Expanded Description of Type Seven
"A day without laughter is a wasted day" - George Clooney
Type Sevens are positive, playful, optimistic, future-focused, socially orientated, adventurous, spontaneous, versatile, variety seeking, innovative and novelty seeking. These are the eternal optimists of the Enneagram who tend to be cheerful, energetic, charming, gregarious, and imaginative. Type seven’s place their focus on the fun to be had in life, even at work they look to inject fun and humour. Stuck with a boring task they work out the most efficient way to do it and then they run an imaginative story in their heads- they are not painting a wall, they are an invading army taking over the wall.
With a constant drive to stay energetically and emotionally “up” they sustain simultaneous interests and options. They are natural networkers and often have many jobs- which can all be under one job title. To feel “down” is a red flag warning sign for a Type Seven who will react by taking refuge in imaging some future positive scenario; or will re-frame their perspective into a more positive light; or failing in that will move onto something else until what they were doing feels fresh again. Life is experienced as a vast playground with the Seven at the centre, sampling all its pleasures.
With a social orientation the Seven tries to lift others in the attempt to ensure the external world confirms to them that life is happy and light. Unaware Sevens can get uncharacteristically critical of those who are “down” in their company, especially after the Seven has put so much energy into making sure everyone is having fun. Burnout for a Seven is not usually work related but socially related- sometimes they just get drained by the all the energy they use refraining reality for others and creating positive scenarios for themselves and others to enjoy.
Generally dreaming up and initiating something is fun for Sevens, especially if it involves others, but their imagination is so powerful that once started it feels already complete “.. so why bother with the drudgery of actually doing it? After all, I’ve already had the experience.” Focused on the process not the result, if a project looks about to fail they easily move the goal posts, or move to a new project, whilst explaining how the apparent failure was really an advantage. Having many options allows them loopholes for escape if they start to feel trapped, and to others they can seem elusive.
Sevens like to have many options open to them in work as well as leisure. They see themselves as reliable, yet may double- or treble-book themselves because of their many interests. Hating to feel limited in anything, they do things their own way "in my own good time", and rationalise their actions or re-frame the terms of a commitment to avoid pain, humiliation or boredom, not realising that others may feel let down or betrayed. "I can rationalise anything. I've done things in the past that weren't that honourable. I'd rationalise it: it won't hurt anyone”
With an active monkey mind the Type Seven naturally sees things from multiple perspectives. Good ideas come and go for a Type Seven. Their way of thinking is global and they enjoy bringing apparently unrelated ideas and people together to create a new synthesis. Highly future-focussed the Seven thinks through all the future possibilities- rather blinkered to less positive outcomes- they absorb all the positive energy that comes from thinking about all the positive potential. The Seven can take a rather dim view of those who might inject a bit of reality- especially if it is pessimistic or sceptical.
Faced with another's problems, they want to solve them as soon as possible so life can be happy again. "Mr Fix It applies to me - it just makes sense, the impulse is to fix it to solve the problem. It's physical, like I want to jump up and do it. Why would you tell me your problem if you don't want it fixed - I mean, I wouldn't tell you my problems." Sevens see themselves, like life, as full of possibilities, able to excel at anything they turn their hands to and entitled to the best. "Well, my ideas and interests are so great. If he wants to talk to me he has to grab my attention.”
Some Type Seven’s are more self-sacrificial in that they fulfil their desire to be happy through going without to make the group happy. Others stay “up” through becoming fascinated by others and seeing the magic in life, while other sevens are more grounded by their own physical needs making practical plans to ensure they have the resources and the schedule that will guarantee they can stay happy. The intention is the same for all three versions- to move away from any possibility of feeling “down”.
The irony is that each of these approaches prevents the Type Seven from a full experience of life- the Type Seven strategy stops life from really touching them. It feels to the Seven that they are happier than everyone else, but for the unaware Type Seven this is the core delusion. Rather like getting stuck in the joy in anticipating an ice cream the Seven misses the experience of eating it. Highly externally orientated the reality of the “inner world” is one that is totally lost on most sevens; “what is that?” The freedom and bliss of true connection is lost in the pursuit of joy.
Seven’s show their awareness of the truth of this predicament in their sensitivity to being seen as superficial- they want to be up but they want to be taken seriously. They are aware their attention is on their own needs and pleasures, and that they are out of touch with their inner experience. "I don't want to be seen as shallow. I don't think I am. But...it's not that I don't feel deeply, but I don't want to show it. I get under-rated and misunderstood a lot. But in general it's fine because I'm busy all the time."
Few Sevens stop long enough to experience what it is that they are missing- which is why the Enneagram is so important- it shows us how we are deluded and where to look for freedom and joy.
"If you love life do not squander time, for that's the stuff that life is made of" Benjamin Franklin
The Scripts that Motivate Type Seven
to experience all that life has to offer
to stay positive and not let life grind me down
to keep possibility alive and keep a positive outlook
to lift the spirits of all those who are suffering
to keep life upbeat and interesting
to seize the day and see the brighter side of life
to have the freedom to be spontaneous
to share my life with like-minded positive people
to stay mentally positive when life gets me down
to sample all the delights of this world
to ensure I don’t miss out in life
to stay stimulated and feel the buzz of life
to travel and experience new things
to live a life that is free of suffering
to feel free and happy