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Know Thyself, said the mythical Greek sun god Apollo many millennia ago.

Thousands of years later, modern psychologists still agree with this ancient wisdom and encourage young people to reflect on themselves to set their future directions.

The Enneagram is a tool that can help you understand your personality.

The Enneagram is a system  inherited from the ancient wisdom of the Middle East.  Western scholars have been studying it for the  past 20 years and it is increasingly being used by psychologists.

The Enneagram is  a method of character analysis with nine personalities laid out in a circular diagram. The personality types are distinct, yet inter-related.

Local psychologist Monica Wong Hiu-hung  recommends the Enneagram as  a good tool for Hong Kong students to get to know themselves.

The Enneagram divides people  into three emotional centres: brain, heart and gut. With these centres, people can be further divided into nine core characters. Through reflection and  psychological tests, people may find out which character type they belong to.

'The merit of the Enneagram is that it makes no judgment on  what kind of people are good  or bad;  every  personality type has good and bad sides. The spirit of the Enneagram is to help people improve their shortcomings and develop their  potential. This helps them pave a successful path for the future,' explains Ms Wong.

For example, in the Enneagram, type Number One are submissive people. They like to obey, are disciplined and are usually good students.  However, they should learn to sometimes break tradition and release their creativity.

Similarly, people of Number Five personality type are usually diligent students because they like studying and doing research. Yet they contemplate more than take action.

Number Three people are believed to be the most prevalent in Hong Kong, especially among  youngsters,  says Ms Wong. They are self-centred, impatient and eager to gain success quickly. Though it is good for them to pursue success, they should learn to face failures and insist on their dreams.

Number Two people are kind and helpful but not sincere enough. Number Four  have an artistic personality and  lack discipline.

Loyalty is the main characteristic of Number Six. However, they worry too much. Number Seven people, on the other hand, are energetic and eager to learn new things but  suffer from low concentration. Number Eight personality types are usually  leaders, but they sometimes try to control other people too much. Number Nine people love peace but they evade competition too  regularly.

Ms Wong encourages young people to know themselves as well as the people around them, so as to build up good interpersonal relationships.

'If you understand other people's weaknesses you may be more tolerant with them and know how to help them improve,' she said.

Ms Wong has jointly written a book on the Enneagram called Break the code of Minds (translated by the SCMP) with her teacher,  psychologist Dr John Koo.

Singer Faye Wong is believed to be a Number Four person - putting  great emphasis on one's own feelings. Although several of her relationships have ended bitterly,   she still believes that all her ex-lovers are good people. She trusts her own feelings  and  does not pay attention to other people's  judgements. She is  the kind of person who  is prepared to sacrifice many things  for true love.



What personality type are you?