The New Year’s Resolution You Want Vs. The One You Really Need, According To Your Enneagram Type

It’s that time of year again when you give some good thought to what your New Year’s resolutions should be. What do you want in 2024? Are you keen to set some ambitious career goals, help others, or escape your stress with a fun vacation? 

Now, ask yourself – why have you chosen those resolutions? Are they truly what you need, or are they influenced by your boss, your family, your community – or the plans you always make for yourself this time of year? Are you choosing the easy path, or the one that will truly make an impact on your life? 

To find out, let’s turn to the Enneagram. Read on to find out what you think you want in the New Year and what you should strive for instead to be happier and healthier, all according to your Enneagram type.

Enneagram Type Ones

The New Year’s resolution you want: Set more career goals. 

As a Type One, you’re an ambitious go-getter. You might have a five-year plan set in stone and it’s tempting to set yourself more goals to achieve in 2024. You’re always striving to improve yourself, and what better time to do that than with the clean slate of a New Year? 

The New Year’s resolution you need: Schedule more time off.

The last thing you might think you need is to take more time off, but this is part of self-care, which should be a priority on your to-do list. Although you’re quite hard on yourself and won’t take the idea of taking a vacation lightly, this time away from your desk will stop you from slipping into an unhealthy place. Once refreshed, you’ll be able to achieve even more amazing things in 2024. 

Enneagram Type Twos

The New Year’s resolution you want: Do more good deeds.

When brainstorming New Year’s resolutions, you might devise new ways to help more people and do more good in your communities. As a Type Two, you’re generous and always willing to support others. Maybe you’re going to say yes to Sandy who keeps asking you to help at the soup kitchen. Or maybe you’re going to help your aunt, who wants you to sell her house for her. While these efforts are noble, they might be wiping out all your energy. 

The New Year’s resolution you need: Set more boundaries.

You’re always looking after others, which is great. But now’s the year to focus on your healthy boundaries. If you don’t have some time to be generous to yourself, you’ll wind up drained and feel unsatisfied. It’s not a crime to say no to people’s requests now and then so you can do something purely for yourself, whether taking a spa day or watching mindless TV for a few hours. You can’t assist others if you’re depleted.

Enneagram Type Threes 

The New Year’s resolution you want: Get a promotion. 

Threes are big achievers who fear being seen as worthless by others. But how do you rate success? You tend to focus on personal achievements, so setting the goal of getting a promotion at work and climbing up the corporate ladder is what appeals to you. But if this is all you put your energy into, it can alienate you from others.

The New Year’s resolution you need: Make a new friend. 

It’s healthy to consider your life outside of your work goals. Put yourself in new social settings to make new connections, friends and relationships. Taking an interest in others will make you even more charming than you currently are, while helping you feel valuable for who you are and not what you achieve. 

Enneagram Type Fours 

The New Year’s resolution you want: Analyze your feelings. 

As creative souls, Fours are interested in greater self-expression and achieving their artistic goals. You feel it’s important to explore your feelings even deeper than you currently do so that you can heal previous wounds and learn more about yourself. 

The New Year’s resolution you need: Boost your self-confidence. 

While exploring your feelings is always a good thing, doing too much of it can cause Fours to get stuck. Take a break from analyzing every little feeling and tackle your lack of self-confidence instead. Doing this will help you stop gaslighting yourself and show that you are enough, just the way you are. 

Enneagram Type Fives 

The New Year’s resolution you want: Learn a new language or skill.

Type Fives see the world in unique ways. They’re overflowing with new ideas and are skilled at focusing on complex thoughts, but they can become too obsessive about them. As a Five, you’re always interested in learning something new, like mastering Spanish or Italian before an international work trip, because you love possessing knowledge. 

The New Year’s resolution you need: Get a hobby for fun. 

Instead of learning something new to better yourself, your New Year’s resolution should be to do something new, completely for fun! Why not take up dancing or hiking on the weekends, even if you’re not good at it? It’s about letting loose and doing something different that doesn’t have to help you achieve anything. 

Enneagram Type Sixes 

The New Year’s resolution you want: Take a wilderness survival course. 

As a Six, you strive to feel safe and secure in all areas of life. Your biggest fear is being unprepared, especially when life’s worst-case scenarios strike. But here’s an idea: instead of finding an additional 10 ways to keep yourself safe, which can make you anxious, you might need to find inner calm that will help you roll with the punches. 

The New Year’s resolution you need: Read a book on meditation.

Since you’re such an overthinker, as a Six, you’ll greatly benefit from learning how to meditate. This helps you to quiet your noisy thoughts and achieve inner peace. You can’t control everything in your environment, but you can control what goes on inside of you. 

Enneagram Type Sevens

The New Year’s resolution you want: Plan a vacation when times are rough.

Sevens are playful, curious people with a strong need for adventure. The problem is that sometimes you might try to run away from pain towards the next glittery vacation or music festival so you don’t have to deal with a traumatic experience. Did you have a breakup or get demoted at work? You’ll want to wrap a sarong around you and book a beach holiday ASAP! 

The New Year’s resolution you need: Unpack your baggage.

If you’re a Seven, it might sound boring to sit in your feelings and explore them instead of trying to mask them, but this is what you need to take stock of where you’re at. If you don’t deal with your feelings, however difficult, you’re not going to be able to grow from your experience. 

Enneagram Type Eights 

The New Year’s resolution you want: Become even more self-sufficient. 

As an Eight, you want to feel strong and in control of your environment. You’re independent and prefer dealing with your issues instead of asking others for help. You’re courageous and self-confident, sure, but remember that extreme self-sufficiency can result in burnout.

The New Year’s resolution you need: Ask for help. 

Stop taking on so much! You might think you don’t need help, but everyone needs help sometimes. If your apartment’s flooded after a bad storm, don’t try to handle it all yourself. Enlisting the help of people around you will make the experience less traumatic, and get you back in the groove after a setback. It’s also a good time to realize that your loved ones love you and want to support you.

Enneagram Type Nines 

The New Year’s resolution you want: Bring people together.

As a Nine, you’re empathetic and try to maintain a harmonious experience for everyone, whether at work or in social circles. But, a deeper fear is at play here: you’re afraid of tense, conflict-ridden environments. Although it’s noble to be the person who brings people together, it can also mean that you neglect your needs sometimes. 

The New Year’s resolution you need: Pay more attention to yourself. 

Instead of focusing so much on those around you, it’s healthy for you to turn the spotlight onto yourself for a change. Notice your thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations in different situations. You have anxieties, stressors and fears just like everyone else that you shouldn’t avoid because your needs matter. Don’t put yourself on the back burner in 2024!