Crusader

## Life Task

To achieve a sense of serenity with a body secure in its capacities. As projections are worked through and resentment has been tamed, compassion becomes possible.

*"I do everything the right way."* - Crusader Principle

## **Description**

Like all enneaclasses, the name "Crusader" is not referring to any classes from media that utilize the same name. Rather, it was the name selected to better convey specific information about other gamers and to gamify the powerful notions found in the **Enneagram.**Every person has access to all the classes but primarily settles on one which frames the personality. Accessing other classes' potentials and maximizing the capacity of the primary class takes a large degree of work and effort, and this work could be viewed as lessons an entity must overcome to become unified.

They are idealists in the sense that they bring to all of their experience an implicit sense of “how things should be.” This sense of an unmet ideal permeates the Crusader’s experience of the world.

It is as though they were simultaneously aware of how things are and of how they should be. Since reality as the Crusader perceives it, and the ideal as the Crusader conceives it, very infrequently coincide, Crusaders experience reality as being essentially flawed and approach it from a standpoint of frustration.

Crusaders are people of action and therefore tend to deal with their belief in the world’s inherent imperfection with the deep seated conviction that something ought to be done. The flaws should be fixed; the system reformed; the sin expurgated.

Virtually all Crusaders have a pronounced streak of perfectionism, a perfectionism which is active; it seeks not just to judge but to fix. To be sure, other types can have perfectionistic streaks, but the Crusader’s perfectionism is more than a quirk; it is a central compulsion.

Crusaders are people who have a highly developed capacity to focus; they are disciplined people who can attend to their jobs while steadfastly refusing to be drawn into distractions.

Crusaders generally have a fine eye for detail and are typically quite skilled in at least a few key areas. They are people who can commit, who will “follow through;” they are people who will do what they see as their duty.

Crusaders are dedicated, competent and conscientious and they know how to persevere. They are people of principle who can be counted on to do what they say they will do.

Crusaders are not only aware of the flaws they see embedded in the very structure of reality, but also, by extension, of the flaws they see in others, and more importantly of those they find in themselves. These Crusaders tend to focus their reform efforts on those they love.

Crusaders tend to worry about those they love, and they feel it is their duty to help others achieve the excellence that the Crusader believes them capable of achieving. These reform efforts are a sign of the Crusader’s love, but can, paradoxically, cause others to feel unloved, as though they were simply never quite good enough for the Crusader.

Crusaders are loyal and dedicated. They will sacrifice for those that they love. They will not abandon those who have been placed in their charge.

Crusaders are quite hard on themselves also. They tend to feel guilty for not quite measuring up to their own impossible standards, and are frequently somewhat impatient with the many little flaws that are inherent in being human.

Crusaders are generally serious people who find it difficult to relax and who often needlessly deny themselves many of the harmless pleasures of life. They are generally somewhat emotionally repressed, and, especially if male in our society, tend to see the active expression of emotion as a sign of weakness and a lack of self-control.

## **Class Identification Questions**

Every entity falls primarily within one of the enneaclasses, originally. While it can be difficult to elucidate which correlates with any individual, these nine questions (for each class) were designed to analyze certain aspects of the personality so that one can come to an understanding of their class.

1. Do you continually think about ways you could have done something better or ways you might have responded to a person or a situation more to your advantage?
2. Is there a voice in your mind that criticizes everything you do and many things other people do?
3. Have you frequently had to sacrifice your desires or opportunities because people close to you are more verbal or more aggressive about their needs, or because they have needs that seem to take priority?
4. Do you make "To Do" lists for yourself and for others?
5. When you are working on a project, do interruptions break your concentration on the details and trigger a "slow burn" of anger?
6. Do you think you try hard at everything in life and often wish you could be more laid back or easygoing?
7. Do you feel revulsion toward people who are always needy or looking for a "free ride" in life and silently criticize them for not taking charge of their own lives?
8. When planning to make a purchase, do you ignore the person who tries to give you a sales pitch and look for someone who will give you the information you need and let you make up your own mind?
9. Do you consistently find yourself redoing tasks because others failed to do them right the first time?

## **Preoccupations**

Preoccupation relates to the matter of being preoccupied or engrossed with something, so what you might find here are areas of examination with which this class might find themselves involved.

