The folks in the Type 4 video from understandingpersonality.com do seem to be very dramatic. Being second best might not be ideal, but does it really stack up as a tragedy? This clip makes me wonder what type the interviewer is.
Mediocre or ordinary is like a swear word. Like that’s the last thing you would want to be.
Nine Paths 
A tad dramatic and oversimplified, yes, hopefully just for dramatic/teaching purposes! (I tend to respond more positively to a more nuanced approach.) 🙂
This one really reminded me again that, quite apart from type stereotyping, we so often view the other types from the perspective of our own type. (Plus I just had the uncomfortable realization that I, myself, could on occasion be accurately described as dramatic and oversimplified–especially inside my own head. 🙂 )
This social Four gets it. I must add the the common, ordinary plebeian masses have something that Fours want, but we’d never be ordinary to obtain whatever it is. 😉
Such a perfect comment in so many ways! Thank you. 🙂
You are welcome. These videos are great aren’t they? Very funny.
Yes, I think the videos are quite entertaining (and still somewhat informative). I have VHS tapes of the Stanford University Panels from the 1994 Enneagram Conference, and while they are generally good, some are a little too deadly serious for this 8w7.
An 8w7 huh? I’ve always enjoyed the dynapic between the 4 and 8. The 4 is so good at navigating the interior realm and 8’s are so skilled in the concrete world. I have always watched 8’s, if im lucky enough to type them before meeting them, to see how they will test my “salt”; will they hold eye contact until I react? Say something audacious and wait to see what happens? I love it. 😉
Let me add I love the serious, and I’d probably eat those VHS tapes, plastic, box and all.
My partner was a 4 (with an “obvious” 5 wing, though he denied it). We were quite the combination, defying gender stereotypes for sure. Together for 30 years, though.
The panels were, I believe, put together by Helen Palmer. She and David Daniels did the interviewing. I’ve used them a lot in Enneagram classes, so I don’t really mean to badmouth them. I especially like the 7 and 8 panels. The 7s are uber-casual, all over their chairs, cracking each other up, obviously having a good time. The 8s, at one point, all assume the same posture with one leg crossed over the other–which is how I often sit. They (panels) were made available in a set of 3 tapes, one for each center of intelligence. I think they might be available on DVD now if you’re really hungry for some serious. 🙂