72: Leading, Learning. Laughing, and Loving with an Enneagram Type Seven

The Enneagram Type Seven: The Enthusiast

It’s EnneaTalk Tuesday and time for another episode in our Enneagram types series. This week it is all about the 7’s, otherwise known as The Enthusiasts—the most fun type on the enneagram. I discuss all the things that make the 7 the free-spirited, energetic, charismatic, and infectious people they are, what drives them, what traits come out when they are under stress, and how to communicate and support a 7 if you are leading, loving, learning, and laughing with one.

Listen to this episode to hear how to speak a 7’s language, support and bring out the best in them, how to recognize when they are unhealthy, and just how exactly to keep up with all their energy so that they feel seen, heard, and understood.

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Keeping up with The Enthusiasts

The 7’s are the last type in the head triad, meaning they are very thoughtful and are known for having boundless ideas and thinking outside the box. They can turn any negative situation into a positive one and are consistently looking for the next adventure and stimulating experience.

I discuss the 7’s gifts, how they are able to network, bring people together, and find joy in every situation. However, when unhealthy, I share the characteristics that come out, how their compulsive need for positive emotions means evading all negative ones, and how they are driven to avoid pain.

Feeling all of the emotions

If you are leading or loving a 7, I talk about the different ways to support their never-ending energy and flow of ideas, how to speak their language, help them feel the depth of each emotion, and bring out the best in them. I discuss the things to focus on if you are a 7, and how to use your superpowers to bring joy to the world and continue to bring out the positive in everything around you.

Quotes:
“When 7’s are healthy they know that less is more, so these guys are big, huge thinkers.” 2:54

“What’s best about their personality (Enneagram 7)can also be their nemesis. Like the gift can also be the curse.” 6:43

“7’s are like the master of reframing things right, so like in a moment they can take a bad situation and make it into a positive light to kind of avoid the feelings, the pain that you and I would experience if the same thing happened to us, so that’s why people like to be around them quite honestly, especially people who want to avoid the shit.” 12:02

“They are always living for the next adventure; they don’t want to be stuck anywhere.” 17:32

“They love to debate, and sometimes they sound like they’re debating everything because they're just throwing ideas out there all the time.” 20:48

“Even though they might drive you crazy and you wonder how the hell they function, and they seem like they are all over the place and even irresponsible at times they have gifts that you need and I encourage you to pour so much love into them and embrace that.” 27:08

“As leaders the 7’s are gifted at brainstorming and envisioning what might be possible, because their mind is like boundary-free, this is what makes them so good in generating so many ideas.” 32:11

“If you’re a 7 or leading a 7, know that they may all have different kinds of exciting things but the way to lead them is like okay, I promise you, you don’t have to stay here forever but let's master this and crush this right now and once we crush it we can move on to the next thing.” 35:13

“The stressed out 7’s can be easily distracted, um so keeping them with something exciting to do will be really, really important.” 41:03

“We know, 7’s, that you are sensitive to being limited by others, so it’s really good for 7 leaders to be aware that they may react negatively to some constraints. So be very mindful how you manage your reactions to stuff.” 43:59