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Welcome back to another episode here on the Enneagram NBA podcast. You are listening to a this or that episode. And I'm your host, Sarah Wallace, certified Enneagram coach, workshop facilitator, and speaker. And this is an episode where we take two common type comparisons, or either that or a specific request from a listener or somebody over on social media who wanted to match these two types up. And we do, we match them up, we put them up, we look at the some of the similarities and then dive more into what is different, though, some key differences about each of those, so that the listener, you, whoever you might be sending this to that is struggling, um, ideally leaves the episode with some additional insight and really with some clarity about what their dominant type is, or at a minimum, gives them some new questions and things to reflect on to ask themselves about. So without further ado, enjoy this this or that episode. Welcome to the Enneagram MBA Podcast, a show for aspiring and growing entrepreneurs and unfulfilled employees who know they are capable of playing bigger. If you are wanting to identify your gifts, find your purpose, do work that matters, and create a ripple effect that goes beyond yourself, you're in the right place. Each week you'll get resources, strategies, and support to help you get to know yourself, to get to know and understand others, like your future clients, and help you get known so that you can reach more people with your gifts and purpose. So grab your notebook or open up your notes app, and I will see you in class. The type 7 on the Enneagram is known as a multitasker, the enthusiast, whereas the nine is known as the peacemaker, the harmonizer, the mediator. Both types have a very optimistic outlook on life. They're probably two of the most optimistic types on the Enneagram. So sometimes that's why you can run into some confusion, maybe struggling to narrow it down. This matchup today came from an for another one of these this or that posts that I had done a few weeks ago. And then I had asked the question, what's another pairing you would like to see? And somebody had recommended this type or these two types to look into. And for those of you, depending on what resonates the most with you from these descriptions, it might be perfectly clear what the differences are. But then for others, again, depending on what resonates with you, there may be some struggle in there deciding, gosh, I don't know. And I want this, but I also like this. So we're going to um take a look at some of those key differences to hopefully by the end of this episode help you clarify which type most resonates with you. And if not, by the end of this episode, at least give you some additional things to consider to continue to ask yourself and reflect on to eventually get there. So, right off the bat, the type seven, known as the enthusiast, is really striving to be excited. They're looking for fulfillment in life, happiness, satisfaction, and running away from anything that could cause them emotional discomfort, uncomfortable being uncomfortable with hard feelings, emotional pain, which is a little overlapping with that type nine energy because they too don't want to feel conflict, hard feelings necessarily. And they're really striving to be at peace, looking to be in harmony with themselves, with their environment, with their relationships, to be calm and relaxed. And so if that still isn't clear to you which one you must identify with, we're gonna get into some other key factors. One that I mentioned already is that they both have this glasses, have full rose color glasses outlook on life, right? Um, one of the key differences to ask yourself to reflect on is do you have more of this kind of relaxed, calming optimism, kind of this more like chilled out optimism? Or is it more of this like really enthused, excited type of optimism, right? And both are optimistic, it's just a little bit different in how you go expressing it and experiencing it. So that's one to consider. Something else that's kind of interesting, um, that I've been that I've read about and I've just kind of looked at different ways was this idea of getting interrupted. And depending on how you experience these interruptions, might give you some clues into what is your dominant type. So for a seven whose mind is constantly moving, they are constantly taking in information. Um, when they're sharing a new idea with somebody, they're gonna be a lot more okay and open to getting interrupted because for them, it's kind of gonna feel like, oh my gosh, we're co-creating here. We're we're building on this idea, we're creating something brand new. I'm taking your ideas, I'm sharing my ideas, we're kind of spitballing, we're soundboarding, we're we're really building something together. And this feels really exciting. I can't wait, let's go, right? And then the type nine, though, who already tends to deal with this feeling of my opinion doesn't matter. Um they tend to feel like they're invisible sometimes. That's maybe why they don't always speak up, being in that kind of that stereotypical level of development there. And so when they get interrupted, it can feel like, see, nobody cares what I have to say. It's like I'm not as important as what this other person is saying. Um, and so it can feel kind of defeating. It might also feel frustrating because it's like, listen, I hardly ever speak up. And here I am speaking up, and now I'm getting interrupted by you. They probably won't say that out loud, but that's how they'll be experiencing that. So kind of understanding, yeah, how do you feel about being interrupted is kind of an interesting one. Um, both can get distracted or diverted from their goal, from their intention for the day, for a specific project. A type sevens diversion um is going to happen multiple times a day on a daily basis, most likely, because again, they're taking in all these new ideas, all these exciting opportunities, all these possibilities for the future. And so they may sit down to knock out an article or that they're gonna going to write, or a podcast episode, or put together a proposal for a client, or um finish up a whatever project they needed to do or make their sales calls for the day, right? They have the intention to sit down and do that. And then they read an article or they get an idea, or somebody says something that spurs an idea, and then they get diverted and go down this rabbit hole of getting excited about this new idea or this new thought or getting curious about this. Whereas a nine on their way to sit down to knock out that project or write that article to record the podcast, um, they may get distracted with more of like those mundane tasks. So what they're about to do maybe doesn't feel as comfortable, maybe it feels hard, maybe it's like, oh my gosh, I'm gonna have to respond to this email and I'm afraid of how this client is going to take it, or my coworker or my boss is going to receive what I have to tell them or have to say, or I've just heard this project, this presentation, I don't know how they're going to react to it. And so rather than sitting down to do it, they're kind of being diverted because of the potential conflict that's looming. And rather than kind of distract themselves with new ideas and another project and kind of staying busy and stimulated, like the sevens, they may, they will have a tendency to kind of um zone out, maybe turn on their favorite show, pick up their a book they've read a couple of times already, maybe look on eBay and what could they add to their collection? Um, maybe just take a quiet