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Marisa Palmerin-Flores

Cunningham

English Literature (4)

09 January 2019

The Cons Being of an Achiever

It is a person’s strengths and weaknesses that make a person unique and set them apart

from the rest of everyone else. Our strengths give us opportunities to prove ourselves to others

and give us something to express, however it’s our weaknesses that we, as a human race, aim to

improve and make us the person we are. I believe that life is a learning experience, and being

able to recognize your own weaknesses, and work to fix them, can help us become better

individuals. After finding out my personality type, a type 3 achiever, it wasn’t a surprise to find

out my weaknesses I struggle with are being impatient, competitive, and out of touch with my

own feelings.

Part of having the personality type of an achiever comes with impatience. I often get

impatient with others or when things don’t go my way. Whenever I have a task to complete I like

to get it done just the way I want it, so seeing people make simple tasks complicated makes me

bothered. For example, whenever I have schoolwork and I’m focused on getting it done to my

best ability, I get irritated when my mother or anyone else distracts me from what I’m trying to

do. I also aim to impress others I care about or am seeking approval of, so when others get in the

way of me trying to accomplish my goal I can get impatient with them. To me, having a type 3

personality means I strive to please others and be the best at what I do, however, “others may

perceive threes as impatient” (​enneagramworldwide.com​). I consider me being impatient a trait

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that both benefits me and makes me struggle. In order to practice being more patient I can begin

to realize things won’t always go my way, and that it’s okay if my work doesn’t always please

others.

Next, although being achiever makes me feel successful in a lot I do, it also causes me to

develop a competitive trait. It gets very easy to get into a competitive mindset in the most

simplest tasks. In any situation being competitive is okay until it gets to a dangerous point. The

achievers, like myself, “typically have problems with workaholism and competitiveness”

(enneagraminstitute.com), which can be a pain when trying to work with others. For example,

working on group projects at school have been proven difficult when my competitiveness gets in

the way, and I try to outperform the group I’m supposed to be working with. In order to make

others proud of me, which is usually my goal when completing my tasks. I normally strive to be

on top, but in order to not be so competitive I need to start accomplishing my tasks for my own

approval and not for the approval of others.

Finally, trying to be the best at whatever I do oftentimes causes me to shut others out and

eventually lose touch with my own feelings. I tend to put all my focus into what I’m doing at the

time and because of that my priorities get mixed up. I eventually end up alienating myself to the

point what [my] real feelings or interests are” (enneagraminstitute.com). When I’m in that state,

it becomes easy for me to be prey to self-deception and deceit. I become so focused on getting

gratification from others that I begin to lose touch with myself. However, that’s when I also find

myself deeply connecting with my friends and they’re always there to help me out of whatever

rut I find myself in.

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Despite all these challenges that come along with being considered an achiever, people

with type 3 personalities can also be considered the “stars” of human nature. It’s up to me to not

let myself dwell in all the praise I may get from others, and instead find gratitude within myself.

After all is said, I continue to strive to become a healthy type 3 and not let my challenges get the

best of me.