V is for Variety (is the Spice of Life)

You will have learned from my T post, dealing with my Enneagram personality type, that I am a No.5 - I observe and I think. I drink in information and I analyse.

I typified this in my student days. I wanted to know the deep minutiae of my subject matter. I would research the latest and greatest books on my chosen topic and in many cases actually acquire them. If you read my ‘T’ post, then this may come as no surprise to you. I remember wanting to go to the deepest level of understanding how computers worked. Outside of my studies, I developed a great interest in classical music. I subscribed to the best music review periodicals and took up singing in my local Choral Society to turn some of the theory into practice.

When I started work, I firmly believe my personality type held me back, or at least got me off to a slow start. I was afraid, yes, afraid to offer opinions or to challenge the views of others lest I was found deficient in the knowledge and understanding. Pretty pathetic, when I reflect on it now.

But experience has changed me. I'm still basically a No.5 - in fact, they say in the Enneagram that you never change your basic personality type - once a 5, always a 5. But your personality develops and can go along both healthy and unhealthy lines. My healthy development path is towards a No.8 - which is self-confident, decisive, willful, and confrontational in nature.

For me, the key to this has been variety. These days, it is more important to me to have a wider range of interests rather than to be deeply knowledgeable in just one or two areas. For me, this is what adds colour and interest to life. I no longer crave the isolation or reclusiveness that can come with being an unredeemed No.5. This is not an overnight conversation - it has taken years to realise, for me, the real meaning of 'variety being the spice of life'. That realisation has opened more doors, more friendships and more possibilities than I could ever have dreamed possible.

T is for Thinker

I've referred elsewhere in this blog to the fact that I am a procrastinator by nature. Rather than leave it at that, let me use the opportunity of this post to explain that a little bit more.

Have you ever heard of or experienced the Enneagram? The Enneagram of Personality, or just Enneagram (from the Greek words ennea [nine] and gramma [something written or drawn]) is a model of human personality which is principally used as a typology of nine interconnected personality types. The Enneagram is not commonly taught or researched in Psychology but is widely promoted within business management and spiritual contexts. Of many such models I have encountered, for me the Enneagram has much merit. I won't use this post to describe the concept or it's background in any more detail (indeed, I could not adequately do that in a few paragraphs), but I strongly recommend you look it up on the Internet where you will find many resources and even tests to help you determine which of the nine personality types best fits you.

Long before I ever did a test myself, others who had studied the Enneagram told me with great conviction that I am a Number 5. But what is that, exactly? Well, a No.5 on the Enneagram is summed up as a Thinker, an Observer, an Investigator, a Sage. It may come as no surprise that based on this description, the animal associated with No.5s is the owl. At first I was a little dismissive and sceptical - and although I did not fully dismiss these labels I did wonder how could people with knowledge of the Enneagram really sum me up so quickly. After delving into a bit myself, I have to say they were spot on.

No.5s are private and solitary by nature. Studious and scholarly, they develop expertise in any area that is of interest to them, often in more than one field. They think things through before offering their perceptions and insights regarding systems, people or how the world works. That's pretty much me to a tee. You'll never catch me, whether at work or at play, waxing on about something I feel I don't know much about. You will find me, though, listening intently to those who know something. That said, people who waffle on because they like the sound of their own voices tend to annoy me just a tad!

The greatest strengths of 5s are clear objectivity, instinct and penetrating insight unfettered by emotions. Underneath what appears as shyness and reserve, they are kindhearted and giving people, very loyal to and supportive of those they trust. On the flip side, they also possess a certain avarice. They can greedily hoard themselves, their time or things. They have a tendency to withdraw into their ivory tower of ideas (is it any wonder I named my blog as I did!!). Others may see them as arrogant and unfeeling. Being dispassionate and ‘cool as a cucumber’ is good in an emergency but hard on relationships.

I could go on but I'll leave it at that. My main purpose was to introduce the concept of the Enneagram using my own personality type - The Thinker - as an example. Despite the private nature of No.5s, I hope I've shown through my blogging that we can redeem ourselves too (as indeed can all the personality types) by sharing a bit about myself. Indeed, social media in general has helped me a lot in that regard, enabling me to overcome some of my inate shyness. So the next time you see me being a bit withdrawn or aloof, just know that I'm in observation mode, and more importantly, thinking about what I'm taking in - which may appear sometime in a blog post. You have been warned!!

I'll leave you with the names of some 'famous 5s':

Isaac Asimov, Samuel Beckett, The Buddha, Agatha Christie, Daniel Day-Lewis, Albert Einstein, T.S. Eliot, Greta Garbo, Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, George Lucas, Sam Neill, Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Jean-Paul Sartre, Scrooge, Sister Wendy, Jules Verne, Max Von Sydow.

Make what you will of that list!!