There are a LOT of personality tests out there. Some are cutesy, some are cheeky and minimalistic algorithms, some are akin to a Teen Vogue “What’s your true horoscope?” quiz, and some are serious, science-backed, research-driven data collectors that are scary-accurate, in a good way. Like the Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator, also known as the RHETI®️ (pronounced sort of like “ready”) test.
To break it down, the RHETI is an Enneagram-based assessment tool of The Enneagram Institute that helps individuals hone in on their own dominant personality traits so that they can better take care of—and connect with—themselves. It’s not so we can find out the details about our crush’s personality, or prove why our best friend acts a certain way. It’s been vigorously, scientifically tested, and is backed by over a decade of research, to inform the taker, and the taker only, of themselves.
The Enneagram Institute was founded by Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson, who are also the creators of the RHETI®️ and co-authors of numerous books. Unfortunately, Don Riso is no longer with us, but Brian Taylor, Vice President of the Enneagram Institute, helps us decode why the RHETI test continues to be so functional today.
“Many individuals have found the RHETI an invaluable instrument to help identify their dominant Enneagram personality type—their default setting, their motivational core—and wake up to what their personality is up to and who they really are. Only when our ordinary perspective shifts can we recognize, acknowledge, and start to let go of our habitual self-destructive actions, fears, and impulses, and discover the real integrity, love, authenticity, creativity, understanding, guidance, joy, power, and serenity in each of us, as represented by each of the nine fundamental Enneagram types.”
The test itself is not free, but it’s totally affordable for anyone to begin this deeply explorative work, and in our opinion, a steal for the detailed report that it offers. The late Don Riso once beautifully said, “The Enneagram can be thought of as a treasure map that indicates where the secret riches of the innermost self can be discovered. But it is only a map, and it is up to us to make the journey: only we can accept the daily challenge and adventure that is our life.” The RHETI is the premier test of The Enneagram Institute.
If you’re not sure that you need this self-work (though we tend to think we all could use a little help), you can look into the types without taking the test and try to determine what you are, or learn a little more about them. It really depends on how honest you can be with self-reporting. Sometimes that’s the hardest part.
It’s important to keep in mind that the “I” in RHETI stands for “Indicator.” If you do take the test, know that the final report doesn’t definitively tell you your one and only type; it’s an indicator of your type. Your dominant personality type is typically among the top three results. The results you will receive after taking the RHETI provide scores for all nine types in a full-spectrum profile, as well as expanded type descriptions for your top three scores. It’s an incredibly in-depth and detailed chronicle.
If you’re someone struggling to be honest with yourself or have reached a spiritual plateau that feels like a mental and emotional block, the RHETI might help you crack the code into your next level of healing. It’s like a beginning, the catalyst for the next phase of exploration of the self. It’s about one’s own spiritual journey and their own growth, and getting beyond their personality type and habits and triggers. Because once you understand yourself, you can become your healthiest self.
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