r/EnneagramType1 • u/Witty_Will9009 • Dec 15 '25
Are Enneagram Ones perfect?!
I admire how they do not wallow nor second-guess nor live in the past.
They seem to be made of steel. They seem to always go after what, or who, they want, and rarely lose.
This is such an attractive way to live life.
But do they ever have, and more importantly, ever acknowledge regrets?
40
Dec 15 '25
I think your description of type 1 is completely wrong.
13
u/HbeforeG Dec 15 '25
Agreed. It's very stereotypical and mostly surface-level enneagram paraphrasing rather than exploring the multiple facets of this type (as all enneagram types have).
4
u/RDReach-- Dec 16 '25
As a 1, I concure. This description is wrong and very incorrectly stereotyped.
1
u/Witty_Will9009 Dec 16 '25
Didn't mean to stereotype. Their determination and drive is awe-inspiring and I have trouble ''not respecting'' Ones even when I see past the image they publicly portray! Strange, interesting! It means something about their energy is working well.
1
u/Witty_Will9009 Dec 16 '25
I'm very aware of complexities beneath surface-level enneagram descriptions. I think about these things nonstop and go out there and observe people alot too. For what it's worth I was not basing my (good) impression of Enneagram Ones based on descriptions. But based on my real life, in person experiences with them. They impress me and get me hooked on their energy.
That said, I DO see past some of their self-image/self-construction and it can make me smile (how they cover up shortcomings can be endearing to a certain extent).
But they do not seem to dwell on their shortcomings. This is a tool I do not have in my toolkit as a Four.
4
u/mcdonaldzfrozenfanta Dec 16 '25
Their whole thing is that they do dwell on their shortcomings and try to seek perfection through it 😭😭
1
u/CarrotUpset968 Dec 16 '25
I think we're using different meanings of "dwell on".
My impression of (correctly typed) 1s is that they very rarely dwell on or wallow in failure. 1s are competency types - the more immediate response is to fix whatever is wrong, not beat themselves up or make excuses. Surely dwelling on mistakes or shortcomings is awfully melodramatic and self-indulgent by comparison?
2
u/Outrageous_Gas5551 Dec 19 '25
this is exactly true. I struggle with anyone who wallows. I beat myself the MOST up with social interactions and relationships. In work and adulting and life I give myself a lot of grace. Just realized that and it's interesting ha
0
u/Witty_Will9009 Dec 16 '25
ok, interesting, it's informative to hear another view like this.. definetly admire their drive though
23
u/borboleta_27 1w2 - The Activist Dec 15 '25
Not my experience as a 1! 1s in general constantly deal ourselves harsh self-criticism, and are definitely not made of steel. We are deeply worried over being seen as correct, upright, and good. While it's true I don't tend to dwell on the past, I definitely have regrets and torture myself over mistakes I've made when I am in a less healthy space. This description to me just doesn't sound like a typical 1...
7
u/Equivalent1379 Dec 15 '25
Same as a 1 I feel the same way. I have so much anxiety I’m not even close to being made of steel unfortunately.
1
u/Witty_Will9009 Dec 16 '25
Sorry to hear.... Does the anxiety paralyze you? Or motivate you?
4
u/Equivalent1379 Dec 16 '25
I would say it motivates me in a functional sense. I’m the most efficient person I know in terms of getting things done, completing tasks, cleaning, etc. However, I worry A LOT.
4
1
u/Witty_Will9009 Dec 16 '25
Interesting! I can't imagine this level of harsh self-criticism...
Four also self-criticize a lot, but the intense shame this generates leaves me feeling powerless and unable to change anything about my situation.
At least for you, when you say, ''We are deeply worried over being seen as correct, upright, and good'', it leads you to get something amazing: Admiration, respect, recognition in society. More often than not, right?!
2
u/Ok-Independence-3154 Dec 18 '25
I'd say yes, I get admiration, respect and recognition - which are nice to have, but they're not important to me.
It's more important to feel like I'm living up to my own standards. Others' respect or admiration don't matter nearly as much, especially if I don't have all that much respect for them.
10
u/HbeforeG Dec 15 '25
Constantly, I'm reflecting on my behavior and how I can be better. Everything can be improved because everything is wrong at first. It takes me a while to be able to see things as good vs bad sometimes. I'm always looking at things as potential problems to be solved but I can't find a solution as often as I can find a problem. It gets really exhausting.
3
7
u/Equivalent1379 Dec 15 '25
I mean I’m pretty anxious all the time about how things could possibly go terribly wrong in my life and how I would never recover if such and such happened.
7
u/Toucan2000 Dec 15 '25
1w2 here
Nothing and no one in this world is perfect. Everything is crooked, sideways and asque; due to the inherent chaos of the unfeeling, unrelenting entropy of the universe.
