September 17, 2014
Day 140
The Enneagram's nine types are not ordered by best to worst, as no number is better than any other number (though some 8s I've known might disagree).
So as I begin today with the One, please note I'm just going in numerical order, and nothing more!
The Enneagram One is often called the perfectionist. He or she is best known for their desire to keep everything in order, their meticulous attention to detail, and their fastidious practices in almost all things.
While some Ones might be slightly messy or make mistakes, most are not the type to ever leave a mess or not clean up. If you leave a mess in front of a One, they won't just be annoyed; they'll think you have a personality flaw! That's because for them, order is part and parcel of their DNA.
My father was a One, and though he had his struggles in life, his ability to keep things generally neat and in order was not one of them. Like most Ones I've known, my dad was very exact in his life. He was very careful with his writing, his parking, and even his food purchasing.
A master-level coupon collector, my dad was amazing when it came to grocery shopping, both in the planning of it and in the execution. On a long yellow legal pad, he'd write down at least three or four grocery stores within a 5-mile radius, and keep track of which store sold which food item at the best price. His coupons in hand, he'd then drive off to these stores like a soldier going into battle, only arriving back home once the war was over. As he unpacked the car, he'd call us into the kitchen to boast of his success. "Now take a look at all this here on the table," he'd say in his thick Irish brogue, "And tell me how much you think this would have cost." We'd take our best guesses, and then with a building smile, he'd announce proudly, "They paid me 17 cents."
If you know Winnie The Pooh, the character of Rabbit is an Enneagram One. Other famous Ones include Julie Andrews, Joan Baez, Noam Chomsky, Anderson Cooper, Gregory Peck, Bill Moyers, Tony Randall, Judge Judy, Jane Curtin, and Anne Coulter.
Enneagram Overview
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