119: TriTypes of the Enneagram-What are they and what role do they play in who you are?

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Welcome to the Becoming Bulletproof podcast. I am your host, Tracy o'.

Malley. I'm a mom to millennials, an author.

Enneagram expert, and multi million dollar entrepreneur.

And master performance and business coach.

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Hello and welcome to another episode of the Becoming Bulletproof podcast. And today we're gonna get down into the trenches of the Enneagram. Because there's a little something called tri types that you may not know about. And for all my Enneagram junkies out there, you might be aware of it, but you might not be really knowledgeable on what it is or what it does for you. Now, I'm just going to preface this by saying this is not for you to kind of start making up your own rules with the Enneagram, but this will allow you to understand at an even deeper level why you can have two of the same type right next to each other and they could be radically different. There's a lot of complexities in the Enneagram. It's not complicated. Like I've said before, you know, we have things that change the expression of our core type, which does not change. You know, if I've had people ask me, well, I think, like, sometimes I use this, sometimes I use this type, sometimes I use this type. When I explain the tri types, it may make a lot more sense of why that feels that way. But your core type doesn't change. And if you're keeping score on situations and you do like the six degrees of separation to get to your core motive and your core fear, you'll see that you land on your main type, which is why so many of you are mistyped. 65 to 70% of you are mistyped. And using this beautiful tool, having the right information is kind of important. But the tri types will help you understand more about yourself. I know it certainly did me.

You know, it's. It's not something that you hear a lot about because it will send you down a rabbit hole, but I think it's really important. Just in, like, understanding, like, ah, okay. Well, I understand now why I resonate with this number or why sometimes maybe I do lean into that. And I'll keep this short and simple and sweet. So basically, with the tri types, you know, we end up having 27 different archetype combinations. So, you know, if you start doing the math and putting different numbers together, you can kind of understand why there's more than just nine types and then couple that into the subtype things that we've discussed. I've done a podcast on subtypes, but I'll go into the deeper dark hole of the subtypes as well. It's very complex, and it's pretty amazing.

So tri types are a deep and complex part of the enneagram, like I said, but so complex that.

Like, seriously, I could talk days and days and days about all the different combinations on this subject. But I'm gonna give you just a simple introduction of kind of what this is and what this means. So there has been research, study, and I have done hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of typing sessions and found that people do not just have, like one type. You have your one main type, but then there's all these expressions of it, and they do come out in a combination usually. I know it sounds complicated, but stick with me here for a second. So these three different types that make up your tri type, one resides in the gut or body center of intelligence. One, four falls into the heart center of intelligence, and one falls into the head center of intelligence. So for my rookies out there, if you don't know, there are nine basic enneagram types. Three fall into the gut or body triad, the instinctive center, Three fall into the heart feeling center center of intelligence, and three fall into the head or thinking center of intelligence. Now, we use all three, obviously, right? We all use our gut, we all use our head, and we all use our heart. But some numbers, depending on where you go in growth and under stress, you never access certain centers, right? So thinking off the top of my head, the fours, when they are in a growth pattern, they go and take on a type in the gut triad, and under stress, they take up another one in the heart triad, which is where the four lies. They don't touch the head triad in their growth, growth or stress patterns. Now, they may touch the head triad with a wing having a five wing or a three wing in the heart triad. Bear with me. You don't have to take notes. This will make sense in a second. But usually we definitely use all three and Our tri types don't always reflect our growth or stress numbers or our wings. Right. So for me, I am an enneagram 8 through and through. Definitely. Without question. I tend to toggle evenly between my 7 and 9 wing depending on the situation. Growing up, all 9 wing.