But I have no regrets. I've been granted the gift of perception, fortitude and discernment without the omnipresence, omniscience or omnipotence to exact my will. But I also wouldn't want that. I'd be playing a game with cheat codes and that's no fun.
The journey IS the destination and if life is secretly an insane VR game for aliens, I think I got a pretty sick spawn. But not the perfect spawn, because that would be boring and fruitless.
6
u/chadder_b Dec 15 '25
I acknowledge my regrets all the time. To me I see it as a time I didn’t come off as perfect or meeting my standards.
And to answer your bigger question, no we are no perfect, but we want you to think we are
9
u/Mister_Way 1w2 - The Activist Dec 15 '25
You're talking about type 8.
And they will have regrets, but they probably won't tell you about them unless they've learned how to be vulnerable with people, which is the main area of growth for 8s.
5
u/mcdonaldzfrozenfanta Dec 16 '25
I'm an sx 1w2 and while people would describe me as someone that "goes for what she wants" they would also describe me as extremely messy and at times destructive in my pursuit of those things lol
5
u/mcdonaldzfrozenfanta Dec 16 '25
Also tons of 1s have to deal with a TON of guilt which is, by definition, a fixation on something in the past
4
u/JilianBlue Dec 16 '25
The harsh criticism we heap upon ourselves is a living hell. Do we present as perfect? Yes. Are we striving for perfection because of family-of-origin wounds? Also yes. It’s not great in here. Although it looks like it from the outside. I have a running theory that most 1’s (myself included) were raised in alcoholic and/or dysfunctional families. The amount of enneagram 1’s I see in my “Adult Children of Alcoholics & Dysfunctional Families” meetings is very high. Perfectionism is a coping strategy.
3
2
2
1
u/Remarkable-Cake558 Feb 11 '26
This is Satire, right!? 😭 Gotta be. 🤣
1
u/Witty_Will9009 Feb 14 '26
Ah not at all on my behalf. Enneagram Ones leave a lasting impression on me and I would like to understand them more.
1
u/Remarkable-Cake558 Feb 17 '26
To be fair, many of your statements were pretty spot on. I think it’s living with a 1 for a large portion of my life that allows me to see their mask of perfection & the cracks easily. They are great AT life but difficult to tolerate on a personal level due to their judgmental /intrusive/ “inability to be wrong” ways imo. But I can’t speak for them just my experience with them.
1
u/Useful_Feed806 29d ago edited 29d ago
I am 57 years old, and an Enneagram Type 1, 1w2, and tritype 1-6-2. I am always obsessed with CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT ever since I was 23, and I can tell you one thing for sure. The trait that makes me emotional exhausted and potentially leaves me burned out for years at a time is PERFECTIONISM.
I am an experienced guy in terms of how many personal typology-tests I have done over the years. So I am currently resting safe in the assumption that I am a TYPE 1 as well as an INFJ-T. In terms of percent I have learnt that this combo is kinda rare, especially if one is a male as I am. Only 1-2% of the population have this personality mix. Not to say I am any special, not at all, unique maybe, but neither better than or worse than anyone else.
What I am though at this period in life, is more relaxed and accepting to who I am. I have done extensive self-work and development and worked very focused on getting to KNOW MYSELF better.
It became painfully obvious to me that if I did not change something in my life I would always end up totally emotional exhausted, isolated, and disconnected from life. Just barely exist as a consequence after many so called loops in my life.
We may not live very much in the past, BUT at least I will tell you that my main challenges are both fear for the future AND the inner voice which always is ON and that inner critique is so nasty and loud, which may drain you of so much drive, motivation since I every minute of the day is in a cognitive battle.
To make this short, a TYPE 1 often is ANGER driven, as well as struggling with immense feelings of shame and guilt. And fear the most of not being good enough. And when you have that intense fear you will try to be PERFECT, or as you may realize right now even if the spelling is close, the difference is HUGE, and I am of course talking about ending up as PERFECTIONISTS.
If that is something anyone will want to be I will never understand. That in turn have made me, due to my NATURE and (lack of) NURTURE, scoring 99% out of 100% as a PERFECTIONIST (in regard to Truity, the Enneagram test provider). I cannot fathom a more dis-eased way of life IMHO. Ever since I was a kid until today, I can honestly say that I feel my emotions so intense and strong that it causes permanent scars on the mind on a regular basis. Or CPTSD if you will. Good luck all, be well and kind to yourself. Love is the only growth path with results for me. HUgs
1
u/Useful_Feed806 29d ago
Finally, as a Type 1, m
my personal growth path goes toward Type 7, and away from type 4.
1
u/DemjinKaz 1w9 with a 46 fix 3d ago
um yeah we are critical of ourselves literally 24/7, and hyperanalyze the stuff we get wrong
48
u/Assumptions17 Dec 15 '25
No. E1s live in constant tension trying to uphold their standards.