To learn more about this series, as well as how the survey was conducted, please read this post.
Type One
Commonly known as The Reformer, The Teacher, The Perfectionist
The Need to Be Perfect
Basic Fear: Of being corrupt/evil, defective
Basic Desire: To be good, to have integrity, to be balanced
Key Motivations: Want to be right, to strive higher and improve everything, to be consistent with their ideals, to justify themselves, to be beyond criticism so as not to be condemned by anyone.
Ones are conscientious and ethical, with a strong sense of right and wrong. They feel the need to live their life the right way. They strive to improve themselves and the world around them but they are also afraid of making a mistake. Well-organized, orderly, and fastidious, they have high expectations of themselves and others. They can be critical and perfectionistic and often have problems with resentment and impatience.
At their best: ethical, reliable, productive, wise, idealistic, fair, honest, orderly, self-disciplined
At their worst: judgmental, inflexible, dogmatic, obsessive-compulsive, critical of others, overly serious, controlling, anxious, jealous
Read this profile for a complete description of Type One.
Type One Bloggers*
Giving Up On Perfect, coffeesnob318, Addie Zierman, Allison Buzard, Come What May, Jane Halton
*these are bloggers who identify as type one; it does not indicate they have participated in the Enneagram and Blogging survey
Typical Topics
- "Family, faith, food - through a lens of not being perfect" -Mary Carver's blog Giving Up On Perfect is the quintessential type 1 theme (shared with permission)
- Feminism
- Faith
- Perfectionism/accepting
- Grace
- The Church
- Social Justice
- Goal-setting
- Time management
- Overcoming guilt and shame/accepting imperfection
Why did you start blogging?
While reasons for starting a blog ranged from building a platform to sharing stories with family, many Type Ones reported starting their blog because they:
- felt they had things to say
- wanted to dialogue about matters of social justice and/or the church
- wanted to share their point of view
Ones often believe their way is best or that things won't get done (or be done well) unless they do them. They enjoy expressing their opinions on all manner of subjects. It makes sense this would spill over in to blogging as well.
Do you have any goals related to blogging?
Besides building a platform or working toward publication, Ones reported wanting people to feel less lonely in their struggles, while also being as authentic with their readers as possible. They also seek to practice the art of writing and improve upon this skill set. Also known as "being the best blogger."
What do you like about blogging?
- Having a place to share my thoughts
- Helps process thoughts/feelings/scenarios
- Friendships/meaningful interactions
- Making a difference in peoples' lives
- Being able to interact with more people
- Helps rein in some of the sass
- Creative outlet
What do you not like about blogging?
Ones reported blogging can make them feel like they're not "good enough" and that there is a never-ending, overwhelming amount of information on how to be a "good" blogger. They report wanting to devote more time to blogging so they can be better at it. They all listed what they should be doing to be better. Yes, that would be our favorite perfectionists talking. This taps directly into the One's basic fears and desires. If they believe they are not measuring up (in any given area) or they're not recognized as "good," they fear they are defective and may devote less time and energy to the task at hand, preferring to devote themselves wherever they already shine.
Ones reported difficulty in knowing how to deal with the pressure of social media and selling themselves/their blogs. They report measuring sucess by pageviews, social media shares, and comments- something that ever fluctuates and is generally hard to pin down.
A few mentioned they weren't sure if blogging brings out the best in them. The potential competitiveness and snark of blogging brings out their own competitiveness and snark in a negative way.
Ones like expressing their opinions but they noted wishing they could see how their readers react to their blog posts. They like having a platform with which to express themselves but don't like feeling they're talking in to an empty void. Readers' responses also helps them know how and where to direct the conversation. Blogging is often an exercise in vulnerability, especially when they don't receive certain markers (comments, social media shares) in return.
Lastly, Ones hate when they later find a typo or grammatical error. Some Ones have others proofread their posts before publication for the express purpose of preventing these mistakes.
What are your strengths as a blogger?
All respondents reported believing they were strong writers. Other strengths included helping people feel comfortable, offering good advice, creating compelling graphics and visuals, being consistent/authentic, and communicating clearly.
Their perfectionism often results in good attention to detail, which shows up in proofreading, time that goes in to creating a new blog post, and offering strong content.
What are your greatest struggles/temptations as a blogger?
Ones often try to control their circumstances. At times, it may seem easier to control what happens behind their computer screens, instead of their actual lives. The catch in all this, however, is how little in blogging we can control.
Ones cited comparison as one of their greatest struggles. (Ones disintegrate toward Type Four, for whom comparison is the core struggle.) In the case of the One, they compare to see how they measure up. Are they the best?
Because Ones want to be viewed as good, vulnerability can be a struggle. It means taking a risk and admitting there are chinks in the armor. While Ones logically know they're not perfect, their basic desire rests on the assumption that they are or have the capacity to be. This shows up in big and small ways. Writing a blog post and then following through on publishing it is an invitation to feedback both positive and negative. Or worst of all: no feedback. And then if feedback comes, the One may not have time to respond or know what to say back.
But this also assumes that Ones blog at all. Many Ones reported not having enough time to blog. (This may be a clever excuse to cover up their inability to "perfect" blogging.) Or they reported editing pieces to death- always trying to catch typos, find the perfect word, come up with a snappy lead. They tend to have multiple draft posts. Will they ever be published? Only the One can say what he or she is waiting for.
Resources: The Enneagram Institute, The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective (Rohr), Enneagram Made Easy (Baron and Wagele), The Wisdom of the Enneagram (Riso and Hudson)
