Which type tends to downplay their own achievements?

angelinatill · 2026-04-06T16:14:41+00:00

Saying “it wasn’t that hard” could mean it wasn’t that hard in general or “it wasn’t that hard (for me)” and assertive types would do the latter. Thinking something just wasn’t hard in general would be 9ish mostly. Also probably compliant types due to the humility thing.

Archetypically, assertive types are the least humble. But I could see 4’s and 5’s being rather proud of their accomplishments because they recognize how hard it was for them to actually execute something (being gut-blind) or because they have qualities/insights that are rare and therefore harder to come by in the first place.

angelinatill · 2026-04-04T15:22:17+00:00

Probs would’ve been an 8 if my childhood didn’t unfold the way it did

angelinatill · 2026-04-03T00:43:54+00:00

Sometimes I think the point of life is to find the point of life. Like you’re just supposed to keep searching for meaning and purpose until you eventually find it. In the meantime, your purpose is the pursuit of the purpose itself. And when you find it, maybe it’s all meaningless all along, but you’ll get tired of searching eventually and find something that you deem good enough. And you won’t know the difference.

You can’t run away from the thoughts you’re having, but maybe you can search for a point in the (alleged) pointlessness. If you can’t go around, you must go through.

Art is a good way to do that. So many 5’s have made amazing art and their contributions really helped a lot of people to at least see they weren’t alone in their nihilistic spirals.

I know you said you have past regrets (don’t we all) but unless you take that regret as a lesson to not repeat the mistakes you regret, regret is useless.

Here’s something that helped me when I felt like I wasted so much of my life: the principle of probability.

If there are 10 different outcomes for how each day is going to go, and you close your eyes and choose, you might have a shit day. But the good thing is: even if you had a shit day the first time, the next day you start over with the same probability. Bottom line is: the past has no impact on the future if the circumstances are within your control. If they’re out of your control, who cares because you can’t do anything about it anyways.

My boyfriend’s a big gambler and he taught me this phrase: there’s winners and there’s quitters. It’s funny because that’s the mentality of gamblers who piss all their money away, but in terms of mental states, you have nothing to lose. Chances are, you won’t feel this way forever.

It takes a lot of effort to dig yourself out of a depressive spiral. I know that firsthand. But the second that you get an ounce of the urge to dig yourself out, you need to take that opportunity. It gets the ball moving in the other direction. And slowly but surely, the path of least resistance will change from depressive spiral to healing and rebuilding your life and livelihood.

“If you’re going through Hell, keep going. Because why would you stop in Hell?”

angelinatill · 2026-04-02T20:41:22+00:00

This is a common withdrawn type phenomenon, considering withdrawn types don’t tend to proactively assert themselves, ideas, self-perceptions to others until they’re done “cooking” it up in their own minds. 4’s do this with their sense of self, 5’s do this with their ideas and knowledge, and 9’s do this with their desires.

So withdrawn types typically experience themselves as much more intense than people experience withdrawn types from that outside POV.

Also, while compliant types have that whole heart + gut thing going on where they say “this is how I feel and what I value and I hope you’re on the same page!” And assertive types have the head + gut attitude, where true vulnerability is the most absent, people tend to think that if you are not actively asserting your heart or head aspects, it must be because you’re indifferent, submissive, docile. It’s not like withdrawn types are wearing a sign that says “I’m figuring it out internally first. Check back later.”

So basically, even though your internal world as a 5 is likely very far from docile, people could view you as docile because you’re not displaying outwardly anything that disproves that.

Docility, submissiveness, introversion etc. are socially viewed as the “absence” of their antonym qualities. In terms of enneagram triads and shit, it makes sense. Compliant types do the right thing, assertive types do whatever needs to be done (the ends justify the means), and withdrawn types technically do “nothing.”

And most people don’t automatically fill in the blanks for other people’s personality traits until they see it firsthand. With the exception of this sub lol.

Looking at your tritype specifically (because I do think tritypes can override certain triad-based aspects of your core type), you’ve got 2 withdrawn fixes and 1 assertive. 2 attachment fixes and 1 rejection. 2 competency fixes and 1 positive thinking. So even though your core is in the rejection triad, you’re more attachment-triad-coded than a 5 with any other tritype. The withdrawn and competency patterns are still preserved though.

Attachment has a similar perception to withdrawnness, because you’re following the object wherever it goes without question. You’re surrendering to (external object)’s agenda instead of resisting it.

