Let’s say we hand every Enneagram sort a time machine. Not the clunky DeLorean type (although cool), and never the recent tub selection (we’re not animals). It is a glossy, transportable, morally ambiguous form of time machine. One button. No directions. A ticking sound that will or might not imply something.
The query is: what do you do with it?
Let’s discover out.
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Enneagram 1 – The Reformer
Mission: Repair all of the damaged issues. In every single place. All the time.
In case you give a One a time machine, they’ll first ask if it’s ethically sourced. Then they’ll examine if it’s as much as code. Then they’ll use it to return and cease the most important injustices in historical past—like, all of them. Slavery? Preventing it and offering historic texts to warn individuals of what’s going to occur in the event that they don’t change their views. Environmental destruction? Preventing it with analysis from scientists of the long run. That point in eighth grade after they used the unsuitable type of “your” in a love letter? Corrected.
However right here’s the factor: Ones aren’t simply making an attempt to repair the previous. They’re making an attempt to repair themselves too. The interior critic that already nags them about not flossing sufficient would now have entry to the whole timeline. That’s a recipe for burnout and existential whiplash.
Finally, they’d understand that chasing the right timeline is a quick observe to insanity. They’d come again, toss the time machine in a lake, and concentrate on being merely and completely within the current.
Enneagram 2 – The Helper
Mission: Consolation the brokenhearted, assist the changemakers, and make historical past 37% extra emotionally regulated.
In case you give a Two a time machine, they gained’t use it for themselves. They gained’t return and repair that point they known as their trainer “Mother” within the third grade. They gained’t even return to stop their very own heartbreak.
Nope. They’ll use it to assist you heal from yours.
At first, it’s small stuff. They return in time to ensure somebody has a coat earlier than the snowstorm hits. They slide a casserole onto the doorstep of a historic determine who’s simply been publicly humiliated (what? Everybody heals quicker with carbs). They go away affirming Publish-it notes on the desks of world leaders who’re about to crumble below the stress. Truthfully, they’re like emotional Mary Poppins meets Physician Who.
However then they begin considering greater.
They land in Montgomery, Alabama, 1955, proper because the Civil Rights Motion is gathering momentum. Rosa Parks has made her stand (or sit, technically), and persons are organizing, resisting, hurting. The motion is rising—however so is the backlash. It’s heavy. It’s exhausting. And persons are working on fumes.
So the Two does what Twos do.
They don’t attempt to take the highlight. They don’t hijack the trigger. They simply assist.
They bring about futuristic medication to assuage aching joints and ft worn uncooked by miles of protest walks. Transportable photo voltaic lanterns for late-night technique classes. Quiet, sturdy assist for organizers burning out behind the scenes. They assist individuals keep in mind to eat. To relaxation. To breathe.
They sit with moms afraid for his or her youngsters. They hug youngsters too courageous for his or her age. They write encouragement letters that by some means sound like precisely what somebody wanted to listen to—as a result of that’s the Two superpower: emotional clairvoyance.
They don’t repair all the things. They know they will’t. However they maintain individuals up whereas they do the inconceivable. They be certain the individuals altering historical past have sufficient energy to maintain going.
Enneagram 3 – The Achiever
Mission: Win time journey. Beat historical past. Construct legacy. Assist humanity (and perhaps look good doing it).
Threes would see the time machine not simply as a device—however as a launchpad. First, they’d return and spend money on Apple, Amazon, and whichever Renaissance artist appeared like they wanted a patron. Then they’d use future information to publish bestselling books, ship TED Talks, and construct a motivational empire: “Time Hack Your Life: The three Secrets and techniques to Limitless Success.” There can be merch. There can be a Netflix documentary. There can be an app that sends you every day affirmations out of your favourite historic determine.
However finally, the shine wears off. The applause fades. And Threes—being secretly tender beneath all that drive—begin asking deeper questions.
What if I used this energy for one thing extra than simply visibility?
What if my value wasn’t about trying invaluable—however being invaluable?
And so, they pivot.
They begin utilizing the time machine to intervene at essential turning factors in historical past—to not steal credit score, however to give it again. They coach leaders to behave with integrity earlier than corruption units in. They cease catastrophic PR disasters that derail social justice actions. They assist society’s most sensible change-makers discover their confidence, their viewers, and their momentum earlier than the world talks them out of it.
Finally, the Three stops chasing fame and begins chasing influence. Quiet, lasting influence. The type that ripples via historical past while not having a reputation hooked up.
Enneagram 4 – The Individualist
Mission: Really feel all the things. Discover that means. Remodel ache into magnificence that heals extra than simply themselves.
