Sevens are enthusiastic about almost everything that catches their attention. They are optimistic, bold and vivacious, pursuing what they want in life with a cheerful determination and plenty of chutzpah, a kind of brash nerviness. Life is an adventure and Sevens are transfixed by all the good stuff they are about to experience.
While Sevens are a thinking style, they are also very practical and engaged in many projects at once. Their thinking is anticipatory: they foresee events and generate ideas on the fly. While not necessarily intellectual or studious, they can be very intelligent, well read and highly verbal. Their minds move rapidly, making them gifted at brainstorming and synthesising ideas. They love the rush of ideas and pleasure of being spontaneous, preferring broad overviews and beginnings to probing a single topic in depth. With so many things on the go, they love a list. Ironically, their curiosity, quick learning and implementing abilities can create problems for the Seven. With so much choice, it’s hard to focus on one thing.
The core problem for a Seven is that they have lost touch with their inner guidance, which creates a deep anxiety. To cope, they keep their mind constantly busy and body moving from one experience to another, searching for more stimulation. This keeps the anxiety and negative feelings out of conscious awareness. Also, as (at a deep level) they do not feel they can find what they really want in life, life is trial and error: “If I can’t have what will really satisfy me, I’ll enjoy myself and try everything. That way I won’t feel bad about not getting what I really want.”
When a Seven can slow down, quieten their mind and become balanced and grounded, they can be brilliant multifaceted people, synthesising and cross fertilising their many diverse areas of experience. With their feet on the ground, they are engaged with life knowing that the primary enjoyment of life comes not from consuming, but by contributing something to the world. As their addiction to stimulation and experiences fades, they access the guidance they are lacking, and so their productivity and creativity. Consequently, what they produce is far more meaningful to others.
How to Recognise a Seven
Sevens are recognisable by their high level of activity. At work they are always busy; outside work, they are multi-talented generalists. They know a lot and can do a lot. Sevens are bright and cheerful, frequently humming or whistling to themselves. They appear youthful even in later life. They always look good and like to wear colourful clothing that makes them feel happy. They rush about with some job always to be done. They are garrulous story-tellers with the gift of language and memory. They are always on the look-out to meet new or familiar faces and are talented at greeting people and making them feel welcome. In short, Sevens are easy to recognise because of their whirlwind, happy and stimulating lifestyle.
Sevens can be unfaithful, childish and narcissistic but at their best they are positive, charming, lateral thinkers who enjoy life to the full.
The Seven at Work
Sevens love work: the more of it, the better. If it doesn’t come at them in a steady and varied stream, they will make up plenty of plans of their own. They don’t like to stop. Sevens are accomplished at everything they do, to the extent that they can do several things at once: today’s letters, while lighting a cigarette, while over-hearing a conversation in the corner. Jobs become uninteresting if they go on too long, involve deep thought or become unpleasant. Every job is completed at break-neck speed. Sevens work quickly, speak quickly, eat quickly, tell their stories quickly. As a result Sevens often don’t move forward: they go round and round as if they were on a carousel.
To discover the Sevens on your team, ask yourself: “Who always has the latest gadget?”; “Who has the best storyline in jokes?” and “Who tends to do their own thing without regard to others?”
Working with a Seven
They might say…
"Here I am everybody! Things are going to be more lively now." To themselves they say “I must stay up all the time, pushing my energy into the world and keeping others up”.
They get stressed by …
Coping with overload that comes from trying to sample all that life offers, making the same mistakes over and over because of the desire to avoid pain, making commitments and then feeling trapped by them and wanting to escape.
They get angry because of …
Constraints or limits that prevent them getting what they want, people who are unhappy or depressed or blame others, feeling trapped.
Get along with them by …
Make clear contracts both verbally and in writing, as they have a very flexible attitude to what a contract means, keep things pleasant as they hate conflict, include them for brainstorming or creative input.