Enneagram Three: The Performer
The third enneagram perspective is founded on achievement and fulfilled purpose—the hallmarks of successful life in most mid-21st-century societies. While most of us are pushed toward the successful accomplishment of many projects during our life, there is a specific Enneagram type that places these hallmarks at the top of their list. Helen Palmer (Palmer, 1991, p. 134) offers this summary description:
“These were the children who were prized for their achievements. They remember coming home from school and being asked about how well they had done, rather than how they felt about their day. Performance and image were rewarded, rather than emotional connections or a deep involvement in other people’s lives. Because they were loved for their achievements, they tend to suspend their own emotions and focus their attention on earning the status that would guarantee them love. The idea was to work hard for recognition, to take on leadership roles, and to win. It was very important to avoid failure, because only winners were worthy of love. Threes . . . are high achievers who have identified with the American popular image of youth, energy, and a competitive life.”
Anticipation is particularly important for the Enneagram Three. While I have proposed that anticipation is central to all polystatic processing, the awareness of this anticipation is often not fully present among many people. The Enneagram Threes, however, are fully aware. As Palmer notes, the Threes will often set aside their emotions (and other life priorities) when anticipating a rewarding accomplishment. More than is the case with the other eight Enneagram types, the Threes “live for tomorrow” and are guided by their anticipations (often found in a checklist of things to be accomplished).
When their anticipatory checklist includes many “do-able” tasks, the Enneagram Three is likely to
“light up.” Their energy surges (a sympathetic response), and their somatic template is filled with positive bodily sensations (taut muscles, strong heartbeat, focused attention). Once again, something similar is occurring for the Enneagram Three and the gambler. They both find gratification in anticipating success. And this gratification is often greater than what occurs when success is finally achieved.
The Enneagram Three is more likely to feel relieved (than gratified) after accomplishing many important tasks. A stiff drink, a glass of wine, or quiet time spent in a comfortable chair are more likely to follow the completion of a to-do list than is a dance of joy or “whoop” of accomplishment. Soon, there is preparation for the next day (or week) when success can be anticipated. Dopamine “injections” are more likely to follow the planning for success than the achievement of success.
Then there is the matter of Negative anticipations. The Enneagram Three looks forward to failure rather than succeeding in efforts to complete a specific task. They may anticipate major barriers that get in the way of completing important tasks. Inadequate resources might be available, even though Enneagram Three is assigned responsibility for completing a specific project. Under conditions of overwhelming challenge and insufficient support, the Enneagram Three is likely to experience massive stress.
Their body is preparing for battle with a real or imagined Lion (Sapolsky, 2004). It is a battle that they know can’t be won. The “lion” is much too strong and fast. The weak and slow human can rarely fight or flight. Instead, like a rodent on the African Savanna, the human being must freeze in place and hope they will be ignored by the Lion. While rodents will cease the freeze after a few moments and shake off the accumulated adrenaline, we human beings are likely to remain frozen in place for an extended period of time; thereby doing major damage to body, mind and spirit.
This is particularly the case with Enneagram Threes. They not only produce many real and imagined lions in their identification of multiple tasks to be accomplished but also produce higher levels of adrenaline when confronting the lion than is the case with other folks who are less invested in successfully defeating the lion. Other Enneagram types tend to be more realistic when anticipating their ability to confront the lion with strength and knowledge. Unlike Tarzan, who could use brute force when attacked by a lion, most folks either avoid work that involves lions or find ways to cooperate with or “buy off” the lions in their life.
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