Fours would journey again to witness the start of artwork actions, the heartbreak behind symphonies, the brushstroke that modified somebody’s complete life. They’d present as much as quiet tragedies and sit with individuals of their grief—to not repair it, however to honor it. To say, “I see you. Even right here.”
Time journey, for a 4, wouldn’t be about tweaking timelines. It could be about honoring them. They’d collect fragments of humanity’s sorrow and pleasure like stained glass—aching to show it into one thing that claims, “Your ache means one thing.”
However right here’s the place it shifts.
At some point, in some war-torn future or silenced previous, they’d look into somebody’s eyes and understand: it’s not sufficient to witness ache. Not if in case you have the facility to assist reshape it.
So they begin doing extra.
They create sanctuaries for displaced artists. They construct touring story-collecting cubicles the place the unheard can lastly communicate. They use the time machine to collect misplaced songs, banned books, buried lullabies—and share them throughout generations to remind individuals: you aren’t alone.
Their previous missions turn out to be love letters to forgotten voices. Their future ones? Seeds of resilience and self-expression in locations that want it most.
Enneagram 5 – The Investigator
Mission: Perceive all the things. Archive it. Construct a bunker. Most likely keep away from individuals.
Fives wouldn’t even use the time machine immediately. They’d first analysis it. For weeks. Presumably months. They’d construct a spreadsheet evaluating each time journey paradox ever recorded in science fiction. They’d weigh the dangers. They’d calculate timelines. They’d make their peace with causality.
After which?
They’d begin visiting historic libraries, forgotten laboratories, and long-lost civilizations. The purpose wouldn’t be to alter historical past—it will be to perceive it.
Fives are wired to preserve vitality, and time journey is exhausting. Folks from each period wish to speak. Which is… unlucky. Finally, even probably the most reserved 5 would understand that the pursuit of data with out connection is like constructing a tower with no doorways.
The second they invite somebody into their time-traveling lab bunker? That’s the true plot twist.
Enneagram 6 – The Loyalist
Mission: Anticipate catastrophe. Forestall collapse. Shield the individuals nobody else seen till it was too late.
In case you give a Six a time machine, the very first thing they’ll do is be certain it’s not a entice. They’ll run a background examine on whoever handed it to them. They’ll textual content three pals to see if this appears sketchy. They’ll Google “what occurs in the event you use a time machine unsuitable and break the material of actuality.”
As soon as they’re satisfied it’s actual—and that they’re not about to by chance create a butterfly impact that causes international battle—they’ll use it to do one thing monumental:
They’ll return and cease a disaster.
Not a flashy one. Not the one already in each historical past ebook. The one nobody seen till it was too late.
They’ll present up within the weeks earlier than a dam breaks. Earlier than the financial collapse. Earlier than the availability chain failures, the genocide, the college capturing, the outbreak. They’ll discover the blind spots—the programs that have been quietly corroding whereas everybody else was busy chasing shiny issues.
They usually gained’t simply sound the alarm. They’ll construct the sandbags. They’ll prepare the locals. They’ll whisper the reality to leaders too proud to ask for assist.
As a result of right here’s what individuals don’t all the time perceive about Sixes:
They’re not simply anxious.
They’re courageous.
They’re those who keep when issues crumble. Who maintain the road. Who learn the phrases and situations whereas the remainder of us are clicking “Settle for.”
Finally, their time-traveling mission turns into a form of international resilience venture. They create early-warning programs. Underground communities. A trauma-informed community of first responders skilled to behave earlier than the breaking level.
And sure—alongside the best way, they’ve doubts. They fear they’ve made issues worse. That they missed one thing. That they don’t know sufficient.
However then somebody survives. Due to them.
And one other individual. And one other.
They usually understand: braveness isn’t about being positive. It’s about exhibiting up anyway.
Enneagram 7 – The Fanatic
Mission: Expertise all the things. Escape ache. Unfold mild. And perhaps—simply perhaps—save the world with pleasure.
Sevens get the time machine and instantly lose their minds in one of the best ways. No hesitation. No questions requested. Simply go.
First cease: the roaring ’20s for jazz and champagne. Then medieval festivals (solely the enjoyable elements). Then the moon touchdown, as a result of why not. Then a short stint sooner or later, simply to check out floating sushi eating places, hyperloop journey, and see in the event that they ever get that flying skateboard they dreamed about in third grade.
For some time, it’s pure bliss. Each period has one thing new to attempt, somebody new to satisfy, one thing scrumptious or bizarre or dazzling to eat. Sevens are wired to chase surprise prefer it’s oxygen, and time journey? It’s a playground with no closing time.
