TYPE 6: THE LOYALIST

In One Sentence I live in a zone of constant questioning as I strive to be dependable for those I care about, while wishing I had a cause to dedicate my life to which I could completely trust and the support of others whom I could completely trust, but my dogged spirit of service speaks volumes about me

Essence Qualities Courage, Alertness, Devotion

Basic Fear everything falling apart

Basic Desire to feel secure and supportive

Famous 6s 

Adolf Hitler, Ben Stiller, Bruce Springsteen, Danny Glover, David Letterman, Dustin Hoffman, Ellen DeGeneres, Eminem, George W. Bush, Jason Alexander, Jay Leno, Jennifer Aniston, Keanu Reeves, Larry David, Meat Loaf, Sarah Palin, Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks, Trinity in The Matrix, Woody Allen

Levels of Consciousness

Creative: courageous, down-to-earth

Controlling: suspicious, micro-managing

Destructive: paranoid, polarizing

Shock point fear (the fear that causes the slip from Creative to Controlling consciousness) 

I do not have a clear or definite sense of how to deal with expectations

Examples of shock point fears

  • Shopping for a pair of jeans means I have to actually choose which one is the pair I’m supposed to get…but how does anyone really know what’s the pair of jeans they should get?

  • My super-confident boss was wrong again. It’s clear I need a new authority who won’t ever let me down.

  • I was asked to do 40 things but could only do 30 of them. I’m just no good.

  • Is there a contract for girlfriends to make sure they won’t leave? …Hmm…is there a contract for marriage to make sure they won’t leave?? Wait a minute, how do I know that I won’t want to leave?! Relationships are too stressful!

Why I get provoked Raising doubts in my ability to support you, raising doubts in your ability to support me, and raising doubts in my ability to assess the ability for either of us to provide any solid support…

How I cope with fear I become The Nervous Nellie. I get clammed up thinking on overdrive, “What should I do?, should I really do it?, what will happen if I do do it?, am I sure?, who can tell me what I should do?, how do I know they know what I should do?, what if someone else has a different idea?, and so on in a paralytic loop that either keeps me in a stagnant state or is overturned by aggressive action that denies the actual complexity of the issue just so I can feel like I’m really moving somewhere and I can totally trust myself, whether or not it’s a good direction to move in and I’m truly trustworthy

My Emotions make me question everyone’s motives

How was your day, Type 6?

“I don’t know. Pretty good, I guess?”

Behavioral pattern Dutiful. I must commit in order to ensure security for myself, and committing is so hard because I can’t do everything I commit to and I don’t know what I’m really supposed to be committing to in the first place

6 with 5 Wing I am on my toes trying to support the people in my life but am constantly conflicted about how to know what I’m actually meant to do, and my introverted, heady nature puts me at odds with what I feel the world expects of me

6 with 7 Wing I love thrills and have a big gregarious side to me as I put myself on the line with vigor for all the people I try to trust, but so much of the time, I find myself extremely scattered and unable to find my way in life

A Personal Meditation for Growth I know what I need to know right now and can take time to think things through patiently

Learn more at one of our Enneagram workshops or get in touch about private Enneagram coaching (Deep Dives)