By Mario Sikora
“Are we born our type or do we become our type?”
I see this question being feverishly debated on social media all the time, and it invariably pops up during workshops I conduct.
It’s a reasonable question, and perhaps even an interesting one.
And the only good answer is: “No one has a clue.”
I’ve seen “nature” advocates claim that “type is genetic,” but none have ever provided any evidence supporting their claim. Show me a gene or gene sequence that definitively correlates to the Ennea-types of accurately assessed people and you’ll get my attention.
There are numerous and varying “nurture” theories, none of which are anything more than speculative just-so stories. Tell someone that they became their Enneagram type because their mother didn’t love them enough and they will comb their memory and find evidence to support the theory. Tell the same person they became the same type because their mother loved them too much and they will find evidence of that as well.
Others point to possible biomarkers associated with Enneagram type, but it would be a big lift to show that any such bio-marker is causative rather than merely correlative. (For example, if we found that Nines had higher levels of dopamine we still wouldn’t know if they became a Nine because of high dopamine or they have higher levels of dopamine because they are Nines…)
Some people will suggest that they were one Ennea-type when they were younger and became a different type later. Maybe; maybe not. I’ve read too much on the fallibility of memory to place much confidence in what people say about their childhoods…
So, the reality is that no one knows how we become our Enneagram type. It is likely (but who really knows…) the result of a stew of genetics, prenatal dynamics, and early life experiences—just like everything else about our nature.
Maybe someday some very smart and appropriately educated person or group of people will come up with a compelling theory on “why we become our personality type.” Maybe they can find the right tools and attain the funding to conduct proper controlled experiments with an effort to falsify their hypothesis.
Until then, however, anyone with a strong opinion on this should be avoided like the know-it-all blowbag who seems to be hovering around the shrimp plate at every party.
The real questions we should be asking are, what is my Enneagram type and what should I do about it? How can I use this insight to identify my problematic patterns and manage my thoughts, behaviors, and emotional reactions so I can cause myself and the others around me less suffering and create more flourishing?
