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In this Enneagram series, I discuss how we can use the principles of minimalism to clear clutter beyond the physical. I’m referring to “psychic clutter”- beliefs, habits, and thought patterns we’ve clung to for too long which hold us back. For more context on the Enneagram and how understanding your personality in systems like this one can help you live a more intentional life, please refer to my first post on the Enneagram 1. In this post, we’ll focus on the Enneagram 4.
Enneagram theory holds that 9 fundamental personality types exist among humans, each based on a core fear and a core motivation to counter that fear. Understanding your type can help you identify the “psychic clutter” unique to that type, so you can begin decluttering.
If you don’t know your type, I recommend you read about all 9 types and determine which seem most applicable. You can find tests online like this one, but an online test can only help you narrow down options. You’ll need to introspect to find your true type.
If the Enneagram 4 description resonates with you, read on to find out how you can release beliefs and habits that are holding back your personal development.
Who Is the Enneagram 4?
Before we launch into what Type 4s can let go of, let’s briefly describe this type. I’ll provide a summary, but you can read a more in-depth guide for more information.
Enneagram 4 Motivations and Fears
Enneagram 4s are often called “The Creative” or “The Individualist.” These are the artists of world whose self-expression makes a unique impact on our culture. Their core motivations are to cultivate an identity distinct from others and to express themselves through creative outlets. These motivations are based on a core fear that don’t matter or won’t leave a significant mark on the world. This fear may sound similar to the fears of the Enneagram 2 and the Enneagram 3. That’s because all 3 types are part of the “heart” or “image” triad that focuses on how others perceive them. These types put energy into their image because they fundamentally fear that they do not have much worth to others. However, each type responds to this fear in a different way.
While 3s distinguish their identities by achieving at whatever pursuits those around them value, 4s take the opposite approach. Enneagram 4s seek to distinguish themselves by being unique and different from those around them. Because they feel fundamentally flawed and unable to “fit in” with others, they turn this difference into the identity of the misunderstood, tortured artist. Not all 4s are artists, but all feel they are too different to integrate with their culture and social groups. They feel alienated from those around them. But they channel the pain of alienation into beauty – through art, poetry, music, or any form of creative expression. Many famous artists are 4s: Bob Dylan, Edgar Allen Poe, Angelina Jolie, Amy Winehouse, Virginia Woolf, Frida Kahlo, for example.
Enneagram 4 Strengths and Weaknesses
Enneagram 4s therefore have many strengths. They are often creative, highly in tune with their own emotions, sensitive to others’ emotions, and impressively self-aware when it comes to their own character flaws. On the flip side, Type 4s cause themselves pain by focusing on what others have that they do not, reacting with intense emotion to life’s hardships, getting so “in their heads” that they cannot experience many of life’s joys, and withdrawing from the world in order to protect their self-image. They struggle with two simultaneous beliefs: they are uniquely talented geniuses and they are uniquely flawed and thus disadvantaged. Some 4s will be much more expressive about these beliefs than others, but this dichotomy will resonate with all 4s. On one hand, they feel pride in their difference. On the other, they envy others’ ability to “fit in” and move easily through life.
What Do You Need to Let Go as an Enneagram 4?
If the description of the core fears and motivations above sounds familiar to you, you are likely a Type 4. Enneagram 4s have a unique challenge when it comes to personal development. On the positive side, they have the advantage of powerful self-awareness and ability to see their own flaws. However, they tend to cling to these flaws as fundamental parts of their identity. In a way, they want to heal and engage with life more fully. But they also worry that they will have no identity at all if they let these things go.
In order to take the advice below, and to do personal development in general, you need to remember that you have a unique identity that is different from anyone else who’s ever been born. And that identity is not based on your wounds or flaws. Type 4s strongly desire authenticity. Clearing mental clutter allows you to discover what is truly authentic beyond various identities you’ve “tried on” throughout your life.
1. Wounds from the Past
Every person has been wounded by others countless times in their lives. Wounds could stem from a parent who abandoned you, past abuse, bullying , or simply feeling rejected by mainstream society. Many types of people hold on to wounds from the past, not just Type 4s. However, some types – say, 3s or 7s – are likely to repress thoughts of these wounds without processing them. Enneagram 4s have the strength to face them directly, but they go too far and end up nursing them. Instead of processing and releasing the pain from these wounds, Enneagram 4s ruminate on the memories, bringing up the old painful feelings and marinating in them. While this activity can result in moving music, art, and poetry, it also makes the Type 4 themselves miserable. The time and energy they put toward this rumination robs them of other, more positive experiences they could be having.