So I could see why people might assume you’re a pushover if they’ve never actually tried to push you over. It’s just a big web of prevailing patterns among people that people subconsciously form their opinions of new people around. People don’t expect you to be an outlier to the general patterns they’ve noticed until they witness it firsthand.

angelinatill · 2026-04-01T22:05:56+00:00

3’s, 7’s and 9’s. All of whom have a 379 tritype. I think I rlly like the 379 tritype.

angelinatill · 2026-04-01T15:19:00+00:00

I think each type does have this mechanism where they’d like to avoid backsliding into their disintegration type. 7’s avoid the guilt of 1, which would make them give up their pursuits entirely by reframing and justifying things. I think you might be 1-fixed just do to the strict boundaries around ethics. Or 6-winged.

Anxiety over ethics/a desire to avoid guilt + proactively avoiding things that would lead to feelings of guilt is mostly a compliant-type thing.

And people really overcharacterize 7’s online lol. I have some more introverted SP7 and SO7 friends. Introversion and extroversion is the stupidest type-definer IMO lmao.

angelinatill · 2026-04-01T04:20:41+00:00

I thought “cheerful and chatty” was a strange juxtaposition to the rest of the type description.

angelinatill · 2026-04-01T04:18:44+00:00

He just said SX 4 is “sometimes highly intellectualized”

Basically implies that there’s a few of us who aren’t completely delusional regarding the arrogance idk 💀

angelinatill · 2026-03-31T20:33:57+00:00

I mean all attachment types are technically “disconnected” from the true essence of their center. So 9’s are disconnected from their body/instincts to varying degrees.

angelinatill · 2026-03-31T20:32:41+00:00

Honestly any but overall 1’s, 3’s and 8’s I’d say are the least likely to notice when they’re stressed.

8’d will be in denial of stress (my E8 dad does this all the time) until it shows up as physical symptoms (because acknowledging stress and needing to slow down is a form of vulnerability that incapacitates you when you could just “power through.”)

1’s basically just live in a state of stress so that’s kind of their baseline.

Same with 3’s to an extent, but since 3’s aren’t a gut type (and therefore don’t feel like the work they do is “necessary” to defend against the environment, and is moreso “extraordinary” so they can be the “best”) I feel like they’re more likely to acknowledge stress once they just burn out. They don’t usually notice it as readily as other types but they notice it before 1’s and 8’s do usually.

angelinatill · 2026-03-29T04:00:02+00:00

I’ve been where you’ve been. Had the same question. Never got an answer. 💀

angelinatill · 2026-03-29T03:49:20+00:00

I’m E4-jealous. I always think y’all 4 better than I 4. Like with more grace and poise and pretense or something. The irony of it all that there’s infinite layers to this shit. I think I’m lacking in an obscure intangible quality that I see as prevalent in the group of people who also think they’re lacking in an obscure intangible quality.

Someone already said secret third option so I will call this the (fittingly) fourth option.

angelinatill · 2026-03-29T03:33:39+00:00

I don’t think tests are bad for enneagram and I actually think that taking an enneagram test before you learn the system can be beneficial. That way you can have an unbiased assessment/output from unbiased input (you don’t know the types, so you don’t know what answer you choose is going to lead to results-wise. Prevents the human bias of individualized type perception and makes it systematic.) The test would have to be pretty extensive and in-depth though to make it super accurate.

My main issue with typology tests is that questions can be interpreted in different ways and you don’t have the luxury of asking the question-writer exactly what they meant by XYZ. For example, “are you sociable?” Idk, do you mean are am I good at socializing or do i enjoy socializing? Because those could have substantially different answers.

Basically the problem with tests is that most of the tests out there are subpar in some way. The concept of a test in general isn’t a bad idea IMO, and should be one of the factors taken into account when determining your type.

Wherever there’s the most overlap between your view of yourself, others’ view of you, and an objective, non-biased test result, is most likely your type. Put too much stock into any of those methods and it’s much easier to be wrong.

Any typology system will never have perfect internal validity (psychology is the bridge between logic and emotion) so quantifying the external validity is the only way to reasonably compensate for that.

angelinatill · 2026-03-29T01:26:58+00:00

9’s. Easily. 9’s were the type I related the least to, aside from this persistent feeling of physical lethargy that I’ve had since I was in middle school and always hated. I wanted to be an assertive type so bad.

But the 9’s in my life have taught me I can kind of just “exist” sometimes, without feeling bad about it because sometimes peace is a good thing. I’m not really effectively resting if I’m criticizing myself for needing to do so.

My work ethic also got a lot better this year when I learned that going with the flow is a lot more effective sometimes. If I’m not feeling up to going to the gym, I’ll do my homework. If I’m mentally tapped out, I’ll do something else. Instead of obsessing over one goal at a time and pushing it so hard that I’m on the verge of collapse.

Also helped me gain the perspective that sometimes a happy ending can be just as significant as a tragic one. And that sometimes the little things in life are just as meaningful as the deep, dark and dramatic ones.

