What is the Enneagram Test?
The Enneagram Test determines your personality type out of 9 different options. Within these 9 are three separate categories: action, feeling, and thinking. Each of the personality types fits within one of these three categories.
Type 4 is right in the center of the feeling category. This indicates that people with enneagram type 4 experience highly intense emotions. They are very aware of their feelings and the feelings of those around them.
What is Enneagram Type 4?
Enneagram Type 4 personalities are known as the Individualists or the Creatives. They are highly emotionally intuned and experience intense emotions.
Because of this, type 4s find they enjoy expressing themselves creatively to try and communicate their range of emotions. So you often will find type 4s in acting and artistic roles. This is because this creativity gives them an outlet and a way to show their feelings.
Traits of type 4
Enneagram type 4s are often very introspective. They are very intuned with their level of emotion and tend to self-reflect and contemplate their actions and emotions.
However, they can present as very sensitive and melancholy and often see themselves as misunderstood.
They will often see themselves as a victim and capitalize on this sadness. This is because they feel it makes them individual and is the crux of their personality.
Because of this, type 4s often struggle with their own sense of identity. So, they tend to use self-expression in the form of art or creativity as an outlet for the emotions that they don’t understand, to try and make sense of them.
Most importantly, type 4s want to be seen as special and appreciated and can thrive if they feel they are. Their biggest fear is that they are meaningless and so strive to show others their value.
However, if they feel misunderstood, as they often do, it can cause them to delve into a state of melancholy and withdrawal. They often see themselves as exceptionally gifted and unique and want others to recognize this.
Despite their highly emotional state, fours are able to recognize their own flaws and areas of growth. This sets them apart from other types who are unable to share this same self-awareness. They are very deep thinkers and because of this, are often sensitive to their own and others’ needs.
Strengths
- Type 4s are highly creative and make up some of the most successful artists and actors.
- They are very emotionally aware and are able to self-reflect on their actions in ways many other types cannot
- This emotional awareness allows them to be very empathetic and considerate to others
Weaknesses
- Type 4s will often withdraw under high levels of stress as they become overwhelmed by emotion
- They often feel misunderstood and different from the people around them
- They tend to focus mostly on themselves
- Their struggle with self-identity can leave them feeling depressed and unworthy
Is Enneagram Type 4 rare?
There are many famous Enneagram type 4s in creative jobs, such as musical artists and actors. Taylor Swift, Jonny Depp, Amy Winehouse, and Kate Winslet are just a few.
How do I know if I am a 4?
Below is a summary of the main traits of an enneagram type 4.
If you answer yes to most of these, it is likely you are a four!
- Do you enjoy expressing yourself through art and other ideas?
- Are you very creative?
- Do you struggle to connect to others, but when you do you form deep meaning connections?
- Do you often feel misunderstood?
- Are you afraid of others judging and rejecting you?
- Do you feel that you have a very complex personality?
What is an Enneagram Type 4 like in a relationship?
Enneagram type 4s are highly emotional and because of this can be the best romantics. Also, they are able to connect with their partner on a deep level and often are very adept at communicating their emotions.
However, because of this, they can also become overly emotional and struggle to maintain a balanced mood. They then tend to withdraw or become highly emotive with their partner.
Therefore, whoever is in a relationship with an Enneagram type 4, should be someone very stable who is able to manage their volatile mood swings.
As emotionally volatile as a four can be, they are, to their credit, very able to self-reflect and learn from their behaviors and actions. With these skills, they are able to see their own flaws and recognize where there is possible growth within them.
Because they are self-aware, they can understand their impact on others and how to nurture their best qualities.
Who should a Type 4 marry?
Enneagram type 4s want to feel unique and special. So they need a partner who will shower them with love and adoration.
Type 4s have often spent their lives feeling very misunderstood and different so their partner must demonstrate appreciation and acceptance of who they are. Typically, they often have low self-esteem or poor body image. Therefore, they often will require a lot of reassurance, which can be emotionally draining to their partner.
Marrying a Type four will typically be a mixture of romance and warmth, and trying to manage a melancholy individual who just wants to be rescued and adored.
Therefore, type 4s need to be with someone who is rational and tactful. They need someone who will help them balance their creative impulsivity with a practical and sensible mindset.
Their partner will need to be very patient with them as they can be different from day to day depending on their mood.
