Out of the Box Coaching and
Breakthroughs with the Enneagram, Mary R. Bast, Ph.D. 
Copyright © 1999.
All rights reserved. Revised: September 01, 2010 

 

 

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Style Four

Description - Fours are vital to the health of any group because they are able to view things from a new slant and are not bound by tradition. They can keep an organization from slowly dying out of untested and outdated assumptions. More in touch with their feelings than other styles, they are in danger of sinking into moodiness if they meet with resistance to their ideas. The same talent that allows Fours to "look outside the box" can lead them to wonder why they never see things the way others do, and subsequently to question if they are flawed--their conversation is ripe with sad stories. Their driving force is envy, which shows up in dissatisfaction, a perception that "the grass is always greener somewhere else." Development options include focusing more on strengths and resources and less on the "tragedy" of life, learning to develop the possibilities of their current jobs, shifting their moods through physical exercise or creative outlets, reframing self-criticism in more positive ways, and championing a program or process they believe in. A key development need is equanimity, the ability to live fully in the present moment.

Typical Comments - "People call me because they know I'll come at things from a totally different angle." "I buy into the 'vale of tears' theory of life.""I seem to feel things more deeply than others." "I always felt like an outsider as a child."

Case Description of a Four       Poems That Speak to Fours    "Worth Waiting For"

      "The Innovative Four"     "Leaving the Drama Behind"    Change and Die

Quick Views of Nine Personality Patterns      Leadership and the Enneagram    

Much more in Out of the Box Coaching Book
(Click
here for free preview of Four chapter)