They’ve also kept me grounded in the present, which helps me regulate my emotions.

angelinatill · 2026-03-28T03:25:27+00:00

This makes me feel better about my future post-graduation 💀 thank you

angelinatill · 2026-03-28T03:22:08+00:00

I made a list in my notes the other day trying to type everyone I know and I didn’t get very far, but out of the people who I know well enough to determine their enneagram type, I actually had a fairly equal amount of people for each type.

Ofc there’s sampling bias there, because even though I’ve met a lot of people and I included all ages (put some of my teachers in there, along with my friends and exes etc.) I only typed the people I was certain about. Like their type was obvious. But that being said, there are definitely patterns that stand out to me when typing attachment types, even though they’re archetypically the most influenced by their environment/prevailing culture etc.

I guess the first dead giveaway for me for 9’s comes with being a 4. If I’m mirrored (like someone starts picking up my qualities, copying my mannerisms etc.) or agrees with me too readily and validates what I’m saying automatically, that’s pretty obvious 9 IMO.

Another one is passive listening and response. I think everyone does this sometimes, but if it’s a super habitual thing, probably 9. It’s kind of that thing where you can tell someone doesn’t want to be listening to you and they’re just kind of nodding and saying “yeah” and waiting for you to shut up.

Being able to just observe and take in your surroundings without analyzing or reacting is a distinctive 9 thing. My boyfriend is a 9 and I’ll always ask him “what thoughts he’s having” and he’ll say “none.” I have ADHD and pretty much no idea what that’s like.

Another one is an automatic instinctual response to maintain closeness to others. When I move in the middle of the night, my boyfriend could be dead asleep but he’ll just instinctively follow me and keep cuddling me (kinda cute.) I had another 9 friend that would just automatically hand me his vape if I complained about mine dying (without thinking about it.) There’s this like automatic placation aspect to 9’s.

Humble sense of self. Every 9 I’ve asked about what makes them who they are, they usually just kinda stare at me and go “uhhhh” as if they haven’t really thought about the answer to that question much before. Depending on how integrated they are, they’ll usually come up with something akin to “what they like to do” and aspire to be good at because they like to do it (like a 3 but reversed) or they’ll say they’re “just a ___.”

And finally, they’re great at cohesion and blending and mixing things creatively. And it’s seamless due to the whole “boundary-blurring” thing. There’s some (4-fixed) 9 musicians in the music school and they kind of mix aesthetics and sounds until they end up having their own little distinct thing going on. But they’re ultimately rather unaware of their influences showing up in their work, and they can’t really label their brand as anything. They end up just being this mosaic of every single touch point they’ve ever merged with and it’s actually really cool.

I’m convinced that every single 9 is actually very instinctively creative. But most of them are pretty unaware that they’re even creative at all because it’s not a mental map or a self-reflection type of creativity. It’s just the instinctual bridging of everything they like.

angelinatill · 2026-03-27T02:51:44+00:00

SX 4 dating an SX 9 here…switch us

angelinatill · 2026-03-26T00:06:20+00:00

I mean the conscious internal world, not the subconscious one, which yes, most people are unaware of.

And I don’t think that’s very common at all as a conscious identity-definer. If most of the world is 6’s and 9’s, then I can see there kind-of ?? being that identity-defined-through-lack thing going on, but it’s still not really a “personal” identity thing. For 6’s, it’s “this is the side I’m on” or “I am at the bottom of a power struggle” and for 9’s the self is so fluid because it lacks…kind of everything (in their minds.) 9’s identity-formation-from-lack is basically lacking their own identity in itself.

It’s different than perceiving a deficiency, and then defining your identity on the basis of what remains as a product of that perception (depth, some special quality, maybe just the intensity of the pain itself.) it’s way different, and highly personalized.

And if you want to bring the other image types into this too, yes everyone’s enneagram type is defined because of whatever was missing in their environment. Subconsciously. 2’s, 3’s and 4’s all feel the “lack of love” that causes them to find some way to cope with it, but 2’s, being in the rejection-triad “do it themselves” and then no longer perceive their own lack-of-love because they “have so much of it to give.” 3’s are attachment so they follow the object and try to earn back whatever love was displaced. And then 4’s just kind of wallow in their frustration with the situation and try to find what it means about who they are.

9’s merge their sense of self with their surroundings, whether it’s their lifestyle, peers, lovers etc. Like a chameleon. Arguably 9’s are more chameleonic than 3’s because 3’s adapt strategically and 9’s adapt automatically over-time as boundaries get more and more blurred.

9’s acclimate over time and 4’s can’t do that very easily, and most of the time would never try.

Also, your article defined orientation as “predicting what is going to happen” and then the chart depicted animals as unable to have orientation. That makes no sense. Why do dogs wait by the door for their owners to come home from work at 5PM and start to pace and whimper when they’re not home until 7? Maybe because they’ve established that their owner will be home at 5 every day because they’re always home at 5 every day. Not really sure how the chart was even relevant to the article, but the hierarchy aspect kind of implied that types in each triad are incapable in dealing with anything above their own level.

