The Enneagram is a personality typology which consists of 9 interconnected types. The exact interconnections of these types are mapped on the enneagram symbol.
Each person has a core enneagram type that forms from a combination of both natural/genetic factors, such as temperament, and nurture-based factors, such as how our parents and childhood environment shaped our perspective. If you increase your awareness of how you manifest your type's patterns, you can learn how to be in greater control of your behavior, perspective, and attitude.
By the time we reach adulthood, we have prioritized one of 9 approaches to psychologically manage and approach our lives. Whatever type we chose had the least drawbacks given our individual background and upbringing.
However, especially as we get older, sometimes our type isn’t the best strategy for everything. Oftentimes we think of our type as the one-size-fits-all approach to every situation in our lives, even when other strategies are better for navigating a particular set of circumstances. Learning to use the strategies of other types is one way that the enneagram can be beneficial for personal development.
Thus, the first step when learning about the Enneagram is to identify your core type. This is the type whose personality patterns you exhibit the most.
The enneagram will help you understand your type and its common pitfalls, and with that awareness, it will open opportunities to utilize other psychological approaches to resolve whatever life challenge you are currently up against, instead of defaulting to the same one each time.