Features of the 3w4 Personality (A guide)

In this brief guide, we will discuss the enneagram personality 3w4, and some concepts related to it as well.

Enneagram 3w4 personality

The enneagram 3w4 personality is characterized by traits like being ambitious and independent, as well as extroverted, but at the same time seeking beauty and a desire to be unique, along with a tendency to want to create a name for themselves in the world.

These individuals may want to create something significant, or leave behind an amazing legacy, as they are a mix of ambition and the artist or romantic.

The 3w4 personality has the core traits of the enneagram personality type 3, and they may also have the personality traits of type 4, which may make their drive and ambition geared towards accomplishing something great and wanting to be significant.

It is unlikely that the 4 wing would cause their traits to become mellow, instead, the desires that fuel the type 4, which are wanting to be important and make a unique identity, may get fueled by the ambition and achievement-focused attitude of type 3.

The 3w4 will be more focused, and serious in their behavior than the typical type 3 or the other variant, 3w2.

3w2 is also likely to be very career-oriented and may be more introverted than pure 3 or 3w2. 

Most of their identity is in their work and they may be very task-focused.

Basic Fear of a 3w4

The basic fear of the 3w4 is similar to that of type 3, that they will be seen as unworthy or incompetent, but at the same time, the 4 wing might also make them afraid that their accomplishments won’t be worth much unless they are significant enough to make them unique, and cement a place for them in the world.

This fear is likely to drive them more than just being afraid of being unworthy or incompetent, because the stakes get higher when they make bigger goals for themselves.

The three with a four-wing may be extremely scared of failure of any kind and not being able to reach the heights they have decided they need.

The 3w4 may tend to throw themselves into their careers and do anything it takes to succeed, almost reaching unhealthy levels of work to do so, on occasion.

Basic Desire of the 3w4

The basic desire of the 3w4 is to succeed and feel valued, and create a unique identity in the world that is just theirs, and feel significant through their work.

The three with four wing may show this by seeking validation and merit for their hard work and successes, and they are likely to be a little more image or status-conscious than the typical threes or the three wing twos.

The three-wing fours may use in their defense the process of adapting or changing their personalities to fit into their environment, and may even act like extroverts if it gets the job done.

While this is amazing from the perspective of being communicative and adaptive, it may also lead to them being misunderstood or feeling fraudulent.

Strengths of the 3w4

Here are some strengths of the 3w4 personalities:

• They are extremely driven and can tackle whatever challenges they face in the work setting
• They are great workers and hard work defines them
• They are good and attentive to specific tasks
• They have a great ability to recognize personal growth areas
• They are good at connecting with those around them
• They are capable of thinking practically and working efficiently
• They are always striving to improve or get better in some capacity

Weaknesses of the 3w4

Below are some weaknesses of the 3w4 personality:

• They may not be great at finding a work-life balance
• They may be somewhat manipulative when they are trying to get what they want
• They may be too consumed with the idea of achieving things and may ignore their physical and mental health as a consequence
• They may be too focused on professional success and forget to take care of their personal life
• They may tend to face self-doubt in stressful circumstances
• They may face difficulty in accepting loss or disappointment
• They may sometimes be perceived as overly confident or moody

If you’re facing this, it may be a good idea to seek the help of a therapist or other mental health professional. You can find a therapist at BetterHelp who can help you learn how to cope and address it.

3w2 vs 3w4

While the 3w2 is focused on people and using resources to get ahead in the field they have chosen, the 3w4 is likely to leave everything aside, including social aspects, to get into achiving things they want to achieve, as a result, the 3w2 is infinitely more popular and extroverted, while the 3w4 tends to be by themselves more often and working away alone.

3w2 may also be more outgoing, charming, and they may be more interested in making connections to get people to value them. 

The 3w2 is likely to be perceived as more conventional and polished, while 3w4 is more distant, aloof, and likely more image centered, in the context of personal goals, as opposed to seeking out others to make connections with.

On the unhealthy side, the 3w2 may try to maintain a favorable image by trying to be indispensable and may seek admiration upfront rather than basing it on their accomplishments alone, while the 3w4 might want to achieve things and seek validation for that, and upon not getting it their accomplishment might feel lesser to them somehow.

The 3w2’s identity tends to be based on being their culture’s ideal in some way, so much so that their sense of self-worth may even depend on their desirability, while the 3w4 may secretly wish for this on occasion but it never seems to become the deciding factor in what they do or how they approach things.

The 3w2 may be needier and therefore seek connections, while the 3w4 may avoid connections because they feel they don’t need it or to hide their inner turmoil or sorrow.

4w3 vs 3w4

3w4 may always put on a show, not necessarily an overt thing or boisterous in any way, more in terms of maintaining a front for who they really are or how they feel, while the 4w3 may not even bother with that and just be generally withdrawn and prefer being by themselves.

The 3w4 may be more assertive and less individualistic, and the 4w3 may have trouble being assertive and they may be somewhat moody and withdrawn.

The 4w3 is likely to be more independent and individualistic in self-expression, whereas parts of the 3w4’s expression and general interactions with the society may be colored by their need to seek validation and be rewarded for their efforts or accomplishments.

Enneagram 3w4 in love

An enneagram 3w4 in love may try to be the best possible partner they can be, as their need to feel significant or accomplish things sometimes isn’t just limited to their careers or work, it may permeate into the personal life as well.

One needs to remember that these people are driven by achievement motivation, more than anything else, and there is a chance that that might show in their interpersonal relationships as well.

The enneagram 3w4 in love being attentive and trying to be the best partner may come from a place of not wanting to be left or rejected, or not being good enough. 

They are also likely to overdo it, by trying to live up to some sort of ideal and trying to outdo themselves on occasion, and the partner might initially feel like it is the best they have ever experienced, but eventually, it may start to feel like a lot.

In addition, the efforts that the enneagram 3w4 in love might go through for the lover might need to either be reciprocated or validated (in their minds) and when they are not, they might get upset and start to question the entire thing and start wondering why they bothered.

The partner may not always know that they are supported to appreciate and validate the efforts, so this miscommunication may make for some problematic situations.

These individuals are also used to putting on a show for the benefit of others and when the 3w4 is in love, they may have a hard time actually being themselves, and their partners may have trouble with that.

Enneagram 4

Enneagram 4 shows great self-awareness, sensitivity, and they have a tendency to be shy and reserved, and yet they have the capacity to be emotionally honest, creative, and personal.

These contradictions make these people some of the rarest in the world, and while they can be so sensitive and self-ware, they may also be moody and self-conscious. 

The enneagram 4 may often be accused of withholding themselves from others due to feeling vulnerable and defective, which is coming from their basic fear of being unworthy and insignificant.

The enneagram 4 is famous for wanting to make their own unique identity in the world and the fear that it won’t happen for them can lead them to isolate themselves preemptively so that they don’t get hurt later.

The type 4 may often be seen as melancholy, self-indulgent, and self-pitying but with help and at their very best, they are inspired and highly creative, and they are able to renew themselves and transform their experiences to create what they are dying to create, which is a unique and significant identity in the world, and a legacy to leave behind.

The basic desire of the enneagram type 4 is to find themselves and their significance and to create a legacy or identity of some type.

Despite their tendency to be withdrawn and reserved, these people want to find ways to express their creativity and vision, which is great because they have much to share with the world.

Conclusion

In this brief guide, we discussed the enneagram personality 3w4, and some concepts related to it as well.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions or comments you may have.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): 3w4

Citations

https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-4

https://intuitive-enneagram.com/2018/08/21/type-3-with-4-wing/