If you’ve ever thought, “I relate to too many Enneagram types,” you’re not alone.

Most people mistype because they’re trying to match a personality description instead of identifying their core motivation. A simpler and more accurate approach is this: start with your Center of Intelligence (Body, Heart, or Head), then track your relationship to that center’s core emotion—anger, shame, or fear. Each Enneagram type has a patterned way of coping with that emotion, and that pattern matters far more than surface traits.