walk, but they're going to distract with more comfort and safe, secure activities versus kind of that that um tornado of ideas and activity that a seven might distract themselves with. Um the other thing to consider is that these two types are in a different grouping on the internet or not on the internet, on the Enneagram, around your energy about going towards or going after, getting your needs met, you know, going after your goals. The seven is in the assertive stance with the threes and the eights, where they're really future focused. They tend to want to go far, want to go fast, and maybe a little bit more impulsive about going about that. But that's kind of that energy. Okay, I have an idea, I have thought now, I'm in action right now, moving forward into the future, focused on the future. Whereas the type nines, and this isn't saying all the time, every time, every seven, every nine, right? But these are just kind of tendencies, things to reflect on, questions to ask yourself about what you do most of the time, how you think about things most of the time, how you think, how you feel about things most of the time. And the nines are in the withdrawn stance with the fours and the fives, where they tend to have a more past orientation to time. They're reflecting on how did things go that time that I did that. And that can either be good because you're not going to make the same mistake again, because you're really taking the time to be thoughtful and consider how it went last time and what you would change this time, but can also um prevent you from taking action into the future because it's like last time I did this, it didn't work out. I'm not gonna try it again. Um, you can also kind of get stuck in, you know, nostalgia, um, just kind of living in the past versus, oh my God, what's possible for me in the future? There's pros and cons to both, right? We need all three, but there tends to be one that we go to more naturally, um, kind of on autopilot without thinking. And so that will be something to consider for you. And then the last thing that we're gonna look at with these two are the arrows of each. And so for a type seven, you have a connection arrow to the type one known as the improver, the perfectionist, as well as an arrow to the type five, known as the observer, the innovator, the investigator. And the it's interesting how these arrows work. And then just another reason why I love the Enneagram so much is because it's not one size fits all advice for the type seven, it's really interesting, who is so excited and enthusiastic and has all these ideas and charisma and this inner high energy. Um, but being able to bring in some of the structure and the routine and the discipline of that type one, as well as the focus, bringing in the research, bringing in the emotional steadiness of that type five can really be a perfect blend for that energy to be able to bring their ideas to life, to bring their um message to whoever they want to bring it to, but by adding credibility and authority and structure and um dependability, right? They're gonna put this great project together and they're actually gonna carry it through because they have these energies. So, as a type seven, when you are maxed out your your own defense strategies, coping mechanisms in times of stress, you will take on that stressful energy of the type one and sometimes can become really critical and judgmental, both of others and of yourself. You can kind of also get into some people pleasing, wanting to make others happy in those times of stress and kind of putting aside what do I truly think and feel in this situation. So that's how a one or a type seven will sometimes express that stress in times of conflict. And then um we talked about uh, you know, the growth arrow is really also bringing in that type five um focus energy to all of the ideas. And so for a type nine, you have a connection arrow to the type six, known as the skeptic, the troubleshooter, the loyalist, as well as the type three, no, striving to be outstanding and successful and accomplished. And it's again really interesting blend here with these three as to what the nine really um will be benefited by, what will really serve the nine the most as they succeed at work, succeed at life, um, bring their own messages and ideas and projects to the world. For um a nine, when you have tapped out your own defense mechanisms and COVID strategies, you'll take a lateral move to the type six stress strategies. And for them, it is you'll you'll um someone who tends to be so calm, cool, and collect. You might notice yourself having a lot of anxiety, nervousness, worrying a lot about that potential conflict, bringing in some of that anxious energy of the six in a time of stress. Um, you might also um find yourself becoming more black and white, needing certainty. Nines are some of the best on the on the Enneagram for being able to live in the gray, living in ambiguity ambiguity, not needing to know, you know, every single answer, every single step of the plan, just kind of going with the flow. But in a time of stress, they might take on that six energy and really need to know I am not okay in the gray right now. I absolutely need to have more certainty in my life, taking on some of that. So you may just something to reflect on and when you notice you're in stress. And then when you're growing, really bringing in that spotlight energy, being okay with being recognized for being outstanding, for being for your work accomplishments, the success that your clients are getting, um, and tooting your own horn a little bit with that three energy will is a really, like I said, a really great blend to be able to just enhance that nine energy that you already have. So um that was a little bit of you know how to grow as those types as well. Um, but also hopefully giving you some things to think about as to am I a seven or am I a nine? So we talked about your motives, we talked about what type of optimism do you have, we talked about how you experience interruptions and what you make them mean. Um, we talked about how you get distracted when you get diverted from from your plans, from your goals, what that looks like. We talked about the assertive versus the withdrawn stances, and then we just closed here with what your stress stance might be, your stress arrow, as well as what makes the most sense for that type to bring in. So your growth arrow as well. I hope that gives you some additional clarity into which type um most resonates with you so that you can better understand yourself and then look at ways to grow. What are the what are what is the best growth path for me at this moment? So um I if you have any additional recommendations for this or that episodes, let me know. We have a recommendation for a one versus a five coming up, and we have another seven versus a type three coming up in a few weeks as well. Always love to hear from you. Um, these seem to be something that um listeners and YouTube watchers really enjoy um and seem to offer some additional clarity. So um I like to keep doing them. Let me know what you want to hear about. Connect with me over on Instagram at Enneagram MBA or email Sarah at EnneagramMba.com. I always like to hear from you. I always like to hear from um about your suggestions for topics, for content. So I appreciate you for being here, for listening. And then we will see you back um on Thursday for our interview episode. This is actually going to be part two of my interview with Natalia Hernandez, talking specifically about relationship challenges by Enneagram type. So that's going to be a juicy good one. Hope to see you back here for that one.