The way to clear this clutter is to remember these wounds, experience the pain, but then to let them go. To acknowledge that you’ve moved on from the painful experience and grown as a result. Obviously, this is easier said than done, and a therapist would be helpful in achieving it. But the key here for the Type 4 is to aim towards this kind of processing rather than toward ruminating.
2. Belief that You Cannot Be Understood by Others
The Enneagram 4 works to differentiate themselves from others. They want to be distinctive and not part of the crowd. Yet they are part of the “heart” triad that focuses on connections with others. Underneath the urge to demonstrate their uniqueness, they long to connect with others and form positive and meaningful relationships.
So, you can see the dilemma the 4 finds themselves in. They want to connect with others, but their identity hinges on being an outsider, alienated by others. In many cases, a young Type 4 felt rejected by those around them, and as a defense they constructed a positive identity of being a unique genius that cannot be understood by others. That belief can protect the 4 from social rejection to some degree. But it also prevents them from trying to form relationships or to participate fully in social life. And ultimately, that makes the 4 unhappy and unfulfilled. Remember that we said above that the Enneagram 4’s core fear is that they have no significance to others. This ends up being a self-fulfilling prophecy when they continue to alienate themselves from those around them.
Type 4s will benefit from recognizing that being a unique individual does not mean that others can never understand them, or that they can never enjoy the benefits of a tight-knit social group. You can be unique and creative while at the same time connecting with others who appreciate your individuality. Clinging to their identity as an outsider only causes them more pain.
3. Identification with Feelings
Enneagram 4s are highly attuned with their emotions. While other types struggle to understand their own feelings, 4s delve deep and explore every facet of their emotional lives. While that can be positive, over-identification with feelings can hinder them from taking positive actions in life. Type 4s believe they must first withdraw to fully understand their emotions about something before they can take action. But sometimes situations require swift action and immediate responses. Taking time out to introspect can lead the 4 to miss opportunities.
In the same vein, Enneagram 4s tend to wait to have the right emotional state before taking a necessary action. They know they need to do something. But they feel they can’t move forward as long as they are experiencing negative feelings. Releasing your identification with your feelings allows you to move forward even when you are not in the perfect mood.
Type 4s make significant progress when they recognize that feelings are fleeting, not deep and ever-present truths about themselves. When you loosen the grip emotions have on you and put their significance in perspective, you’ll greatly increase your self-discipline. You’ll do things that benefit you (work, exercise, sleep, chores) without waiting for the perfect mood to strike you.
4. Attachment to Yearning
Enneagram 4s believe that to yearn is divine. Since their identity is built on being flawed and rejected, yearning and envy bolster that identity. Think of poems and songs you’ve heard that express a deep longing for something that will always be out of reach. These were almost certainly written by 4s. While Type 4s do have the ability to make something beautiful out of these painful emotions, it’s important for them not to believe that these feelings of lack are required in order to create art.
In The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron describes how she used to believe her alcohol addiction was vital to her writing process:
I had never thought drinking made me a writer, but now I suddenly thought not drinking might make me stop…. I told myself that if sobriety meant no creativity I did not want to be sober. Yet I recognized that drinking would kill me and the creativity. I needed to learn to write sober….
The Enneagram 4’s attachment to yearning and feeling “less than” others is similar to Cameron’s addition to alcohol. On the one hand, those feelings are harmful – just as substance abuse is harmful. But on the other, they believe that those feelings are the source of creativity. The 4 thinks that if they stopped feeling wounded and rejected, they would cease to be creative.
This one belief is probably the most vital to let go. As long as you believe you need to be unhappy in order to be yourself, you’ll never take action to improve your situation. Try decluttering this belief and focusing on taking more positive actions in your life – connecting with others, cultivating a routine, celebrating your positive attributes. And you’ll find that you can be happy and a unique, creative, individualist. Happiness and creativity are not mutually exclusive.
What Do You Think?
Are you an Enneagram 4? Or are you in relationship with someone who is? What do you think about the recommendations above? What are your experiences with decluttering your psyche? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
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