The Perfectionist:

Shadow thought: “Nothing, including me, lives up to the standards I set.”

Fictional Character Type 1 Examples: Sheldon Cooper, Hermione Granger, Ben Wyatt, and Luke Skywalker.

Your first thought, if you know Young Sheldon or The Big Bang Theory, was “Sheldon Cooper, huh?” It’s easy to classify Sheldon Cooper as a Type 5. He’s intelligent, well-read, doesn’t mind spending time alone, and human relationships confuse him. These are outward traits of a Type 5. BUT the real test of the Enneagram is not one’s outward behaviors, but the motivations behind them. Sheldon always feels the need to do the right or correct thing in any situation—often at the cost of either himself or his friends. This makes him a TYPE 1 rather than a Type 5, which is why it’s important to understand the Enneagram. Knowledge is not where he finds peace, it’s being correct. The knowledge he has allows him to be correct in any situation and that’s what gives him an air of superiority over his peers.

Too often we confuse behaviors with the motivations behind them thereby leaving us in the shadows. Enneagram coaching can help!

*Links to Enneagram Institute’s Description of the Type