* Internal standards of correctness that can become puritanically demanding. Stream of self-criticizing thoughts.
* A compulsive need to act on what seems to be correct.
* A belief in their own ethical and moral superiority. The better people. The top 10 percent, who do things right.
* Difficulty in recognizing real needs that do not conform to standards of correctness.
* Mentally comparing oneself to others, "Am I better or worse than they are?" Concern about criticism from others, "Are they judging me?"
* Procrastination in decision making, stemming from the fear of making a mistake.
* Displacement of the anger generated by unmet needs toward what appear to be legitimate outside targets.
* Difficulty acknowledging personal desires that conflict with these standards of correctness.

## **Special Abilities**

Each enneaclass has several unique traits which may be cultivated in such a ways as to give advantages when dealing with situations that are characteristic of that class. Those of the Crusader can be roughly summarized to:

* being self-disciplined and able to accomplish a great deal
* working hard to make the world a better place
* having high standards and ethics; not compromising myself
* being reasonable, responsible, and dedicated in everything I do
* being able to put facts together, coming to good understandings, and figuring out wise solutions
* being the best I can be and bringing out the best in other people

## **Weaknesses**

Each enneaclass also has several areas of weakness where they generally do not thrive unless work has been done towards alleviating these shortcomings. While the following examples are general statements, it is expected that most Crusaders dealt with or are dealing with issues of this nature:

* being disappointed with myself or others when my expectations are not met
* feeling burdened by too much responsibility
* thinking that what I do is never good enough
* not being appreciated for what I do for people
* being upset because others aren't trying as hard as I am
* obsessing about what I did or what I should do
* being tense, anxious, and taking things too seriously

## **Class** **Synergy**

Some enneaclasses naturally work better together than others, which leads to many moments of understanding and misunderstanding. Many potential adverse situations can be overcome by understanding those around oneself and learning how to best optimize those others, which quite frequently results in some synergistic outcomes.

* Likes specific guidelines and schedules. Loopholes are traumatic.
* Practical. Reshapes abstract approaches into step-by-step procedures.
* Likes schedules and accountability, knowing who's responsible for what. Keeps track of detail.
* Energy that could go to product may be diverted to details.
* Looks for evidence of ethical character -- discipline, manners, appearance, respect.
* Prefers doing over feeling. Wants to focus on work rather than work relationships.
* Aware of critical points about a program but has a hard time proposing broad solutions. Too much room for error.

## **Charm Guide**

Relationships among gamers of various enneaclasses are often tenuous due to a lack of understanding. This may not be of consequence in regards to relationships that are superficial or purely of a business nature, but these relationships only compose a small subset. It can be beneficial to learn what makes each class comfortable and respected in order to forge more meaningful and deeper connections. For the Crusader class, some of the techniques towards achieving this end are as follows:

* Take your share of the responsibility so I don't end up with all the work.
* Acknowledge my achievements.
* I'm hard on myself. Reassure me that I'm fine the way I am.
* Tell me that you value my advice.
* Be fair and considerate, as I am.
* Apologize if you have been unthoughtful. It will help me to forgive.
* Gently encourage me to lighten up and to laugh at myself when I get uptight, but hear my worries first.

## **Class Specialization**

Human evolution requires three basic survival behaviors, referred to in the Enneagram as the instinctual specializations: the self-preservation specialization, the social or group specialization, and the one-to-one or intimate specialization. Because these are survival behaviors, each Enneaclass includes all three subtypes. Although you manifest all three to some degree, you usually express one of these three subtypes more than the other two. Both environmental circumstances and your Enneaclasses's structure influence their expression, especially the core emotion associated with your adaptive strategy and what you put your energy into.

**Self-Preservation Instinctual Specialization**. Your attention and energy go to issues related to personal survival, such as safety, security, comfort, protection, and adequate basic resources of food, shelter, and warmth.

***Social Instinctual Specialization.***Your attention and energy go to issues related to your community and group membership, such as role, status, social acceptance, belonging, participation, and fellowship.

***One-to-One Instinctual Specialization.*** Your attention and energy go to issues related to connection in vital relationships, such as bonding with special others, sexual intimacy, attractiveness, closeness, union, and merging.

 Priest | Social | Comfortable with a secure social role and a clear set of rules, this spec. is usually quite friendly and gregarious on one’s own turf. But an emphasis on doing things the right way can make it hard to adapt to new situations, and also can generate resentment or criticism toward others who may be acting “incorrectly.”