Type 8: The Need to Be Strong

Enneagram Type 8s are known as the Challengers or the Protectors. They are strong, powerful, and often intimidating. Having a deep sense of truth and justice, Type 8s fight for the cause or the weak or oppressed. They deal very openly and directly with other people and have a strong sense of responsibility.

As a gut type, 8s prioritize doing, not thinking or feeling. Similar to 1s, 8s are reformers. However, 8s do not reform from within institutions as 1s do. Rather, they leave the system and throw rocks at it to change it from the outside. If 1s are the goody two-shoes of the world, then 8s are the bad boys/girls or the world. The like to be in control, are very aggressive, love competition, and hardly ever recognize that others typically react negatively to these traits.

8s enjoy being against, always taking the opposite side of whoever or whatever is before them. This disagreeableness is their way of discerning trustworthiness. That is, if you stand up for what you are saying in the face of opposition, then 8s will trust you because they know you really believe what you are saying. But if you back down from their antagonism, then they will see you as wishy-washy and not respect you.

While 8s come across as hard and powerful people, they have tenderness and vulnerability within them. They just see their softer side as weak and therefore rarely show it. In other words, their strength is a mask that protects their inner child of which they are very insecure. Other words which describe 8s include…

Basic Fear

Of being hurt, harmed or controlled by others. This fear manifests in an avoidance of weakness and vulnerability.

Basic Desire

To protect themselves; to be in control of their own life.

A Few Key Motivations

• To be self-reliant and avoid vulnarability
• To prove their strength and resist weakness
• To be important in their world
• To dominate, win, and assert their power
• To stay in control of their situation and protect themselves
• To stand up for the cause of the oppressed

Vice

Lust – not simply sexual; lust is about using another human being for what you want, exploiting another person without respecting his/her dignity; lust is often about intensity, that is, so full of high energy that you act without thought, feeling, empathy, or understanding

Virtue

Mercy/Innocence – when 8s are healthy and willing to acknowledge and engage their vulnerable inner child, then they become capable of showing great tenderness and mercy to others that affords them a high degree of empathetic innocence

Defense Mechanism

Denial – 8s will deny anything and everything as a coping mechanism to avoid both being vulnerable and the appearance of weakness

Anger – anger can be very powerful and 8s enjoy the feeling of power; they will use anger to cover up and avoid their softer emotions

Pitfalls

Revenge/Retaliation – because 8s fear being harmed, when they do feel harmed, they often want revenge and can easily get caught up in seeking retaliation

Childhood

8s typically describe their childhood in one of the followship ways:

• They were pushed around a lot and learned to value strength in order to avoid being pushed around
• They learned that the world punishes soft tendencies, so they became hard and strong to survive
• Their parents rewarded strength
• Their parents let them get away with too much and so they pushed the boundaries to see how far they could go without ever being reigned in
• They were so smothered by love that they reacted against it never really trusting it

Example

In the lesser known Disney movie Hercules, Meg sings “I Won’t Say I’m in Love” refusing to admit that she has fallen for Hercules because her past love ended in heartbreak. This is exactly the kind of behavior that 8s are known to exhibit since their biggest fear is being hurt. Meg exerts control by being sharp, quick-witted, confrontational, independent, and refusing to admit her feelings. And her song (I Won’t Say I’m in Love) highlights these characteristics.

Biblical Character

Samson is strong, doesn’t admit his weaknesses, chases women, and takes revenge of Philistines who he believes deceived him. Honestly, Samson may have been too strong for his own good. He threw his weight around and strong-armed his way through relationships and public life leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.

Samson falls in love with Delilah. Initially, he refuses to be vulnerable with her, and she uses this against him. Eventually, Samson is so blinded by his love for her that he is vulnerable, sharing the true secret to his strength. And, of course, Delilah uses it against him allowing the Philistines to shave his head and capture him. At the end of his story, Samson seeks his revenge come what may. He prays to God for one last moment of strength and brings down an entire building upon his captors even as he is killed along with them.

What 8s Need

• Mercy – to give mercy to themselves and others
• To explore their inner child and acknowledge what lies beneath their facade of strength
• To stop using power to win, crush, dominate, and degrade
• To learn that tenderness and vulnerability are not weakness; to learn that there is strength is love and forgiveness
• To stop and think when they are angry
• To consider the softer emotions within them and consider what others might be thinking and feeling
• To learn that while they can make plans and take action, they cannot control everything
• To learn that strength does not solve every problem
• To learn to follow, not just lead

Summary

Enneagram Type 8 – The Protector from Crystal

Are You an 8?

If you think you may be an 8, check out the video below for some helpful connection points to God. Also, be sure to text, call, or email Pastor Jason to sign up to take the 40 minute Enneagram Test online. (Paper test are available as well.) Use the contact form on our website or text/call the church office.

Stay tuned to our blog for tips on relationships with Type 8s!