When I am in a growth pattern, I move into the healthy two, which is the helper, the compassionate. So I'm using my heart. When I'm under extreme stress, when my eight ways and my eight tools don't work for me anymore, I can resemble the unhealthier parts of the five, which is in the thinking triad or the head triad. Now, in my tri type, I don't necessarily use those same numbers. I would say I use my gut first, always as an 8. Then I move into the heart. I'm more of a feeling person. And my last chain of command is definitely my head. My tri type would be the eight. I would say that my next one would be three in the heart triad. Where this order falls in is when our main type doesn't work anymore and even our unhealthy stress numbers don't work anymore. We tend to follow a flow of what you know. We move our ways through the centers of intelligence. So because I am definitely instinctual, I definitely lean into my heart next and my head next. That's the order in which my tri type falls. So I would say I go eight, then I go to the three. I will automatically when shutting down doesn't work in my unhealthy 5, or being aggressive and domineering doesn't work in my 8, I definitely will take on that achiever like role. My therapist thought I was a three. Most people would assume I'm a three because I do appear very three like, but I am still not motivated at all like a three. So this tri type resemble or indicates the behaviors we go into. Right. Our core type is our motives and our fears and the things we protect, like our life depends on it. For me as an eight, it's vulnerability. So I go from the eight. Sometimes I will resemble that three and go into high achiever mode. I remember when I was afraid, you know, especially around business and finances. I definitely, when I feel like I'm super vulnerable, my domineering ways don't work, which usually don't work in business or shutting down doesn't work in business. I definitely will kind of frantically go into three like qualities that high achiever, blinders on, win at winning. So that's why I can resemble a 3. But I'm still not motivated like a 3. Now my last one I would say I use my thinking and.

I would say the seven, which is a wing would be where I go earlier on in my life, I definitely would probably have been an 8, 3, 6.

You know, definitely controlling a little bit. So you hear in me my 8 when I'm under stress, takes on the unhealthy 5. But you notice the 5 isn't at all in my tri type, right? It's not one of the things I naturally go to, but it is like worst case scenario, I notice like, okay, when I haven't left the house in a few days or a few weeks, it's happened before, that's where that five comes in. But my tri type naturally has a tendency to flow from the 8, the 3 to the 7, which is more that visionary.

Anything's possible. The optimist. The optimist. The little frantic looking. Sometimes I can still take on the six tendencies, but I would say for the most part I fall into the 8, 3, 7, tri type. So the tri type allows us to access all of our centers of intelligence. So your main enneagram type is your preferred defense strategy. To avoid your core fear, obtain your core desire. Like I said, when your dominant type fails you, right, you can sometimes use the strategy of the other two numbers within your tri type. Sometimes they're called sub main types. And you do this in a preferred order, like I said, always starting with your dominant type. So if you are a four, that is in the feeling center. And I know some people that definitely go into like their head after they feel the emotional aspects and not feeling good enough or, or like something's missing. Sometimes they'll go and reverse engineer the shit out of things and go into like the head triad. That's why fours are mistyped a lot in the head triad. I see this happen a lot with fours. They usually can end up like a six or a seven. Fours can look very avoidant, right? So I've seen fours go four, six, and the more aggressive fours can even take on an eight role, right? They have the emotional intensity and then the anger intensity mixed with a little bit of like the need to control some really unhealthy fours. I can see kind of going 4, 6, 8. Doesn't mean if you're a 4, 6, 8, that you're unhealthy, but that's very intense. Like If I went 8, 4, 6, that would be pretty intense for me too, right. And there was probably a time in my life that that might have been true.

So you will Kind of always do this in a preferred order, always starting with your dominant type. And then you will continue to deploy the strategies of your tri types in a cascading order until you solve the problem. It's kind of like throwing shit up at the wall, hoping something sticks. That's kind of like the. The passage of the tri type. Now I can feel all of you going, huh? Now, I've already had a hard time trying to figure out my main type. Now, how the hell do I discover my tri type? Well, first and foremost, this is what I do tell people sometimes, like, look at the motive.

You know, when you're taking your online assessment. I prefer the one at the Enneagram institute. And that one is still inaccurate 65 to 70% of the time, mind you. But usually, like those top four scores.

Will have.

Some revelance in kind of how you behave. So I think my test 10 years ago, I think my top score was an eight. My second one was a three, and my last one was a one. A lot of people think I'm one. I'm a one, too. That's. That's fascinating to me. But.

So you can kind of look and see. I had two that fall into two of the centers of intelligence, but my. My major stress number falls into the other center of intelligence. Right? You hearing me? So you have to find your main type first. And if that is something you are struggling with, the best way to do that, just like with anything to see the juicy parts of life, you have a guide. You want to go on tour. You get a guide to see all the cool secret places like the. The Enneagram is no different. So having a guide like me take you through the process so we know that your type is right. So then you can start really use utilizing this beautiful tool. And then you can go into what your wings look like. And then the tri types and subtypes and all of that. Look me up tracy o'malley.com work with me section or find me on Instagram @tracy_o'. Malley. So back to how you discover your tri type. It will take time. Just like finding your core type can take time if you take this journey on your own. So first we start with our main type, our core type, and then you look at the two remaining triads. So whatever type you are, you're going to fall into one of the centers of intelligence, either the gut, the heart, or the head. Right?