Good qualities in a relationship
A type four will have high expectations of their partner, but will also return this love in kind.
If they feel safe, type four is very adept at sharing their emotions with their partner. This helps their partner then feel safe in sharing with them.
They are great listeners and are very thoughtful, so will absorb what their partner is saying while showing sensitivity and understanding.
They can be hard work in a relationship but can make up for this with their compassionate and romantic side.
What is the best job for an Enneagram 4?
What they need from their job
Expressive
Because type fours are so creative, they need to work in a field where they are given the opportunity to express themselves and use their imagination to create.
They have a great deal of emotion to process and manage, so thrive in careers where they have the freedom to explore this.
Teaching others or being inspiring
Type fours think they are unique and have exceptional talents and gifts. They believe that others do not share these abilities and so feel it is important for them to impart this wisdom.
They have an innate ability to self-reflect and understand their areas for growth and enjoy assisting others in learning these skills. Feeling that they are inspiring others is a big drive for type fours as they want to feel special and appreciated.
Connecting
Type fours are very sensitive to their own and others’ emotions and enjoy forming deep connections with others.
Type fours will thrive off working with people with whom they can have meaningful conversations and share creative ideas.
New ideas
Because type fours are very imaginative, they work best in careers where they have the freedom to use these skills. Because of this, they don’t like to work in rigid, rule focused careers and appreciate spontaneity and creativity in colleagues and projects.
Feel appreciated
It is important for a type four to feel appreciated or they can quickly become disillusioned and withdraw, feeling that they are not being recognized for their abilities.
What will demotivate them
Not doing something meaningful
No matter what career they have, if a type four does not feel that their work has meaning, they will quickly lose interest in it.
Paperwork and repetitive tasks are an absolute no-go for a type four to feel satisfied in their job, as they feel this suppresses their creativity.
Misunderstood
Because type fours struggle with their own sense of identity, they take it very personally if they feel misunderstood.
Their identity arises from their emotion and creativity so if their ideas are not accepted or understood then this can be felt as a personal attack.
Rigid work
If they have to follow a rigid set of rules, this will feel like a boring career for a type four. They need to have the freedom to express their creativity and individuality and not be bound by a specific set of expectations.
Criticism
Type fours do not take criticism very well as they feel they are not being appreciated for their work.
They do respond to constructive criticism as they see it as a positive area for growth and are able to take on suggestions in this way.
They tend to need a boss who is receptive to their ideas and their need to be understood.
Best Enneagram type 4 careers
- Artistic
- Actor, Writer, Chef, Painter, Dance instructor
- Helping Others
- Therapist, Nurse, Teacher
- Project management
- Artistic
Any artistic role is likely to be ideal for a type 4. Having an outlet for their emotions is how they thrive and they are often very capable of harnessing their feelings into a creative project.
Being autonomous and having the freedom to use their imagination in their work will make for a perfect career choice for this personality.
Type fours need to feel appreciated so they enjoy being able to showcase their talents to others.
Project management
Managing a project could be an ideal choice for a type 4, as it gives them the opportunity to use their imagination on a larger scale.
Working with a team that shares type four’s vision will give them the sense of appreciation they crave as well as an opportunity to form deep connections with others over their shared ideas.
Helping others
Type fours have a fairly unique ability to self-reflect and understand their emotions on a deeper level than most. Because of this, they have a high level of empathy and can often recognize when others are upset.
Type fours can use these skills in careers such as therapy and nursing, in which they can also help others learn the self-awareness they need to understand areas of personal growth.
Also, because type fours thrive off deep connections with others, they can be very compassionate and sensitive to others’ needs and can use their personal experiences and insights to help guide others.
Jobs to avoid
- Any desk job
- Lawyer
- Police officer
- Finance
These careers are the worst for a type 4 as they are all very rule-based and logical. They will typically have no room for imaginative thinking or new ideas and a four will struggle with this lack of autonomy.
Jobs like these will feel very meaningless to a type 4 and they will quickly lose interest which will cause their productivity to decrease. Sitting at a desk with very little interaction with others will be difficult for a four who likes to form connections and will cause them to feel isolated.
Find out!
You can find an Enneagram test online to check which type you are! If you are type four, these ideas can help you find your perfect career, and hopefully not waste too much time in a job that leaves you feeling bored and restless!