4 Poems for Enneagram Threes
If you don’t know what number you are on the Enneagram and would like to find out before reading, check out this free test to get you started.
Enneagram Threes are known as The Achievers. They seek success in everything they do and can be highly motivated by accolades. Threes work hard to achieve their goals and often inspire others with their work ethic and abilities. Threes are a light to the people around them, vibrant in their personal and professional roles. However, a common weakness of a Three is to tie their identity and worth to their achievements and public perception. As we look at poems through an Enneagram lens, we see the complexities of our Type Threes so beautifully described in poetry.
1. Rupi Kaur
“how do i shake this envy
when i see you doing well
sister how do i love myself enough to know
your accomplishments are not my failures
we are not each other’s competition”
An admirable trait of our Type Three friends is how hard they work toward their goals. Threes thrive when they are accomplishing things and gaining recognition for their hard work. But if they encounter a setback or feel they have failed at something, it can be very challenging for them to stay out of the world of comparison. Having this type of scarcity mindset leads to deep feelings of unworthiness in the heart of a Three if they feel they don’t stack up to another person’s successes. This Rupi Kaur poem is beautiful encouragement to every Three in our lives. There is room for everyone to succeed, grow, and learn. Our lives and our growth were never meant to be compared to another’s. Instead, we can cultivate the growth we see in others while blooming in our own time as well.
2. Nikita Gill
If All Girls
“If all girls were taught
how to love each other fiercely
instead of
how to compete with each other
and hate their own bodies,
what a different
and beautiful world
we would live in.”
Type Threes are often perceived as perfectly put together and charming. They work hard to present their best possible selves to the world, physically and mentally. This focus on their perceived image can make them especially hard on themselves when they look in the mirror, and struggles with self-love can overflow into currents of competition with others. These words by Nikita Gill are such a beautiful call to action, encouraging us to love. When we learn to love the bodies we call home and to love the souls we journey alongside, it becomes less about competition and more about camaraderie and connection.
3. Cleo Wade
a love note to my body
“a love note to my body:
first of all,
I want to say
thank you.
for the heart you kept beating
even when it was broken
for every answer you gave me in my gut
for loving me back
even when I didn’t know how to love you
for every time you recovered when I pushed you past our limits
for today,
for waking up.”
This piece feels so personal, yet so relatable. Our Type Three friends work so hard to achieve that they sometimes ignore their own boundaries to keep pushing toward progress. In their efforts to prove their value, they get further and further from feeling that worth for themselves. Wade’s poem is a beautiful step toward self-love and acceptance. This reflection helps a struggling Three remember their innate value and the beautiful resilience of their own bodies.
4. Perry Poetry
“She didn’t need
to say a word,
just seeing her
was magic.”
This poem embodies a Type Three so perfectly. Vibrant energy surrounds these sweet souls and leaves people in awe. Their desire to improve and achieve overflows into their interactions with others. However, they are at their most stunning when they are being themselves. This piece serves as a reminder for Threes that their presence matters and that they truly light up the rooms they enter. Their high-achievement mindset is admirable, but it is their genuine, unfiltered hearts that people want to see the most. That is their magic.