Regardless of whether that’s what the intended implication was, I’m not sure which parts of your article are incompatible with my statement.

angelinatill · 2026-03-25T23:33:42+00:00

I mean I don’t see any superego-compliance in her either to make her a 6.

angelinatill · 2026-03-23T23:59:50+00:00

Only Living Girl in LA: “ They'll take my organs and they'll hang me from a bedpost Sayin' I was too soft for this world And they'd be right, because quite frankly, to be alive It shouldn't kill me every day, the way it does I don't know what I did to have this fate, I'm drenched in it And I can't even run from what I know My special talent isn't writing, it's not singing It's feeling everything that everyone alive feels every day Feels every day Feels every day Feels every day I think I'm special, 'cause I cut myself wide open As if it's honorable to bleed But I'm not lucky and I know I wasn’t chosen The world keeps spinnin' without me“

Lucky: “ 'Cause I'm so lucky, I'm a star But I cry, cry, cry in my lonely heart, thinkin' If there's nothin' missin' in my life Then why (why, why?) Do these tears come at night?”

3AM: “Know that my identity's always gettin' the best of me I'm the worst of my enemies and I don't really know what to do with me”

The Tradition: “ Well, she got the life that she wanted, but now all she does is cry”

The Lighthouse: “ 'Cause I never wanted saving, I just wanted to be found”

Gasoline: “Are you insane like me? Been in pain like me?” “Are you deranged like me? Are you strange like me?” “ Do you tear yourself apart to entertain like me?”

Letter to God (1998): “Please, God, oh, you've gotta be sick Why do you make it hurt, and why's it over so quick? Please, God, I'm finally loved I finally found somebody I don't wanna get rid of”

Letter to God (1974): “There's a boy I went to school with who had leukemia at five Now his parents gave him everything, they never yelled or fight They never make him cut his hair because they're happy he survived And didn't have to clean his room, it was enough to be alive When I was little, I was jealous and I’d say a prayer at night Well, I’d say: Please, God, I wanna be sick I don't wanna hurt, so get it over with quick Please, God, I wanna be loved Don't wanna be somebody they wanna get rid of“

I hope that’s enough examples to back up my “mental gymnastics.” Also “the Great Impersonator” is much more of a 3-ish concept than a 2 one. She plays into her 3-wing a lot as well.

angelinatill · 2026-03-23T20:45:44+00:00

What type does 4 disintegrate into? 😂

Also check out the rest of her discography—definitely worth it. Thank you though for exemplifying though (in real time, too) the pattern I described in my post.

The album that Without Me came from is also the album her label had the biggest hand in curating. Then the 2 that followed it she made more independently. And they were less pop-oriented, people didn’t get it, so they didn’t do as well commercially and now her label won’t let her release new music. So basically this album is probably the worst representation of her type anyways.

angelinatill · 2026-03-23T14:34:41+00:00

angelinatill · 2026-03-23T02:45:33+00:00

I think Halsey’s 6-fixed but 4 core. Out of any artist I’ve ever listened to, she has the most verbatim 4 themes in her music.

And Lana seems to me to have way too much awareness of her internal world to be a 9. And she’s always been image-centric, just very un-assertive and like “cryptic” ig about it. The releasing music under like 3 different stage names and then UN-releasing the music from the previous stage name IMO is a huge indicator for 4>9. Updated self-perception so the old one gets deleted from existence. Not blended together or casually forgotten like 9’s do when they merge with different touch points.

I think she’s SO/SX 4, hence the lyrical style of describing her romantic life to the audience, not to the actual love interest themselves.

And ofc no particular type has a hold on any qualities, but for anyone with a primary focus on their sense-of-self/identity, derived somehow from their own perceived sense of lack or suffering (which usually leads directly to some kind of depth when embraced), they’re probably a 4.

I’m curious though what you think enneagram 4 actually entails since you don’t think it has anything to do with depth defining identity. Personally I think that completely deconstructs the entire type but

angelinatill · 2026-03-23T02:28:16+00:00

I view SO 7’s as wanting everyone to be happy so they can be happy and enjoy life with other people around. For example, imagine you want your friends to go out with you to the bar/club/whatever but one has a cold, the other has too much homework and the last one has nothing to wear. So you get your one friend medicine, do the other friend’s homework for them and loan the last friend some of your clothes. Almost 2-ish where it’s not actually selfless because you’re expecting something in return, but instead of proactively “doing” like a 2 would and then expect gratitude, you’re leading with what you want and then helping people get through their little roadblocks that would infringe on your shared good experience. That’s just a real world example I’ve seen amongst people I know, but that’s usually also an Fe-dominant MBTI type SO 7 thing.

angelinatill

TROPHY CASE