If you fall into the gut triad, then look in the heart, which will have 2, 3, 4, the head, 5, 6, 7, and pick the type you most relate to in each of the other centers of intelligence. So here's an example. So, like I just gave myself an example. Let's say you're a type 9, which falls into the gut triad. Let's say the defense strategies of a 9 aren't working to protect them. Like their passive aggressiveness, their stubbornness. Let's say that's not working anymore. It's not protecting them from their core fear. This type of person, let's say, then goes into the head triad, maybe a seven. Maybe they start looking a little frantic, bouncing from thing to thing, avoiding things, right?

And let's say that's not working. Then the type strategies don't solve the problem. This person can kind of go into the type 2 where they become an overhead helper to avoid their core fear of their main type, right? So it's important to remember that you will always remain your dominant type. So that nine will always be a nine. But that person can use the strategies of a seven and a two to combat their core fear and obtain their core desire. Right?

So how do you name your tri type? Right. How do you know what your tri type is? Because you'll hear, like, I've heard people go, well, I'm an 873. Cool. I'm an 8. 3 7. Different sounds the same, but kind of different. That's why there's 27 different.

Connections in the archetypes. Combinations in the archetypes, right? So you do it in the order of which you kind of go with the flow. For me will always be an 8 to 3 to a 7, right? So I go from my gut to my heart to my head, and that's how you start to figure that out. So just as, like, it can start to maybe use this. Like, maybe you can start to use this when you're under stress or you're so protective or in my unhealthy spot. This can also be used in your favor too. You can access the strengths of these numbers. It isn't always just about like, my shit's not working. Holy crap. I need other defenses. I need other tactics to kind of like protect at all costs, right? Whatever the core fear is of your personal type or whatever the core desire is for your type, right? So as an eight, my core fear is that I will be betrayed or violated or that I will be put in a vulnerable situation. My core desire is to.

Definitely be at peace for sure, and to know that I won't be betrayed. Right? But I also, when I Am trying to do that for good, you know, and I'm in a good spot. I can really take on those healthy achievers, Healthy achiever roles of the three, which I do a lot. A lot of you see that. And I can take on the healthy seven, which is that visionary and that innovator. So it definitely isn't just when we're under stress or shit's not working. Sometimes you can access the strengths of all your numbers, too. But like I said, where there is light, there's always some darkness, right?

But there's something else. Like, this might be a good place for you to start. Quite honestly, if you're having a hard time with figuring out what your type is, and if you're new to the Enneagram, I already know you're feeling confused by this conversation, but that's okay, right? Very, very, very few people are tri type experts. But the tri types have an additional benefit that you don't want to miss. And it's that they can help you discover your main Enneagram type. By choosing one number from the gut, one from the head, and one from the heart, you can more easily determine which best describes your core fear and core desire. And if you took an online assessment, you might see some patterns there as well. Right, so here are some of the names. I'm just going to go through with them. I'm not going to go through all the combinations.

You know, there is six different combinations within each of these.

