choose what appeals to them, or choose based on status or prestige. That isn't always the best option, or reliable, so there's your payoff already, I guess. Tough luck for better ideas with bad P.R.

Metaphorically speaking of course.


----------



## Chili990 (Aug 25, 2011)

Fours and nines seem the most alien to me because I find it difficult to relate to their core motivations.


----------



## Coburn (Sep 3, 2010)

Nines.


----------



## wk05 (Aug 26, 2012)

My experience with all the types is limited unfortunately. I have had most irl experience with 9s, 7s, 6s, and 8s. As has already been mentioned on this thread, theoretically, I can understand every type, their core motivations, their behaviours, etc. 

The 8s interaction style, at least on a conversational level, is pretty foreign to my own, and I find that this often gets in the way of my observation of the true essence of what they're communicating. Albeit, this can usually be deduced retrospectively when I am in a much calmer, less invasive environment i.e solitude. 

If I had to pick, 6 and 9 are two types that follow mental processes, which I am a little reluctance to accept.
Hearing a 9 arrive at a conclusion on certain matters often leaves me expecting more, and most times I just want to tell a 6 to 'relax'

Cool thread.


----------



## frenchie (Jul 7, 2011)

1s seem the most foreign.

Doing or not doing things on principle cracks me up because I'm an opportunist. If they're not going to take the short cut, I will and I will get ahead. 

Although I certainly respect it.


----------



## Echoe (Apr 23, 2012)

Unsurprisingly I find this hard to answer (part of that 9ish "seeing all sides" agreeable nature that may make us identify with many traits and whatnot). It seems a little odd to me that I want to list my integration and disintegration points since they're already a part of me (even as opposites to me), but I want to say 6 and 3: 6 for the anxiety and their preoccupation with potential corruption or failure in authorities/others. 3 for their need for acclaim and the way they can be elitist, I am just not as preoccupied with how I'm seen nor of being better than anyone else.


----------



## rajAs (Sep 14, 2012)

Rozart said:


> Type 4s.
> 
> I can relate to/understand most of the wants/needs/insecurities of the other types but if I had to choose, I'd probably peg type 4s as the ones who are most 'foreign' to me.
> 
> ...


Agreed. 

I find it hard to be myself when I'm with 2s, 3s and 4s. Image types are focused on different things. I see that 3s can't explain my lack of ambition, 2s can't stop being... 2ish, 4s seem they can't stop showing how do they literally live in another world.


----------



## DiamondDays (Sep 4, 2012)

I don't get 4s and 2s...


----------



## Loupgaroux (Mar 9, 2013)

mimesis said:


> Not meaning to suggest anything to you personally, but it happend to cross my mind: how about co-dependency? I could imagine a Four being codependent on someone else (or longing to that S.O.) in order to feel significant oneself, just like a two needs to be needed to feel loved. (and I think this also connects to 8 in terms of control, being dependent may also mean being controllable)


I've been quite dependent (regrettably) on other people for things I could have done myself, but only on outside matters & not emotionally per se. It has to be because of my Five-wing, since my desire for a close relationship is paralleled with a fear of being overwhelmed by someone & having my space invaded.


----------

