What is the Enneagram 4w3 personality type? What are its key traits, strengths, weaknesses and fears? We’ll answer these questions in this article.
This is one of the 18 Enneagram Wing Types, which don’t exhibit traits of just one profile, but blend two adjacent ones. The 4w3 is a blend of the Enneagram 4 and the Enneagram 3, which are both Heart types.
We’ll start by talking about how this profile is composed of 4 and 3, then talk about its core traits. We’ll round off with a field manual for the Enneagram 4w3: a summary of its core strengths, weaknesses, fears and desires.
What is the Enneagram 4w3 Type?
First, let’s clarify what the Enneagram 4w3 is. It means an Enneagram 4 with a 3 Wing. It helps if you understand the 9 Enneagram Profiles in some depth.
If you have a 4w3 personality, it means you’re predominantly an Enneagram 4, but exhibit some traits from the adjacent profile, number 3. It’s also possible to be a pure 4, or a 4w5.
If you want an approximation of what a 4w3 looks like, take the core 4 and 3 traits and blend them together, with 4 dominating. If you know somebody who is primarily a 4 but has significant traits of 3, they might well be a 4w3.
The folks at personalitydata.org found that only 2.2% of Enneagram 4s exhibit a 3 wing: a minimal amount. 74.1% are pure 4s, while the other wing type, 4w5, makes up the remaining 23.8%.
Remember, the 4w3 is predominantly a 4 but shows significant 3 traits.
4s are creative, curious and self-expressive (Individualists), while 3s are industrious, goal-oriented and driven (Achievers).
The 4w3 is predominantly a 4, so have a rich inner world and are deeply artistic and contemplative, but the 3 wing means they exhibit some of the core Achiever traits. This gives the 4w3 a thirst for climbing the mountain and reaching their goals. They tend to express themselves through their work while being more action and task-oriented than a typical 4. It is imaginative and sensitive.
In a nutshell, the 4w3 is highly motivated to express their uniqueness while achieving goals, raising the bar, and reaching the top.
For your information, I refer to personality types as “it” because they’re abstract profiles derived from real-world data, detached from any one person. Though the Enneagram possess huge explanatory power, nobody is a cookie-cutter 4w3.
The Core Traits
The Enneagram 4w3 Type is called the Aristocrat because it is a character that is at once eccentric, tasteful and driven to ruthlessly achieve goals. Its basic desire is to be unique, search inside for the answers, all while reaching for the stars and receiving recognition for it.
The 4w3 is more introverted and self-focused than a typical 4, thanks to its 3 wing.
Thanks to the 3 influence, it sometimes finds itself pleasing others and seeking validation, and this conflicts with the strong 4 drive towards autonomy and authenticity. Its own drive and ambition can hinder its uniqueness.
As with all Enneagram Profiles, there are downsides to the 4w3. For one thing, the Type 4 never feels quite satisfied with its life. There’s always some better world just over the horizon. It’s a melancholic soul. Combine this with 3’s insatiable desire for success, and you can get a nasty combination. The 4w3 can wind up continually pursuing success to try to fill that emptiness.
The 4w3 also doesn’t want to be perceived as bland. It needs to be recognised as the unique trailblazer that it constantly strives to be. As a result, it can get insecure about its identity, feeling like it doesn’t belong in a world where it’s not recognised. It’s prone to go on achieving to gather up more validation. It becomes image conscious, determined to show off its unique tastes and traits.
Whether we have a 4w3 personality or not, we can learn from its successes and struggles. It’s a universal fact that if our prime directive is to be highly unique and achieve things, we can forget about the world around us and become self-obsessed.
The best professions for the Aristocrat are those that favour creative achievers, such as artists, writers and teachers.
The Enneagram 4w3 Field Manual
The core fear of the 4w3 is failing to be recognised for its uniqueness, to be seen as plain and bland, and to lose their individuality when striving for achievement.
Its core drives are to be unique, tasteful and successful and to find inner and outer harmony.
The strengths of the 4w3 are its inner strength, connection to its inner world, and imagination.
Its weaknesses are its need for external recognition, and its oft-excessive inner focus and melancholy.
The 4w3 is at its best when it’s working towards goals while expressing its uniqueness, taking on fresh challenges, and when it feels highly motivated.
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