Enneatype 9 is often described as "going with the flow", "not rocking the boat", "going along to get along." It's said that when pushed too far they can become stubborn and "dig their heels in." What could possibly underlie this sort of behavior?

I've often wondered if the reason that personality theories and interpretations are so different is due to the interpreter's own personality style. Here are some examples of what I mean.

For those who haven’t followed Eliot Spitzer in the news, in 2002 Time Magazine named him “crusader of the year” for the way he took on greed and wrongdoing when he was the New York State attorney general. In 2006 he was elected New York’s governor by a historic winning margin. In March 2008 however, the trapdoor to his personality was revealed when the story broke about how he was a repeat prostitution customer.

People tend to type President George W. Bush as some combination of 6, 7, 8 or 9. Let's take a look at each of these Enneagram personality types to see why people may type him as they do.

As a follow up to my post Bringing the Enneagram Types to Life, below is a list of famous people that seem to be typed consistently.

Without justice there can be no peace...
- Martin Luther King Jr.

I can think of no more succinct way to describe the Enneagram 8 with a 9 wing style than the above quote by Martin Luther King, Jr. - type 9's desire for peace and type 8's desire for justice.

It's easy to fall into the trap of stereotyping with personality types. The problem arises when your understanding of the types comes from books instead of experience with real people.

For example, you think you understand what type 1 is about from the books and web material you've read. You determine a person is a type 1 from that same material. You then either try to tell the person about themselves or think about the person solely in terms of your limited understanding of type 1.