However finally—even sooner or later—there are shadows.
Famine. Loss. Loneliness. Remorse.
And that’s when the Seven’s actual mission begins.
As a result of this kind, for all their sparkle and banter, is aware of darkness intimately. They simply conceal it higher than most. After they do confront it, although? They’ve one thing highly effective the remainder of us overlook in our seriousness:
Hope.
So that they pivot. Mid-flight, mid-century.
They begin going again to moments in historical past the place hope was about to die out. To not ship speeches. To not repair all the things. However to infuse pleasure the place it was nearly extinct.
They sneak into battle zones with music. They slip future medication to plague medical doctors. They train youngsters in bomb shelters chortle once more. They bring about shade to grayscale locations.
And perhaps, most heroically of all, they start to take a seat with individuals in ache—with out making an attempt to skip previous it. They study that not each wound wants a distraction. Some simply want a witness who hasn’t misplaced their sense of surprise.
Finally, they create all these experiences again with them: the flavors, the tales, the aliveness. They write books, open cafés that double as grief circles, begin colleges that train youngsters emotional resilience via play.
As a result of they’ve seen it now: Pleasure isn’t the other of ache. It’s what makes surviving it worthwhile.
Enneagram 8 – The Challenger
Mission: Change the course of historical past. On function. With drive. Presumably by punching a tyrant.
Eights don’t fiddle. The second they get that point machine, they’re already in Historic Rome, saving somebody, beginning a riot, or throwing palms with a dictator.
To an Eight, time journey is a weapon for justice. A device for empowerment. A method to defend the underdog—particularly the underdog they as soon as have been.
However let’s be trustworthy. The road between justice and management can get blurry. Particularly for Eights who’ve been harm earlier than. Their default setting is “by no means once more,” and that may result in overcorrection. Controlling timelines. Silencing opposition. Taking up a bit too a lot.
Finally, an Eight has to reckon with their very own vulnerability. To comprehend that true energy isn’t about domination—it’s about integration. Belief. Letting another person steer the time machine for a change.
And after they do? That’s when the world shifts—as a result of a softened Eight is among the strongest forces within the universe.
Enneagram 9 – The Peacemaker
Mission: Hold humanity from imploding—gently, empathetically, and ideally with out anybody elevating their voice.
When a 9 will get a time machine, they do what Nines do finest: they take a nap first.
Not as a result of they’re lazy. As a result of they want time to really feel it out. Speeding into historical past with unchecked vitality is the way you get world wars and regrettable mustaches. Nines know higher.
So that they wait. They hear. They pet a cat. Then they go.
However right here’s the factor—they don’t go to the plain moments. Not the bombs dropping or the treaties signing. No, Nines present up in these invisible, precarious moments. The day earlier than the shouting begins. The pause earlier than the punchline turns into a punch.
Let’s say they land in Sarajevo, 1914—proper earlier than the assassination that kicked off World Battle I. They’re not there to shove anybody out of the best way or sort out the archduke’s driver. That’s not their type.
As an alternative, they make tea.
They chat up the locals. Those stewing in quiet resentment and unstated trauma. Those no one else is listening to as a result of everybody’s too busy being RIGHT. They slip into tense rooms like a breeze below the door and all of a sudden—by some means—everybody’s respiratory simpler.
And positive, they might casually point out what a world battle would appear like. Not in a scary manner. Extra in a, “You understand, bullets are loud and limbs are essential and have you ever seen what mustard gasoline does?” form of manner. They present photographs. Inform tales. Make it actual. To not terrify—simply to re-humanize.
As a result of Nines? They don’t simply preserve the peace. They restore it.
They bring about one thing the indignant individuals forgot entry: creativeness. Curiosity. The light nudge that claims, “Perhaps there’s one other manner.” And by some means, with out anybody realizing it, the vibe shifts. Battle cools. Somebody cracks a smile. The sharp edges begin to spherical out.
By the point they go away, they haven’t “gained.” They haven’t “solved” something. However the powder keg? It’s only a dusty outdated barrel once more.
And again within the current, they return a bit drained, a bit proud, and perhaps carrying a stray canine from 1914 who simply appeared emotionally fragile.
What About You?
So, what would you do with a time machine?
Would you repair, assist, win, really feel, perceive, put together, play, battle, or mix?
The reality is—all of us may do some of every. The Enneagram doesn’t field us in. It simply reveals us the place we begin—and the place we’re scared to go.
However the time machine? It’s not only a metaphor. It’s actual. You’re in it proper now. Each minute you’re respiratory, each second you’re selecting. That is your timeline.
And the long run?
Nonetheless unwritten.