Archetypes. There's names like the Mentor, the Supporter, the Teacher, the Technical Expert, the Taskmaster, the Systems Builder, the Researcher, the Philosopher, the Visionary, the Strategist, the Problem Solver, the Rescuer, the Good Samaritan, the Free Spirit, the Peacemaker, the Solution Master, the Thinker, the Justice Fighter, the Mediator, the Mover and Shaker, which is what I am. The Ambassador, the Scholar, the Contemplative, the Truth Teller, the Seeker, the messenger, and the Gentle Spirit. So you can see it's way more than the basic nine Enneagram types. And this is why, you know, this is so beautiful. And it is way more than giving yourself a label. It is way more than putting yourself in a box, this Enneagram thing. So for those of you that are a little skeptical about the Enneagram, there are so many beautiful combinations and complexities that make us all very, very unique. We all have a core motive and core desire, and that is broken down into your main basic types. And for those of you new, I'll let you know the main basic types. The one is the Reformer or the improver. The two is the helper. The three is the achiever. The four is the individualist. The five is the investigator. The six is the loyalist. The seven is the enthusiast. The eight is the challenger, and the nine is the peacemaker. And what I love about the tri types, it really, you know, I'm all about puzzles. If you've been listening to me, you know that I'm a puzzle junkie. And why I can literally do enneagram typing sessions and enneagram coaching 24, 7 if I really want to go into my 3. And there have been days I look very achiever. Like, when I look at my calendar, it is like putting puzzles together. And I'm so fascinated and I'm so passionate about understanding humans and human communication systems and how we can be the most beautiful and effective communicator with compassion and love as possible. And so when I can understand you, whether I am just meeting you on the street or you are my dearest friend, or we are business partners, or you are my partner in life, or one of my children, really understanding the ins and outs of what motivates you, where you go when things aren't going great, where you go when things are amazing, really helps me be the most supportive woman, friend, partner, coach, leader, parent I can be. And honestly, for me, that is what it is all about. Being the best version of myself and understanding you and all the beautiful complexities of who you are so that we can all walk this earth with compassion and love first for ourself. Can't give what you don't have. You have to give it to yourself first. And the tri types might just help you. Makes sense of not just what you do, but why you do it. I know your mind just got blown a little bit. You're like, holy shit, Tracy. I am an enneagram junkie. And I had no idea there was such a thing as tri types. And for you rookies out there, this is a beautiful introduction to. Okay, head, heart, gut. Okay, I like this one in the head, this one in the gut, this one in the heart. This will help you make sense of this. You will know that the head triads people, the 5, 6 and 7, they're all motivated by some form of certainty. Looks different for all three. The gut people, the eights, nines and ones are all driven and motivated by justice and truth. Looks very different for the 8, 9 and 1, but it's still the core motive for the heart people. My twos, threes and fours. You beautiful twos, threes and fours. Fours. You're all driven by a level of significance. Again, it looks very different for the 2, 3, and 4, but it is still significance. And we all, you know, need that. If you've listened to Tony Robbins before, it's one of the six core needs of every human is certainty, significance, truth. Right? It's very, very important. And that's why we have tri types, because we do use all of them, but just one dominates. So if you have questions, I would love to hear them. If you love this episode or you have questions or your mind is blown. Screenshot this. I want to hear what you think. You can tag me traceyomalli on Instagram. You can hit me up in the DMs if you choose to do it that way. I want to know what you're thinking. I want to hear all about it. You know, when I think about me as the. What would it. What did I say? The mover and shaker, that is very much who I am. You know, I don't like to sit around and play small or talk small, and I'm not judging those that do. You guys, we need all of us to make this world beautiful, but it makes a lot of sense. I've always kind of been wired that way. And it really is pretty cool when we can look at ourselves through the eyes of. Through the lens of compassion and love and have a deeper understanding of why we do what we do instead of focusing on the what. The why drives it all. The why drives it all. And the more that you dive into this and really understand how you're wired, the compassion and love becomes so much more easy to do for yourself first. And once you're doing that for yourself, it is so effortless to give it to other people. It really, really is. And if this is something you want to dive into, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I take such responsibility, you know, it is such a reward to walk this journey with you. And with that, I know the responsibility that I take in leading you through this journey. It is a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful way to find your way back to your soul's home. It really, really is. I think we're all born with a lot of this, and then, you know, we're put in environments and situations innocently a lot of times, and how that gets expressed changes and kind of clouds that beautiful innocence. So if I can help you find that roadmap back to your soul.

Now you understand why I could do this all day long. So reach out. I want to know what you think Did I just blow your mind with this? Did you even know what this was? I want to hear what your tri types are. Tag me in it. I want to see. I want to see what you are so we can have beautiful, beautiful conversations about all the beautiful colors of the Enneagram. And until next time, y', all, here's to becoming Bulletproof.

Thank you for tuning in to the Becoming Bullet Bulletproof podcast. If you learned a thing or two from our show today, it would mean a lot to me if you shared it. And tag me so I can hear exactly what landed on your heart. This will help me to bring you even more episodes with the topics and guests you want. Please head over to itunes and leave an honest and loving five star review. If this made an impact on you, you can find me on Instagram traceyomalley and I have tons of free resources for you@tracy traciomalli.com as always, if you are wanting to ignite your purpose, profits and build your legacy, it's time to stand on the front line of your life and do the work. Let's become Bulletproof.